My Tour inside the K-Rock Centre!

The Scotties took over the K-Rock Centre at 12:01 am on Monday to start making the ice. Hockey ice is different than curling ice. First they had to flood it, then it was too slippery so they scraped some ice off. The crew was working all night! They painted white over the lines on the hockey ice. They then sealed the paint with water. Next, they made, painted and sealed the circles (house) and the logos. The painting was all done by hand. The strings (for the centre line, back lines, etc. ) where then put in and were sealed. There was a 1/2 to 3/4 inches of more ice put on.  Around the 4 sheets of ice there is carpet. Under the carpet  there is styrofoam and insulation. They then scraped the ice some more. The ice is expected to be finished on Thursday.

I also learned about the rocks. The rocks belong to the icemaker Mark Shurek (click here for an article about him in The Whig). The handles belong to the CCA. The handles were just used last weekend in the Canadian Juniors and came to Kingston straight from Alberta. The rock handles have lights that indicate hog line violations. The players need to tip the rock to activate the lights. The rocks had to be frozen. The crew sanded the bottom of the rocks to get more curl. Carbon paper was used to map the bottom of each rock. This is used to match the impurity of the rock. They try to match rocks for each position. The rocks for the skip and vice are the best matched.

If the weather doesn't cooperate, then the K-Rock Centre has fans that control the humidity to 55-70%. The surface of the ice needs to be around 24-25 F. Alex also talked to me about dew point. The dew point is the relationship between the humidity and temperature. When it isn't the right temperature, then the ice gets frosty. After 5 ends there is a mopping done to get the frost off the ice. They put the pebble on the ice at the dew point temperature. Everything is monitored by computers and sensors on the ice.  Players can monitor the ice conditions online.

Ice making has a lot of science in it!

When I got there, TSN started setting up their cameras!

Eventful Day!

I had a very eventful and exciting day today!  First there was a CCA article written on my team and I. It was well written and I got a lot of attention for my blog!  Thank you Jean Mills for writing the article and to Candace-Rose Gagnon for taking the pictures!  Then, after school, I got a private tour of the K-Rock Centre and I saw the ice, the media scrum area, the TSN broadcasting booth, the locker rooms,  the statistical benches, and so much more!  Thank you to Brian Ward, Vice Chair in charge of the facilities for giving me the tour, and Alex McKinney, who is the Director of Ice, for explaining how the ice is installed.

The ice is going in at the K-Rock Centre!

The ice at the the K-Rock Centre is being transformed from hockey ice to the curling ice!  I'm so excited!  Check out the Official Scotties Facebook Page for some behind the scenes pics! https://www.facebook.com/scottiestournamentofhearts

Team Information

Hey Scotties Fans!

If you want to learn some more about the teams coming to Kingston or get in touch with them, here is some information you might find useful.

Also, here is a link to a page with all the team's pictures - http://www.curling.ca/championships/scotties/teams/ so you know who to look out for in Kingston!

Canada - Team Nedohin: www.teamnedohin.com or teamnedohin@gmail.com

British Columbia - Team Scott: www.teamscottcurling.ca/ or facebook.com/TeamScottCurling or info@teamscottcurling.ca

Alberta - Team Moore: no official team sites found but skip Kristie Moore was the alternate for Cheryl Bernard's Silver medal winning team at the 2010 Olympics (http://olympic.ca/team-canada/kristie-moore)

Saskatchewan - Team Shumay: no official team sites found but Jill Shumay's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/jill.shumay

Manitoba - Team Jones: www.teamjenniferjones.com/ or www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Jones-Curling/172427911171

Ontario - Team Homan: www.teamhoman.com/ or www.facebook.com/teamhoman or teamhoman@gmail.com

Quebec - Team Ross: no official team sites found

New Brunswick - Team Crawford: no official team sites found

Nova Scotia - Team Arsenault: www.teamarsenault.ca or https://www.facebook.com/TeamArsenault12 or teamarsenault2012@gmail.com

Prince Edward Island - Team Birt:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Birt/206864802702054

Newfoundland and Labrador - Team Devereaux: www.teamdevereaux.com or www.facebook.com/TeamDevereaux or stacie_devereaux@yahoo.ca

Northwest Territories/Yukon - Team Galusha: www.facebook.com/TeamGalusha or teamgalusha@hotmail.com

Kingston's getting ready for the Scotties

The ice making is under way at the K-Rock Centre.

There are also approximately 420 volunteers in red jackets and 70 in charge of the 50/50 draw.  They are kindly taking time out of their own lives to organize this event.  Most of the volunteers are from Kingston and the surrounding area but some are from all over Canada.

Latest Poll Results

In the latest poll, the question was:  Have you bought your tickets yet? 66% of you had said that you have bought your tickets already.  33% of you said that you are going to buy your tickets.

Thank you for those who participated in my poll.

Make sure you check out my latest question!

Sandra Schmirler Foundation

As part of my project, I would like to raise money for, and awareness of, the Sandra Schmirler foundation.  For those of you who don’t know, Sandra Schmirler was an amazing curler who died at the age of 36 from cancer. “The Sandra Schmirler Foundation is a registered charity established in honour of Sandra’s lasting legacy as a loving mother and the skip of Canada’s first Olympic gold medal curling team. Recognizing that "Champions Start Small", the Foundation raises and donates funds across Canada for the care of premature and critically ill babies and to help develop future champions through direct funding to junior curlers.” (from sandraschmirler.org) 

Usually at school, we wear a uniform.  On Friday February 8th, students at my school (King's Town School) will bring $2 to wear their regular clothes. I’m also going to ask families at my school to make additional donations if they would like.

I am also encouraging my curling club (Cataraqui Golf and Country Club) to participate in the Curling Club Challenge. This challenge is to see which club can raise the most money for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.  “The three curling clubs with the largest contributions (for equity, based on club size which is calculated by the total donation divided by the number of sheets of ice) will receive pairs of tickets to a 2014 major curling event (Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Tim Hortons Brier or Ford World Championship), courtesy of the Canadian Curling Association.” (from sandraschmirler.org) 

Is any other club up to the challenge?

Each year, the Foundation has a telethon during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.  This year it will be on Sunday, February 17^th. 

Let's make the Kingston 2013 Scotties telethon the best year ever for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.  Please open your hearts and wallets for this great cause!

If you would like to donate or would like more information about the Foundation, please visit www.sandraschmirler.org