Wednesday, January 20, 2021

The Cult of 'Men With Brooms'

 
I'm sure that in lockdown many curling enthusiasts have watched (again) 'Men With Brooms'. I'm a fan of the movie. That's a promotional poster above. It's an enjoyable rom-com, based around the sport of curling in a small Canadian town. It came out in 2002, and was directed by Paul Gross, who also stars in it. Its IMDB entry is here.

 

This is the DVD that I have of the film. According to its Wikipedia entry (here), "The film now has a cult following on DVD. Many relish the gentle Canadian comedy with its wry look at its country."

As well as Gross, the cast also includes Connor Price, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Outerbridge, Kari Matchett, Molly Parker and Polly Shannon. Members of the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip make a cameo appearance in the film as a competing rink representing Kingston, Ontario, the band's home city. Winnipeg's three-time Brier champion Jeff Stoughton also makes an appearance throwing his trademark 'spin-o-rama' shot.

The interior curling action was filmed in the Hamilton and Brampton curling clubs.

The movie grossed $4.2 million dollars at the box office.

More about Paul Gross and the film in this blog post here written by Angela Pressland.

Of course, if you are a fan of the film, and a curling collector, having a copy of the film will not be enough. You could look out for the soundtrack of the movie.

Here it is on a CD, issued by Universal Music, Canada. One of the tracks, 'Silver Road' by Sarah Harmer and the Tragically Hip, is a favourite of mine and is online here. Silver Road is the first track on the CD. The others are:

'Hockey Skates' by Kathleen Edwards

'Throwing Off Glass' by The Tragically Hip

'Life' by Our Lady Peace

'Mass Romantic' by The New Pornographers

'God' by Sean Macdonald

'Diggin' a Hole' by Big Sugar

'Planet Love' by Tom Wilson

'Hello Time Bomb' by Matthew Good Band

'Can U Tell' by Pepper Sands

'Leading Me Home' by Chantal Kreviazuk

'Kiss You 'Til You Weep' by Paul Gross

'Watching Over You' by Holly McNarland

'Oh Honey' by The Tragically Hip

'Men With Brooms Theme'

 
Unusually perhaps, the film is not based on a book. Rather, a book of the film, titled Men with Brooms: A Sweeping Epic, was published after the movie's release, by McArthur and Company, Toronto, in 2002. It is based on the original screenplay (by Paul Gross and John Krizanc), and was written by Diane Baker Mason. I read a lot and I have to say that the book is great. And it explains where all the beavers that appear in the movie come from! The summary of the book's plot in the catalogue entry at the National Library of Canada reads, "Four friends return to a small town in Northern Ontario to bury their curling coach and settle old debts."
 
This image is from the CD sleeve.
 
 
That should be it for fans of the movie. Unfortunately (in my opinion), a television adaptation followed some years later, the first of twelve episodes broadcast on CBC on October 12, 2010. The series is set in the fictional town of Long Bay, Ontario, and features the members of a local curling club. The curling scenes were filmed at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.


The series stars Brendan Gall, William Vaughan, Joel Keller, Anand Rajaram, Aliyah O'Brien, Glenda Braganza, and Siobhan Murphy. The show's producer, Paul Gross, narrates and makes occasional appearances as Chris Cutter, his character in the original film.

'Men with Brooms (The TV Series)' aired for one season and was not renewed. I have a two-disc DVD of all twelve episodes (issued in 2011), and during lockdown I watched them all. Part of my life I'll never get back. Being kind, let's just say I can understand why the series was not renewed. The Wikipedia entry for the TV series is here. The IMDB entry is here. And here is a review by someone who enjoyed the series.

Images are all from items in my curling collection.

Monday, January 04, 2021

Local Medals

In 1839, a year after its formation, the Grand Caledonian Curling Club (as it was then called) made the decision to award medals to encourage the sport of curling amongst its member clubs. There were District Medals, see here, and Local Medals. The latter were for individual play, in Points competitions.

The rules for the Local Medals were first published in the Annual for 1839-40. These rules, and the various shots to be played, were essentially those that had been used by the Currie CC, see here.

