Even something as small as a hair, fabric from clothing and dirt from shoes can cause the rock to change course. The term came from rocks "picking up" debris. Rocks are susceptible to picks, even on freshly scraped and swept ice. There's also an increased chance of picks as the game continues due to the pebble slowly eroding. As the ice gets "flat" there is more contact between the ice and the running surface.
The condition of the rock's running surface also contributes to picking. Uneven or pitted surfaces are of particular concern. There are a few things you can use to minimize picks since no team can ever afford a picked rock.
Try the following. Clean the running surface of the rock thoroughly before throwing. One sweeper should "clean" the area in front of the rock as it travels. Avoid crossing the sheet walking from one side to the other , this may leave debris. The "cleaning" stroke must have enough pressure to avoid debris "rolling" under the broom head but not enough to melt or scratch the ice. Teams must agree on how much pressure they will use. Pressure less than five lbs. If melting and scratching are an issue, a good team will always favor the short end of the weight window to allow cleaning.
Many "pick-conscious" teams do this. One sweeper lightly sweeps the area to remove debris. The amount of pressure necessary for this tricky. A very light sweep one or two pounds of pressure may be counterproductive.
In this case, debris may "roll under" the broom head. By applying more pressure 10 pounds will be much more effective in cleaning the area, however 10 pounds of pressure may actually make the rock travel farther and straighter.
Your team should discuss this and decide how to proceed. The most effective cleaning method is to use the 10 pounds of pressure and adjust the weights accordingly.
If the ice is running Of course, there are times when is "pick" is needed. A rock thrown clearly too heavy may need that help. Many skips come up with a term to allow this.
Directional Sweeping In , because of the new information about why rocks curl, some elite curlers experimented with what is now called "directional sweeping". Directional sweeping is used to keep rocks straight as well as to increase the curl. The idea of creating additional scratches on the ice with your broom will help the natural action of tracking through the scratches. Depending on the type of broom, this creates additional track scratches.
It's important to understand that as the directional results will come from only one side. If two sweepers are scratching on opposite sides, they will counteract the results although two sweepers have always been used for weight sweeping. Note: There are new WCF rules regarding the type of brooms pads and fabric that can be used in events leading to world play. Check the WCF website for more information and check your country's governing body for more local rules. Most researchers will agree that we cannot completely discount either theory.
Test for yourself. The weight window was briefly mentioned in the Delivery Section. The amount of force necessary to propel a rock forward is known as "weight".
Good sweepers can add an additional 4 - 8 feet to a rock's distance. This is important to know because, as you are throwing the rock, your throwing weight needs only to fall inside this 4 - 8 foot "weight window".
This provides a fairly comfortable margin of error for a thrower with good sweepers. Example: A rock thrown 8 feet short of the house without sweeping can easily be swept into the house by good sweepers. As a thrower, your responsibility was to hit the "window" and not the actual finished shot. This is what makes sweeping such a critical part of the game. There are only a few types of sweeping devices being used today all using synthetic fabric.
These synthetic brooms have a fabric, such as Cordura, stretched over a padded surface. Although introduced many years ago, these synthetic brooms became popular in the mid 's and are the standard sweeping device today. They are very effective and keep the ice clean.
Some people argue that the synthetic brooms are so effective in polishing the ice that they erode the valuable pebble that the rocks ride on. This creates an undesirable "flat" surface with more area of contact on the running surface. Carbon fiber handles were introduced around the year They are much lighter than the standard fiberglass handles. They do not offer much in additional sweeping performance other than perhaps some increased head speed due to the lighter weight. These handles are much more expensive.
If money is not an issue, choose the carbon fiber. CurlTech Choice for individual league type sweeping: Any light weight, high-friction swivel type. A note about broom regulations. The WCF has broom pad and fabric regulations for any games played that lead to world play. Only one fabric type smoother, less-scratching is allowed, and most broom manufacturers have a championship approved fabric pad.
Check your local league rules as some more competitive leagues follow the WCF guidelines. Most club leagues do not use the use the WCF rule. In some cases, more competitive leagues have adopted it. Let's talk about what makes a good sweeper. The best sweepers today are effective and efficient.
Sweeping effectiveness has been the focus of much debate over the last thirty years or so. While many people argue that the most effective sweeping comes from rapid movement of the brush, others argue that effective sweeping is caused by increased pressure of the brush on the ice.
