Curling is a
sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
in which players slide
stones
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four
concentric
In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...
circles. It is related to
bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
,
boules
''Boules'' () is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce (In French: jeu or jeux, in Croatian: boćanje and in Italian: gioco or giochi) in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls (called in France, ...
, and
shuffleboard
Shuffleboard (more precisely deck shuffleboard, and also known as floor shuffleboard) is a game in which players use cues to push weighted discs, sending them gliding down a narrow court, with the purpose of having them come to rest within a ma ...
. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
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 each player throwing two. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a ''game''; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each ''end'', which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones once. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends.
The player can induce a curved path, described as ''curl'', by causing the stone to slowly rotate as it slides. The path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms or brushes, who accompany it as it slides down the sheet and sweep the ice in front of the stone. "Sweeping a rock" decreases the friction, which makes the stone travel a straighter path (with less curl) and a longer distance. A great deal of strategy and teamwork go into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine the degree to which the stone will achieve the desired result.
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
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, formerly The Smith Institute, is an art and local history museum in Stirling, Scotland. The museum was founded in 1874 at the bequest of artist Thomas Stuart Smith.
History
Founding
Thomas Stuart Smi ...
) in
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
. The first written reference to a contest using stones on ice coming from the records of
Paisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...
,
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
, in February 1541.
Two paintings, "
Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap
''Winter Landscape with Ice-skaters and Bird-trap'' is a 1565 painting attributed to the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, located in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. It shows a village scene where people skate on a ...
" and "
The Hunters in the Snow
''The Hunters in the Snow'' ( nl, Jagers in de Sneeuw), also known as ''The Return of the Hunters'', is a 1565 oil-on-wood painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Northern Renaissance work is one of a se ...
" (both dated 1565) by
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; – 9 September 1569) was the most significant artist of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (so-called genr ...
, depict
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
s curling, albeit without brooms; Scotland and the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
had strong trading and cultural links during this period, which is also evident in the
history of golf
The origins of golf are unclear and much debated. However, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in Scotland from the Middle Ages onwards. The game did not find international popularity until the late 19th century, when it spread int ...
.
![Curling at Eglinton castle, Ayrshire, Scotland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Curling_at_Eglinton_castle%2C_Ayrshire%2C_Scotland.jpg)
The word ''curling'' first appears in print in 1620 in
Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
, in the
preface
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...
and the verses of a poem by
Henry Adamson. The sport was (and still is, in Scotland and Scottish-settled regions like southern New Zealand) also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while traveling over the ''pebble'' (droplets of water applied to the playing surface).
The verbal noun ''curling'' is formed from the
Scots (and English) verb ''curl'', which describes the motion of the stone.
Kilsyth Curling Club claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716; it is still in existence today. Kilsyth also claims the oldest purpose-built curling pond in the world at
Colzium
Colzium House and Estate (pronounced Coal-Zee-Um) is about 500 metres to the north-east of Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The present house dates from 1783 and was extended and modernised in 1861. The name may mean "defile leap".
W ...
, in the form of a low dam creating a shallow pool some in size. The International Olympic Committee recognises the
Royal Caledonian Curling Club
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC was founded on 25 ...
(founded as the Grand Caledonian Curling Club in 1838) as developing the first official rules for the sport.
![Men curling - 1909 - Ontario Canada](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Men_curling_-_1909_-_Ontario_Canada.jpg)
In the early history of curling, the playing stones were simply flat-bottomed stones from rivers or fields, which lacked a handle and were of inconsistent size, shape, and smoothness. Some early stones had holes for a finger and the thumb, akin to ten-pin
bowling ball
A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling.
Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowling, c ...
s. Unlike today, the thrower had little control over the 'curl' or velocity and relied more on luck than on precision, skill, and strategy. The sport was often played on frozen rivers although purpose-built ponds were later created in many Scottish towns. For example, the Scottish poet
David Gray describes whisky-drinking curlers on the
Luggie Water at
Kirkintilloch.
![Curling on Lake of Menteith - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Curling_on_Lake_of_Menteith_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1756810.jpg)
In
Darvel
Darvel
( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town).
The town's Latin motto, , means "No ...
,
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...
, the weavers relaxed by playing curling matches using the heavy stone weights from the looms' ''warp beams'', fitted with a detachable handle for the purpose.
Central Canadian curlers often used 'irons' rather than stones until the early 1900s; Canada is the only country known to have done so, while others experimented with wood or ice-filled tins.
Outdoor curling was very popular in Scotland between the 16th and 19th centuries because the climate provided good ice conditions every winter. Scotland is home to the international governing body for curling, the
World Curling Federation
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. ...
in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, which originated as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the mother club of curling.
In the 19th century several private railway stations in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
were built to serve curlers attending
bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...
s, such as those at
Aboyne
Aboyne ( sco, Abyne, gd, Abèidh) is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis courts, a bowling green and ...
,
Carsbreck, and
Drummuir
Drummuir ( gd, Druim Iubhair) is a small village in Scotland, in the traditional county of Banffshire, and in the Moray council area. It is between Dufftown (five miles), Keith (seven/eight miles) and Huntly (nine miles).
Its old name was Bot ...
.
Today, the sport is most firmly established in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, having been taken there by
Scottish emigrants
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the Scotland in the Early Middle Ages, early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic languages, Celtic ...
. The
Royal Montreal Curling Club
The Royal Montreal Curling Club (French: Club de Curling Royal Montréal) is the oldest curling club in North America, established on January 27, 1807 by a group of Scottish Canadian immigrants in Montreal.
The group met at the Gillis Tavern to ...
, the oldest established sports club still active in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, was established in 1807. The first curling club in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
was established in 1830, and the sport was introduced to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
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.
The first world championship for curling was limited to men and was known as the ''
Scotch Cup
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...
'', held in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in 1959. The first world title was won by the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
team from
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...
, skipped by
Ernie Richardson. (The ''skip'' is the team member who calls the shots; see below.)
Curling was one of the first sports that was popular with women and girls.
Olympics
![Curling pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Curling_pictogram.svg)
Curling has been a medal sport in the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
since the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
. It currently includes men's, women's, and
mixed doubles
Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...
tournaments (the mixed doubles event was held for the first time in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
).
In February 2002, the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
retroactively decided that the curling competition from the
1924 Winter Olympics
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...
(originally called ''Semaine des Sports d'Hiver'', or International Winter Sports Week) would be considered official Olympic events and no longer be considered demonstration events. Thus, the
first Olympic medals in curling, which at the time was played outdoors, were awarded for the 1924 Winter Games, with the gold medal won by Great Britain, two silver medals by Sweden, and the bronze by France. A demonstration tournament was also held during the
1932 Winter Olympic Games between four teams from Canada and four teams from the United States, with Canada winning 12 games to 4.
Since the sport's official addition in the 1998 Olympics, Canada has dominated the sport with their men's teams winning gold in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, and silver in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
and
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. The women's team won gold in 1998 and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, a silver in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and a bronze in 2002 and 2006. The mixed doubles team won gold in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
.
