Green Mountain Curling Club

Thank you for a second successful season of curling on Vermont!

THANK YOU all for helping make this second season of curling in Vermont such a great success!  With our final potluck and games on Friday, February 22nd, we closed out our second season of curling in Morrisville. We had a very successful season that saw growth in our own membership and also the launch of two new curling efforts in Woodstock and Rutland.  This year we also increased our fielding of GMCC teams to various bonspiels, sent a team up to Bedford Curling Club in Quebec on Friday nights, sent another team up to Lacolle Curling Club in Quebec on a regular basis and all in all increased the activity of curlers in Vermont!

While our curling in Morrisville is over for the season, we do still have a few more games going on at curling clubs up in Quebec. Why not consider joining the GMCC so that you'll get invited to those events?

Meanwhile, keep watching this site to find out how you can join in our third year of curling in Vermont starting this fall!

No curling on this Saturday, February 9th

Something incredible is happening this weekend. We are sending 4 GMCC teams off to bonspiels throughout the region! We are incredibly thrilled to see this happen and wish our teams all the best. The unfortunate side effect of this is that we will have to cancel our regular curling on Saturday, February 9th. We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday, February 16th! Good curling!

Status of GMCC curling tomorrow (2/2) in light of the weather

Given that we are getting mixtures of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain right now, we've decided to cancel the 8:00am draw tomorrow morning so that there will be more time in the morning for roads to be cleared before folks head to Morrisville. Here is the word from Thomas about the 10am and LTC clinic:

The 10:00am draw and the Learn-to-Curl clinic will take place as planned. We have a full line-up for 10:00am and have now a wait list. So if you are signed up for 10:00am and can't make it, please cancel by 8:00am so that I can notify someone else.

For all of you who do head to Morrisville tomorrow for curling, we do hope you have a safe drive.

New benefit to GMCC membership! A free subscription to CurlTV!

We were pleased to learn recently that the US Curling Association announced an agreement with CurlTV to provide a free subscription to every USCA member as part of their USCA dues. Given that when you join the Green Mountain Curling Club part of your GMCC membership fee goes to pay USCA dues, this CurlTV relationship is now available to GMCC members.

So what is CurlTV? Well, if you go to CurlTV.com you can watch curling games over the Internet on your PC. As the USCA news release says:

The CurlTV.com subscriptions - which will now be included with every USCA membership - will give U.S. curlers direct access to exclusive live coverage of curling events in North America and Europe that are otherwise not available on commercial television networks. The subscriptions also will give U.S. curlers 24/7 on-demand access to a huge library of more than 400 previously-recorded curling events from the past three years.

CurlTV.com programming also includes game analysis by world champion curler (and CurlTV.com president) David Nedohin, as well as player tips, skills development tools and educational resources. The retail value of a CurlTV.com annual subscription is normally $59.95.

If you are currently a GMCC member you will have received information from Rich indicating that he'll soon be distributing the relevant access codes. If you aren't a GMCC member, why not join now? In addition to playing in curling games and helping the growth of curling in Vermont, there's now lots of great curling you'll be able to watch on CurlTV!

Technorati Tags: curling, gmcc, green mountain curling club, greenmountaincurlingclub, usca, us curling association, curltv, curltv.com

GMCC launches "Adopt A Rock" Program! Your chance to be part of GMCC history!

Over the summer, we took delivery on a brand new set of curling stones, fresh from their quarry in Scotland!  Anyone who has played with the stones this season knows that they are outstanding and a great addition to GMCC curling.  Since we obviously need to pay for these stones, we've embarked on an "Adopt A Rock" program that is common with many curling clubs where the handles will be engraved with the names and messages of sponsors.

This is your chance to be part of GMCC history!

There are only 16 stones - and already several have been claimed!  If you would like you - or your business - to be listed as a sponsor on this first set of curling stones in Vermont, please visit our Adopt A Rock page and download the pledge form now!

Looking for a unique holiday gift? Why not give a gift certificate for a Learn To Curl clinic?

