In one of the episodes of “Broomgate”, the narrator recalls the first page of the modest Curling rules book. “Curling is a game of skill and tradition. A well-executed release is a pleasure to see. A true player never tries to distract his opponents or prevent them from playing with his best, and would rather lose to win unfairly.”
Judging by the podcast, this climate of camaraderie and companionship has remained since the launch of the first granite stones in the Lakes of Scotland in the 16th century to this day. Not even the rules have changed much.
Until, in 2015, the emergence of a new super-abrasive broom almost destroyed this fraternal aura of the sport. Big stars were astonished to be defeated by rivals with the new equipment, with game strategies and movements never seen before.
The brooms not only created unequal playing conditions – they were changing the way of practicing the sport.
John Cullen, a semi -professional comedian and Curler, rescued this story in a brief six -episode series. He, by the way, had a certain part in the whole quarrel, since he presented to the inventors of the new broom the team of a starring athlete who would begin to promote it in the professional circuit.
Well structured, the documentary takes the microphones to the main characters of the whole controversy: from the inventors of the new broom, consecrated and defeated athletes, and people who had the power to decide what to do with them.
For non -initiates, the curling is a kind of hook with swimming rink with pool elements. The game consists of launching almost 20 -pound granite blocks on an ice rink towards a target. With each round, two teams alternate at the launch of eight stones each – in addition to aiming at the target, players can choose to reach the already positioned stones.
Scannings, on the other hand, give the thin adjustment to the launch: by rubbing the ice in front of the moving stone, they can slightly change their trajectory or make it go further. Punctuates the team that has the nearest stone to the center of the target at the end of each round.
The ice chess followed his trajectory without disturbance. Until two entrepreneurs from a sports equipment brand decided to try their luck at Dragon’s Den, the Canadian “Shark Tank”, a TV show where entrepreneurs present investors ideas.
Hardline owners, the Manavian brothers had something revolutionary in hand: with a fabric created by a secret inventor, their icepad was able to reduce friction between stone and ice like no other. It was enough to receive a good contribution – which would even allow one of the brothers to leave the work as a postman to dedicate themselves to the company.
Icepad would be as unbeatable as threatening. With her, the control over the trajectory of the stones by the sweepers became so great that they even compared it to a joystick. In addition to being easier to direct them, the broom also allowed the granite blocks to reach longer distances, as it greatly reduced friction with the track.
It turns out that, until that moment, there was nothing in the rules of the game that established specific rules for the material of the brooms, nor that the teams should use equal equipment. Worse then for those who didn’t have the new broom. It would not take long until another brand came up with an even more abrasive broom, Black Magic, which allowed greater control over the stones than the pioneer icepad.
The dilemma resolution will be found at the event that became known as the “Varition Conference”, when Curling’s sports, scientists and bureaucrats gathered to finally define whether or not the new technology should be welcomed.
The unusual story is told with involvement by Cullen. Even in times of more dramatic inflections, it doesn’t sound excessive, but gives the series a style of its own that contributes to building a mood of mystery as tense as it is fun.
There is gravity in the situation, after all, it is an Olympic sport suffering an essential decharacterization. At the same time, it is a conflict that unfolds in a modality that still seems to safeguard a community dimension between those involving in it.
“Broomgate” is also supported by telling this story by accessing his main characters from the creators of the transgressive brooms to the great stars of the sport that starred in his use or his contestation.
There is a bit of specific terms of curling, but the series makes a reasonable effort to situate the un familiar audience with the sport – being a Canadian podcast.
For Brazilians, there is an inevitable strangeness with a modality that most often remembers as an expression of what is different – that is what is even more fascinating the dive in the stories of this sport.
