Dada becomes BCCI President ~ know the game 'Curling' !

Cricket fans are elated – a ‘3-0’ whitewash – we never expected South Africa to fold so easily.  Lungi Ngidi's bizarre dismissal on the fourth morning in Ranchi - caught off a ball which hit the non-striker - mercifully brought a quick end to what has been an utterly shambolic series for South Africa.  Nadeem is on a hat-trick and not sure how long he will have to wait to bowl that golden ball !   .. another bright thing that has happened is Sourav Ganguly as BCCI President.  Wearing his captain's blazer - he is the first India captain to head the board in 65 years -   though  his term is only for 10 months, he spoke of the issues piled up in his inbox. "Things need to be brought back in place, reforms need to be done, huge amounts of money need to be paid to state associations." ~ and away from Cricket there are other sports too – have never heard of this game ‘Curling’

Sourav Ganguly elected as BCCI President with Ex EC Sri Gopalaswami Iyengar

Saskatchewan is a province in western Canada, the only province without a natural border !  It has an area of 651,900 square kilometres, nearly 10 percent of which is fresh water, composed mostly of rivers, reservoirs, and the province's 100,000 lakes.  What a heaven it sounds to the water-starved places like Chennai. Saskatchewan's population primarily live in the southern prairie half of the province, while the northern boreal half is mostly forested and sparsely populated.  As the place is landlocked with large distances to moderating bodies of waters,  its climate is extremely continental, rendering severe winters throughout the province.   Europeans first explored the area in 1690 and first settled in the area in 1774. It became a province in 1905, carved out from the vast North-West Territories, which had until then included most of the Canadian Prairies. In the early 20th century the province became known as a stronghold for Canadian social democracy; North America's first social-democratic government was elected in 1944. The province's economy is based on agriculture, mining, and energy.

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends. The player can induce a curved path, described as curl, by causing the stone to slowly turn as it slides. The path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms, who accompany it as it slides down the sheet and sweep the ice in front of the stone.  The game has the  nickname of "chess on ice".

Curling was included in the program of the inaugural Winter Olympic Games in 1924 in Chamonix although the results of that competition were not considered official by the International Olympic Committee until 2006. Curling was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Games, and then again after a lengthy absence in 1988 and 1992. The sport was finally added to the official program for the 1998 Nagano Games. Since the 1998 Olympics, Canada has generally dominated the sport with their men's teams winning gold in 2006, 2010, and 2014, and silver in 1998 and 2002. The women's team won gold in 1998 and 2014, a silver in 2010, and a bronze in 2002 and 2006.

The curling competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Gangneung Curling Centre. The news is -  Aly Jenkins, a well-known Saskatchewan curler, died Sunday from complications that arose during the birth of her third child, Sydney. She was 30. Family and teammates were told Jenkins died from amniotic fluid embolism, a rare, often fatal occurrence. Reports further stated that Sydney is currently in critical condition and has been placed in a neonatal intensive care unit according to a GoFundMe set up to support the family. As of late Tuesday afternoon, more than $84,000 has been raised.

As a curler, Jenkins competed at women's provincials two years in a row. She played lead for Team Sherry Anderson, which was one shot away from qualifying for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in the 2018-19 season. "She was] a competitor who absolutely loved to compete and had a clear passion for our sport, just a happy person to be around, a fun person to play against," Curlsack ED, Howard said.  "She's someone who wanted to win, but she would beat you with a smile on her face," said her teammates.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

23^rd Oct 2019.