curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

, a third (alternatively, vice, vice-skip or mate) is the team member who delivers the second-to-last pair of a team's stones in an end. The third is in charge of calling, strategy and directing the sweepers when 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 ...

is delivering their stones, but sweeps for 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The vices of each team are responsible for determining and recording the score after each end, and in most clubs, will determine by lot which team begins a game with the hammer and what colour stones each team will use. The third position requires a curler adept at executing shots with a high degree of accuracy, especially draws and other finesse shots, as the third needs to set up the house for the skip's stones.

References

Curling terminology {{curling-stub