Curling Game

One of the lesser known sport in the world, curling is a team sport wherein the objective of the players is to score more points than their opponents by sliding a 'stone', down the sheet of ice, towards the target. Terms such as stone, target, etc., may sound a bit confusing but all these aspects come together to make curling one of the most interesting sporting event in the world.

Curling History

Even though the game is played in specially built curling arenas today, its roots can be traced back to the 16th century Scotland, wherein the game was played on the frozen water of lakes and ponds. Initially, curling was known as the 'roaring game' owing to the roaring sound that the stone made when it was slid down the ice. Eventually, the players observed that the stone curled when slid down the ice sheet, and thus the name curling came into existence. The first world championship of curling - the 'Scotch Cup' was played in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1959. The International Curling Federation (ICF) was formed as the governing body for this sport in 1965, with the intention of promoting this sport. Eventually, it was renamed as the World Curling Federation (WCF) in 1991. The popularity of the sport continued to soar, and finally it was included in 1998 Winter Olympics held in Japan.

Equipment and Field

The equipment used in this sport include a thick stone disc known as the 'curling stone', a brush used to sweep the ice floor known as the 'curling broom', a 'slider shoe' for the sliding foot and a 'non-sliding shoe' for the hack foot. On an average, a curling stone weighs anywhere between 38 to 44 lbs. The players wear gloves to keep their hands warm, and carry a stop watch to monitor the speed on the curling stone. The game is played on a narrow strip of ice, known as the curling sheet, which measures 45 to 46 meters in length and 4.4 to 5.0 meters in width. The target, referred to as the 'house', is marked at the each end of the sheet, in the form of three concentric circles, each marked by three different colors. At the center of the house lies an area of the size of a curling stone, which is known as the 'button'.

Game Rules

As we mentioned earlier, the objective of the game is simple - the players are expected to slide the curling stone down the curling sheet towards the 'house'. As per the stipulations of the scoring system, the placement of curling stones determines the points the team has earned. The method in curling is quite simple - the team earns a single point for every curling stone which is closer to the 'button' than the nearest curling stone belonging to the opponent team. If team A has one curling stone closer than the closest stone belonging to team B, then team A earns one point, if it has two stones closer, it earns two points, and so on. Therefore, the players aim to reach as close to the 'button' as possible. Each team is made up of 4 players, and these players have 2 curling stones each.

Once each of these teams are done with their 8 curling stones, it is called an 'end' and the scores are counted. In a single end, the team can earn a maximum of eight points (referred to as the eight ender) and a minimum of zero. According to the curling scoring guidelines, the stone has to enter the house to qualify for scoring. If both the teams fail to make it to the house in the first place, both the teams end up with zero points. Generally a single game consists of 8 'ends', however, some clubs do have games with 10 'ends'. At the finish of the 8th end the score is counted, and the team with the more points is declared the winner.

On the first look, the game may seem to be quite simple, but it requires a great deal of precision and strategic planning to place the curling stone at the right place in the house.