Sponsors:

Partners:

Information Partners:

Organizers:

About Curling

Rules of Curling

Curling Rules and How Curling is Played

The Rules of Curling and how the game of Curling is played.

In Curling, two teams play against each other with each team having four players. Each player has two stones and the players will alternate playing against the opposing team players. The objective in Curling is to push a 44 pound (20-kilogram) stone down the playing area called the Sheet, which is a sheet of ice, that is between 14.17 -15.58 feet wide (4.32-4.75 meters) wide and 146 feet (42.50 meters) long. At each end of the Sheet are concentric circles that are 12 feet in diameter and are called "the house." which is the scoring area. The house is made up of three concentric circles that surround a center circle, which is called the button and is the exact center of the house. The goal for each player is to slide the round 44-pound stone or "rock," down the ice and into the house. This is somewhat similar to the game / sport of Shuffle Board. A secondary goal is to knock opponents' rock out of the house. Players will also try to position their stone so that it protects the position of another stone from their team. A team scores a point for each stone that is closer to the button, in the center of the house, than the nearest opponents' stone. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. If there is a question as to which stone is closer to the button, a curling official will use a measuring device to measure the distance. One end of the device is put in the button and the other end will measure the distance each stone is from the button and the official will announce the measurement results.

Behind the house is a starting block, which is actually made of two rubber blocks and is called the "hack". The hack is where curlers start when it is their turn to slide their rock down the sheet. The hack is 125 feet (38.12 meters) from the house. However, the curler does not have to release their rock until they reach the hog line, which is about 33 feet (10 meters) in front of the hack. So the house from the hog line is about 92 feet (28 meters).

The players will gain momentum by moving the stone back and then forward before pushing off from the hack to begin their slide along the ice toward the hog line. The player must release their rock before crossing the hog line, if they do not, then the rock is taken out of play, either while it's still moving or after it stops.

When the player throws the stone they will give it either a left or right spin. This will cause the stone to curl in the direction of the spin. Ice conditions will vary and affect the amount of curl and the force needed for the right amount of curl.

While the stone is moving down the ice, the members of the Curling team, who just released their rock, will use Curling brooms that have synthetic fabric to sweep the ice in front of the stone. This sweeping does a couple of different things. The sweeping makes the surface of the ice smooth by removing any debris. The sweeping also melts the ice, which reduces the friction between the stone and the ice and it also reduces the curl of the rock. Therefore sweeping allows the stone to travel farther and straighter and it can also determine the direction the rock.

The team leader, known as the "skip," points his broom to the spot where he wants his teammate to slide the rock. After the rock crosses the hog line two other team members can use their brooms to sweep the ice in front of the sliding rock. They must never touch the rock itself. There is a line that runs through the exact center of the house and this is called the Sweeping Line or Tee Line. Sweepers can sweep up until this line but they are not allowed to sweep over it. However, members of the opposing team can start to sweep as soon as the rock crosses the Tee line. This gives the opposing team the opportunity to get the rock to slide outside the house or beyond it.

As mentioned earlier, one of the members of the four-person team is the captain or skip as they are called. The skip is the leader of the team and they have various responsibilities. At the beginning of the match the skips from each team will draw lots to determine which team will go first. The skip will decide the order that each team member will slide his or her rock and this will remain constant for the entire match. The team members are each given a designation, there will be a lead and they will be the first to throw their rock. The second will throw their rock second. There is a vice-skip and they assist the skip with tactics and they throw third and the skip throws last. Because the skip throws last there is more pressure on them to make good throws. The game begins with the leads from each team alternating throws until they have both thrown their two stones. They are followed by the seconds who follow the same procedure as do the vice-skips and skips.

All four players on the offensive team will be involved in each shot, one team member will be throwing their rock, the skip or vice-skip will be one indicating where the rock should be thrown and two team members will be sweeping. The skip holds indicates the target, by using their broom, for the shots by each of the other three players and the vice-skip holds the broom when the skip's taking their turn.

Each game consists of 10 ends, or innings, similar to innings in a baseball game. If at the conclusion of 10 ends the game is tied, additional ends are played until a winning team is determined. Again points are awarded at the conclusion of each end to the team whose rock(s) are closest to the button, which is in the center of the house. So if one team has two stones closer to the button than the other team they get two points. While it is true that some club games have eight rounds, in major competitions, such as the Olympics, there are 10 ends.

Penalties

Any team that does not have three players is disqualified. If during a match a player becomes ill or is injured, then the lead will play four rocks.

If a rock is played from the wrong hack it is taken off the ice.

If a player touches a moving rock that is from his or her own team it is taken off the ice. If an opposing player touches a rock then it is placed, by the offensive team's skip, where he believes the rock would have come to rest.

If a player throws out of turn, his rock is stopped and returned to them.

