Sophomore Jay Saltmarsh is currently competing in the US Curling Junior National Championships in Devils Lake, North Dakota, which began on the 7th and goes until the 14th of February. Jay’s team includes Wayland High School graduates Alex Leichter (’08) and Jeffrey Wadsworth (’06), as well as Jared Wydysh of Utica, New York, and Ryan Hallisey of Medfield, MA.
Saltmarsh began curling at age seven, when he went to an open house at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland to try out the relatively unknown sport.
“I started curling competitively when I was eleven, but this year is the first year I have made it to the Nationals,” Saltmarsh told WSPN. Saltmarsh and his team have confidence in their goals for Nationals and are striving to finish in the top four, if not first.
The team will represent Massachusetts in the 21 and under competition, one of ten teams from across the US. The champion of the week long event will then represent the United States at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada.
Curling is a strategic team sport, similar to shuffleboard, where two teams of four take turns sliding granite stones down a rectangular sheet of ice. Two sweepers accompany each stone to the target (called the house) and sweep in front of the rock in order to reduce friction and alter the direction and speed of the stone. The complex strategy and accuracy required for this game lead many to call it “chess on ice.”
If you are interested in following the team’s progress throughout the competition, games will be broadcast on the Internet at www.usacurl.org.
fhhgh • Feb 11, 2009 at 1:15 PM
GREAT JOB JAY
mziz • Feb 10, 2009 at 5:41 PM
Wow! Congrats to Saltmarsh. I knew he was into curling but I didn’t know he was this good! Congrats to him and the team — hope they make it far. Also thanks for explaining the rules of curling, as I previously thought it was a form of golf.