Sixteen Local Medals were allocated in the first year, but the Annual for 1840-41 only included one report of a club having played off its competition. That club was the Abdie Curling Club.

The umpire, James Ogilvie Dalgleish, provided a report which read, "Accordingly, the 7th January proving a clear hard frost, with fine ice, and a prospect of continuance, and a large muster of the members being present, it was agreed that the Grand Caledonian Medal should be competed for next day, and expresses were despatched to apprise the absent members. The 8th, however, wofully (sic) disappointed the previous day's expectations, being a thick fog, and ultimately a thorough thaw with rain. Notwithstanding, members having come up at considerable inconvenience, it was resolved that the medal should be played for, and at half-past twelve o'clock, nineteen competitors took the field, and played the first two points at 36 yards, but the ice becoming more and more dull, the rink was successively reduced to 32, and finally to 24 yards." 

The medal was awarded to Andrew Brown, a banker from Newburgh. He scored twelve points, out of a possible maximum of 32.

There was some controversy over whether the umpire should have reduced the length of the rink. The report notes, "The representative member takes upon himself the responsibility of reducing the rink below the distance specified by the regulations. He did so believing the intention of the representative committee to be, that the local medals should be gained by skill and science, not by strength, and the minimum distance there specified to apply to the commencement of competitors; but where one has been commenced, as in this instance, and the great majority of players unable to reach the hog's score, and yet where it was necessary that the match should be decided, he conceives that he acted quite in the spirit of curling, and trusts that the representative committee will approve of his deviation from their general rule."

The general rules for curling did allow for the rink to be shortened in specific cases, for example, "The Rink shall be changed in all cases when, from the springing of water, the majority of players cannot make up." However, shortening the rink was not to be a precedent in Points competitions, as the Annual report notes, "With reference to the above report the Club resolved that in future the second rule for the local medal competitions be strictly attended to, and that in no case the rink shall be reduced to less than 32 yards. This rule having been framed with the sole view of affording the means of comparison between different Clubs, the competitors, if not able to play up, must break off for the day."

The Annual for 1841-42 contains two tables with the results of Local Medal competitions. There were those medals which had been awarded, and played for, in the season 1840-41, and then there were those of some which had been awarded in the first season but not played for until the winter of 1840-41. Here is one example:

The table records that on January 25, 1840, thirteen members of the Blairgowrie club competed for their Local Medal. The length of the rink was 42 yards, and the ice was 'keen but biassed'. The winner was James Anderson, with a score of nine points.

The umpire was David Inches. In addition to the information in the table, his comments on the competition are recorded, "The ice was tolerably smooth and keen. There was a considerable bias in several different directions, and a slight ridge or elevation running along the centre of the rink throughout its entire length, which rendered it somewhat difficult to take many of the nice and measured shots."

I have included the above report to show that, on outside ice, scoring well was sometimes extremely difficult or even impossible. Indeed, a high score of twelve points was the highest recorded in any of the 35 local medal competitions recorded in the Annual for 1841-42. The Dumbarton CC turned out the highest number of players, 27, for its competition on February 8, 1841.

The following season saw many Local Medals competed for. The table in the Annual had been expanded to include the average number of points gained by each competitor, and the time it took for each competition to be played. For example, on January 10, 1842, eighteen members of the Kinnoughtry CC competed on Kinnoughtry Loch, on 'excellent' ice accordng to Mungo Murray, the umpire. The winner was Charles Robertson with ten points, and the average number of points scored by all the competitors was just over four. The competition took two and a half hours to complete.

Andrew Blair, the umpire, penned this report, "The Kinnoughtry Curlers met this morning with more, if possible, than their usual keenness for the manly sport; and the ice was such as to please the most fastidious son of the broom. The rink was measured, and the prescribed angles made, with mathematical accuracy and precision, by Mr Charles Robertson, when the playing began. Old age, middle life, and youth mingled together to contend for the prize of the day, with that friendly feeling and cordiality for which Curlers are so proverbial - the Fates seeming to favour now one, now another, till about the middle of the game, when they fairly fixed down upon Mr Robertson, and pertinaciously stuck by him till its close, when he was declared by the umpire, Mr Murray, to be the winner of the Medal, which was hung around his neck, amid the smiles of ladies of distinction, and the plaudits of neighbouring Curlers, who honoured us with their presence on the occasion."

