BRANDON, Man. — Getting the measure of curling stones injected some drama into Brad Gushue's opening weekend at the Canadian men's curling championship.
Up 5-4 in the seventh end against Ontario's Scott McDonald at the Tim Hortons Brier on Saturday, a measurement was required to determine which team owned second shot.
It was a tense moment. A deuce for McDonald would have given Ontario a 6-5 lead against the defending champions.
As an official measured, measured and measured again, and then called in a second official, the murmuring at Westoba Place increased.
Five measurements and two officials later, it was determined both stones were exactly equidistant from the pin in the centre of the button.
"For 22 years, I would have said it was like a hole-in-one or an eight-ender," Gushue said. "It's extremely rare, but we've had three in the last two or three years."
The tied stones negate each other, so McDonald scored just a single point against Gushue, who ended up winning 7-6.
Curling Canada rules state: "If two or more stones are tied, then none of the tied stones shall count and only stones closer to the tee than the tied stones shall be eligible to be counted. If the tied stones are to determine which team shall count in that end, the end shall be considered blank."
Curling's measuring device that's been used for eons is a 1.8-metre piece of metal with a pointed curve at one end digging into the pin.
The arm has a slidable clock-face micrometer that rubs up against the side of the stone nearest to the button.
But there is now laser technology with a digital display that can measure the distance of stones from the pin.
The laser is used on the World Curling Tour, as well as the Brier in pre-game draws to the button to determine which teams starts the game with hammer.
But the technology hasn't been field-tested enough to use in Brier games, so the old standby gets trotted out whenever eyeballs fail to resolve a stalemate between two stones.
Gushue thinks the laser will eventually make the measuring stick obsolete, but he doesn't quite trust the technology yet.
"Before we get to the laser, we've got to get to the point that whatever we develop or come up with, it's solid and you can't manipulate it," he said.
"When it goes into the pin, it has to be such that there's no wiggle room. Sometimes when you put it into the pin, you can wiggle it around and play with those numbers.
"I think the laser would make it much faster if we got it consistent enough."
Gushue was in a similar situation in the World Curling Tour's Elite Eight last year.
In a game against Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers, both the measuring stick and a laser determined shot stones were tied, which blanked the end.
"I went so long without seeing one or having one happen to me and then to have three in this short period of time, it's kind of interesting," Gushue observed.
Measurements have provided both entertainment and controversy over the years.
Among the memorable measures, Colleen Jones won the 2001 Canadian women's curling championship final in Sudbury, Ont., on a measurement.
An umpire inadvertently moved a rock during an extra-end measurement in the opening draw of the 2002 Brier, which cost Quebec's Francois Roberge a victory.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
