THE OLYMPIC SPORT OF CURLING

 Submitted by Lisa Schoeneberg

Curling history dates back to the 16th century, when Scottish farmers passed time during long, gray winters by sliding large granite stones, retrieved from nearby channels at low tide, across frozen lochs.  Curling appeared as a demonstration sport in four Olympic Winter Games: 1924 in Chamonix, France, Lake Placid in 1932, 1988 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and 1992 in Albertville, France.  Curling made its Olympic medal debut at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. 

 

The Game is played between two four-member teams who use stones with different colored handles. Each game consists of ten ends, which are similar to innings in baseball. During an end, each team member alternates throwing stones toward a circular target area, called the house, the center of which is approximately 93 feet away.   Only one team scores points per end.  The team with their stones closest to the center of the target area, called the button, gets one point for each stone between the button and the opposing teams nearest stone.  After each end is completed, play is switched to the house at the other end of the sheet.

 

The Free Guard Zone is the space between the hogline and the tee line, excluding the house (see diagram, next page).  No stone lying in this zone may be removed from play by the opposition until the first 4 stones in any end have come to rest.   Any opponents stone(s) removed from the Free Guard Zone prior to the first 4 stones being played, the opposing team will place their stone back in it’s original position and play continues.

 

Curling teams consist of four players: the lead, second, third (or vice-skip) and the skip, who is the team strategist. As each player releases the stone, an in-turn (clockwise) or out-turn (counter-clockwise) release is used to rotate the stone as it glides down the ice sheet. This turn or “curl” gives the sport its name. The vigorous sweeping actually melts a thin top layer of the ice surface, reducing the friction between the stone and the ice. Vigorous sweeping helps the stone travel straighter and farther, increasing the distance by as much as 10 ft.

 

Equipment

Text Box: Stone:  Each curling stone is made of pure granite, a very hard stone, that is highly polished. The stones are fairly uniform in size and shape with a maximum weight of 44 lbs., a circumference of 36 in., and a minimum height of 4.5 in.  The stone is concave on the bottom, which allows the stone to slide down the ice and curl more than if it had a flat surface.  A plastic handle is bolted onto every stone in order to  deliver and release it.  

 

 

 

 

 


 


Shoes: Curling shoes are made of leather. One shoe has a slippery Teflon or steel sole that allows the athlete to slide during the

            delivery. The other shoe has a rubber sole for traction.

 

Broom: Also called a brush, it is used to sweep the ice, creating a film of water between the stone and the ice, like a hydroplane.

              There are several types of brooms constructed of different materials including synthetic bristles, hog or horsehair bristles or 

              straw.


 

 

 

 


 

The Sheet (playing surface)

 

 

The house consists of a bull’s-eye series of 4 concentric circles. Identical houses are marked on opposite ends of the sheet.


 

 

·         The hack (a) - a small, rubber block sticking out of the ice, from which the delivery motion begins.

·         The Back Line (b) - the end of the playing field.

·         The Center Line (e) - the center of the lengthwise sheet.

·         The Tee Line (d) - the center line of the house.

·         The Button (c) - innermost circle of the house 

·         The Hogline (f) - the athlete must release the stone prior to the stone crossing this line.  At the other end, the stone must cross the hogline in order to be in-play.

 

Each sheet  is specially prepared using a pebbling process. The ice is sprinkled with droplets of warm water, which freeze on contact. The small bumps (much like an orange peel texture) on the ice surface allow the running edge of the stone to easily glide down the ice.

 

The Delivery

 


Text Box: The action that places the curling stone into play is called the delivery. The athlete plants one foot against the hack, then bends to grab the handle of the stone, which is in front of the hack, and pulls it backward.  In one fluid motion, the athlete then moves the stone forward and pushes off from the hack, assuming a stretched position with the sliding foot lunged forward and the hack foot dragging behind. The athlete is aiming at the broom the skip is holding in the house as a target.  During the delivery, the inturn (clockwise) or outturn (counter clockwise) is put into motion.  The athlete must release the stone before reaching the first hog line, but then will continue to slide down the sheet due to momentum.

 

 

 

Strategic Moves

The draw is a rock that stops in the house. A freeze is a stone that touches an opponent’s and stops. There are a number of takeout shots that involve moving another stone by striking it. The hit and stay is a shot that removes an opponent’s stone from play, leaving the delivered stone at or near the point of contact.