- Oct 27, 2009
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skidmark said:I curl in a league, and I can guarantee that the biggest performance-enhancing drug (or maybe, more accurately, just 'drug') used at the club level is beer. There's an omerta in curling about the overuse of this drug, and they have it dialled into the very systems that support curling... for instance, in my curling club there is a little speaker box in the middle of the rink that athletes and team members can discreetly go to in the middle of a game, call up to the bar, and have the waitress bring down however many beers the athletes feel like popping at the time. The effects are numerous and sometimes subtle - the lack of inhibition to allow you to yell 'hurry!' or 'whoa!' a little bit louder, the extra need to lean on the broom as you go down the ice to increase sweeping power, the lack of focus necessary to avoid the pressure of a tough shot. All minor adjustments, but that makes all the difference at that level. And as far as a recovery drug, I can attest to seeing almost all curlers drink a few beers - openly - after every game, sometimes to the point where they're not even themselves at the end of the night, stumbling and getting friends to drive them home. If you're not drinking beer, you'll get smirks and laughs from the other curlers, and nobody even dreams of speaking out against it. Omerta, man, it's pretty crazy.
I'm comfortable discussing this behind the veil of anonymity that the internet offers, but I guarantee that if any of my teammates knew I was writing this, I'd be looking for a new team next week.
You could probably sell this story as an expose'. That is too funny!