The Annual for 1843-44 included a table of results from 1842-43 which now had the height of each venue above sea level, and the distance from the sea itself.

John Adamson reported on the competition which the Abdie CC held on Lindores Loch on February 15, 1843. "The competition for the honour of the day commenced very favourably, with excellent ice, keen and straight; but in a short time a thick snow began to fall, and continued during the game, accompanied with a strong wind from the north-west, which cast a gloom over the eager expectants. Nothing daunted, however, they pursued their favourite sport for three hours, when Mr George Buist of Ormiston, and Mr A Brown (a medal holder), stood equal, each counting 11 shots. After a further trial at outwicking, in which neither party scored, Mr Buist counted one in guarding, and was proclaimed the victor. The ice was swept at the commencement of each round, but soon the parties found a difficulty in reaching the desired mark, the snow frequently adhering to the sole of the stone, and leading it aside from the point aimed it." 

This report shows that even playing the outwick was sometimes not enough to decide the competition winner. And it is of interest to read of the conditions that curlers had to overcome on outside ice. 

Perhaps the last word on that comes from Michael Pottie's report of the Duntocher CC's competition, "The day was so wet that the members had some hesitation in playing for the Medal upon the 17th January, and, when not throwing their stones, they used umbrellas."


What were these Local Medals like? There were identical to District Medals on the obverse, but the reverse had 'Local Medal' rather that 'District Medal'. David Smith wrote about District Medals here. The design shown above was by Sclater. This image is of a Local Medal that was sold by Lockdales Auctioneers some years ago. Note that the surround has been lost. It went for a hammer price of £95. Unusually for Local Medals it has not been engraved with the winner's name. It could be that it was never competed for.

Graeme Adam has an even earlier Local Medal in his collection. Note that this is a medal of the Grand (not Royal) Caledonian Curling Club. The winner, William Muirhead, was a member of the Denny Curling Club, and his success was recorded in the Annual of the Grand Caledonian Curling Club 1842-43. The Local Medal was played for on Denny Pond on January 10, 1842, on a full length sheet of 42 yards. William scored seven points, the best of the fourteen members who took part.

Note that the words 'Local Medal' do not appear on the reverse of this early medal. There is some evidence to suggest that the early Local Medals AND District Medals, as issued by the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, were identical, and it was only after the Club gained its Royal patronage that Local and District Medals were distinguished from each other.

Any early Local Medal is a rare find at auction nowadays, and one issued by the 'Royal Grand Caledonian Curling Club' (from 1843) would be a real treasure!

By 1845, the popularity of Local Medals was already very much second in importance to District Medals, and in that year the regulations of these competitions for individual curlers stated that they would just be awarded 'to Clubs which, in the opinion of the Representative Committee, are too far distant from any other Club to compete for a District Medal'. The Reverend John Kerr writes in the History of Curling, published in 1890, "For a time reports of these (Local Medal) competitions were inserted in the Annuals, but the difficulty of making satisfactory comparisons, owing to the different conditions under which the medals were competed for, caused the club to give the practice up, and to cease encouraging point play by medals, although the diagrams and the rules remained."

 
By the time the design of the District Medal and Local Medals was changed in 1870, few of the latter were being given out to clubs.  One such was won by Charles Gibson on February 7, 1876. He may have been a member of Pitlochry CC. This medal came up for sale in a Dix Noonan Webb auction recently.
 
 
Local Medals occasionally went to overseas clubs that were affiliated to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. The Annual for 1875-76 notes that a Local Medal had been awarded to the Moscow Club. This club had been founded by William Hopper, a Scottish engineer, in 1873. David Smith wrote about the club, and of finding the medal above in an 'online auction', in the February 2004 Scottish Curler magazine.
 
J Russell Hopper, one of William's sons, was Secretary of the Moscow CC for many years.

David notes in his article that this medal may be the only surviving relic of curling from pre-Revolutionary Russia.

Other medals went to Canada and to New Zealand. In August 1877, Thomas Callender, the Secretary of the Dunedin Curling Club, wrote to the RCCC Secretary.