Equipment
Curling sheet
![CurlingHouseAndBackline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/CurlingHouseAndBackline.svg)
The playing surface or ''curling sheet'' is defined by the
World Curling Federation
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. ...
Rules of Curling.
It is a rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible, in length by in width. The shorter borders of the sheet are called the backboards.
A target, the ''house'', is centred on the intersection of the ''centre line'', drawn lengthwise down the centre of the sheet and the ''tee line'', drawn from, and parallel to, the backboard. These lines divide the house into quarters. The house consists of a centre circle (the ''button'') and three concentric rings, of diameters 4, 8, and 12 feet, formed by painting or laying a coloured
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
sheet under the ice and are usually distinguished by colour. A stone must at least touch the outer ring in order to score (see
Scoring
Score or scorer may refer to:
*Test score, the result of an exam or test
Business
* Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio
* Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company
* Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
below); otherwise, the rings are merely a visual aid for aiming and judging which stone is closer to the button.
Two ''hog lines'' are drawn from, and parallel to, the backboard.
The ''hacks'', which give the thrower something to push against when making the throw, are fixed behind each button. On indoor rinks, there are usually two fixed hacks, rubber-lined holes, one on each side of the centre line, with the inside edge no more than from the centre line and the front edge on the hack line. A single moveable hack may also be used.
The ice may be natural but is usually frozen by a refrigeration plant pumping a brine solution through numerous pipes fixed lengthwise at the bottom of a shallow pan of water. Most curling clubs have an ice maker whose main job is to care for the ice. At the major curling championships, ice maintenance is extremely important. Large events, such as national/international championships, are typically held in an arena that presents a challenge to the ice maker, who must constantly monitor and adjust the ice and air temperatures as well as air humidity levels to ensure a consistent playing surface. It is common for each sheet of ice to have multiple sensors embedded in order to monitor surface temperature, as well as probes set up in the seating area (to monitor humidity) and in the compressor room (to monitor brine supply and return temperatures). The surface of the ice is maintained at a temperature of around .
A key part of the preparation of the playing surface is the spraying of water droplets onto the ice, which form ''pebble'' on freezing. The pebbled ice surface resembles an orange peel, and the stone moves on top of the pebbled ice. The pebble, along with the concave bottom of the stone, decreases the friction between the stone and the ice, allowing the stone to travel farther. As the stone moves over the pebble, any rotation of the stone causes it to ''curl'', or travel along a curved path. The amount of curl (commonly referred to as the ''feet of curl'') can change during a game as the pebble wears; the ice maker must monitor this and be prepared to scrape and re-pebble the surface prior to each game.
Curling stone
The curling stone (also sometimes called a ''rock'' in North America) is made of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and is specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between , a maximum circumference of , and a minimum height of .
The only part of the stone in contact with the ice is the ''running surface'', a narrow, flat annulus or ring, wide and about in diameter; the sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring, with the inside of the ring hollowed concave to clear the ice. This concave bottom was first proposed by J. S. Russell of Toronto, Ontario, Canada sometime after 1870, and was subsequently adopted by Scottish stone manufacturer Andrew Kay.
The granite for the stones comes from two sources:
Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig (; sco, Ailsae Craig; gd, Creag Ealasaid) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the r ...
, an island off the
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
coast of Scotland, and the
Trefor Granite Quarry in Wales.
Ailsa Craig is the traditional source and produces two types of granite, ''Blue Hone'' and ''Ailsa Craig Common Green''. ''Blue Hone'' has very low water absorption, which prevents the action of repeatedly freezing water from eroding the stone. ''Ailsa Craig Common Green'' is a lesser quality granite than ''Blue Hone''. In the past, most curling stones were made from ''Blue Hone'', but the island is now a wildlife reserve, and the quarry is restricted by environmental conditions that exclude blasting.
Kays of Scotland
Kays of Scotland is the only remaining UK manufacturer and supplier of curling stones. Founded in 1851, it retains exclusive rights to harvest granite from Ailsa Craig, granted by the Marquess of Ailsa. Kays of Scotland produces the only stone ...
has been making curling stones in Mauchline, Ayrshire, since 1851 and has the exclusive rights to the Ailsa Craig granite, granted by the
Marquess of Ailsa, whose family has owned the island since 1560. According to the
1881 Census, Andrew Kay employed 30 people in his curling stone factory in Mauchline. The last harvest of Ailsa Craig granite by Kays took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years; 2,000 tons were harvested, sufficient to fill anticipated orders through at least 2020. Kays have been involved in providing curling stones for the Winter Olympics since Chamonix in 1924 and has been the exclusive manufacturer of curling stones for the Olympics since the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
.
''Trefor'' granite comes from the Yr Eifl or Trefor Granite Quarry in the village of Trefor on the north coast of the
Llŷn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...
in
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and has produced granite since 1850. ''Trefor'' granite comes in shades of pink, blue, and grey. The quarry supplies curling stone granite exclusively to the Canada Curling Stone Company, which has been producing stones since 1992 and supplied the stones for the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
.
A handle is attached by a bolt running vertically through a hole in the centre of the stone. The handle allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release; on properly prepared ice the rotation will bend (''curl'') the path of the stone in the direction in which the front edge of the stone is turning, especially as the stone slows. Handles are coloured to identify each team, two popular colours in major tournaments being red and yellow.
In competition, an electronic handle known as the
Eye on the Hog may be fitted to detect hog line violations. This electronically detects whether the thrower's hand is in contact with the handle as it passes the hog line and indicates a violation by lights at the base of the handle (see
''delivery'' below). The ''eye on the hog'' eliminates human error and the need for hog line officials. It is mandatory in high-level national and international competition, but its cost, around
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
650 each, currently puts it beyond the reach of most curling clubs.
Curling broom
![Curling broom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Curling_broom.png)
The ''curling broom'', or ''brush'', is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone (see ''
sweeping'') and is also often used as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
Prior to the 1950s, most curling brooms were made of corn strands and were similar to household brooms of the day. In 1958, Fern Marchessault of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
inverted the corn straw in the centre of the broom. This style of corn broom was referred to as ''the Blackjack''.
Artificial brooms made from man-made fabrics rather than corn, such as the ''Rink Rat'', also became common later during this time period. Prior to the late sixties, ''Scottish'' curling brushes were used primarily by some of the Scots, as well as by recreational and elderly curlers, as a substitute for corn brooms, since the technique was easier to learn. In the late sixties, competitive curlers from
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, Alberta, such as John Mayer, Bruce Stewart, and, later, the world junior championship teams skipped by
Paul Gowsell
Paul Gowsell is a Canadian curler from Calgary, Alberta. Gowsell hit the men's competitive curling world by storm in the late 1970s with his unorthodox antics.
Playing career
Gowsell was the first skip to win two World Junior Curling Champions ...
, proved that the curling brush could be just as (or more) effective without all the blisters common to corn broom use.
