What to Know
- Although a popular Olympic sport, the rules of curling bring about several questions for many.
- Curling features a chess-like strategy using stones, also known as rocks, and brooms.
- The objective of curling is to place as many stones near the center of the target.
What are the basics of Curling?
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What is the objective in the game of Curling?
The objective of curling is to place as many stones near the center of the target. Amid the clattering of the rocks and the shouting and sweeping and chess-like strategy, curling has a simple goal: position as many stones as possible closest to the center of the target. All that is left then is to tally up the points.
Who gets last stone in curling?
Here are three common tactics that athletes use during the game:
- A guard shot: It is purposefully short of the house in order to prevent the other team from knocking out other stones.
- A draw shot: A stone that is being guided towards the center of the house in order for the team to win and score.
- A takeout shot: A hurtling stone that may knock the opposing team's stones off the house or target.
What is the goal of Curling?
The main goal of curling is to get your stone as close to the center of the target house as possible (think: like a bullseye in darts) and the team who gets the closest earns these points. A point is awarded for each stone located within the target bounds of the house.
What is the main object of curling?
Curling features two teams of four players sliding a large, granite stone on a rectangular sheet of ice. The goal is to deliver the stone from one side of the sheet to the circular scoring area on the other side, called the house. The closer to the center of the house, known as the button, the better.
What are the objects in curling called?
The curling stone, or rock, is made of dense polished granite from Ailsa Craig, Scotland, and in the Olympics, each rock weighs 19.1 kg (44 lbs).
What equipment is used in curling?
Curlers wear special shoes with one sliding sole to allow them to slide down the ice when delivering the stone. Flat rubber soled shoes or trainers are ideal for beginners as step on sliders are available at the curling rink.
What is the curling object made of?
To play curling, a set of stones are needed. They are made of a special type of granite and weigh almost 20 kilos each. Each curler has their own brush and a pair of special curling shoes with one sole that grips the ice and one slippery sole – called a Slider – to be able to slide with a stone during delivery.
What are the brooms called in curling?
curling brushThe curling brush is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone. Sweeping is done for several reasons: to reduce friction underneath the stone, to decrease the amount of "curl", and to clean debris from the stone's path. It is also often used as a balancing aid during "delivery of the stone".
What is the curling stone called?
Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet toward the house, a circular target marked on the ice.
What is the science behind curling?
The theory goes like this: like a glass pushed across a table, a curling stone leans forward slightly. The extra pressure at the front of the stone partially melts the ice at the leading edge, creating a thin film of water that reduces the friction at the front of stone compared with the back.
Where do the curling stones come from?
They are hand-crafted at Kays Curling's workshop in Mauchline, Ayrshire, using granite from the island of Ailsa Craig. The company's stones are the only ones used in competition by the World Curling Federation.
What is the playing surface called in curling?
The playing surface in curling is called "the sheet.". Sheet dimensions can vary, but they're usually around 150 feet long by about 15 feet wide. The sheet is covered with tiny droplets of water that become ice and cause the stones to "curl," or deviate from a straight path. These water droplets are known as "pebble.".
What is a draw curling shot?
The third major type of curling shot is the "draw," a shot that's meant to avoid other stones and come to rest in the house.
What is the game of curling?
Curling is a game of strategy, tactics and skill. The strategy depends on the team's skill, the opponent's skill, the conditions of the ice, the score of the game, how many ends remain and whether the team has last-stone advantage (the hammer ). A team may play an end aggressively or defensively.
What is curling ice?
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet toward the house, ...
How many digits are needed for a curling scoreboard?
The club scoreboard is traditional and used in most curling clubs. Scoring on this board only requires the use of (up to) 11 digit cards, whereas with baseball-type scoring an unknown number of multiples of the digits (especially low digits like 1) may be needed.
How much does a curling stone weigh?
The curling stone (also sometimes called a rock in North America) is made of granite and is specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 38 and 44 pounds (17.24 and 19.96 kg), a maximum circumference of 36 inches (914.4 mm) and a minimum height of 4.5 inches (114.3 mm).
What is a delivery stick in curling?
The cue holds on to the handle of the stone and is then pushed along by the curler. At the end of delivery, the curler pulls back on the cue, which releases it from the stone. The Canadian Curling Association Rules of Curling allows the use of a delivery stick in club play but does not permit it in championships.
What is the highest score in curling?
Eight points – all the rocks thrown by one team counting – is the highest score possible in an end, and is known as an " eight-ender " or "snowman". Scoring an eight-ender against a relatively competent team is very difficult; in curling, it is considered the equivalent of pitching a perfect game in baseball.
When was curling first played?
The first curling club in the United States was established in 1830, and the sport was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden before the end of the 19th century, also by Scots. Today, curling is played all over Europe and has spread to Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea.
Where did curling originate?
Curling is associated especially with Scotland, where the game dates to the early 16th century. Paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder dating from about the same time are evidence that the game was also played in the Low Countries, but it was Scotland that promoted the game worldwide.
What is the brush used for curling?
A distinctive part of the game is the use of a brush, or broom, to sweep the ice in front of the sliding stone. This is a tradition carried over from the days when curling was played outdoors on frozen lakes; it was necessary to clear the snow to provide a path for the oncoming rock.
When was the Grand Caledonian Curling Club founded?
The Grand Caledonian Curling Club was organized at Edinburgh in 1838 (royal patronage made it the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843) with the announced purpose of becoming an international body. The International Curling Federation was founded there in 1966. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
What is the oldest curling club in the world?
The oldest club in the United States is the Orchard Lake Club near Detroit, Michigan, founded in 1832.
Why do curlers use brooms?
The broom is also used by the curler for balance during delivery of the stone and by the skip to indicate where the curler should aim.
