Not Even A Laser Can Solve This Curling Conundrum

In Elite 10 curling action on Friday night, two opposing stones ended up so close to the center of the rings that the teams needed increasingly sophisticated technology to measure any difference in distance—and even then, it couldn’t solve their problem. And if what Canada’s Sportsnet calls “the most bizarre curling play of the year” doesn’t interest you, this whole sequence is worth watching the for the very Canadian dialogue alone.

That’s Brad Gushue who took the shot, and Reid Carruthers leading the other team. The gentlemanly back-and-forth between the players is both endearing and hilarious. “Do you know how to do this?” someone asks, as Carruthers brings out the big measuring stick. “Put a little more oomph on it this time,” chirps one of his teammates when he initially can’t call a victor.

“Let’s laser it,” the teams decide next, bringing out an impartial measurer with some fancy tech. “It’s the wave of the future,” says the announcer, who’s not a fan of the primitive “wobbly stick” they use first.

But even though using a laser to settle a curling question is awesome, the next-gen machine can’t do anything to differentiate the distance. In the end, the teams concede that it’s a tie, and Gushue goes on to win, 3-0.

A piece of paper doesn’t look so ridiculous now, does it?