You may have heard recently that curling is all the rage since the Winter Olympics came through. Some call it \"chess on ice\", but that may not be completely accurate, since chess is a little more precise in the placement of pieces. Maybe \"shuffleboard on ice\" is a little more accurate. Either way, the game (sport, whatever) is definitely entertaining.\n\nThe Charlotte Centre Curling Club is open for membership, and they just held their first Learn to Curl event at the Pineville Ice House. About twenty intrepid souls, plus a few instructors and even local \"celebrity\" Larry Sprinkle, checked out the action and tried to figure out the game.\n\nPlayed on ice, with droplets of water sprinkled on top to create a rougher surface which \"curls\" the 42-pound granite rocks, players try valiantly to maintain their balance while pushing the rocks back and forth, using sweeping techniques to get the rocks to go where they want (the sweeping action creates a path of sorts for the rocks).\n\nMost of the session was spent figuring out how to keep your balance and push the rock towards the other end of the ice. Yours truly spent a good bit of time on the ice. The one time I managed to get the rock moving in the right direction, Larry Sprinkle was sweeping a bit too vigorously and he ended up on his backside. Another, I didn't even make it that far and nearly took out the camera. I hope I don't get a bill. Or sued for nearly killing a local celebrity.\n\nApparently the feature will be shown on April 9th. Have to keep an eye out for it.\n\nAt least for a limited time, the highlight video is online - complete with a shot of yours truly knocking Larry Sprinkle to the ice.\n\n <url>
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