Are you looking for a unique gift for someone this holiday season? Why not give a gift certificate to one of our Learn To Curl clinics? For only $25, you can give someone a gift they are sure to remember! Who knows, maybe you'll help someone find a new way to enjoy their winter... at the very least you'll give them a unique Saturday morning of fun trying something new! Here's all you have to do:

1. Email greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com requesting a gift certificate. Please include your name and postal mailing address. (Yes, we send these via snail-mail, but that generally goes anywhere in Vermont in 1-2 days.)

2. Send a check for $25 payable to "Green Mountain Curling Club" to:

Green Mountain Curling Club
Attn: Connie Dollinger
106 South St.
Essex Junction, Vt 05452

3. Once we receive the check, we will mail a certificate to you.

NOTE: The recipient has one full year to make use of the certificate, so if he or she cannot make our Learn-To-Curl clinics coming up on January 5th or February 2nd, 2008, the certificate can be used at our LTC clinics that will be held in Fall 2008 as we start the 2008-2009 curling season.

Please help spread the word... and let others know that they, too, can give someone a special gift this season!

Technorati Tags: curling, gmcc, greenmountaincurlingclub, green mountain curling club, vermont

Learn to Curl Clinic - Saturday, January 5th

The GMCC is pleased to announce the next "Learn To Curl" clinic of the season to be held on Saturday, January 5th, 2008, at the LARC  arena in Morrisville, VT.  It will start at 9:00am and last about 3 hours.  You will learn the basics of throwing the stones, sweeping and generally playing the game.  The cost is $25 unless you have joined as a member, in which case it is included in your membership fee. Note that if you would like to just try out the sport, you can pay for the LTC clinic and then have that fee applied toward your membership fee if you decide to join later.

If you are would like to attend, please send an email to greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com so that we can get an idea of how many people are coming.  For information about how to get to the CREW arena and what clothing and shoes to wear, please see our Learn To Curl page.

Opportunity to curl at Lacolle Curling Club on this coming Sunday, December 2... want to go?

Hello Curlers of all levels,

A couple of teams are heading up to Lacolle, QC on Sunday, December 2nd to practice for an upcoming bonspiel (curling tourament). I have decided to rent the club for the day, to allow other people to have the opportunity to play some games. Games will be played in 2, two eight-end game blocks: 8AM to noon and 1 to 5 PM. We will take an hour lunch break to finish up the early games, and to allow the afternoon curlers some time on the ice.

To reserve an 8AM block, the cost will be $20 per person. There are openings for 8 curlers. Games will start at 8AM and 10AM, so please plan on being there by 7:45AM to be ready.

To reserve a 1PM block, the cost will be $20 per person. There are openings for 16 curlers. Games will start at 1PM and 3PM, so please plan on being there by 12:45PM. The ice will be open for most of the lunch hour to throw stones or practice sliding and balance.

Other details:
*Lunch will be bring your own. There is a kitchen with fridge, stove, and microwave.
*The bar will be open.
*Curling fees are American currency, but Canadian currency should be brought for drinks.
*GMCC members: This event is not a GMCC event, so spots can be filled with non-members with curling experience.
*Non curling club members: This event is open to anyone with some minimal curling experience (i.e. you've attended one of Brenda's events in the past)
*Lacolle is north of the border, about 75 minutes from Burlington (60 if you really want to curl). Directions will be sent after registration.

I know I've left off some interested curlers, so feel free to pass on this information. I've also probably forgot some important details, so feel free to contact me at scooters76@hotmail or 802 238-9331.

Good curling,

Scot

Technorati Tags: curling, gmcc, greenmountaincurlingclub, vermont

Learn to Curl Clinic - Saturday, December 1, 2007

The GMCC is pleased to announce the next "Learn To Curl" clinic of the season to be held on Saturday, December 1st, at the LARC  arena in Morrisville, VT.  It will start at 9:00am and last about 3 hours.  You will learn the basics of throwing the stones, sweeping and generally playing the game.  The cost is $25 unless you have joined as a member, in which case it is included in your membership fee. Note that if you would like to just try out the sport, you can pay for the LTC clinic and then have that fee applied toward your membership fee if you decide to join later.

