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Bowling Green Curling Association instructors taught the basics of curling to Cooper Findlay employees recently, directly preceding the Cooper group's first curling tournament. Winners were The Briers, named for a major Canadian men's curling championship, made up of Craig Busenbark, Richard Gobrecht, Rick Van Eman and David Meyer. Here, Craig, Richard and Rick pose with their new trophy, woodcrafted by Mark Thomas. The trio vowed this week that every succeeding year's plaque will show simply a year change and the word "ditto" for the winning team members.

Curling: It's Not Just for Olympians Anymore

"Broom harder!"

"Now stop!" cried the onlookers, while sweepers jockeyed their heavy, polished granite curling stones closer to the bull's-eye marked on the ice.

That was the scene, replayed many times, during a Feb. 16 Cooper curling tournament at Bowling Green State University ice arena. Thirty-two players, representing a cross-section of Findlay employees from technical, co-op, quality, information technology, environmental, research and development, transportation, manufacturing, accounting and Six Sigma, competed in the friendly games and visited Fricker's afterward to relive tournament highlights.

Although some have compared the game's slow pace to that of chess or baseball, curling is an Olympic sport that's akin to croquet, lawn bowling, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams of four take turns sliding granite stones across the ice toward a "house," or circular target marked on the ice, attempting to knock opponents' stones farther away while placing their own closest to the goal. Two sweepers with brooms accompany each stone and use stopwatches and their best judgment, as well as teammates' instructions, to direct the stones without actually touching them. Sweeping in front of a stone increases its speed and changes its angle.

The 32 Cooper curlers divided into eight four-person teams. None started out with much knowledge or experience in curling, which ironically made the event more enjoyable, organizer René Doré said.

"Everyone was on a level playing field, since everyone was new to the sport," said the Six Sigma black belt, a native of Quebec, Canada, where curling is more common.

Winners were The Briers, named for a major Canadian men's curling championship, made up of Craig Busenbark, Richard Gobrecht, Rick Van Eman and David Meyer. Second-place finishers were the Stone of Odin, named for the chief Norse god, which included Steve Weinstein, Jeff Opperman, Mark Thomas and Lee Kanney.

Participants uniformly praised the activity as an enjoyable experience that provoked intense strategizing – how to "broom" to knock opponents' stones from contention and earn the advantage for their own – as well as a surprising amount of physical exertion. Many reported next-day muscle aches.

"Thanks René, great job! I had a wonderful time," wrote Doug Pierce, a member of René's third-place-finishing team, Les Unibrouers, which was named after a Quebec microbrewery.

The most recent curling tournament was actually Cooper's second. René organized a prior event three years ago for Findlay technical people, and it proved so popular that he expanded this year's competition to include all the Findlay departments.

Within days of the most recent experience, some were clamoring for an encore. René said he'd be more than happy to oblige, and even suggested it as a team-building exercise for customers, new employees, executives or fund-raising groups.

David Meyer, a member of the winning team, The Briers, shows his style.

Tournament photos courtesy of Bob Ratcliff