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Working Life

Curling with my colleagues

By Masako Yamada


同僚とカーリングを楽しむ

雅子さんの上司は大のウインタースポーツ好き。その上司は毎年、スポーツイベントを企画してくれるのですが、今年は五輪種目でもあるカーリングをみんなで体験することになりました。こうしたイベントは、単にスポーツを楽しむだけでなく、社員同士の親ぼくを深めるのにも役立つようです。

Last year, our entire lab went on a snow-tubing excursion. I have written about how my Canadian boss - an avid winter sportsman - successfully organized a fun activity that required no skill and could be enjoyed by all. Corporate team-building activities usually involve sitting around in conference rooms, but such physical games are much more exciting, and they seem to be increasing in popularity. Some other labs have done indoor rock-climbing or mini-car racing.

News photo
靴の滑りを良くするためのカバーを装着し、ストーンを投げる筆者。体をうまく滑らせて投球できれば、その分勢いがつき、ストーンをより前に進ませることができる
This being upstate New York, there are plenty of opportunities to do strange winter activities. So, this year, my boss decided the lab would go Curling.

Curling recently become an official Olympic sport, but most of us had never even heard of it before, much less tried playing it. It is a sport that involves throwing a heavy, granite stone on the ice so that it slides toward a target on the ground. In that sense, it's a bit like bowling. Teammates run in front of the stone, sweeping the ice with a broom to control the movement of the stone.

The volunteers at the curling club were good at teaching beginners. The sport requires much more skill than tubing. The stones weigh about 20 kilograms and you have to lunge forward while releasing the stone. We wore slippery shoe-covers so that we could lunge as far forward as possible. This action propels the stone forward. We took off the shoe covers when it was our turn to sweep in front of the stone. This is because the object is to sweep in front of the rapidly sliding stone without slipping on the ice.

We were so busy trying to master the basic moves that we hardly had the chance to learn the official rules of the game, much less engage in actual matches. We quickly found out that curling requires a lot of flexibility, control and finesse. However, the volunteers at the club proudly pointed out that curling is a sport that children, parents and even grandparents can play together. In that sense, it's quite different from most sports, especially Olympic sports.

Curling originated in Scotland, and even now, there are some signs that hint of its origins. First of all, the curling stones are made in Scotland, using granite from Scottish or Welsh quarries. Since the stones are not mass-produced, you might be on a waiting list for a few years before getting a set of new stones. Second, the game is still most popular in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries. Even in the States, most of the curling clubs seem to be near Canada. Finally, there is a tradition of drinking, merriment and camaraderie around the sport that seems uniquely British. The curling club we visited had a full bar with plenty of tables and chairs for relaxing. We were told that the "Scottish tradition" is that after a game, the warring teams bury the hatchet and share a pint together.

News photo
ストーンが目標地点に到達するよう、ブラシで表面をこすってストーンのスピードや方向を調整する
After we learned the basic moves and tried some abbreviated matches, we congregated in the lounge to cap off the day. My boss had arranged things so that a small buffet of snacks and drinks were waiting for us. There was plenty of beer so we could socialize in true curling fashion, as well as coffee and soda for the less traditional types.

The volunteers answered our questions on curling as we ate. Curling is typically a club sport, not a public sport. It tends to attract sociable people, so that even if you're not a member of a particular club, chances are that a member of the community would invite an outsider to play. Several of my labmates asked detailed questions about joining the curling club, indicating a serious interest in family membership plans. I'm sure the volunteers were thrilled to see that their friendliness had a positive effect. I was touched by the generosity of the volunteers who gave us a glimpse of curling, both of the sport and of the community, but I must admit that they were not successful in getting this couch potato to want to join the club.



Shukan ST: Feb. 4, 2005

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