During that time period, there was much debate in competitive curling circles as to which sweeping device was more effective: brush or broom. Eventually, the brush won out with the majority of curlers making the switch to the less costly and more efficient brush. Today, brushes have replaced traditional corn brooms at every level of curling; it is rare now to see a curler using a corn broom on a regular basis.
Curling brushes may have fabric, hog hair, or horsehair heads. Modern curling brush handles are usually hollow tubes made of
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
or
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
instead of a solid length of wooden
dowel
A dowel is a cylindrical rod, usually made of wood, plastic, or metal. In its original manufactured form, a dowel is called a ''dowel rod''. Dowel rods are often cut into short lengths called dowel pins. Dowels are commonly used as structural ...
. These hollow tube handles are lighter and stronger than wooden handles, allowing faster sweeping and also enabling more downward force to be applied to the broom head with reduced shaft flex.
![Legal brushhead in curling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Legal_brushhead_in_curling.jpg)
New "directional fabric" brooms were introduced in 2014. Dubbed the "broomgate" controversy, they were able to better navigate the path of a curling stone than existing brooms. Players were worried that these brooms would alter the fundamentals of the sport by reducing the level of skill required, accusing them of giving players an unfair advantage, and at least thirty-four elite teams signed a statement pledging not to use them.
The new brooms were temporarily banned by the
World Curling Federation
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. ...
and
Curling Canada
Curling Canada (formerly the Canadian Curling Association (CCA)) is a sanctioning body for the sport of Curling in Canada. It is associated with more than a dozen provincial and territorial curling associations across the country, and organizes ...
for the 2015–2016 season. As a result of the "broomgate" controversy, as of 2016, only one standardized brush head is approved by the World Curling Federation for competitive play.
Shoes
![curlingshoes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Curlingshoes.jpg)
Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic shoes except for special soles; the ''slider shoe'' (usually known as a "slider") is designed for the sliding foot and the "gripper shoe" (usually known as a ''gripper'') for the foot that kicks off from the hack.
The ''slider'' is designed to slide and typically has a
Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...
sole. It is worn by the thrower during delivery from the hack and by sweepers or the skip to glide down the ice when sweeping or otherwise traveling down the sheet quickly. Stainless steel and "red brick" sliders with lateral blocks of
PVC on the sole are also available as alternatives to Teflon. Most shoes have a full-sole sliding surface, but some shoes have a sliding surface covering only the outline of the shoe and other enhancements with the full-sole slider. Some shoes have small disc sliders covering the front and heel portions or only the front portion of the foot, which allow more flexibility in the sliding foot for curlers playing with tuck deliveries. When a player is not throwing, the player's slider shoe can be temporarily rendered non-slippery by using a slip-on gripper. Ordinary athletic shoes may be converted to sliders by using a step-on or slip-on Teflon slider or by applying
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
or
gaffer tape
Gaffer tape (also known as gaffer's tape, gaff tape or gaffa tape as well as spike tape for narrow, colored gaffer tape) is a heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties. It is widely used in theatre, p ...
directly to the sole or over a piece of cardboard. This arrangement often suits casual or beginning players.
The ''gripper'' is worn by the thrower on the foot that kicks off from the hack during delivery and is designed to grip the ice. It may have a normal athletic shoe sole or a special layer of rubbery material applied to the sole of a thickness to match the sliding shoe. The toe of the hack foot shoe may also have a rubberised coating on the top surface or a flap that hangs over the toe to reduce wear on the top of the shoe as it drags on the ice behind the thrower.
Other equipment
Other types of equipment include:
* Curling pants, made to be stretchy to accommodate the curling delivery.
* A stopwatch to time the stones over a fixed distance to calculate their speed. Stopwatches can be attached either to clothing or the broom.
* Curling gloves and mittens, to keep the hands warm and improve grip on the broom.
Gameplay
![Curling Canada Torino 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Curling_Canada_Torino_2006.jpg)
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 break the tie. The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed (see
Scoring
Score or scorer may refer to:
*Test score, the result of an exam or test
Business
* Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio
* Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company
* Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
below). A game may be conceded if winning the game is infeasible.
International competitive games are generally ten ends, so most of the national championships that send a representative to the World Championships or Olympics also play ten ends. However, there is a movement on the
World Curling Tour
The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and mixed doubles curlers in the world.
History
The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later assistance from Jo ...
to make the games only eight ends. Most tournaments on that tour are eight ends, as are the vast majority of recreational games.
In international competition, each side is given 73 minutes to complete all of its throws. Each team is also allowed two minute-long timeouts per 10-end game. If extra ends are required, each team is allowed 10 minutes of playing time to complete its throws and one added 60-second timeout for each extra end. However, the "thinking time" system, in which the delivering team's game timer stops as soon as the shooter's rock crosses the t-line during the delivery, is becoming more popular, especially in Canada. This system allows each team 38 minutes per 10 ends, or 30 minutes per 8 ends, to make strategic and tactical decisions, with 4 minutes and 30 seconds an end for extra ends. The "thinking time" system was implemented after it was recognized that using shots which take more time for the stones to come to rest was being penalized in terms of the time the teams had available compared to teams which primarily use hits which require far less time per shot.
Delivery
The process of sliding a stone down the sheet is known as the ''delivery'' or ''throw''. Players, with the exception of the skip, take turns throwing and sweeping; when one player (e.g., the
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
) throws, the players not delivering (the
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
) sweep (see
Sweeping, below). When the skip throws, the vice-skip takes their role.
The ''
skip
Skip or Skips may refer to:
Acronyms
* SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene
* Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol
* SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...
'', or the captain of the team, determines the desired stone placement and the required ''weight'', ''turn'', and ''line'' that will allow the stone to stop there. The placement will be influenced by the tactics at this point in the game, which may involve taking out, blocking, or tapping another stone.
* The ''weight'' of the stone is its velocity, which depends on the leg drive of the delivery rather than the arm.
* The ''turn'' or ''curl'' is the rotation of the stone, which gives it a curved trajectory.
* The ''line'' is the direction of the throw ignoring the effect of the ''turn''.
The skip may communicate the ''weight'', ''turn'', ''line,'' and other tactics by calling or tapping a broom on the ice. In the case of a takeout, guard, or a tap, the skip will indicate the stones involved.
Before delivery, the running surface of the stone is wiped clean and the path across the ice swept with the broom if necessary, since any dirt on the bottom of a stone or in its path can alter the trajectory and ruin the shot. Intrusion by a foreign object is called a ''pick-up'' or ''pick''.
![hack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Hack.jpg)
The thrower starts from the ''hack''. The thrower's ''gripper'' shoe (with the non-slippery sole) is positioned against one of the hacks; for a right-handed curler the right foot is placed against the left hack and vice versa for a left-hander. The thrower, now ''in the hack'', lines the body up with shoulders square to the skip's broom at the far end for ''line''.
The stone is placed in front of the foot now in the hack. Rising slightly from the hack, the thrower pulls the stone back (some older curlers may actually raise the stone in this backward movement) then lunges smoothly out from the hack pushing the stone ahead while the slider foot is moved in front of the gripper foot, which trails behind. The thrust from this lunge determines the ''weight'', and hence the distance the stone will travel. Balance may be assisted by a broom held in the free hand with the back of the broom down so that it slides. One older writer suggests the player keep "a basilisk glance" at the mark.
