SocialMeeting
Introduction to Curling, Saturday January 20th
The January KLUG social will be an introduction to curling. As the nearest curling barn is in Owatonna, it will require a minimum of a half day commitment. It will be Saturday January 20th from 1-3 pm (plus 1 hour drive each way). This may be extended slightly past 3 pm if there is continuing interest and stamina as well as ice availability, and/or socializing afterwards at an Owatonna restaurant. (IBM Crew suggests hitting Cabellas restaurant for Buffallo Burgers afterwards!)
What is curling? Curling is a sport played on ice, involving both physical skill and strategy. The basics can be picked up quickly by anyone, from kids to retirees. For the purposes of this introductory session, please do not bring children who do not have at least a 2 hour attention span or are under ~90 pounds (you have to shift stones that weigh 42 pounds).
The two hour session will include both classroom and hands-on instruction.
There is no direct cost for this instruction, although donations towards ice maintenance would be happily accepted. Indirect costs include gas to get to Owatonna, a meal or snack out afterwards if anyone desires, and signing your life away (waiver). You also have to put in the time ahead of time to clean the bottoms of a pair of tennis shoes that you can *carry* into the curling barn for use on the ice.
What to bring:
-Clean tennis shoes to be CARRIED in (you must wear a different pair of shoes/boots to get to the curling barn). Attack the soles of your shoes with a letter opener or other mildly sharp and pointed object, removing every little stone from between the cracks. Then wash the bottom of your shoes using soap and water. Dry thoroughly. This is to remove anything that can scratch or melt the ice surface. I recommend doing this the night before.
-Wear loose, warm, layered clothes. We're going to be on ice, and want to use as much flexibility as our bodies have. Jeans don't work well, sweat pants are a much better choice.
-Family, friends, coworkers (sign them up ahead of time)
-A smile!
Other items to note:
-There is no smoking in the curling barn
-You MUST have clean shoes to be allowed on the ice
-Curling is a gentleman's sport. Good sportsmanship will be practiced at all times, and therefore cursing is not allowed.
-Carpooling is encouraged. A good place to carpool from is the south east corner of the Cinemagic (Stadium 12) theatre, near Westfire.
-I'm not a certified curling instructor. If you want a certified instructor, there are certified instructors who occasionally teach at Burnsville (http://www.dakotacurlingclub.org/), but these happen rarely. Usually people join the sport by attending semi-organized or impromptu introductory sessions taught by other curlers, such as this one.
Directions:
The drive takes about an hour. Do NOT use Mapquest to find the Owatonna Curling Club, you'll end up in a residential district. The curling barn is in the Steele County Fairgrounds, immediately north of the 4 Seasons Ice Rink. To get there:
-Take Hwy 14 West to Owatonna
-Take the County 45 (Cedar Avenue) exit (I believe this is the second of the three Owatonna exits), go north (right)
-Take the second right (east), onto County 39 aka 18th Street SE. This is an intersection with a stoplight.
-Go one short block, turn north (left) onto South Elm Street. You should now be going by the grandstand at the Steele County Fairgrounds (on your right).
-Just after the stop sight, and immediately north of the Four Seasons ice rink, turn left (west) into the parking lot. It's the unassuming building set back from the road with a sign that says "Owatonna Curling Club", and the traditional multicolored concentric circles (called a house).
-Come on in! Please wipe/stomp your feet as much as possible as you enter, keeping debris out of the curling barn is important.
To sign up, please add yourself to the sign up sheet (below). If you need wiki write access, please email the list. Otherwise you can send an email directly to me with this information, I can update the wiki for you.