CurlTech believes that a strong balance of both will achieve optimum results. Rapid movement with as much pressure as possible is what great sweepers strive for. Sweeping efficiency refers to a sweeper's ability to be the most effective while using the least amount of energy. The sweeping style discussed in this section is the preferred method of most top teams. CurlTech teaches a sweeping style with the following main components: Body is fairly Upright Inside arm down open stance Grippers on both feet Shoulder driven.
Stance To start sweeping properly, take a standing position that is 45 degrees to the rock's path, trying to face the rock and the skip at the same time. With the brush head on the ice, place the inside hand the hand closest to the rock on the brush handle half-way down using downward pressure.
This is the bottom-hand, and it will be supporting much of your body weight during the sweeping stroke. The outside hand top hand should be placed underneath the handle an underhand grip about one foot from the top. The end of the handle will be tucked under the arm. The should motion is more powerful since the lower arm can be used to hold your body weight over the broom.
Right-handed players will feel more comfortable on the right side with the left arm down. The lower hand motion id driven by the lower hand pushing the head back and forth. This is not as effective since the body weight can not be support as well by a moving hand. To be as versatile as possible, learn the shoulder-drive from both sides. High vs. Low Figure 2 shows the sweeper with the lower hand grip about 18 inches from the broom head.
For a short period of time a few years it was thought that the lower the hand, the better the head pressure. This turned out to be false. A higher grip allows you to move more of your body weight over the head.
This means a more upright stance will allow your entire body to stay closer to the weight point. The lower the grip and stance forces the body to stretch out horizontally, taking body weight and spreading it out.
Broom Motion The most effective sweeping motion is approximately up to 45 degrees to the rock's path and covers an area just wider than the running surface remember it's only five inches. A motion greater than this is waste of energy not efficient. The stroke should be away from your body, and then back toward your body. Keep your top arm tight to your body. By staying tight, you will begin to put more and more pressure on the head as you begin to move your weight over the top of the brush.
Stroke Power Experience shows that the push away stroke is much more powerful that pull stroke. This is important when it comes to directional sweeping.
With experience, you will gradually place more of your body's weight over the head of the broom. The power of the sweeping stroke comes from the top shoulder shoulder driven. The shoulder "drives" the brush head out and your core strength pulls it back. Because of this, most right-handed curlers strong right side will feel more comfortable sweeping on the right side of the rock. Your dominant arm may dictate your preferred side to sweep.
A good, shoulder-driven sweeping stroke will feel more comfortable with the non-dominant arm down. Since the power in the stroke comes from shoulder and the body weight is held by the lower arm, the dominant side will feel more natural. In some cases, the other side will feel more comfortable. This is usually because the dominant arm lower arm is doing the sweeping. This is not correct since the head pressure will decrease without the driving shoulder and the body weight on the broom.
This is called a "jiggle arm" and is not very effective. This why some sweepers feel more comfortable in a closed stance. For best results, place the strongest sweeper about 4 to 5 inches in front of the traveling rock.
This is called "taking the rock". With the brush head perpendicular to the path, move the head back and forth with a clear and visible motion. Most adjustable brush heads are at least five inches long, so the running surface is automatically covered by simply placing the broom head in front of the rock.
Any clear and visible movement at this point is acceptable. The second sweeper should be as close as possible to the inside sweeper without risking contact with the brushes. As a beginner, you may want to stay well clear of the rock to avoid hitting it with the brush.
The most effective team sweeping is with the sweepers on opposite sides because the brushes can easily stay close together. Eighty percent of team sweeping effectiveness on draws comes from the inside sweeper, the outside sweeper representing the other twenty percent. However, the only way the inside sweeper can achieve this eighty percent is with the second sweeper present.
The lead sweeper farthest away prepares the ice for the inside sweeper. They work together to create great sweeping. Sweeping with only one person will reduce the effectiveness by forty percent. Note: Adding a third sweeper accomplishes almost nothing.
As a skip or a thrower, avoid "jumping in" to help. This is a waste of time and only increases the chances of you or a teammate burning a rock. In the Delivery Section, the use of a slider was discussed. Proper sweeping must be done without a slider. If you throw with a slider, remove it for sweeping.
If your slider is built into your shoe, cover it with a gripper. Sweeping effectiveness requires a solid platform to sweep from. The proper sweeping motion, when moving with the rock, looks like a skating motion.
