43
Rock on: Spencer embraces love for curling
Boardman native competes for BG
By Charles Grove
Curling might not have the glitz and glamour of more popular sports, but it provides Elizabeth Spencer and her team an opportunity to compete on a national level.
The Boardman native, now a resident of Toledo, recently competed in the USA Curling Arena Ice Nationals in West Chester, Pa.
Spencer’s Bowling Green team was one of 18 female teams competing last month. Spencer’s team finished fourth in her pool of six teams featuring competitors from California, Minnesota, South Carolina, Michigan and Missouri.
“We won a few games, we lost a few games,” Spencer said. “It was kind of what I thought would happen but we were pleasantly happy with how well we did.
“For my team being so young and new to the sport, we could’ve gone and lost every game but we didn’t. I was proud we handled our own.”
Spencer said she had no idea curling clubs and leagues were in northwest Ohio and began to look around when she began watching the sport during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“I can remember as far back as college being interested and watching it and then when we had the last Olympics they advertised learn to curl lessons.
“I was happily surprised there was such a thing in my area so I immediately went out and tried it and basically jumped on every league and event since then because I love it so much.”
Spencer describes herself as “obsessed” with the sport and has traveled to participate in tournaments when work allows her to. Her experience led to her being the skipper, or de facto captain, of her team that participated in West Chester.
The skipper generally directs the initial thrower where to aim the rock and has the pressure and responsibility of throwing the final two rocks of each end, the curling equivalent of an inning.
“It often comes down to tricky shots sometimes with the last two shots,” Spencer said. “When you’re throwing first you get used to throwing the same shot over and over again and you get a real sense of where the rock is going to go.
“But with my position you have to be a little more flexible. I might have to throw a rock lighter in order to block all the rocks behind it or I might have to throw something hard enough to knock other rocks away.”
But trying to hit a mark on a flat sheet of ice sometimes is just as difficult as it sounds.
“I’ll tell my teammates, ‘OK. Put your broom here’ and I’ll walk down to where I throw and I’ll think, ‘That looks a lot farther away than what I remember.’”
Arena Ice is quite a bit different than ice used specifically for curling. To an outsider you might think ice is ice. But ice used in hockey arenas reacts differently and more unpredictably than ice used only for curling.
“On ice made for curling you can watch the rock travel down and get a real sense for where it’s going,” Spencer said. “But on arena ice, if I’m on the right-hand side waiting for it to land on the left, I need to put the broom in a completely different place to get the shot we need. You have to get in there and troubleshoot to figure out how the ice is behaving.”
The competitiveness of the sport as well as the friendly nature after the contest is one of the things Spencer enjoys most.
“You hang out after and the winner buys the loser beer so it’s a nice little bonding experience after every game,” Spencer said. “That’s one of the biggest reasons I enjoy it so much.”