There are two common types of delivery currently, the typical flat-foot delivery and the
Manitoba tuck
The Manitoba tuck is a form of slide in curling. A tuck under is when the curler's front toe is the only part of the slider that comes into contact with the ice as the heel is raised. While the slide is most commonly found in the province of Mani ...
delivery where the curler slides on the front ball of his foot.
When the player releases the stone, a rotation (called the ''turn)'' is imparted by a slight clockwise or counter-clockwise twist of the handle from around the two or ten o'clock position to the twelve o'clock on release. A typical rate of turn is about rotations before coming to a rest.
The stone must be released before its front edge crosses the near hog line. In major tournaments, the "
Eye on the Hog" sensor is commonly used to enforce this rule. The sensor is in the handle of the stone and will indicate whether the stone was released before the near hog line. The lights on the stone handle will either light up green, indicating that the stone has been legally thrown, or red, in which case the illegally thrown stone will be immediately pulled from play instead of waiting for the stone to come to rest.
The stone must clear the far hog line or else be removed from play (''hogged''); an exception is made if a stone fails to come to rest beyond the far hog line after rebounding from a stone in play just past the hog line.
Sweeping
![Olympic Curling, Vancouver 2010 crop sweeping](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Olympic_Curling%2C_Vancouver_2010_crop_sweeping.jpg)
After the stone is delivered, its trajectory is influenced by the two sweepers under instruction from the skip. Sweeping is done for several reasons: to make the stone travel farther, to decrease the amount of curl, and to clean debris from the stone's path. Sweeping is able to make the stone travel farther and straighter by slightly melting the ice under the brooms, thus decreasing the friction as the stone travels across that part of the ice. The stones curl more as they slow down, so sweeping early in travel tends to increase distance as well as straighten the path, and sweeping after sideways motion is established can increase the sideways distance.
One of the basic technical aspects of curling is knowing when to sweep. When the ice in front of the stone is swept a stone will usually travel both farther and straighter, and in some situations one of those is not desirable. For example, a stone may be traveling too fast (said to have too much weight) but require sweeping to prevent curling into another stone. The team must decide which is better: getting by the other stone but traveling too far, or hitting the stone.
Much of the yelling that goes on during a curling game is the skip and sweepers exchanging information about the stone's ''line'' and ''weight'' and deciding whether to sweep. The skip evaluates the path of the stone and calls to the sweepers to sweep as necessary to maintain the intended track. The sweepers themselves are responsible for judging the weight of the stone, ensuring that the length of travel is correct and communicating the weight of the stone back to the skip. Many teams use a ''
number system
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
'' to communicate in which of 10 zones the sweepers estimate the stone will stop. Some sweepers use stopwatches to time the stone from the back line or tee line to the nearest hog line to aid in estimating how far the stone will travel.
Usually, the two sweepers will be on opposite sides of the stone's path, although depending on which side the sweepers' strengths lie this may not always be the case. Speed and pressure are vital to sweeping. In gripping the broom, one hand should be one third of the way from the top (non-brush end) of the handle while the other hand should be one third of the way from the head of the broom. The angle of the broom to the ice should be such that the most force possible can be exerted on the ice. The precise amount of pressure may vary from relatively light brushing ("just cleaning" - to ensure debris will not alter the stone's path) to maximum-pressure scrubbing.
Sweeping is allowed anywhere on the ice up to the ''tee line''; once the leading edge of a stone crosses the tee line only one player may sweep it. Additionally, if a stone is behind the tee line one player from the opposing team is allowed to sweep it. This is the only case that a stone may be swept by an opposing team member. In international rules, this player must be the skip, but if the skip is throwing, then the sweeping player must be the third.
''Burning'' a stone
Occasionally, players may accidentally touch a stone with their broom or a body part. This is often referred to as ''burning'' a stone. Players touching a stone in such a manner are expected to call their own infraction as a matter of
good sportsmanship. Touching a stationary stone when no stones are in motion (there is no delivery in progress) is not an infraction as long as the stone is struck in such a manner that its position is not altered, and this is a common way for the skip to indicate a stone that is to be taken out.
When a stone is touched when stones are in play, the remedies vary
between leaving the stones as they end up after the touch, replacing the stones as they would have been if no stone were touched, or removal of the touched stone from play. In non-officiated league play, the skip of the non-offending team has the final say on where the stones are placed after the infraction.
Types of shots
![CurlingLastStone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/CurlingLastStone.svg)
Many different types of shots are used to carefully place stones for strategic or tactical reasons; they fall into three fundamental categories as follows:
''Guards'' are thrown in front of the house in the ''free guard zone'', usually to protect a stone or to make the opposing team's shot difficult. Guard shots include the ''centre-guard'', on the centreline, and the ''corner-guards'' to the left or right sides of the centre line. See ''Free Guard Zone'' below.
''Draws'' are thrown only to reach the house. Draw shots include ''
raise
Raise may refer to:
Music
*''Raise!'', the name of a 1981 album by Earth, Wind, and Fire
* '' Raise'' (album), the name of a 1991 album by Swervedriver
Place names
* Raise, Cumbria, England
* Raise (Lake District), the name of the 12th highe ...
'', ''
come-around'', and ''
freeze'' shots.
''Takeouts'' are intended to remove stones from play and include the ''
peel'', ''
hit-and-roll'', and ''
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
'' shots.
For a more complete listing, see
Glossary of curling terms
This is a glossary of terms in curling.
#s
During a game, sweepers might call out numbers. These numbers indicate how far the sweepers think the rock in play will travel. This system is relatively new to the game and is often attributed to the R ...
.
Free guard zone
The ''free guard zone'' is the area of the curling sheet between the hog line and tee line, excluding the house. Until five stones have been played (three from the side without hammer and two from the side with hammer), stones in the free guard zone may not be removed by an opponent's stone, although they can be moved within the playing area. If a stone in the free guard zone is knocked out of play, it is placed back in the position it was in before the shot was thrown and the opponent's stone is removed from play. This rule is known as the ''five-rock rule'' or the ''free guard zone rule'' (previous versions of the free guard zone rule only limited removing guards from play in the first three or four rocks).
This rule, a relatively recent addition to curling, was added in response to a strategy by teams of gaining a lead in the game and then ''peeling'' all of the opponents' stones (knocking them out of play at an angle that caused the shooter's stone to also roll out of play, leaving no stones on the ice). By knocking all stones out the opponents could at best score one point, if they had the last stone of the end (called the
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
). If the team peeling the rocks had the hammer they could peel rock after rock which would ''blank the end'' (leave the end scoreless), keeping the last rock advantage for another end. This strategy had developed (mostly in Canada) as ice-makers had become skilled at creating a predictable ice surface and newer brushes allowed greater control over the rock. While a sound strategy, this made for an unexciting game. Observers at the time noted that if two teams equally skilled in the peel game faced each other on good ice, the outcome of the game would be predictable from who won the coin flip to have last rock (or had earned it in the schedule) at the beginning of the game. The 1990
Brier
Briar, Briars, Brier, or Briers may refer to:
* Briar, or brier, common name for a number of unrelated thorny plants that form thicket
People
* Brier (surname)
* Briers, a surname
* Briars (surname)
Places
* Briar, Missouri, U.S.
