It's the last Thursday before Christmas, and up on the hill, at Curl Sudbury, that means it's time for squad curling - with a twist.

"There is a different element in this league with a scramble," noted local curling vagabond Tom Cull, who has enjoyed a lengthy affiliation with the sport, all while forging allegiances with a variety of different clubs in the area over the course of several decades on the ice.

"We have about 24 or 26 people that choose to play scramble," he continued. "People will move around and play on different teams, in different positions. The teams will shuffle around. It's great, for instance, for new curlers, who don't know a lot of people at the club."

And it is one of the many initiatives that have Cull and much of the remaining Curl Sudbury membership feeling positive about the direction of the club. "There is a really good vibe around the club," noted the newcomer to the senior curling circuit, open to folks fifty years old or beyond.

"People want to interact. Even if it's a good quality team playing a brand new team, the scoreboard doesn't matter. Everybody is having fun."

For as much as the Thursday post-game festivities involve a slew of familiar faces, it is the curling neophytes who really get Cull and other seasoned curlers excited. "We have a new team this year from Stack Brewery," said Cull. "They rotate curlers, they love learning about the game, and they want to have fun."

"I think that rubs off on other people."

Now curling would not be curling if not for the presence of at least of handful of curlers whose sights are fixated on the scoreboards and the standings. "Certainly, there are teams that want to be competitive," Cull acknowledged. "I think I'm too old and I've been around too long to be competitive."

"It's fun to just hang out and enjoy the game."

Like most who will make their way to the storied old building off Howey Drive two to three times a week or more, Cull is grateful for the efforts of Tom Leonard and club management to try and address some of the infrastructure challenges, projects that included installing a new concrete-based floor foundation during the summer.

"We're getting much more consistent ice now," said Cull. "At the start of the season, there was a lot of humidity up in the ceiling, which really affected the ice. It was slow, slow, slow in the first end, but lightning fast in the second. Now, we are ending up with fast ice, right out of the hop, with a lot of curl - but that is probably from the new rocks more than the ice."

It's a setting that even appeals to the ultra-competitive. On this night, both Jacob Horgan and Jessica Leonard are out getting in a little bit of extra practice, with both locals part of a four team Sudbury contingent taking part in the Best Western NOCA U21 Provincial Championships from December 28th to the 30th in Hearst.

This will be Horgan's first crack at the event with his new team of Scott Mitchell (vice), Mitchell Cortello (second) and Chase Dusessoy (lead), with the rink not yet firing on all cylinders. "We've had a pretty up and down season, but we're feeling confident," said Horgan.

"If we find our up game, I would think we're heavily favored. If we find our down game, we might be running into some trouble." Joining Team Horgan in Hearst, on the men's side of the draw, will be rinks skipped by Jonathan Vellinga (Kakabeka Falls) and Nick Lemieux (Community First - SSM), with teams playing a double round robin and the top two meeting in the final.

Certainly, the Horgan crew have faced the stiffest tests leading into the NOCA provincials, perhaps, at times, to the detriment of the talented quartet. "I think we may have had a little bit of a challenge with burnout," said Horgan. "We had a really long schedule, a lot of men's events as well, events where we had to bring our "A" game, or we went home with no cash, went home on Sunday morning."

Additionally, Horgan is adjusting to playing as skip on a full-time basis, after spending the bulk of the most recent years as a vice to older brother Tanner and their crew. According to Horgan, both back-end positions can present their own challenges, with skip rocks not automatically always the toughest shots to make.

"It really does vary from game to game," he said. "Some games, you might face really tough shots (as skip) - runbacks, draws to the button, tough hit and rolls for one. But if things are going nicely in the end, your last two shots could be very easy, perhaps a guard or an open draw to the eight foot, or a wide open hit."

"Those are some of the easiest shots in curling."

Hard to say exactly how many easier versus tougher ends were encountered by skips of the dozen teams which competed at the NOCA Senior East Qualifier last weekend in Espanola. Either way, once the dust had settled, Sudbury squads secured more than half of the five berths that were up for grabs towards the Northern Ontario playdowns, set for January 16th to 18th in Sturgeon Falls.

With multiple trips to nationals already to their credit, the Robbie Gordon Curl Sudbury rink of Ron Henderson, Dion Dumontelle and Doug Hong reeled off three straight wins to slot into the "A" qualifier, beating Keith Furevick (7-3), Jason Strelezki (6-5) and Larry Pallot (5-3) along the way.

His two Sudbury opponents both recovered nicely, as Team Furevick (Marc Rivard, Luc Gelinas, Jeff Bell) won three straight, lost to David MacInnes of Timmins, before upending Bruce Munro of the Idylwylde (8-4), while the Copper Cliff crew of Jason Strelezki, Chris Gordon, Alastair Giles and Craig Ramsay posted a record of 4-2, with a Sunday win over Dan Lemieux of the Sault to advance.

And in one final deadline-beating tidbit, the team skipped by Vicky Barrett recorded a rare eight ender as part of Friday Squad League play at Curl Sudbury. Also, that same venue is hosting a free curling session Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the club, for anyone interested in simply stopping by to throw a few stones or more.