Secret weapon available to public
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/02/2011 (5590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
CALGARY — New curling broom technology developed in secrecy for Canada’s Olympians is now available to the masses.
The Equalizer broom head features a strip of insulation which directs more heat onto the ice while curlers are sweeping, making the rock travel further with less effort.
The technology was developed by the University of Western Ontario under Own The Podium’s Top Secret program. Own The Podium spent about $8 million heading into the 2010 Olympics coming up with technological advances for Canada’s athletes.
UWO still has the patent, but sold the licensing rights to BalancePlus, a Milton, Ont., curling supply company. A company co-founder says they’ve moved “thousands” of the Equalizer brush heads, at $30 each, in just three months.
“Since we made them available in November, we’ve had a difficult time keeping up with requests,” Scott Taylor said.
“Anyone who has curled many games in a row, whether it’s two a day or three in a row in a bonspiel, and on that last end the skip throws a little light and you’re the one that’s supposed to sweep it, you’re pretty happy if it’s easier.”
Many recreational and elite curlers are embracing the Equalizer, but surprisingly Canada’s Olympic teams are not. The Kevin Martin and Cheryl Bernard rinks, winners of gold and silver medals respectively at last year’s Winter Games, don’t use it, even though the technology was initially designed for them.
Martin isn’t convinced his front end of Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy, considered the strongest sweepers in the world, can get much more out of the new technology.
Bernard’s Calgary team used them at the Olympics, but haven’t since.
“I need to see more proof and my team feels the same way,” Bernard said. “Did it make a difference? Like my lead said ‘When you have 7,000 screaming fans screaming for you to sweep a rock, you have a lot of adrenaline… I don’t know.”
Martin says he just doesn’t believe there’s enough of an advantage to warrant a switch.
— The Canadian Press