* Bri ...
(Canadian men's championship) was considered by many curling fans as boring to watch because of the amount of peeling and the quick adoption of the free guard zone rule the following year reflected how disliked this aspect of the game had become.
The free guard zone rule was originally called the Modified Moncton Rule and was developed from a suggestion made by
Russ Howard
Russell W. "Russ" Howard, CM, ONL (born February 19, 1956 in Midland, Ontario) is a Canadian curler and Olympic champion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, but originally from Midland, Ontario. He lived in Moncton, New Brunswick from 2000 to 2 ...
for the Moncton 100 cashspiel in
Moncton
Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...
, New Brunswick, in January 1990. "Howard's Rule" (later known as the Moncton Rule), used for the tournament and based on a practice drill his team used, had the first four rocks in play unable to be removed no matter where they were at any time during the end. This method of play was altered by restricting the area in which a stone was protected to the free guard zone only for the first four rocks thrown and adopted as a four-rock free guard zone rule for international competition shortly after. Canada kept to the traditional rules until a three-rock free guard zone rule was adopted for the 1993–94 season. After several years of having the three-rock rule used for the Canadian championships and the winners then having to adjust to the four-rock rule in the World Championships, the
Canadian Curling Association
Curling Canada (formerly the Canadian Curling Association (CCA)) is a sanctioning body for the sport of Curling in Canada. It is associated with more than a dozen provincial and territorial curling associations across the country, and organizes C ...
adopted the four-rock free guard zone in the 2002–2003 season.
One strategy that has been developed by curlers in response to the free guard zone (
Kevin Martin from Alberta is one of the best examples) is the "tick" game, where a shot is made attempting to knock (tick) the guard to the side, far enough that it is difficult or impossible to use but still remaining in play while the shot itself goes out of play. The effect is functionally identical to peeling the guard but significantly harder, as a shot that hits the guard too hard (knocking it out of play) results in its being replaced, while not hitting it hard enough can result in it still being tactically useful for the opposition. There is also a greater chance that the shot will miss the guard entirely because of the greater accuracy required to make the shot. Because of the difficulty of making this type of shot, only the best teams will normally attempt it, and it does not dominate the game the way the peel formerly did.
Steve Gould from Manitoba popularized ticks played across the face of the guard stone. These are easier to make because they impart less speed on the object stone, therefore increasing the chance that it remains in play even if a bigger chunk of it is hit.
With the tick shot reducing the effectiveness of the four-rock rule, the
Grand Slam of Curling
The Grand Slam of Curling (branded as the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling for sponsorship reasons) is a series of curling bonspiels that are a part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of at least CAD$100,000, and f ...
series of bonspiels adopted a five-rock rule in 2014. In 2017, the five-rock rule was adopted by the World Curling Federation and member organizations for official play, beginning in the 2018–19 season.
Hammer
The last rock in an end is called the ''hammer'', and throwing the hammer gives a team a tactical advantage. Before the game, teams typically decide who gets the hammer in the first end either by chance (such as a coin toss), by a "draw-to-the-button" contest, where a representative of each team shoots to see who gets closer to the centre of the rings, or, particularly in tournament settings like the Winter Olympics, by a comparison of each team's win–loss record. In all subsequent ends, the team that did not score in the preceding end gets to throw second, thus having the hammer. In the event that neither team scores, called a ''blanked end'', the hammer remains with the same team. Naturally, it is easier to score points with the hammer than without; the team with the hammer generally tries to score two or more points. If only one point is possible, the skip may try to avoid scoring at all in order to retain the hammer the next end, giving the team another chance to use the hammer advantage to try to score two points. Scoring without the hammer is commonly referred to as ''stealing'', or ''a steal'', and is much more difficult.
Strategy
![Curlingdiagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Curlingdiagram.svg)
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. Aggressive playing will put a lot of stones in play by throwing mostly draws; this makes for an exciting game and although risky the rewards can be great. Defensive playing will throw a lot of hits preventing a lot of stones in play; this tends to be less exciting and less risky. A good drawing team will usually opt to play aggressively, while a good hitting team will opt to play defensively.
If a team does not have the hammer in an end, it will opt to try to clog up the four-foot zone in the house to deny the opposing team access to the button. This can be done by throwing "centre line" guards in front of the house on the centre line, which can be tapped into the house later or drawn around. If a team has the hammer, they will try to keep this four-foot zone free so that they have access to the button area at all times. A team with the hammer may throw a ''corner guard'' as their first stone of an end placed in front of the house but outside the four-foot zone to utilize the free guard zone. Corner guards are key for a team to score two points in an end, because they can either draw around it later or hit and roll behind it, making the opposing team's shot to remove it more difficult.
Ideally, the strategy in an end for a team with the hammer is to score two points or more. Scoring one point is often a wasted opportunity, as they will then lose last-stone advantage for the next end. If a team cannot score two points, they will often attempt to "blank an end" by removing any leftover opposition stones and rolling out; or, if there are no opposition stones, just throwing the stone through the house so that no team scores any points, and the team with the hammer can try again the next end to score two or more with it. Generally, a team without the hammer would want to either force the team with the hammer to only one point, so that they can get the hammer back, or "steal" the end by scoring one or more points of their own.
Large leads are often defended by displacing the opponent's stones to reduce their opportunity to score multiple points. However, a comfortably leading team that leaves their own stones in play becomes vulnerable as the opponent can draw around guard stones, stones in the house can be "tapped back" if they are in front of the tee line, or "frozen onto" if they are behind the tee line. A frozen stone is placed in front of and touching the opponent's stone and is difficult to remove. At this point, a team may opt for "peels"; throws with a lot of "weight" that can move opposition stones out of play.
Conceding a game
It is common at any level for a losing team to terminate the match before all ends are completed if it believes it no longer has a realistic chance of winning. Competitive games end once the losing team has "run out of rocks"—that is, once it has fewer stones in play and available for play than the number of points needed to tie the game.
Dispute resolution
![Curling metering](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Curling_metering.jpg)
Most decisions about rules are left to the skips, although in official tournaments, decisions may be left to the officials. However, all scoring disputes are handled by the vice skip. No players other than the vice skip from each team should be in the house while score is being determined. In tournament play, the most frequent circumstance in which a decision has to be made by someone other than the vice skip is the failure of the vice skips to agree on which stone is closest to the button. An independent official (supervisor at Canadian and World championships) then measures the distances using a specially designed device that pivots at the centre of the button. When no independent officials are available, the vice skips measure the distances.
Scoring
![curlingscore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Curlingscore.jpg)
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 closest stone.
