Ways of Use

Trainings

The most obvious way of use of Curl+Ray is trainings focused on players' ability to deliver rocks with certain weights. Before, during trainings someone with hand stopwatch had to be on ice, measure time, trying to put in on paper for statistics and so on. But now it is not needed. All that coach needs is to write down results from Indication Board.

Second way of trainings is trainings on smooth release. How? See details below.

Weight trainings

It is very important in Curling to know how to deliver stones with certain weights. If you will be able to do 3.3, 3.6, 3.9 and so on with 90% probability then, be sure, soon you will participate World Curling Championship.
So trainings could be following:

Each curler tries to deliver a stone with the same defined weight (2.8 or 3.7, or 4.0). Each one tries 10 times. Coach writes down results of each delivery for further analysis.

Each curler tries to deliver a stone with +0.1 weight (or -0.1 weight). For example - 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, ... 3.8, 3.9, 4.0... and so on or backwards. Coach writes down results of each delivery for further analysis.

Each curler tries to deliver a stone with random weight defined by Coach. (2.8, 3.3, 2.8, 4.0, 3.6, 2.9...) This is very useful, since during a game you deliver stones quite random, and you will be successful in this exercise, you will be successful with most of weights. Coach writes down results of each delivery for further analysis.

Please note that writing down the results and tasks for each shot is very important. 

Since having statistics you will be even more effective in your exercises!

Smooth release training

Curl+Ray gives you ability to practice in smooth releases. It is unobvious in the beginning, but it is fact. You will be able to use Curl+Ray during your trainings, but you will not be allowed to use it in official competitions. Thus it is very important to be able to be synchronized between Curl+Ray and your hand stopwatch.

But even if calibration is 100% correct you might have not correlating results. This can be due to release. You can additionally push a stone, or pull it back trying to slow it down, and it will affect stone's final velocity in proper way, but average velocity that you will measure with hand stopwatch will be different.

To avoid that you can do a simple exercise. Place Curl+Ray on hog-line, and during deliveries measure stone weight with common hand stopwatch, compare results with Curl+Ray results. If two values are the same, then release was correct and smooth. If hand stopwatch value was greater, then curler pulled the stone. If smaller - pushed it.

Don't forget to write down all results - both values and task.

Balancing of sliding rate of team

During use of Curl+Ray you might notice, that it's results perfectly correlate with hand stopwatch for some of your team mates, but for some they are always wrong.

In this case you have to check your sliding surfaces. There is variety of sliding surfaces and they differ by friction coefficients. Some are faster, some are slower. And, of course, deceleration rate also will be different.

When you practice stone weight with hand stopwatch you measure average stone velocity instead of final. And since each player slows his motion in different way (because of different sliders), their final velocities will be different, but average - the same. You will see the same weight on your hand stopwatch, but Curl+Ray values will be different. This may cause different sliding techniques and weight correction during deliveries.

Once you notice that, make a simple test. Ask all of your teammates to slide with the same weight. Perform measurements with Curl+Ray and with hand stopwatch. It is very important to have smooth release during this test, to eliminate additional influence on stone beside the friction force. It Is also important to deliver stone to the same place on ice sheet (tee for example).

Compare results. If for some of your team mates have deviation, then his sliding surface is different. If Curl+Ray shows greater values than hand stopwatch, then player slides better than the rest. If smaller, then his slider is slower.

Now you know how to improve your sliding abilities with Curl+Ray!