A New Look At The No-Backswing Delivery

A short historical review

The no-back swing delivery has quickly become popular, both in Canada and throughout the world. At the Canadian Junior Championships in Winnipeg in 1989, the Quebec team, skipped by Martin Ferland, was the only one using it. At the Canadian Junior Championships in Vernon, B.C., in 1992, three of the four finalists (male and female) were using it, including the two winners.

At the 1993 World Junior Championships, only the two Canadian teams used the no-backswing delivery. These days, at any national or international junior competition, the majority of teams are using it.

A technical retrospective

When the ice is fast or when not much weight is needed, it is now generally accepted that the no-backswing delivery is easy to learn, for both beginners and curlers who are switching from a conventional delivery. To get unanimous agreement among curlers, however, a way must be found to get enough leg drive to throw takeouts, especially when peel weight is called for.

To do this, two factors are essential. First, the hips must be kept low, both during the pull-back and the weight transfer for delivery. Clearly, the lower the hips are during pull-back, the more the knee of the hack leg will be flexed. This will allow a stronger drive by the hack leg during delivery.

Secondly, and vitally important, is the weight transfer. This is started by bringing the hips well back during the pull-back, putting the body weight over the sliding foot when the pull-back is completed. From this position the weight can be transferred during the delivery phase. The weight is transferred from the sliding foot to the hack foot and back to the sliding foot to complete the delivery. This weight transfer is essential for throwing heavy shots.

A new approach

Until very recently it was thought that the more weight that was called for the longer one had to delay the forward movement of the sliding foot. It seemed logical, since the longer one waited the more weight transfer would be used.

(Let me digress a little. This body weight transfer discussion takes for granted that everybody knows what we are talking about, but maybe that isn't the case. What exactly do we mean by "weight transfer" ? It is really quite simple. The transfer consists in moving the body weight from one foot to the other. The simplest example is in walking which consists of transferring one's body weight from one leg to the other. Weight transfer is one of life's earliest learned skills.)

During the no-backswing delivery, the weight transfer is completed when the sliding foot is in its sliding position.

Holding the sliding foot behind the hack for the longest possible time makes for a good weight transfer, but there is a drawback. It forces the curler to make a quick and sudden movement of the sliding foot at the completion of the forward push, compromising both the quality and the balance of the slide.

The solution

The pull-back

: At the completion of the pull-back, all of the body weight must be on the rear foot (the sliding foot).

Forward push

: Start the forward movement by moving all one's body weight from the sliding foot to the hack foot. When all the weight is on the hack foot, lift the sliding foot and bring it forward to its sliding position (rather than leaving it back); BUT KEEP IT ABOVE THE ICE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP A MORE EXTENDED WEIGHT TRANSFER. Clearly, while the transfer is taking place the hack leg will be providing the proper drive (depending on the weight required).

The amount or duration of the weight transfer will vary as the weight of the shot called for and the same will apply to the drive provided by the hack leg.