If you are would like to attend, please send an email to greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com so that we can get an idea of how many people are coming.  For information about how to get to the CREW arena and what clothing and shoes to wear, please see our Learn To Curl page.

GMCC Curling Calendar for 2007-2008

Some general comments about the schedule:

• Curling will be Saturday mornings from 8am to 12noon.  Games will start at 8:00 and 10:00.
• Members can choose to play in one or both games (assuming there is room - everyone will get to play at least one game).
• To pay for the ice time, there will be an "ice fee" of $10/game (i.e. you'll pay $10 or $20 each Saturday depending upon how many games you play).
• For insurance/legal reasons, you must be a GMCC member to play.
• Equipment will be provided if you don't have your own.
• Before you can play you must attend a "Learn To Curl" clinic which we will be offering on the first Saturday of each month.

The schedule of Saturday dates is as follows:

• 9/15 - Member Curling
• 9/22 - Member Curling
• 9/29 - Open House
• 10/06 - Lean to Curl & Member Curling
• 10/13 - Member Curling
• 10/20 - Member Curling
• 10/27 - Member Curling
• 11/03 - Learn to Curl & Member Curling
• 11/10 - Member Curling
• 11/17 - Member Curling
• 11/24 - No Curling
• 12/01 - Learn to Curl & Member Curling
• 12/08 - Member Curling
• 12/15 - Member Curling
• 12/22 - No Curling
• 12/29 - Member Curling <tentative>

2008 dates are still being finalized, but are currently planned for:

• 1/05 - Learn to Curl & Member Curling
• 1/12 - No Curling
• 1/19 - No Curling
• 1/26 - Member Curling
• 2/02 - Learn to Curl & Member Curling
• 2/09 - Member Curling
• 2/16 - Member Curling

Our season at the LARC arena will end in late February, but as we did last year we areexploring options for games at other facilities in March and April, as well as January when our access to the LARC facility is limited.  Stay tuned for more information.

GMCC Open House - Sept 29, 2007 - REGISTER NOW!

We are pleased to announce our Open House for the 2007/2008 season of curling in Vermont!

Saturday, September 29, 2007
9:00am - 12noon
CREW Ice Arena, Morrisville, VT

We will introduce people to curling, the facility, the GMCC and provide a chance for folks to try it out.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND, PLEASE REGISTER AT THIS URL (to help us get a count of participants): 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VuHh_2bj3zd3KGG_2bOAUcfEoA_3d_3d

Equipment will be provided.  There is no fee for attending the Open House, but we are asking participants for a $5 donation to help us defray the costs of the event.

DIRECTIONS: The CREW Arena is located in Morrisville, VT, just a bit north of Stowe. It's about an hour from Burlington and about 45 minutes from Montpelier. CREW has a directions web page or you can also use Google maps.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD - We have two flyers available to publicize the event. Please feel free to download them, print them out and post them wherever you can:

• Open House flyer with tear-off tabs
• Open House full-page flyer

Thanks for your help - and we look forward to seeing you all on Sept 29th to kick off our second season of curling in Vermont!

More information about what to wear:

CLOTHING

• Dress in layers.  You'll be standing on ice in a "cold room" for several hours. If you normally wear a hat outside, you'll probably want to wear one here as well.
• Clothing should allow freedom of movement. You need to be able to squat and lunge.
• Lightweight gloves to keep your hands warm while still allowing you to feel the stone.

FOOTWEAR

• Clean shoes. Carry, *DO NOT WEAR*, the shoes in which you intend to curl.
• Athletic shoes are fine, but try to use shoes that you don't wear outside. If you've worn them outside, just make sure you clean them before you curl in them.
• Avoid shoes with Eyelets or metal on top.
• If your feet tend to get cold, consider wearing two pairs of socks.
• The club has a limited number of slip-on sliders, and we provide duct tape for first time curlers.

