End in curling

A game in sections

A curling game is not played against the clock but in ends. In an end, each team in classic four-player curling plays eight stones, two per player. The teams alternate stone by stone. Once all 16 stones have been played, the score is counted and the next end begins in the opposite direction. The players move to the other end of the sheet for this.

How scoring works

Only one team can score per end. It gets a point for each of its stones that lies closer to the centre of the house than the opponent's best stone. Stones only count if they touch the house. If, for example, team A's two best stones lie ahead of team B's best stone, A scores two points. If a distance cannot be judged with the naked eye, it is measured.

An end can therefore finish 1–0, 2–0, 3–0 or more for one team. In theory eight points are possible, the so-called eight-ender. In elite curling this practically never happens; in recreational play it creates legends.

Blank end and steal

If no stone is in the house after all stones have been played, the end finishes 0–0. This is called a blank end. The team with the hammer, the last stone, then keeps it. That is why teams sometimes deliberately play a blank end instead of scoring just one point.

If the team without the hammer scores, it is called a steal. Steals are hard to achieve and often change a game decisively.

How many ends?

• Four-player teams: usually ten ends at world and European championships and the Olympic Games. Six or eight are also common at recreational tournaments.
• Mixed doubles: eight ends. Each team plays five stones per end, and one further stone per team is placed at fixed positions before the start.
• Wheelchair curling: shorter games with eight ends are also common here.

If the score is tied after the last end, an extra end follows. Whoever scores in it wins.

Tactics across several ends

Because the hammer passes to the other team after every scoring end, teams plan several ends ahead. A typical aim is to score two points with the hammer and to hold the opponent to one point without it. A team well in front usually plays safe: it clears stones away and keeps the house open. A team behind places guards and takes risks. Important tools here are the draw and the takeout.

Conceding with a handshake

If a team is so far behind that winning in the remaining ends is practically impossible, it can concede early. To do so, the players shake hands with the opponents. In curling this is not considered unsporting but a normal gesture. In many competitions, conceding is only allowed after a minimum number of ends have been played.

Reading the scoreboard

On traditional curling scoreboards, the points are in the middle and the ends are hung under the points. This confuses newcomers at first: a number under a points column shows in which end a team reached that score. On TV, ends are usually shown clearly in columns.