Let's Hear It for Neon-Orange Skips' Brooms

Most of you have probably known about this for quite some time, but only during the 2007 Scotties have I noticed that nearly all the skips (and vices, when they are skipping) use a neon-orange coloured brush/broom to provide a target for the curler who is delivering the rock.

I expect they use these brooms because they stand out and are much easier to see when settled into the hack. And from the perspective of a television viewer, the neon brushes certainly are much easier to see. It looks as if each team has just one of these brooms/brushes, and it is used by whomever holds the broom.

It reminds me of the time when a catcher in major league baseball (who? Lance Parish, maybe?) had a pocket of neon orange sewn into his catcher's mitt, hypothesizing that it would make a more visible target for the pitchers. It didn't catch on in baseball. I expect it will in curling, though.

At the club level, I've often threatened to put some neon-orange tape on my own broom for when I'm skipping, just so the other players can see the broom more clearly.