"Dear Sir - It affords me great pleasure to send you a list of office-bearers and members for the forthcoming Annual, and to report that since the 24th of this month, our Club have had curling every day from 8 o'clock am till dark; and that on Saturday the 28th, fourteen members put in an appearance to compete for the Royal Club Local Medal. Play began at 12 noon, and ended with the result as enclosed. The competition was very keen, and until the last end it was impossible to say who would win. I send you the Otago Daily Times and the Guardian, giving you the scores of the competition. The frost still holds, members curling this morning, and every prospect of holding."

Any mention of Local Medals had disappeared from the Royal Club rule book by the mid-1960s, and only District Medals and Provice Medals are still awarded. 

The information in this article mostly comes from Royal Club Annuals. The image sources are as indicated. Thanks to Graeme Adam and Lindsay Scotland for information about the William Muirhead medal.

The Points Game

Although curling is seen these days as a team sport, there is a variation of the game which tests an individual curler's skill. Such Points competitions date from the earliest years when curling clubs were formed. For example, it is known that the Duddingston Curling Society had a competition in which individual members had to play three different shots - drawing, striking, and inwicking. A gold medal was awarded to the winner for the first time in 1809.

Many long established curling clubs played variations of Points. One such was the Currie Curling Club, which had devised a more comprehensive system involving eight different shots, each of which had to be attempted four times.

In 1839, a year after its formation, the Grand Caledonian Curling Club (as it was then called) made the decision to award medals to encourage the sport amongst its member clubs. There were District Medals, see here, and Local Medals. The latter were for individual play, in Points competitions. (More about Local Medals is here.)

The rules for Points were first published in the Annual for 1839-40. These rules, with the various shots to be played, were essentially those that had been used by the Currie CC.

The first of these regulations was, "A circle eight feet in diameter shall be drawn round the tee, and a central line or score between the tees to the distance of twenty feet from the further tee." This is of interest because this eight foot diameter (four foot radius) circle was the first of any circle required to be scratched on the ice for ANY type of curling. At this time the regular game did NOT require circles to be drawn on the ice, see here.

Four stones were played at each of eight types of shot. The Annual describes these:

"Every competitor to play four shots at each of the eight following points of the game, viz, Striking, Inwicking, Drawing, Guarding, Chap and lie, Wick and curl-in, Raising, and Chipping the winner." 

These were illustrated as follows in three panels:

(1) Striking. A stone placed on the tee to be struck out of the circle. 

(2) Inwicking. One stone is placed upon the tee, and another (in two of the chances to lie on the opposite side of the central line from what it is in the other two) two feet distant from the tee, making an angle of 45° with the central line: the played stone to hit against the latter and perceptibly move the former.

(3) Drawing. The stone played to lie within the circle.

(4) Guarding. The stone played to rest, however little, on the central line.

(5) Chap and lie. A stone placed on the tee to be struck out of the circle, but the stone played to lie within it.

(6) Wick and curl-in. A stone is placed seven feet distant from the tee, and making an angle of 45° with the central line: the stone played to hit on this stone, and rest within the circle.

(7) Raising. A stone placed on the central line, and seven feet distant from the tee, to be struck into the circle. 

(8) Chipping the winner. One stone is placed on the tee, and another at ten feet distance, just touching the central line, and half guarding the one on the tee: the stone played to pass the guard, and perceptibly move the other. 

Scoring was described in this way, "Each successful shot shall count one, whatever be the point played at. No stone shall be considered within, or without the circle, unless it clear it; and every stone to be held as resting on the central line which does not completely clear it: in every case as ascertained by a square." 

This means that the maximum score possible in 1839 was 32. If two players finished on the same score, a further point could be played, that of Outwicking. The rules stated:

"In the event of two or more competitors gaining the same aggregate number of shots, they shall play four or more shots (at the desire of the judge of the competition) at (9) Outwicking, where a stone placed four feet distant from the tee, at an angle of 45° with the central line is to be so struck as to lie within the circle."

A note states, "It will save much time if, in playing for Local Medals, two rinks be similarly prepared parallel to each other, the tee of the one being at the opposite end from the tee of the other. Every competitor plays both stones up the one rink and immediately afterwards down the other, finishing at once all his chances at each point."