Technorati tags: gmcc, green mountain curling club, curling, vermont

The lines are in at CREW and... WE HAVE PAINTED HOUSES!

Good news, GMCCers!  As the pictures below show, a group of GMCC members headed up to the CREW facility in Morrisville to help put down the lines for the curling sheets before CREW lays in the ice (which they do in June) and, the really big news is:

WE HAVE PAINTED HOUSES!

Yes, indeed, no more fat magic markers scribing out the lines each time we get there Saturday morning... and no more having to vaguely guess from the other end where the 4-foot or 8-foot rings are. For two of the sheets we now have nicely painted houses... and for the other two the houses are at least fully lined.

Hmmm, two plus two equals... but wait, you say, there were only three sheets - what's up?  Yes, indeed, we'll have four sheets this year - what about rocks? Well, stay tuned for an announcement about that.

We also now have lines going all the way from one end to the other which will be a very nice improvement.

Many thanks to Rich Dauphin, Mike Sitko, Shilo Allen, Jordan Engel, Connie Dollinger, Meg O'Donnell, Tish Orr, Scot Rose, Anita Natarajan, and Matt Guzowski for a job well done!

(Click on the images to see a larger version.)

       

 

Technorati tags: gmcc, vermont, curling, green mountain curling club

Facebook users - come join the GMCC Facebook group!

If any of you are Facebook users, I have created a Green Mountain Curling Club group inside of Facebook which you are welcome to join. (Please do!)  I'll be honest and say I'm not entirely sure yet what we'll be doing with the group besides cross-posting notices about upcoming GMCC events, but it seemed like something interesting to experiment with as yet another way to get the word out about the GMCC. If you are a Facebook user interested in curling in Vermont, please do join in and help spread the word!

Technorati tags: gmcc, green mountain curling club, vermont, curling, facebook

GMCC teams rock at Rochester, NY, bonspiel!

On the weekend of February 10th, the GMCC had two teams at the Francis Dykes Memorial Bonspiel in Rochester, NY. Congrats to both teams for making it to the semi-finals!

GMCC Team #1, pictured at right (click for larger picture) consisted of (L to R): Scot Rose (2nd), Thom Smith (Vice), Paul Nelson (Skip) and Mike Muzzy (Lead).  GMCC Team #2 was Mitch DeHond (Lead), Rich Dauphin (2nd), Rob Allen (Vice) and Mike Sitko (Skip).

Scot Rose sent along this report below on the weekend's activity.

---

Hello fellow curlers,

I just wanted to let everyone know that Green Mountain was well represented at the Francis Dykes Memorial Bonspiel in Rochester, NY. Both teams made it to semifinal games on Sunday.  We had a great time, and more curling in then we could shake a broom at.  We made some friends, drank too much, and slept too little.  We also learned a
little luck can go a long way.

I know my team learned quite a bit in our long weekend.  We are all better players now.  One thing this tournament hammered home was the spirit of curling.  Teams we beat were rooting for us throughout the tournament, and we found ourselves rooting for teams that beat us. Our most fun game was a semi-final game we lost, but both teams played well, and compliments were handed out on all of the great shots.

The schedule was crazy with 48 teams.  Games started at 7 AM, and the last game started at 11 PM.  We were garunteed three games, and most teams were eliminated after two losses.

