Draw in curling

Precision, not power

The draw is the basic shot in curling. The aim is not to hit another stone but to place your own stone at an exact spot. That might be the centre of the house, a position behind a guard or a spot in front of the house. Teams that draw well control the game.

Weight, line and curl

Three things have to be right for a draw:

• Weight: this is what curlers call pace. A draw needs just enough momentum for the stone to come to rest exactly on target. Too much weight and the stone slides through the house; too little and it stops short.
• Line: the skip uses the broom to show where the stone should be aimed.
• Curl: the rotation given at release makes the stone travel in an arc. The slower it gets, the more it curls. How much also depends on the ice and the pebbling.

The role of the sweepers

On a draw, the sweepers decide between success and failure. Sweeping warms the ice very slightly, so the stone travels further and curls less. During the stone's run the sweepers judge whether it will reach its target and respond to the skip's calls. A good draw is therefore teamwork: delivery, judgement and sweeping must fit together.

Variants of the draw

• Freeze: the stone is placed so that it touches or almost touches another stone. A frozen stone is hard to remove because the force of a hit is spread across both stones.
• Come-around: a draw that curls around a guard and comes to rest behind it.
• Tap or raise: the stone nudges another stone slightly forward, for example one of your own guards into the house.
• Guard: technically, a guard in front of the house is also a draw, just with less weight.

The last stone draw

A special form is the last stone draw (LSD). Before a game, both teams play draws to the centre of the house and the distance is measured. The team with the better result gets the hammer in the first end. At many championships the results of all LSDs in a tournament are combined into the draw shot challenge, which can decide ties in the standings. A single draw can therefore determine placings.

Draw or takeout?

Whether a team draws or hits is a fundamental tactical decision. Draws build positions: they fill the house and set up multiple points. Takeouts clear things up and reduce risk. Teams that are behind tend to play draws; teams in the lead tend to play takeouts.

Tips for beginners

Beginners usually underestimate how little force a draw needs. A calm, even push out of the hack matters more than momentum. Many coaches first let newcomers simply try to reach the house, no matter where. Only then do exact positions come into play. Once you have a feel for weight, you can try freezes and come-arounds.