Primary date: Saturday January 20th
| Name | # including family | # of nonfamily | Carpooling? Driver/passenger/either |
| Tina Wood | 1 | 0 | Not this time |
| Jim Evans | 1 | 2 | |
| Eldon Nelson | 1 | 0 | either |
| Tim Massaro | 1 | 0 | |
| Amber&Nathan King | 2 | 0 | Kings & Willetts are carpooling |
| Sara&Zack Willett | 2 | 0 | |
| Margi Sitzer | 2 | 0 | |
| Steve Fox | 1 | 0 | |
| your name here |
Tentative cap of 10 people, with preference given to Kluggers and their families, in sign-up order. If >10 sign up, I'll try to get additional instruction help but that's not guaranteed. Tim can help with the rules and questions
Potential secondary date: Saturday January 27th. Depends on interest level
| Name | # including family | # of nonfamily | Carpooling? Driver/passenger/either |
| Tina Wood | 1 | 0 | Not this time |
| your name here |
Please let me know if you have any questions. If anyone else in the club has some experience curling and would like to assist in the instruction, shoot me an email. Hope to see you there!
Tina
Suggestions for future socials
If you like the idea, please let us know!
-Bowling
-Paintball
-Canoe trip (this would have to be at least a half day trip to the Root River)
-Ice cream social
-Picnic
-Frisbee golf
-Whistle Binkies / Westfire / Beetles / other locations with adult beverages but still smoke free
-Walk
-Xgames
-Movies, such as Deja Vu
-Discussion of experience of being an election judge, next time we meet someplace that's not too loud
-your suggestion here, please
Root River Canoe Trip
Our next social meeting will be Saturday September 9th, meeting in the RCTC east parking lot (the big one) at 11:15 am, or at the Little River General Store in Lanesboro at 12:30 pm. It will be a flatwater canoeing day trip on the Root River, bring your friends and bring your family!
Please sign up by Thursday at noon to indicate you're coming, and who you're bringing with you.
| Name | # of canoe paddlers | # of canoe center sitters (small children) | #solo kayakers | # double kayakers | Carpooling as driver/passenger/either |
| Tina Wood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes, either |
| your name here |
More information
I'm guessing that we'll want to catch the last shuttle of the day (we'll have to meet in Rochester 11:15 am for return at 6:30 pm. To catch the earlier shuttle we'd have to plan to meet in Rochester at ~9:15 am for return at 4:30 pm, or ~7:15 am for return at 2:30 pm). We'll meet at the Little River General Store to rent our canoes at 12:30 pm. Be aware that the drive time to Lanesboro is estimated at a full hour, by Mapquest. If there is a willingness to carpool, those people will meet at 11:15 am in the RCTC east parking lot. If anyone is going to lobby for an earlier departure/return time, lobby early and loudly.
The river portion of the trip is estimated to be ~4 hours. I recommend bringing a picnic lunch and beverage (save the alcohol for when you're not on the river, please). Also remember that what you carry in should be carried out, so bring a way to haul out your trash. The rental cost is $35 for 4-5.5 hours for a canoe, with additional charges for center-sitters 12 years or older. Solo kayak rentals are $30 for the same time, tandems are an extra $10. Tube rentals are not available. I'd estimate our return arrival time as approximately 6:30 pm, unless people wish to go out for dinner together in Lanesboro before heading back to Rochester. More rental details can be found at Little River General Store, and your Mapquest destination is 105 Coffee Street, Lanesboro.
Bring small enough change that you can work together with another paddler to share a canoe/kayak, if that's in your plans. I know this will be a bit more costly than most KLUG socials, with canoe rental + gas + food, but I'm looking forward to it. Submit your information here, or email it to Tina (who will post it for all to see). If there are <2 canoes (4 paddlers) worth of participants signed up by Thursday at noon, the trip will be cancelled. Thursday noon is the deadline because reservations must be made on Thursday. If we get lots signed up, I may be able to negotiate a group discount, we'll see. Email me if you have questions.
Recommended packing list
-sunscreen & sunglasses
-glasses guards
-bugspray
-water
-picnic lunch
-garbage bag
-weather appropriate clothes
-FULL set of dry clothes for in the car afterwards
-$$ (in cash)
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but ripples.