Curling

What is curling?

Curling is often called "chess on ice". Two teams take turns sliding their stones along a sheet of ice around 45 metres long, the sheet, towards a circular target, the house. Precision, tactics and teamwork matter, not speed or strength. That is exactly why curling is a sport for almost any age.

The rules in brief

• A team has four players: lead, second, third (vice-skip) and skip. Each plays two stones per round.
• A round is called an end. In each end, each team plays eight stones, alternating with the opponent.
• A game usually has ten ends (eight at many tournaments and in recreational curling).
• The skip stands in the house, sets the tactics and shows with the broom where the stone should go.
• Two teammates sweep in front of the moving stone when needed.

How scoring works

After each end, only the team whose stone is closest to the centre (the "button") scores. It gets one point for each of its stones closer to the centre than the opponent's best stone. The other team scores nothing in that end. If no stone is in the house, the end finishes 0–0 (a "blank end").

An important tactical factor is the last stone of an end, the so-called hammer. The team that has it has a clear advantage.

Why do players sweep?

Sweeping is curling's trademark – and physics. Vigorous sweeping warms and smooths the ice surface very slightly for a moment. This reduces friction: the stone travels further and curls less. Sweeping can therefore lengthen a stone's path and straighten its curve, but it cannot slow it down.

Curling stones curve at all because of the slight rotation the player gives them at release and because of the special ice surface with small water droplets, the pebble.

Types of shot

Basically there are two kinds of shot:

• Draw: the stone should come to rest at a specific spot, for example in the house or as a guard in front of it.
• Takeout: the stone should knock another stone out of play. Variants include the hit and roll (your own stone then rolls into a better position) and the double takeout, which removes two opposing stones at once.

There are also special shots such as the freeze, in which a stone is placed right up against another so that it can hardly be knocked out, and the raise, in which one of your own stones is pushed further into the house.

The free guard zone rule protects guards at the start of an end: stones between the hog line and the house may not be knocked out of play during the first shots. This makes for more tactics and more stones in play.

The playing surface

The sheet is around 45 metres long and just under 5 metres wide. The most important markings:

Today, top competitions use sensors in the stone's handle to show whether it was released in time before the hog line.

Etiquette and the spirit of curling

Curling is known for its fairness. In recreational play there is often no umpire: teams settle disputes themselves. Players voluntarily declare their own infringements, such as touching a moving stone ("burned stone"). Traditionally the teams shake hands before and after the game. A team that sees no chance left can end the game early with a handshake ("conceding"). This is considered respectful, not giving up in a negative sense.

Stones, brooms and shoes

A curling stone is made of granite, weighs at most 19.96 kg (44 pounds) and has a handle. Most competition stones are made from granite from Ailsa Craig in Scotland, and some from Welsh granite. The granite is particularly dense and absorbs hardly any water.

Players wear shoes with one sliding sole (slider) and one grippy sole. Today's brooms usually have a head made of synthetic fabric, for which World Curling sets specifications.

Team roles

Teams can also arrange the order differently. The skip does not necessarily play the last stones but remains responsible for tactics.

Calls on the ice

Anyone watching curling on TV hears loud shouts. The most important:

• "Hurry!" / "Hard!": sweep hard.
• "Off!" / "Up!": stop sweeping immediately.
• "Clean!": sweep lightly just to remove debris in front of the stone.
• "Line!": the stone is on the right line; sweep only for distance.

The sweepers judge the stone's pace, the skip judges the line. Good teams communicate constantly so that in the end every stone lies where it should.

Mixed doubles and wheelchair curling

• Mixed doubles: two players (a woman and a man), five stones each per end, one stone of each team is already placed before the end. Olympic since 2018, very fast and attacking.
• Wheelchair curling: played without sweeping; stones are often delivered with a stick. Paralympic since 2006.

History

Curling comes from Scotland, where it has been played on frozen lakes since the 16th century. Scottish emigrants took the sport to Canada, which is today the biggest curling nation in the world. Curling was part of the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix (the IOC officially recognised this in 2006) and has been a permanent part of the programme since 1998 in Nagano.

The world governing body World Curling was founded in 1966, then as the International Curling Federation.