For those of you who want to see how we did:

• Thurs, 9 AM: Green Mountain 2 (Mitch, Rich, Rob, Mike S) beat Rochester 4 (Rochester had 7 teams)
• Thurs, 5 PM: Green Mountain 1 (Mike M, Scot, Thom, Paul) beat Rochester 5 (great group of guys, the Skip ended up watching all ofour games)
• Thurs, 7 PM: GM 2 loses to Nashua 1
• Fri, 7 AM: GM 2 beats Schenectady 3
• Fri, 1 PM: GM 1 beats Schenectady 5 (Paul won the game on the last shot to take 4 points when we were down by 3 in the 8th end)
• Fri, 7 PM: GM 2 loses to Ardsley 3
• Fri, 11 PM: GM 1 loses to Potomic 4 (quarterfinal event A)
• Sat, 9 PM: GM 2 beats Rochester 6
• Sat, 11 PM: GM 1 beats Rochester 4
• Sun, 7 AM: GM 2 beats Broomfield 2
• Sun, 9 AM: GM 1 loses to Broomfield 3 (semifinal event B)
• Sun, 11 AM: GM 2 loses to Plainfield 1 (semifinal event D)
• Sun, 11 AM: GM 1 loses to Utica 1 (semifinal event C, they made their last shot to win)

Green Mountain 1 was 3-3, and Green Mountain 2 was 4-3.  We got an extra loss because we made it to the semifinals.  Green Mountain was 4-0 against the home teams, so we had some good natured resentment from the event coordinator.  The tournament was much more fun with two teams, which meant we had another team to cheer on when we weren't playing.  Unfortunately, Rich and gang will not be able to play in this one next year, so we need to get another team together of 5 and under curlers.

We had a lot of fun this past week.  My body is mostly healed from the sweeping and lack of sleep.  We will defintitely be doing more of these in the future.  Hope some of you can join us.

- Scot Rose

Technorati tags: gmcc, vermont, curling, bonspiel

Learn to Curl clinics are now all full for the 2006/7 season

Wow! We have had a phenomenal amount of interest in curling within Vermont with a great amount of people looking to become involved.  Unfortunately, though, for folks interested in learning curling this 2006/2007 season, our "Learn To Curl" clinics on January 6th and February 3rd are now completely full.  With our season at CREW ending on February 24th, this means that these will be the last clinics of this season.

The good news for any of you wanting to learn curling is that we will be starting up Learn to Curl clinics in the fall of 2007 with our intent to again run them on the first Saturday of each month.

Keep watching this page - and sign up for the "gmcc-announce" mailing list - to get the news about when we will be launching the first clinics in fall 2007.

Thank you all for your incredible interest and support in 2006 and we look forward to an even greater year in 2007!  Happy New Year to you all!

Learn To Curl clinic - Sat, Jan 6th

UPDATE: The Learn To Curl clinic for January 6th is unfortunately now full.  Our final LTC clinics of the year will be February 3rd.  Please send us an email if you would like to attend that session.

The GMCC is pleased to announce the final "Learn To Curl" clinic to be held on Saturday, February 3rd, at the CREW arena in Morrisville, VT.  It will start at 9:00am and last about 3 hours.  You will learn the basics of throwing the stones, sweeping and generally playing the game.  The cost is $25 unless you have joined as a member, in which case it is included in your membership fee. Note that if you would like to just try out the sport, you can pay for the LTC clinic and then have that fee applied toward your membership fee if you decide to join later.

If you are would like to attend, please send an email to greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com so that we can get an idea of how many people are coming.  For information about how to get to the CREW arena and what clothing and shoes to wear, please see the posting about our Open House in September.

Pictures now available from the Oct 28th curling

FYI, there is now a set of photos available from the October 28, 2006, curling games.  Feel free to check them out and see what GMCC curling at CREW looks like!

Curling Etiquette Tips

Good day my fellow GMCC curlers,

Thanks to everyone that responded to my request for curling etiquette tips.  I do appreciate all the positive suggestions.  Below is a summary of the inputs.   I am not the expert.  (Though before sending this note, I did review this summary with a few experienced curlers.)   Hope these hints are beneficial to others also still learning the game.   Thanks again for all the support and encouragement.
Good Curling!
Glenn Sjoblom

---

The House:  Multiple Skips have commented that too many people are hanging out in the house between throws.   Only the Skip and the Vice-Skip are allowed to stand in and behind the house.   Leads and seconds must position themselves between the hog lines unless throwing or sweeping a stone.  All players should position themselves as to not distract the opponent.

