North Carolina Team wins World Pond Curling Championship (By Kathy Jackson)

Team Tarheel from the The Triangle Curling Club, consisting of Murray Jackson, Kathy Jackson, Cliff Gray and Lea Franklin traveled to Gananoque, Ontario, Feb. 5th and 6th to compete in Pond Curling. A foot of snow 3 days before the event hindered the typical ice making efforts and challenged the bonspiel organizers. While there were no colored rings, only scribed, and the sheets were shorter than regulation, the games went on. The curling was much like years ago when it took all your strength to get your rocks to the other end. All of this made for some great games, different strategy, and a lot of fun. Everyone was up for the challenge of figuring out how best to throw their rock. The best option ended up being the push stick. Anyone that did throw their rock went back to their roots and did a massive back swing ending up with wet knees. While the weather was wonderful for the spectators, it didn’t do much for the ice conditions. By the end of the weekend, some of the hacks and rings were under water. Nonetheless, the games went right through to the championships on Sunday, and nobody went through the ice. Along the way, TeamTarheel met teams from Dallas and Houston, as well as teams from Kingston and Gananoque. Team Tarheel went through the weekend undefeated to take the title of the 1st World Pond Curling Champions.