Curling Innovation III

Hello. The third inovation announced at the Masters of Curling (which will be used in the next Grand Slam of Curling tournament) will be a change in the clocks used to time how long a team takes. Before Team A's clock started when Team B's rock stopped, and ran until Team A's rock stopped. Now, the time the teams "think" (which I assume is from when Team B's rock stops until Team A's rock starts) will only be timed.
How big a difference will this be? Plenty. What happened to teams that got behind was they had to start throwing draws with most of their shots. Meanwhile, the leading team threw mostly takeouts. The time gap then began to widen just because of the shot being played, not the strategy.
By timing the decision time only, the teams with the better strategy and team communication will be rewarded. And that's how it should be. As mentioned in an article last week, I learned from watching all these great rinks on the ice at the same time that the teams that took less time to discuss strategy were the most successful. They should not be penalized if they get behind.
One thing I've always tried to do is be ready to throw my shot when it's my turn. If nothing else, I want to be known as a fast player, even though we don't have time clocks. I saw firsthand this strategy is the way to go.
If your team is considering turning your team name into "The Turtles", you may want to reconsider your pace of play. It may produce more wins.

Regards,
Steve