Scoring: The Vice-Skips should be the only curlers in the house after the last throw.  The vice-skips need the house uncluttered in order to agree on the score.  (Someone also commented that we need to remember to record the score after each end.).

Pace of Play: I can relate to these comments.  We do have a time consideration.   Everyone should be ready throw when they are "up".   (Slider on, stone at the hack, etc.)   For example, between ends, the Leads should prepare to throw and defer to the other curlers to arrange the stones.

Sliding "stuff":  A reminder that other than the stones, we should not be sliding other stuff (brooms, sliders, stabilizers, other curling aides, etc.) down the length of the ice. Besides poor etiquette, it can potentially create a safety issue.

Walking on the sheet:     A few comments that  we have people walking across the sheet when someone else is ready to curl. Reminder for us to respect the next person throwing.  At the same time, remember the sheets are very close together. We also need to stay off the playing surface of another sheet.

Learn To Curl clinic - Sat, Jan 6th

UPDATE: The Learn To Curl clinic for January 6th is unfortunately now full.  Our final LTC clinics of the year will be February 3rd.  Please send us an email if you would like to attend that session.

The GMCC is pleased to announce the final "Learn To Curl" clinic to be held on Saturday, February 3rd, at the CREW arena in Morrisville, VT.  It will start at 9:00am and last about 3 hours.  You will learn the basics of throwing the stones, sweeping and generally playing the game.  The cost is $25 unless you have joined as a member, in which case it is included in your membership fee. Note that if you would like to just try out the sport, you can pay for the LTC clinic and then have that fee applied toward your membership fee if you decide to join later.

If you are would like to attend, please send an email to greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com so that we can get an idea of how many people are coming.  For information about how to get to the CREW arena and what clothing and shoes to wear, please see the posting about our Open House in September.

Become a GMCC member today!

NOTE: Please note that this post refers to the 2006 curling season and that membership application is no longer available. For the most recent membership application, please visit the GMCC Home Page and click on the Membership link in the right sidebar.

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For all of you who have been eagerly looking forward to curling in Vermont, the moment is here - join the Green Mountain Curling Club today!  Our membership form is now available for download. Your membership fee for the season includes:

• Ability to participate in all GMCC events, both our Saturday schedule as well as other bonspiels or trips we may attend.
• Free equipment rental (brooms, sliders).
• Free "Learn To Curl" clinic.
• Membership (for adult members) in the GNCC and USA Curling, which allows you to participate in GNCC-sponsored bonspiels throughout the eastern US.
• Inclusion on a private email list to connect with other VT curlers.
• Free GMCC logo pin.
• Advance notice of special trips or other GMCC activities.

We've leased 3 sheets of curling stones, bought equipment and laid down the lines at the CREW arena - now all we need is you to join in the fun - BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

As noted on the application form, GMCC membership is $75 for adults, $45 for youth and includes all of the above.  Members then pay a $10/game ice fee for each game they play to cover the cost of renting the ice.

NOTE: You do not have to become a member to try out curling.  You can come to one of our "Learn To Curl" clinics for $25 - and if you like it enough to continue (which we bet you will!), you can just pay the remaining $50 to become a GMCC member.  Learn more at our Open House!

GMCC Curling Calendar for 2006/2007 season

We are very pleased to announce that the first season of curling in Vermont will begin with our Open House on Saturday September 30th, and then start with the regular season the following Saturday, October 7th.  Some general comments about the schedule:

• Curling will be Saturday mornings from 8am to 12noon.  Games will start at 8:00 and 10:00.
• Members can choose to play in one or both games (assuming there is room - everyone will get to play at least one game).
• To pay for the ice time, there will be an "ice fee" of $10/game (i.e. you'll pay $10 or $20 each Saturday depending upon how many games you play).
• For insurance/legal reasons, you must be a GMCC member to play. (We're working on a plan for guests of members.)
• Equipment will be provided if you don't have your own.
• Before you can play you must attend a "Learn To Curl" clinic which we will be offering on the first Saturday of each month. (Or show us sufficient expertise, ex. if you were on a curling team at the US Worlds, we'll let you skip the LTC clinic! ;-)