Only stones that are ''in the house'' are considered in the scoring. A stone is in the house if it lies within the zone or any portion of its edge lies over the edge of the ring. Since the bottom of the stone is rounded, a stone just barely in the house will not have any actual contact with the ring, which will pass under the rounded edge of the stone, but it still counts. This type of stone is known as a ''biter''.
It may not be obvious to the eye which of the two rocks is closer to the button (centre) or if a rock is actually biting or not. There are specialized devices to make these determinations, but these cannot be brought out until after an end is completed. Therefore, a team may make strategic decisions during an end based on assumptions of rock position that turn out to be incorrect.
The score is marked on a
scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
, of which there are two types; the baseball type and the club scoreboard.
The baseball-style scoreboard was created for televised games for audiences not familiar with the club scoreboard. The ''ends'' are marked by columns 1 through 10 (or 11 for the possibility of an extra end to break ties) plus an additional column for the total. Below this are two rows, one for each team, containing the team's score for that end and their total score in the right-hand column.
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. The numbered centre row represents various possible scores, and the numbers placed in the team rows represent the end in which that team achieved that cumulative score. If the red team scores three points in the first end (called a ''three-ender''), then a 1 (indicating the first end) is placed beside the number 3 in the red row. If they score two more in the second end, then a 2 will be placed beside the 5 in the red row, indicating that the red team has five points in total (3+2). This scoreboard works because only one team can get points in an end. However, some confusion may arise if neither team scores points in an end, this is called a ''blank end''. The blank end numbers are usually listed in the farthest column on the right in the row of the team that has the ''hammer'' (last rock advantage), or on a special spot for blank ends.
The following example illustrates the difference between the two types. The example illustrates the men's final at the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
.
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
An eight-ender, also called a snowman, is a perfect score within a single end of curling. In an end, both sides throw eight rocks, and in an eight-ender, all eight rocks from one team score points.
Eight-enders are extremely rare in competitive c ...
" or "snowman". Scoring an eight-ender against a competent team is very difficult; in curling, it is the equivalent of pitching a
perfect game
Perfect game may refer to:
Sports
* Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners
* Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game
* Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...
in baseball. Probably the best-known snowman came at the 2006
Players' Championships
The Players' Championship is one of the final events on the World Curling Tour (WCT) and is a part of the Grand Slam of Curling.
From 2016 to 2019, it was the penultimate slam of the curling season, and the last of the four "majors". The even ...
. Future (2007) World Champion
Kelly Scott
Kelly Scott (born June 1, 1977 in Winnipeg, Manitoba as Kelly Lynn Mackenzie) is a Canadian curler from Kelowna, British Columbia.
Career 1995–2005
Scott won the 1995 Canadian Junior Curling Championships and the 1995 World Junior Curling Ch ...
scored eight points in one of her games against 1998 World bronze medalist
Cathy King
Cathy King (born September 3, 1959), formerly Cathy Borst (Cathy's married name was Borst - when she divorced she went back to her maiden name of King) is a Canadian curler from St. Albert, Alberta. She is a former Canadian champion skip and w ...
.
Culture
![The Curlers by Sir George Harvey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/The_Curlers_by_Sir_George_Harvey.jpg)
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. It is known as
mixed curling
This is a glossary of terms in curling.
#s
During a game, sweepers might call out numbers. These numbers indicate how far the sweepers think the rock in play will travel. This system is relatively new to the game and is often attributed to the R ...
when a team consists of two men and two women. For many years, in the absence of world championship or Olympic mixed curling events, national championships (of which the
Canadian Mixed Curling Championship
The Canadian Mixed Curling Championship is the national curling championship for mixed curling in Canada. The winners of the tournament will represent Canada at the World Mixed Curling Championship.
In mixed curling, the positions on a team must a ...
was the most prominent) were the highest-level mixed curling competitions. However, a
European Mixed Curling Championship
The European Mixed Curling Championship was a mixed curling tournament held annually in the autumn for European nations. The first tournament was held in 2005.
The European Mixed Curling Championship was replaced with a World Mixed Curling Champi ...
was inaugurated in 2005, a
World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments featuring the world's best teams of mixed doubles curlers.
History
The tournament began in 2008 with the 2008 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Switzerland's m ...
was established in 2008, and the European Mixed Championship was replaced with the
World Mixed Curling Championship
The World Mixed Curling Championship is the world championship for mixed curling. It is held annually in the autumn, and replaced the European Mixed Curling Championship
The European Mixed Curling Championship was a mixed curling
This is a glo ...
in 2015. A
mixed tournament was held at the Olympic level for the first time in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, although it was a doubles tournament, not a four-person.
Curling tournaments may use the
Schenkel system
A Swiss-system tournament is a non-eliminating tournament format that features a fixed number of rounds of competition, but considerably fewer than for a round-robin tournament; thus each competitor (team or individual) does not play all the other ...
for determining the participants in matches.
Curling is played in many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom (especially Scotland), the United States, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, and Japan, all of which compete in the world championships.
Curling has been depicted by many artists including:
George Harvey, John Levack, The Dutch School,
Charles Martin Hardie
Charles Martin Hardie (16 March 1858 – 3 September 1916) was a Scottish artist and portrait painter.
Born in East Linton in East Lothian in Scotland, the son of Mary ''née'' Martin (1817–1901) and John Hardie (1820–1870), a Master Car ...
, John Elliot Maguire, John McGhie, and
John George Brown
John George Brown (November 11, 1831 – February 8, 1913) was a British people, British citizen and an United States, American Painting, painter who specialized in Genre art, genre scenes.
Biography
John George Brown was born in Durham, Eng ...
.
Curling is particularly popular in Canada. Improvements in ice making and changes in the rules to increase scoring and promote complex strategy have increased the already high popularity of the sport in Canada, and large television audiences watch annual curling telecasts, especially the
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts (''french: Le Tournoi des Cœurs Scotties''; commonly referred to as the Scotties) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Associat ...
(the national championship for women), the
Tim Hortons Brier
The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...
(the national championship for men), and the women's and men's world championships.
Despite the Canadian province of
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
's small population (ranked 5th of 10 Canadian provinces), Manitoban teams have won the Brier more times than teams from any other province, except for Alberta. The Tournament of Hearts and the Brier are contested by
provincial and territorial champions, and the world championships by national champions.
Curling is the provincial sport of Saskatchewan. From there,
Ernie Richardson and his family team dominated Canadian and international curling during the late 1950s and early 1960s and have been considered to be the best male curlers of all time.
Sandra Schmirler
Sandra Marie Schmirler, (June 11, 1963 – March 2, 2000) was a Canadian curler who captured three Canadian Curling Championships (Scott Tournament of Hearts) and three World Curling Championships. Schmirler also skipped (captained) her Cana ...
led her team to the first-ever gold medal in women's curling in the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
. When she died two years later from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, over 15,000 people attended her funeral, and it was broadcast on national television.
