Locum tenens and curling: from misunderstood to the next big thing
Although the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are now in the bag, the water cooler banter lives on. Here at Global Medical, the sport that has taken center stage is not the Super G or hockey, but the oft-derided and very misunderstood sport of 
curling. So enough with the beer jokes already; curling is NOT shuffleboard with brooms on ice, and Tim Smart, our venerated Assistant Comptroller, is here to enlighten us. You see, Tim - who started curling two years ago - is a fanatic. In fact, he now trains at the Kerns Olympic Oval, the home arena to curling and more at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games.
Tim says the lackluster aura that has surrounded the sport is not lack of interest, but lack of knowledge. Since the sport debuted at the Nagano Games in 1998, in fact, curling has practically gained rock star status, and it was one of the hottest tickets at the Vancouver Games (highly appropriate, given that Canada is the most curling-rabid country on the planet). It also explains why Canada took the Gold in Vancouver, something Tim predicted would happen. He didn't put money on it, but he's still gloating.
Also, curling is the only Winter Olympic sport that increased its TV audience from 2002 to 2006. Online, the 2006 women's skip, Cassie Johnson, nearly beat out Bode Miller on the nbcolympics.com list of most-trafficked athletes. And in Vancouver, NBC aired 100 hours of curling, plus live-streaming video. Really? Curling? Give it a chance, says Tim. And let him dazzle us with his knowledge of the game.
Curling involves two teams of four players each who take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones across the ice curling sheet towards the house - a circular target marked on the ice. The purpose is to get your stones to rest closest to the center of the house at the conclusion of each end. When each team has thrown their stones, the one with the highest score wins.
What's with the brooms? The curler (who throws the stone) can induce a curved path by causing the stone to slowly turn as it slides, but the path of the rock is further influenced by two sweepers who accompany the stone down the sheet, using the brooms to alter the state of the ice in front of the stone. There is actually a great deal of strategy and teamwork that goes into choosing the ideal path and placement for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine how close to the target the stone rests.
Turns out, curling originated in Scotland in the late 16th century. In fact, the granite stones used in curling still come from a protected island off Scotland called Alisa Craig. According to Tim, no special skills are really needed to compete in the sport, after all, our humble friend reminds us, he does it. You need flexibility enough to get off a good slide, which has all of us in the office stretching.
Perhaps a locum experience in New Zealand or Australia might be just what a rolling stone needs to learn how to slide a stone. However, don't call it "curling" Down Under. There, it's "the roaring game" because of the noise the stones make as they slide over the frozen droplets of water that adorn the ice surface. So as the Kiwi's say, "have a go!"
You'll also find plenty of rabid curling fans in the U.S., where you'll find a whole ‘lotta locum going on. There's a national governing body of the sport, USA Curling, which sponsors events, offers memberships and training for every level, including juniors and wheelchair curling. Got curling fever? You'll find arenas everywhere from Anchorage, Alaska to Wilmette, Illinois. Learn more about clubs near you. And don't blame us when you become addicted, blame Mr. Smart.