The schedule of Saturday dates is as follows:

• Sep 30 - Open House
• Oct  7 - Learn To Curl clinic
• Oct 14 - regular curling
• Oct 21 - regular curling
• Oct 28 - regular curling
• Nov  4 - Learn to Curl clinic
• Nov 11 - regular curling
• Nov 18 - regular curling
• Nov 25 - NO CURLING
• Dec  2 - Learn to Curl clinic
• Dec  9 - regular curling
• Dec 16 - regular curling
• Dec 23 - NO CURLING
• Dec 30 - NO CURLING
• Jan  6 - Learn to Curl clinic
• Jan 13 - NO CURLING (hockey tournament at CREW)
• Jan 20 - NO CURLING (hockey tournament at CREW)
• Jan 27 - NO CURLING (hockey tournament at CREW)
• Feb  3 - Learn to Curl clinic
• Feb 10 - regular curling
• Feb 17 - regular curling
• Feb 24 - Final game

On the days of the LTC clinics, the amount of regular curling may or may not be impacted. For the first event on Oct 7th, the LTC clinic may use all sheets, but in later months it may only be one sheet. We will see how it all works out, but we expect members will still be able to play on those days.

Our season at CREW will end on February 24th, but are exploring options for games at other facilities in March and April, as well as January when our access to the CREW facility is limited.  Stay tuned for more information.

GMCC Open House - Sept 29, 2007 - REGISTER NOW!

We are pleased to announce our Open House for the 2007/2008 season of curling in Vermont!

Saturday, September 29, 2007
9:00am - 12noon
CREW Ice Arena, Morrisville, VT

We will introduce people to curling, the facility, the GMCC and provide a chance for folks to try it out.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND, PLEASE REGISTER AT THIS URL (to help us get a count of participants): 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VuHh_2bj3zd3KGG_2bOAUcfEoA_3d_3d

Equipment will be provided.  There is no fee for attending the Open House, but we are asking participants for a $5 donation to help us defray the costs of the event.

DIRECTIONS: The CREW Arena is located in Morrisville, VT, just a bit north of Stowe. It's about an hour from Burlington and about 45 minutes from Montpelier. CREW has a directions web page or you can also use Google maps.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD - We have two flyers available to publicize the event. Please feel free to download them, print them out and post them wherever you can:

• Open House flyer with tear-off tabs
• Open House full-page flyer

Thanks for your help - and we look forward to seeing you all on Sept 29th to kick off our second season of curling in Vermont!

More information about what to wear:

CLOTHING

• Dress in layers.  You'll be standing on ice in a "cold room" for several hours. If you normally wear a hat outside, you'll probably want to wear one here as well.
• Clothing should allow freedom of movement. You need to be able to squat and lunge.
• Lightweight gloves to keep your hands warm while still allowing you to feel the stone.

FOOTWEAR

• Clean shoes. Carry, *DO NOT WEAR*, the shoes in which you intend to curl.
• Athletic shoes are fine, but try to use shoes that you don't wear outside. If you've worn them outside, just make sure you clean them before you curl in them.
• Avoid shoes with Eyelets or metal on top.
• If your feet tend to get cold, consider wearing two pairs of socks.
• The club has a limited number of slip-on sliders, and we provide duct tape for first time curlers.

Technorati tags: gmcc, green mountain curling club, vermont, curling

Stowe Reporter article highlights GMCC, CREW

FYI, the Stowe Reporter ran a great article last week titled "New winter sport on tap: curling" that talks about the efforts of ourselves and CREW to bring curling to Vermont.  Definitely worth a read!

VPT to Air Curling Segment Tonight (5/30)

Tonight (May 30) at 7:30, Vermont Public Television's Outdoor Journal will air a segment on curling featuring the Green Mountain Curling Club.  Check it out!