When was curling first held?
Curling was a part of the inaugural Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix, France, in 1924, but that event was not considered official by the International Olympic Committee until 2006.
How much does a curler hack weigh?
The hack, a rubber block used by the curler to get a push, is located behind the back line. The stone weighs an average of 18.1 kg (40 pounds) and cannot exceed 19.9 kg (44 pounds); its circumference cannot be more than 91.4 cm (36 inches), and its minimum height is 11.4 cm (4.5 inches).
What is curling?
Curling is a sport played on ice with two teams pitted up against one another. Each team has four players in the men’s and women’s events, while the mixed doubles competition features two athletes (one man and one woman) per side.
What are the Olympic curling rules?
A game of curling is broken down into ends. An end is complete once all the stones have been thrown.
How does curling scoring work?
The object of curling is to land the stone as close to the button/tee, which is the innermost of four concentric circles located inside the house. But not every stone is thrown with the same intention. Sometimes teams will use a stone to knock the opponent’s stone (s) outside of the house or to guard their own stone (s) within the house.
How many curling ends are there per game?
In the women’s and men’s events, there are 10 ends with each player throwing two stones per end. In the mixed doubles event, there are eight ends with each player throwing five stones per end.
What is a curling hammer?
A hammer is the last shot of an end. A coin toss at the beginning of the game determines who shoots first in the opening end. The winning team in an end shoots first in the subsequent end, while the other team gets the hammer. If no team scores in an end, then the team with the hammer keeps it.
How much does a curling stone weigh?
A curling stone must weigh between 38 and 44 pounds. The average curling stone is 42 pounds, which is equivalent to the weight of about 30 basketballs.
What are the dimensions of a curling sheet?
A curling sheet is the surface where the sport is played on. The sheet is between 146 to 150 feet long and 14.2 to 15.7 feet wide. The button is 93 feet away from the hog line.
What's The Object of Curling?
What's with The Sweeping?
- Remember how we talked about the pebble of ice droplets that the rock has to travel across? When the stone touches the pebble, there's friction, which can slow down the stone and makes it curl away from its straight path to the house. Obviously, that friction is not always a good thing, but sweeping helps combat the problem. The sweeping motion raises the temperature of the ic…
What About All The Yelling?
- Each curling team has four members: a lead, a second, a vice-skip (or third), and a skip. Each "end" (curling's equivalent of a baseball inning) involves both teams shooting (or "delivering") eight stones at the house, with players delivering two stones apiece. When the lead, second, and vice are delivering their stones, the skip stands at the opposite end of the sheet (near the house) and …
How Do You Keep Score?
- In each end, both teams send eight stones down the sheet. Once all 16 stones have been delivered, the team with the stone that's closest to the button (center of the house) effectively "wins" the end. Only this team will earn any points for the end. It gets a point for each of its stones that are in the house and closer to the button than the other team's closest stone. Since the tea…
What's The Hammer?
- As you might have guessed from reading about the scoring system, throwing the last stone of an end is a huge advantage. If you've got the last stone, you can always try to knock the other team's best stone away from the button. If a team holds the last stone for an end, it "has the hammer," and should probably be able to score some points. If the team without the hammer manages to …
So Is There Strategy Involved?
- Yes, there's all sorts of strategy in curling. Let's say your team doesn't have the hammer. You're at a huge disadvantage when it comes to scoring points, so you might opt to play defensively. To do that, you might just deliver a number of "guards," or rocks that will sit in front of the house and provide an obstacle for the other team's stones. Alternatively, guards can be used to defend you…
Overview
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet toward the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with ea…
Gameplay
The purpose of a game is to score points by getting stones closer to the house centre, or the "button", than the other team's stones. Players from either team alternate in taking shots from the far side of the sheet. An end is complete when all eight rocks from each team have been delivered, a total of sixteen stones. If the teams are tied at the end of regulation, often extra ends are played to brea…
History
Evidence that curling existed in Scotland in the early 16th century includes a curling stone inscribed with the date 1511 found (along with another bearing the date 1551) when an old pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland. The world's oldest curling stone and the world's oldest football are now kept in the same museum (the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum) in Stirling. The first writte…
Equipment
The playing surface or curling sheet is defined by the World Curling Federation Rules of Curling. It is a rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible, 146 to 150 feet (45 to 46 m) in length by 14.5 to 16.5 feet (4.4 to 5.0 m) in width. The shorter borders of the sheet are called the backboards.
Scoring
The winner is the team having the highest number of accumulated points at the completion of ten ends. Points are scored at the conclusion of each of these ends as follows: when each team has thrown its eight stones, the team with the stone closest to the button wins that end; the winning team is then awarded one point for each of its own stones lying closer to the button than the opponent's …
Curling culture
Competition teams are normally named after the skip, for example, Team Martin after skip Kevin Martin. Amateur league players can (and do) creatively name their teams, but when in competition (a bonspiel) the official team will have a standard name.
Top curling championships are typically played by all-male or all-female teams…
Terminology
Terms used to describe the game include:
The ice in the game may be fast (keen) or slow. If the ice is keen, a rock will travel farther with a given amount of weight (throwing force) on it. The speed of the ice is measured in seconds. One such measure, known as "hog-to-hog" time, is the speed of the stone and is the time in seconds the rock takes from the moment it crosses the near hog line until it crosses the far hog line. If thi…
In popular culture
• The Beatles participate in a game of curling during one scene of their 1965 film Help!. The villains booby-trap one of the curling stones with a bomb; George sees the "fiendish thingy" and tells everyone to run. The bomb eventually goes off after a delay, creating a big hole in the ice.
• The 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service features scenes of curling.