Professor chips away at art of curling

LONDON, Ontario (CBC/NBC) - Some would would say there's an art to curling, but a researcher in London, Ontario has looked into the science of the sport in an effort to help Canada's Olympic curling teams.

Most of his results are being kept secret until after the Winter Games, but some of what he is allowed to tell us might surprise curling fans.

Ask any curlers, and they'll likely tell you that sweeping helps them guide the rock by melting the ice.

However, a biomechanical engineering professor doing research over on sheet five has blown that myth right out of the water.

It's the first thing Tom Jenkyn's research discovered at the University of Western Ontario.

"If you do it in one place pressing really hard, you probably will melt the ice," said Jenkyn. "But as you're moving down, if you can imagine you're sweeping back and forth as the rock moves, you really only get one sweep on that patch of ice before you're moved on to the next one."

Jenkyn used an infrared camera to measure the temperature of the ice as the sweeps do their work down the rink.

They don't melt the ice but rather warm it up a degree or two.

Jenkyn's research is funded by Canada's own, the Prodium Program - which is spending $22 million on Winter Olympic research.

The ice-melting myth is just one result of dozens of other findings that he's only allowed to share with officials, coaches and players.

"We're sworn to secrecy," said Jenkyn. "We've signed confidentiality agreements not just for the Olympics but right until June 10, 2010."

Curlers like Jenny's provincially ranked research assistants expect the results to eventually trickle down.

"I don't think, I mean, people who play once a week are really going to benefit from this knowledge, but people who are competitive might," said Megan Balsdon at the University of Western Ontario.

For now, the university professor is only hoping this will help give Canada's curlers an edge.