Please take our survey about curling in Vermont!

We need your help!  We are currently exploring an option to offer weekend curling this coming season at an ice arena in Morrisville, VT.  In order to determine if we can make this work, we need to collect information about the level of interest in and commitment to curling in Vermont. PLEASE take a few minutes to answer our survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=894542051780

PLEASE PASS THIS LINK ALONG TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN CURLING IN VERMONT!   

The more responses we receive, the stronger the probability that we can make curling available this year in Vermont!  Thank you.

Rich and Doug's Excellent Adventure.

For those who don't know, Rich and Doug are spending the week volunteering at the World Men's  Curling Championship in Lowell, MA.  If you have any interest in the sport of curling and want to see the best of the best, this is the pace to be.  This is only the first day, and we've seen some incredible games already: Sweden vs. Canada (Canada won after Sweden burned the last stone in 9th end);  Team USA defeated Irelend in the 11th end after stealing 3 in the 9th to go up by one and held Ireland to one in the 10th to go to the extra end).  There were too many unbelievable shots to describe.  Again, there are still plenty of tickets for the entire week.  We're not sure about Saturday and Sunday (4/8 & 4/9), but check out the WCC2006 web site, http://www.wcc2006.org/.  Rather than babble on, here are some pictures to whet your appetite.  This is so much fun!!  Stay tuned.

GMCC Open House - Thank You!!!

Wow!!  What a day!!  We hope all of you had as much fun learning to curl as we did introducing you to the sport.  The turnout (about 70 people) far exceeded our expectations.  Thank you for your patience as we tried to accommodate everyone.  The fact that many of you drove for more than two and a half hours just to get to the open house blows us away.  Your enthusiasm throughout the day was contagious, and as the season comes to a close, you've energized us to continue our quest to establish curling ice in Vermont.  Thank you so much for your support. 

If you have an comments or suggestions regarding the open house, please email us at greenmountaincurlingclub@gmail.com. 

Keep checking this web site for open house pictures.

GMCC Open House - Rendezvous locations

If the thought of driving alone to the Northeast Kingdom freaks you out (it really isn't that bad), feel free to meet us at one of several rendezvous locations.  Note that we will be leaving these locations at the times indicated in parentheses in order to arrive at the Curling Club at 9:15am.

The Merchants Bank on Route 15 in Jericho (depart 7:45am)

The Cambridge Park & Ride on Route 15 next to Angelina's Restaurant in Cambridge (depart 8:00)

The Park & Ride just off I-89 exit 8. (depart 8:15)
Kim will be there in her blue Honda Civic (Plate # BEG 553).
From Downtown Montpelier, head toward the interstate past the high school.  Just  past the light for Vermont Life is a right hand turn with no street sign. It does say "Train Station" on a small sign. The Park & Ride is immediately on the left.

Anyone interested in curling in Schenectady on March 18-19th?

We have been invited down to the Schenectady Curling Club in New York for a day of friendly curling on the weekend of March 18th and 19th.  Plans are still developing but one idea is that we would drive down there either Friday night or Saturday morning, play games all Saturday and then either head back or stay over and play some more Friday morning.

If you are interested in participating please e-mail Rich as soon as possible as he wants to get back to the Schenectady club soon.

Trip report for February 19th curling

Those of us near Burlington met in the early morning near Jericho to carpool and head on up to the Border CC.  After a snowy drive through the mountains we met up in Newport with a crew from Montpelier and all crossed the border into Quebec.  With a number of new curlers among us, Doug used one sheet for a morning clinic while 8 of us formed teams to play a game on the second sheet.  After lunch, Shilo arranged all of us into new teams and games started on both sheets.  Much fun was had by all! (Click on a picture to see a larger version.)

Welcome to the website of the Green Mountain Curling Club

Welcome to the website for the Green Mountain Curling Club!  Stay tuned as we post more information here about the club and our activities to bring curling to Vermont.