Curling event possible due to ‘fantastic co-operation’

The brooms were sweeping and the single malt flowing near Cardrona yesterday, as teams from across Otago gathered for one of the country’s largest outdoor curling events.

For the first time since 2018, the Cardrona Curling Club hosted about 120 players for Curling at Altitude, an event that takes place on a specially crafted rink at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground (SHPG) on the Pisa Range.

Simon Ellis, a member of the Cardrona Curling Club, said the event was possible due to the "fantastic co-operation" of the SHPG, which set aside a section of its vehicle-testing site for the competition to take place.

While Curling at Altitude was intended to be an annual event, each of the past four years have been hindered by a mixture of Covid and unfavourable weather conditions.

This necessity for perfect playing conditions, in addition to demand for the SHPG’s facilities, means the club is given 48 hours’ notice by the SHPG before the event takes place.

"So we then had to contact all these clubs and say, ‘right, you’ve got two days to put a team together and get here and take advantage of this wonderful day’," Mr Ellis said.

From 9am yesterday, in temperatures as low as -1°C, teams took to the ice bundled in colourful jerseys and hats denoting their club of origin, some from as far away as Oamaru.

"You’d probably say that curlers have the ugliest look about them. The most casual," Mr Ellis said.

Cardrona Curling Club treasurer Barney Sundstrum said the day had gone "really well", and the ice, made of compressed snow via a machine, presented a unique challenge to the players.

"It’s a very different sort of ice than what we usually play with. It’s slick. Subtlety’s needed."

With games typically lasting 90 minutes, players had traditionally developed a reliable trick for keeping warm, Mr Sundstrum said.

"Anti-freeze — often called Scotch. Or if you’re just going on colour, it’s a cup of tea."

Despite the casual nature of the event, Mr Ellis said there were still certain rules that applied during play.

"The rules of curling are there’s no swearing on the ice, there’s no drinking on the ice and there’s no titles on the ice.

"And you’re never to put down the opposition, and you must always be positive in your comments."

Mr Sundstrum said the camaraderie between players and even opposing teams was key to the success of events such as Curling at Altitude.

"It’s the banter. If you listen to these guys, you get some very amusing people."

regan.harris@odt.co.nz