Walking fast or jogging next to the rock is not very effective or efficient. As you move with the rock, your inside foot should be skating forward. Your outside foot should also be skating forward, but it will lead the body. The outside foot will extend much farther than the inside. The inside foot should also never cross the outside foot during the motion. The most pressure is created when the body weight is over the top of the brush.
This can only happen using the tripod method with two feet and a brush head. In the beginning, you will have to support your weight on your feet. When you become more comfortable, begin to shift more and more weight onto the brush head.
To have the greatest degree of flexibility with your teammates, learn to sweep effectively on both sides of the rock. This will allow you to sweep with anyone at any time. View the short video of proper sweeping mechanics. She uses good head pressure and good head movement. Sweeping with a Slider You may have seen good curlers sweep without covering their sliders. This is a personal preference.
It does not benefit you as a sweeper although some say weight judgement is better while you're sliding. It does take less energy to sweep this way which is why it's so popular. You cannot apply as much head pressure when sweeping with a slider. For this reason, we recommend you keep your gripper on when you sweep. Of course, there are different standards for Mixed Doubles curling.
If the thrower will also sweep, they have no time to put a gripper on. Open vs. Closed Stance There are two types of sweeping stances, open and closed. An open stance is one where the down-hand is on the inside near the rock.
A right-side sweeper would have the left arm down. A closed stance on the same side would have the right arm down. Since most people have a stronger side, this position allows some people to switch sides without switching strokes. The advantage of an outside arm down position closed is a more perpendicular sweeping stroke.
This helps two sweepers stay close. The disadvantage is the body position. The head travels in a more backward style. My first game ever, one of my tacticals fled off the table from being assaulted by dark eldar and allowed to flee, and I've been playing it that way ever since. Guess I'll have to change the way I play that. Puts bigger impact on winning combat with a SaP unit or terminators when you're in the opponent's back line.
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Posted 30 September - AM. For a video that shows the sweeping position, and gets into some of the sideways movement aspect as well, go to:. It should be on the ice, directly under your head you are looking right at it, right? The questions, now, are three-fold:. You can think of the pressure on the brush head as corresponding to the three basic sweep calls. From least pressure to most:. The movement of the brush head across the face of the stone is always a topic of discussion.
Remember the rule that the movement must be across the face of the stone, side-to-side, and that the sweeping stroke finishes to the side of the stone? If the rock is too fast to keep up with, the rock is too fast to keep up with. Here you have to ask yourself what you want to achieve…. Remember that you want to change the effect of the ice on the rock. Some people argue that by orienting the long side of the brush head to the face of the rock, you can get closer to the stone, but those benefits are not as great as those you will encounter by affecting a larger area of the ice with a given brush stroke.
With more practice and experience, you can sweep in the conventional orientation right next to the rock, whether the shooter is delivering a high guard or a control-weight takeout. Just think — if you stop sweeping in front of the rock, whatever your brush is pushing out of the way you are still cleaning the ice even when you sweep hard is left directly in front of the rock, allowing it to maybe pick — and then who-knows-what is going to happen.
What was that about only sweeping one side of the rock? When you think that you want to give it a try, you have to remember that the sweeping stroke must pass across the full face of the stone, not just on one side.
With differential pressure: just press harder on the side that you want more effect on. Note to Brad Askew: Thanks for making such a great image. No infringement is meant in any way. Just remember — one person only. Refer back to the Rules at the start of the article. If you are NOT the delivering team, only the Third or Skip can sweep — and then, only behind the tee line. Once that rock stops, they need to clear out and start getting ready for the next shot — which includes watching what the other team is doing, just in case you are asked to do the same thing.
Okay, so now the world is working as it should: the Skip is calling the shot, the Third is going to deliver that perfect throw to set up the winning end, and the Lead and Second are ready to sweep like crazy…. But where should the sweepers be as the Third is in the hack? The farther sweeper should be on their side, at about the tee line. Yes, before. It is possible, and not that uncommon, for rocks to need a bit of tender loving care as soon as they are released.
You need to be ready to go at any time, so give yourself the best opportunity to do exactly that. Sweeping becomes even more critical at the end of the shot, as the rock is moving more slowly, and the effect of any sweeping can be effectively magnified, as the changes you make to the ice have more time to act on the stone.
As long as you can stay with the rock, stay with the rock. Your Skip will thank you for it. Maybe not right away even though they should , but they will — eventually. You said the first shooter to take the rock….
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