The Pre-Roar, Day 1

So after one day of play, here’s what we learned about the Capital One Road to the Roar.

First off, the ice.

Specifically, Sheet E.

It’s where curling rocks go to die. Or curl. Or not curl.

And so far, it’s giving the players at the Roar of the Rings some headaches. Or possibly migranes.

The ice at the Aud in Kitchener has been, um, well, active let’s say with Sheet E being the most active. It clearly troubled the teams that played on it however they muddle through, one of whom was John Morris who gave an above-the-line comment to CP after defeating Rob Rumfeldt 10-2 in eight ends.

“It's well-known that Sheet E is tough,"said Morris. "It's definitely playing with some more curl in interestingspots compared to the other sheets."So we're glad we got a win on that sheet,and now we can focus on whatever sheet we're on next. We can't take anythinglightly; every game you get here is going to be against some tough opponents."

In this CP story from the Hamilton Spectator, Barb Spencer echoed Morris’s comments, talking about the swingy conditions. She defeated Amber Holland 8-5 in the opening draw.

"It's tough ice to draw on because it curls so much, soyou have to be pretty consistent," Spencer said. "Amber Holland's agreat shooter. Even being up 6-2, we knew that anything can happen on this ice,and Amber can make a lot of great shots, and she did in that game. Fortunatelywe were able to come out on top this time."

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Next we learned that there’s no TV coverage of the event until the weekend, something that, judging my email inbox, surprised a ton of people.  I’m not even sure if there’s live streaming but apparently not. Anybody?

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And finally we learned that the CCA has put together some great AMA content. That would be Ask Me Anything, a takeoff of the popular Reddit feature, where you can ask questions of the curling stars AND see Al Cameron’s back yard all in one (at least in some of the preview ones). If you want to take one in live, you can tune in tonight at 8 ET for Jeff Stoughton.  Go to curling.ca to watch. And ask.