Curling in Germany

Curling is a small but active sport in Germany, with centres in Bavaria such as Füssen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf. The governing body is the Deutscher Curling-Verband (DCV). Because dedicated curling rinks are rare, the game is often played on ice hockey rinks with painted sheets, which makes ice quality harder to achieve.

Many clubs offer taster sessions. Equipment is provided; you only need clean trainers and warm clothing. You can find clubs under Teams & clubs.

Little known

• Curling ice is not left smooth but deliberately "pebbled": see pebbling.
• Curling ice is slightly warmer and kept especially level – a job for experienced ice technicians.
• A close relative from the Alpine region is ice stock sport.

Strategy: ends, guards and the free guard zone

A curling game is divided into ends, comparable to innings. Each team plays eight stones per end, alternating with the opponent. Tactics revolve mainly around two questions: who has the hammer, the last stone, and how full should the house get?

The team with the hammer usually wants to keep the game open and score several points. The team without the hammer tries to clog things up. To do this it places guards, protective stones in front of the house, behind which it later plays its own stones. So that not every game is cleared out by early takeouts, there is the free guard zone: under World Curling rules, stones in this area in front of the house may not be knocked out of play until after the fifth stone of an end. This five-rock rule has applied internationally since 2018 and has made the game more attacking.

The basic shots are quickly explained: a draw places a stone at a specific spot without hitting others. A takeout knocks an opposing stone out of play. Between these two poles lie numerous variants, such as the freeze, where a stone is placed exactly against another, or the double takeout, which removes two stones at once.

Leagues and competitions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

• Germany: the Deutscher Curling-Verband (DCV) organises German championships and a Bundesliga. A centre of elite curling is Füssen in the Allgäu with its national training centre. Andrea Schöpp won the women's world titles in 1988 and 2010 with her teams.
• Switzerland: Switzerland is one of the strongest curling nations in the world. Swiss women's teams won numerous world titles in the 2010s and 2020s, and the men have won several world and Olympic medals. Curling is firmly rooted in many Swiss winter resorts.
• Austria: the Austrian curling association is smaller, but there are championships and rinks here too, mainly in Vienna and in the west of the country.

Internationally, the world championships for women, men, mixed doubles and wheelchair curling are the most important titles alongside the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In Europe there are annual European championships. Professional teams also play tournament series such as the Grand Slam series in Canada.

Technology and measurement at the top level

In elite curling, technical aids help the officials. Many competition stones have a sensor in the handle that lights up if a player is still touching the stone after the hog line. This replaces the earlier observation by line judges. For close decisions about which stone is nearer the centre, a measuring device is used that measures from the centre of the house.

Ice quality is also a big topic. The fine water droplets on the surface, the pebbling, determine how much the stones curl. Ice technicians therefore prepare competition ice with particular care; more under ice technician.

Getting started: how to try curling

Curling is one of the most accessible ice sports. Many clubs offer taster sessions, often also for company parties and groups. Usually all you need to bring is clean trainers and warm, flexible clothing. The club provides brooms and sliders.

At first you learn the delivery from the hack, safe sliding and sweeping. Many beginners use a delivery stick, which lets you push the stone without crouching low. This also makes curling attractive for older people and those with limited mobility. Anyone who wants to play regularly joins a club and plays in leagues or tournaments, known as bonspiels. You can find rinks with curling sheets using the search on IceHub.

More curiosities

• Curling was on the programme in Chamonix in 1924. Only in 2006 did the IOC officially recognise those competitions as Olympic.
• Because of the sound of the stones on the ice, curling is also called the "roaring game".
• After the game, the winning team traditionally buys the opponents a drink. This sociability is as much part of the spirit of curling as fair play on the ice.
• A team that is hopelessly behind can concede the whole game early with a handshake. This is not seen as unsporting but as a normal gesture.

Curling terms for beginners

Anyone watching curling for the first time hears a lot of jargon. The most important terms in the encyclopedia:

• House: the target area made of rings.
• Sheet: the playing lane with hog line, tee line and back line.
• Skip: the team's captain and tactician.
• Power play: a special rule in mixed doubles.

The major tournaments are the men's world championship, the women's world championship, the mixed doubles world championship, the wheelchair curling world championship and the European championship.

A tip for your first visit to a rink: admission to many tournaments is free or cheap, and spectators can get close to the sheets.