Good sportsmanship
More so than in many other team sports, good sportsmanship, often referred to as the "Spirit of Curling", is an integral part of curling. The Spirit of Curling also leads teams to congratulate their opponents for making a good shot, strong sweeping, or spectacular form. Perhaps most importantly, the Spirit of Curling dictates that one never cheers mistakes, misses, or gaffes by one's opponent (unlike most team sports), and one should not celebrate one's own good shots during the game beyond modest acknowledgement of the shot such as a head nod, fist bump, or thumbs-up gesture. Modest congratulation, however, may be exchanged between winning team members after the match. On-the-ice celebration is usually reserved for the winners of a major tournament after winning the final game of the championship. It is completely unacceptable to attempt to throw opposing players off their game by way of negative comment, distraction, or heckling.
A match traditionally begins with players shaking hands with and saying "good curling" or "have a pleasant game" to each member of the opposing team. It is also traditional in some areas for the winning team to buy the losing team a drink after the game.
Even at the highest levels of play, players are expected to call their own fouls.
It is not uncommon for a team to concede a curling match after it believes it no longer has any hope of winning. Concession is an honourable act and does not carry the stigma associated with quitting. It also allows for more socializing. To concede a match, members of the losing team offer congratulatory handshakes to the winning team. Thanks, wishes of future good luck, and hugs are usually exchanged between the teams. To continue playing when a team has no realistic chance of winning can be seen as a breach of etiquette.
Accessibility
![WWHCC 2009 - Team China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/WWHCC_2009_-_Team_China.jpg)
Curling has been adapted for wheelchair users and people otherwise unable to throw the stone from the hack. These curlers may use a device known as a "delivery stick". 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
Curling Canada (formerly the Canadian Curling Association (CCA)) is a sanctioning body for the sport of Curling in Canada. It is associated with more than a dozen provincial and territorial curling associations across the country, and organizes C ...
''Rules of Curling'' allows the use of a delivery stick in club play but does not permit it in championships.
The delivery stick was specifically invented for elderly curlers in Canada in 1999. In early 2016 an international initiative started to allow use of the delivery sticks by players over 60 years of age in World Curling Federation Senior Championships, as well as in any projected Masters (60+) Championship that develops in the future.
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 this number is lower, the rock is moving faster, so again low numbers mean more speed. The ice in a match will be somewhat consistent and thus this measure of speed can also be used to measure how far down the ice the rock will travel. Once it is determined that a rock taking (for example) 13 seconds to go from hog line to hog line will stop on the tee line, the curler can know that if the hog-to-hog time is matched by a future stone, that stone will likely stop at approximately the same location. As an example, on keen ice, common times might be 16 seconds for guards, 14 seconds for draws, and 8 seconds for peel weight.
''The back line to hog line speed'' is used principally by sweepers to get an initial sense of the weight of a stone. As an example, on keen ice, common times might be 4.0 seconds for guards, 3.8 seconds for draws, 3.2 for normal hit weight, and 2.9 seconds for peel weight. Especially at the club level, this metric can be misleading, due to amateurs sometimes pushing stones on release, causing the stone to travel faster than the back-to-hog speed.
Champions and major championships
*
Curling at the Winter Olympics
Curling was included in the program of the inaugural Winter Olympic Games in 1924 in Chamonix although the results of that competition were not considered official by the International Olympic Committee until 2006. Curling was a demonstration s ...
*
World Curling Championships
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...
*
World Junior Curling Championships
The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 1 ...
*
World Senior Curling Championships
The World Senior Curling Championships is an annual curling tournament featuring curlers from around the world who are at least 50 years old. Matches at the World Senior Championships are played in 8 ends played instead of the 10 played in most in ...
*
World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments featuring the world's best teams of mixed doubles curlers.
History
The tournament began in 2008 with the 2008 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Switzerland's m ...
*
European Curling Championships
The European Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments held in Europe between various European nations. The European Curling Championships are usually held in early to mid December. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for the World ...
*
Continental Cup of Curling
The Continental Cup is a curling tournament held annually between teams from North America (sometimes just Canada) against teams from the rest of the World (sometimes just Europe). Each side is represented by six teams (three women's teams and thr ...
*
Tim Hortons Brier
The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...
*
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts (''french: Le Tournoi des Cœurs Scotties''; commonly referred to as the Scotties) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Associat ...
*
United States Men's Curling Championship
The United States Men's Curling Championship is the annual men's national curling championship for the United States. It is run by the United States Curling Association (USCA) and typically held in conjunction with the Women's Championship. The ch ...
*
United States Women's Curling Championship
The United States Women's Curling Championship is the annual women's national curling championship for the United States. It is run by the United States Curling Association (USCA) and typically held in conjunction with the Men's Curling Champions ...
*
Canada Cup of Curling
The Canada Cup (branded as the Home Hardware Canada Cup for sponsorship reasons, and also referred to as the Canada Cup of Curling) is a major men's and women's curling championship in Canada. It is organized by Curling Canada and is one of its ma ...
*
European Mixed Curling Championship
The European Mixed Curling Championship was a mixed curling tournament held annually in the autumn for European nations. The first tournament was held in 2005.
The European Mixed Curling Championship was replaced with a World Mixed Curling Champi ...
Notable clubs
*
Bemidji Curling Club
The Bemidji Curling Club is a curling club located in the city of Bemidji, Minnesota. It is notable for its long line of champions in many competitions, including men's and women's rinks which represented the United States in the 2005 World Curl ...
–
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making it ...
, Home of the 2006 United States Men's & Women's Olympic Curling Teams
*
Broomstones Curling Club –
Wayland, Massachusetts
Wayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1638, and incorporated in 1780 and was originally part of neighboring Sudbury (incorporated 1639). As of the 2020 United States Census, the population wa ...
*
Chicago Curling Club
The Chicago Curling Club is located in Northbrook, Illinois, about 15 miles north of Chicago. It offers curling for men and women from October through April annually. The club was founded in 1948. Annual tournaments include the Open Bonspiel (O ...
–
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
*
Dakota Curling Club – Burnsville, Minnesota – a leading example of the development of new curling clubs on arena ice in the USA
*
Detroit Curling Club –
Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190.
Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...
*
Duluth Curling Club
The Duluth Curling Club (DCC) is a curling club located in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. DCC is the curling club with the second largest membership in the United States.
History
The Duluth Curling Club was organized in 1891. The original bui ...
–
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
– Home of the 2018 United States Men's Gold Medal Olympic Curling Team
*
Garrison Golf and Curling Club
Garrison Golf & Curling Club is a golf and curling club, located within CFB Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Garrison is a private club, primarily for the use of Canadian Forces personnel and Canadian Department of National Defence employe ...
, Kingston, Ontario
*
Grand National Curling Club
The Grand National Curling Club (GNCC), founded in 1867, was the first National Curling Organization encompassing the entire United States. It remained the national organization until it created the United States Curling Association (USCA) in the ...
– Organization in the United States covering clubs on the east coast
*
Granite Curling Club –
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Manitoba
*
Granite Curling Club –
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, the only dedicated curling facility on the west coast of the United States
*
Ice Melters Curling Club –
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
*
–
Fife, Scotland
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e ...
