Some say it is rarer than a hole-in-one at golf. Others say it the equivalent of scoring a 300 game at 10 pin bowling.
Everyone agrees an 8-ender is the Holy Grail of curling, a feat that almost defies probability.
Achieving it requires a team to get all eight rocks inside the rings, all closer to the centre button than their opponents’ rocks.
When Joy McLean’s Rink scored an 8-ender during the Barrhead ladies curling league on Tuesday night there was thunderous applause and cheering.
And no wonder. Some asked: Has this ever happened before in Barrhead?
Other curlers stopped playing to salute the fantastic foursome: Leahan Schaffrick (2nd), Karla Montgomery (3rd), Joy McLean (skip) and Jessica Luciuk (lead), who was a sub as the team’s regular fourth curler was not able to appear.
True to the spirit of the game, the defeated opponents joined in the heartfelt congratulations. Photographs were then taken to record this little piece of local sporting history. They show that Joy McLean’s Rink scored an 8-ender by about an inch; that was what separated two rocks thrown by each team.
The winning quartet can now expect to receive a special certificate and pin from the Canadian Curling Association.
Last Friday, skip McLean reflected on the week’s drama. As the last one to throw, you might have thought she felt enormous pressure.
Fortunately, however, she was so focused that she had no idea what was at stake – even as everyone else held their breath. Ignorance proved curling bliss, sparing her from a bout of nerves.
“I was completely unaware,” she said. “I was just thinking about throwing well for the team.”
McLean admits scoring an 8-ender requires luck mixed in with strategy and skill.
“The last rock thrown by our opponents picked something up which took it off line,” she said. “It seems the stars were aligned and we were destined to get an 8-ender. We definitely had luck on our side.”
McLean said she had been curling for about 20 years and never come close to an 8-ender. Nor had she witnessed one.
“I’m not sure how close we’ve come – maybe we got five or something like that,” she said.
Barrhead Curling Club manager Tammy Caughlin was in no doubt about the scale of the feat.
“This is an extremely rare achievement,” she said.
This weekend the ladies’ bonspiel takes place and Joy McLean’s Rink will be among the teams competing.
What are the odds for another 8-ender?