 
Remarkably, there is an early image which shows the curlers of the Fingask Curling Club at Points. This engraving, part of which is shown above, was published in the Illustrated London News on January 7, 1854. The Points contest had been held the previous season, on February 17, 1853. The members of the Fingask CC were playing for a medal awarded to the Club by Lady Murray Threipland, the Club's Patroness.
 
Studying the image, it can be seen that two rinks are in use, at ninety degrees to each other.

Points competitions continued to be played for under the early rules for many years. But, by 1887, changes to the rules for Points competitions were being considered, following proposals by D Croll of the Broughty Ferry Curling Club. A special committee was set up to consider these proposals, and new rules were agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Representative Committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, held in the Waterloo Hotel, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, 25th July 25, 1888. 

These new rules were: 

1. Competitors shall draw lots for the rotation of play, and shall use two Stones.
2. The length of the Rink shall not exceed 42 yards; any lesser distance shall be determined by the Umpire.
3. Circles of 7 feet and 4 feet radius shall be drawn round the Tee, and a central line through the centre of the 4 foot circle to the Hog score.
4. Every Competitor shall play four shots at each of the eight following points of the game, viz: Striking, lnwicking, Drawing, Guarding, Chap and Lie, Wick and Curl in, Raising, and Chipping the Winner, according to illustrated definitions.
5. In Nos. 2, 6, 8, and 9, two chances on the left and two on the right.
6. No Stone shall be considered without a circle unless it is entirely clear of that circle. In every case a square is to be placed on the ice to ascertain when a Stone is without a circle, or entirely clear of a line.

This brought the dimensions of the house into line with that in use for regular team play, ie seven foot radius. And now a perfect play counted a score of two, with one point on offer for a partial result, see below.

Just a couple of years later, at the Annual Meeting in 1892, a new 'point' was added, that of 'Drawing though a Port'. Apparently, this was already being played in Canada, and so the Royal Club brought their Points' rules into line.

 








Note that the new point, drawing the port, fitted in as the ninth point to be played in any competition, with outwicking retaining its position as a tiebreaker.

These points were played in competitions until 1938. Then, as noted in the Annual for 1938-39, the size of the outer circle was allowed to be variable, ie "Two Circles, one having a radius of 4 feet and the other having a radius of not less than 6 feet and not more than 7 feet, shall be drawn round each Tee." This was to accommodate the change in the size of the head in indoor rinks (to twelve feet in diameter), as well as allowing for the continued use of fourteen foot diameter rinks in outdoor play. It wasn't until 1963 when the diameter of the outside circle was standardised to twelve feet.

The current rules for Points, with better illustrations, can be found online in the RCCC 2020-21 Rulebook here, pages 78-89.

This is the illustration in the 2020-21 Rule Book showing the markings to be made on the ice.

 
In 1958 David Liddell presented a silver salver to Glasgow Province. Clubs in that Province joined together to play each season for this trophy. Six sheets of the main curling rink at Crossmyloof were used, but such were the 'idiosychrasies' of these, that some of the points asked for were extremely difficult, if not impossible, to play. However, much fun was enjoyed on these occasions, the winner's signature being engraved onto the Salver. The Salver is still played for, most recently at Braehead.

I always found Points play frustrating. But my proudest moment came when my club decided to hold its local Points competition at the four-sheeter at Forest Hills, north of Glasgow. I came second on the day, but I should declare that, because of the snow, only two members made it to the Kinlochard venue! (I miss that old Saab.)

POSTSCRIPT

Last year the sport of curling lost one of its 'characters', Leslie Ingram-Brown. Back in his playing days, he relished, and excelled, in Points play. His name can be found on six occasions on the Liddell Salver, above. I found myself thinking of him often as I wrote the above article. RIP Leslie.

Much of the information in this article comes from old RCCC Annuals. The photo of the Fingask competition is from the Illustrated London News, retrieved via the British Newspaper Archive. The photo of Leslie is my own. The Liddell Salver image is from the Glasgow Province website. Thanks to Robin Shand for help with this article.