Curling 101 - The Basics of the Olympic Sport of Curling

Curling 101

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

What Is Curling?

• Originated in the 1500's on the marshes of Scotland

• A team sport played on ice • Curling is an Olympic medal sport • Two teams of four players each slide

42-pound granite rocks down a sheet of ice 140 feet long by 15 feet wide

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The rocks are delivered from one end of the sheet to the other toward the center of a 12-foot diameter target

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The Object of the Game •

The Object : “Throw” rocks closest to the center of the 12-foot ring to score points

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The targets are painted into the ice just below the surface at both ends of the sheet of ice

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The game to be played back and forth, usually eight or ten times

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Each player throws two rocks toward the target, alternating with the opponent. Rocks traveling down the ice will curve anywhere from six inches to six feet.

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After all sixteen rocks have been thrown the score is determined.

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Teams score one point for each rock closest to the center of the house without an opponent's rock closer. In each end (similar to an inning in baseball), only one team can score.

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What are they doing to the ice? •

A unique part of curling is the concept of sweeping. Players vigorously sweep, or brush the ice in front of the rock to keep it moving. The friction and resulting heat of the brooms momentarily melts a molecular layer of the ice in front of the rock. This thin layer lubricates the bottom of the rock allowing it to travel farther and straighter.

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Does the rock really curl?

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Rocks are intentionally rotated as they are thrown.

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The friction of the rock’s small surface area on the bumpy curling ice (as opposed to smooth surfaces for hockey or figure skating) causes the rock to swing anywhere from 2-5 feet depending on the pebble (bumpiness) of the ice, humidity in the air around the ice, and amount of speed and sweeping during the delivery of the rock.

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

Who sweeps and who throws the rocks?

Teams are made up of four players. Each player throws two rocks, alternating with the opponent.

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The Lead: Throws the first two rocks.

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The Second: Throws the second two rocks.

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The third position is known as the Vice Skip and throws the third two rocks.

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The fourth position is known as the Skip (calls each shot and is the “team captain”) and throws the last two rocks.

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Curling as an Amateur Sport •

Canadian bonspiels offer cash prizes; however, there are no fulltime professional curlers

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Curling returned to the Winter Olympics in 1998–after a hiatus since 1924

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By comparison, most competitive curlers are older than athletes in other sports

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These days junior curling has become very popular

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Curling is considered a very social sport and drinking beer after matches is common

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Curling is one of those rare sports that can be enjoyed and/or played competitively for almost any age group

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Gender in Curling •

Teams are either comprised of only men, only women, or two men and two women

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There are world championships in men’s and women’s curling, but not for mixed gender curling

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At the National Level there are also Juniors, Seniors, Masters and Wheelchair curling championships.

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There are clubs that offer mixed leagues for recreation as well as clubs that offer competitive tournaments and Cash Spiels for mixed teams

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Team Naming • Except in international or national and provincial events in Canada and the United States a team will usually be known by the last name of the Skip • There is an emerging tendency for teams with sponsors, to name their team using the sponsor’s name rather than the Skip’s name • During international, national, and provincial events teams are known by their country name • Some groups are protesting the use of the last name of the Skip as the team name because they feel that it is offensive to the front-end curler

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

Common Curling Terms •

Bonspiel: A curling tournament

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Cash Spiel or Cashspiel: A tournament with significant entry fees and large prizes, sometimes part of a charity event

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House: The three concentric circles where points are scored

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Heavy: A stone that is thrown harder than required and will probably slide too far

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Off!: A call given by the skip for the sweepers to stop sweeping a rock

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Raise: A Shot in which the delivered stone bumps another stone forward

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Curling Game Play •

Competitive play usually consists of ten ends

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An end consists of a player from each team throwing two rocks down the ice with the players on each side alternating shots

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It is not uncommon for a losing team to end the match before all the ends are completed if they don’t think they have a chance of winning

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In international competition, each side is given 73 minutes to complete all their throws

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Curling clocks and clock software exist to time the matches, such as this one: http://www.curlingclock.com/

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

Curling Facts •

There are 1.4 million curlers in the world •

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1.2 million of them live in Canada

The granite for curling rocks come from only two quarries in the entire world •

Each rock costs about $500 USD

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The person delivering the rock slides on the ice due to a thin layer of Teflon glued on the bottom of one shoe

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Like golf, curlers call penalties on themselves for rules violations

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The winning team buys drinks for the losing team after the game

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Curling Online •

The advent and influence of the internet has made finding curling clubs and curling events easier

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Exposure on the internet and the introduction of the sport back into the Olympics could lead to an increase in participation

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USA Curling (http://www.usacurl.org), the governing body of curling in the United States and partner of Compete-At (www.Compete-At.com), uses online registration for all of their events

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

Notable Links & Resources •

Curling on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling

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USA Curling Association: www.usacurl.org/

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Canadian Curling Association: www.curling.ca

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World Curling Federation: www.worldcurling.net

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Compete-At.com - Curling Events & Clubs

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Image Credits http://www.flickr.com/photos/gesika22/2978462322/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barberenc/2939604130/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bretarnett/136222945/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trektrack/305673357/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sovietuk/602890123/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sebino/2149359482/

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling

Content Credits •

Curling on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Curling