*
Mayflower Curling Club The Mayflower Curling Club, which was founded in 1905, since 1962 has been located at 3000 Monaghan Drive in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality in Halifax.
The club is one of the premier curling rinks in Nova Scotia, being home to the tea ...
–
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
*
Milwaukee Curling Club
The Milwaukee Curling Club, now based in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, is the longest continually operating curling club in the United States. It was founded in Milwaukee in 1845 by Scots emigrants, including Alexander Mitchell (later elected "patron" of ...
–
Mequon, Wisconsin
Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the comm ...
— The oldest curling club in the U.S. – Since 1845
*
Ottawa Curling Club
The Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located on O'Connor Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 by Allan Gilmour as the Bytown Curling Club. ...
–
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
*
– Laurel,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
– Near Washington, D.C
*
Pittsburgh Curling Club
The Pittsburgh Curling Club (or PghCC) is a curling club located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The PghCC was founded in 2002 with 12 members, and as of 2020 has over 100 members.
The club opened its new four sheet dedicated ice facility in Stowe ...
–
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania – Established in 2002
*
Plainfield Curling Club
The Plainfield Curling Club (or PCC) is a nonprofit curling club located in South Plainfield, New Jersey. It owns and operates the only dedicated curling facility in New Jersey. It was founded in 1963, with the members initially using rented ice ...
–
South Plainfield, New Jersey
South Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the bo ...
*
Rideau Curling Club
The Rideau Curling Club is a curling facility and organization located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1888, the Rideau Curling Club maintains a rivalry with the Ottawa Curling Club.
History
The original club began operation in November, ...
–
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
*
Royal Caledonian Curling Club
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC was founded on 25 ...
–
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the official Mother Club of curling
*
Royal Montreal Curling Club
The Royal Montreal Curling Club (French: Club de Curling Royal Montréal) is the oldest curling club in North America, established on January 27, 1807 by a group of Scottish Canadian immigrants in Montreal.
The group met at the Gillis Tavern to ...
–
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
, the oldest active athletic club in North America
*
Royal City Curling Club Construction of the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, began in August 1965, and was completed in January 1966. The club's first president was George Reid, and its first ice maker was Don Bowman. Since its complet ...
–
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
*
Saint Paul Curling Club
The St. Paul Curling Club (SPCC) is an historic curling club located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, on Selby Avenue. It is the curling club with the largest active membership in the United States at over 1200 members. It was first estab ...
–
St. Paul, Minnesota – Founded in 1885. Club with largest active membership in the United States (over 1000 members).
*
Utica Curling Club
The Utica Curling Club is located in Whitesboro, New York. The club was founded in 1868 and is one of the oldest curling clubs in the United States. A member of the Grand National Curling Club (GNCC), the Utica Curling Club is the largest curli ...
–
Utica, New York
Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...
*
Kilsyth Curling Club – the first constituted curling club in the world
In popular culture
*
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
participate in a game of curling during one scene of their 1965 film ''
Help!
''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "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
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' features scenes of curling.
* ''
Men with Brooms
''Men with Brooms'' is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy film, starring and directed by Paul Gross. Centred on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their ...
'' is a 2002 Canadian film that takes a satirical look at curling. A TV adaptation, also titled ''
Men with Brooms
''Men with Brooms'' is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy film, starring and directed by Paul Gross. Centred on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their ...
'', debuted in 2010 on
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
.
* The ''
Corner Gas
''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, MTV, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The seri ...
'' episode "Hurry Hard" involves the townspeople of Dog River competing in a local curling
bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...
for the fictitious "Clavet Cup". The episode also features cameos by Canadian curlers
Randy Ferbey
Randy S. Ferbey (born May 30, 1959) is a Canadian retired curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion. He currently coaches the Rachel Homan women's team.
Born in Edmonton, Albert ...
and
Dave Nedohin.
* In
Louise Penny
Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the ...
's mystery novel ''
A Fatal Grace
''A Fatal Grace'', by Louise Penny, published in Canada as ''Dead Cold'', is the second novel in the Three Pines Mysteries series, which feature Inspector Armand Gamache.
Plot summary
Inspector Gamache investigates after CC de Poitiers, a sadis ...
'', published in 2007, the main character investigates a murder at a local Christmas bonspiel.
*"
Boy Meets Curl
"Boy Meets Curl" is the twelfth episode of the The Simpsons (season 21), twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on Febru ...
" is a 2010 episode from ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'':
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Marge
Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include:
People
*Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist
*Marge Anderson (1932 ...
form a
mixed curling
This is a glossary of terms in curling.
#s
During a game, sweepers might call out numbers. These numbers indicate how far the sweepers think the rock in play will travel. This system is relatively new to the game and is often attributed to the R ...
team with
Agnes and
Seymour Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
, which is chosen to play in the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, where they win the gold medal.
*''
The Move of the Penguin
''The Move of the Penguin'' ( it, La mossa del pinguino, also known as ''The Penguin's Move'') is a 2013 Italian comedy film written and directed by Claudio Amendola, as his directorial debut. It stars Edoardo Leo, Ricky Memphis, Antonello Fassar ...
'' is a 2013 Italian comedy film where an unlikely team tries to qualify for the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
held in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
.
* In 2021, the sitcom ''
The Great North
, creator = Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin & Wendy Molyneux & Minty Lewis
, voices = {{Plainlist,
* Nick Offerman
* Jenny Slate
* Will Forte
* Dulcé Sloan
* Paul Rust
* Aparna Nancherla
, composer = {{Plainli ...
'' aired the episode "Curl Interrupted Adventure" in which two characters join a curling league.
See also
*
Glossary of curling
This is a glossary of terms in curling.
#s
During a game, sweepers might call out numbers. These numbers indicate how far the sweepers think the rock in play will travel. This system is relatively new to the game and is often attributed to the R ...
*
Grand Slam of Curling
The Grand Slam of Curling (branded as the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling for sponsorship reasons) is a series of curling bonspiels that are a part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of at least CAD$100,000, and f ...
*
List of curlers
This is a list of sportspersons who play the sport of curling, past and present, sorted by nationality. Canadian curlers are further sorted by province.
Andorra
* Ana Arce
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
A ...
*
World Curling Federation
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. ...
*
*
Women's curling
*
Drummuir Curlers' Platform railway station
Drummuir Curlers' Platform railway station was a private station opened on the Keith and Dufftown Railway for the use of the curlers belonging to the Drummuir Curling Club who played on the nearby Loch Park in the parish of Botriphnie. The GN ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
* Smith, David B. (1981), ''Curling: An Illustrated History'', John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh,
External links
World Curling FederationBonspiel! The History of Curling in Canada at Library and Archives Canada Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
''The Game Of The Magic Broom'', March 1944one of the first magazine articles to introduce the game of curling to the American public
The Canadian Curler's Manualtranscription of 1840 text
- World Curling Federation Directory listing
{{Authority control
Winter Olympic sports
Sports originating in Scotland
Precision sports
Team sports
Scottish games
Ice sports
Sports originating in the United Kingdom