Hot Shots in Oakville

Welcome to The Curling News Blog. First post: dateline Oakville, Ontario.

It's the second Hot Shots Fantasy Camp of the summer – the first was Aug. 26-28 – hosted for the first time at the Oakville CC. The Hot Shots sees "campers" invade for a weekend full of curling coaching, training, hits & tips, advice and fun both on and off-ice, accompanied by a small army of "celebrity" curlers and certified national coaches.

Kudos to Hot Shots organizer David Gravelle and of particular note was the remarkable ice conditions at Oakville. Truly gorgeous ice – 25 seconds with tremendous curl in all four directions – is a rare thing before October, and particularly during the hottest summer in many years. There wasn't a hint of condensation on the viewing glass, and a quick convo with ice guru Scott Foster – congrats on the new arrival Scott and Melissa! – revealed the key: Oakville's power plant is so enormous, they were using only 1/3 of their total power output to run the ice plant... even in thirty-degree heat. Hey now.

A fun weekend... and what's more, roommate Glenn Howard didn’t even snore. Much.