Odds and Ends

One a match has started no viable rock may be substituted for another.

If a rock breaks, the end will continue with the largest piece being used. Another stone will be used for the rest of the match.

If, when being thrown, the handle comes out of the rock, the shot is allowed to be taken over.

If a rock should end up on its side or upside down it will be taken off the ice.

No sweepings should be left in the path of a moving stone.

Any stone that does not pass the hog line is taken off the ice, unless it has hit another stone.

Strategies in Curling

The strategy of the game is all about shot selection. Basic shots are the draw, to get the rock into the scoring area, the guard, meaning to place a rock in front of a rock that is in scoring position and of course the takeout, which is to remove an opponent's rock from being in play.

Points are added up at the finish of each end. It is possible for no points to be scored in an end and this happens because the team that wins an end is required to shoot first at the start of the next end and going first is not always the best strategy to follow. Therefore if there are no stones in the scoring area, and a team has the last shot, they may come to a decision to shoot their last rock entirely through the house and not score any points. In this scenario the team that went first in this end will go first in the next end and the opposing team can play second, which can be the better strategic throwing position.

Free Guard Zone Rule

Added strategy is brought to the game in the form of the Free Guard Zone. This is the area that includes all of the space between the hog line and the tee line except the house. And any stationary rock located within the free guard zone is not allowed to be removed from play by an opposing team rock until after the fourth rock of the end has been thrown and all rocks are in play, at rest or have gone out of play.

Violations of the Free Guard Zone Rule

If a rock in the free guard zone is struck and removed from play by an opposing team rock before the delivery of the fifth rock of the end, the team whose rock was struck can either:

1) Allow the play to stand

2) Remove the rock that was just thrown and replace the displaced rocks back to their original positions.

If the thrown fourth rock of an end first hits a rock not in the free guard zone and then, as a result, a rock of the opposing team in the free guard zone is hit and removed from play, the team whose rock was removed from play may:

1) Allow the play to stand or

2) Remove the rock that was just thrown and replace displaced rock back to in its original position in the free guard zone. The rock that was first hit remains where it came to rest.

This rule was introduced in 2003 in an effort to stop games were becoming too defense-oriented. In the past, the lead rock would keep getting hit and replaced by an opponent's guard rock and the result was low scoring games. The free guard zone has the effect of putting more rocks in play, and this in turn adds to the complexity to the game and it makes shot-calling a very important element of the game.

History of Curling

Curling has been described as the “Roarin’ Game”, with the “roar” coming from the noise of a granite stone as it travels over the ice. The exact origins of the game, however, are unclear, but curling is widely believed to be one of the world’s oldest team sports.

WK Jackson skipping at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924.

Paintings by a 16th Century Flemish Artist, Pieter Bruegel (1530-1569) portrayed an activity similar to curling being played on frozen ponds. The first written evidence appeared in Latin, when in 1540, John McQuhin, a notary in Paisley, Scotland, recorded in his protocol book a challenge between John Sclater, a monk in Paisley Abbey and Gavin Hamilton, a representative of the Abbot. The report indicated that Sclater threw a stone along the ice three times and asserted that he was ready for the agreed contest.

What is clear, however, is that what may have started as an enjoyable pastime of throwing stones over ice during a harsh Northern European winter, has evolved into a popular modern sport with its own World Championships attracting fans and large television audiences.

Curling in its early days was played on frozen lochs and ponds. A pastime still enjoyed in some countries when weather permits, but all National and International competitive curling competitions now take place in indoor rinks with the condition of the ice carefully temperature-controlled.
It is also clear that the first recognized Curling Clubs were formed in Scotland, and during the 19th Century the game was “exported” wherever Scots settled around the world in cold climates, most notably at that time in Canada, USA, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand.

The first Rules were drawn up in Scotland, and they were formally adopted as the “Rules in Curling” by the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, which was formed in Edinburgh in 1838 and became the sport’s governing body. Four years later, following a demonstration of curling on the ballroom floor of Scone Palace near Perth by the Earl of Mansfield during a visit by Queen Victoria, the Queen was so fascinated by the game that in 1843 she gave permission for the Club’s name to be changed to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC).

It is recorded that international curling events were staged in the 19th century in Europe and North America, but it was not until the first Olympic Winter Games at Chamonix in 1924 that any form of official International competition took place for men’s teams. Great Britain defeated Sweden and France in what was retroactively accepted in 2006 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Curling’s Olympic debut, with medals awarded.

In 1932 at Lake Placid, curling again was listed but this time as a demonstration sport at the Winter Olympics, and Canada was a winner over the United States in a two-country competition in which each country entered four Men’s teams.

Another 25 years passed before a meeting was held in Edinburgh in 1957 to consider the formation of an international organization which would be required in order to apply for Olympic medal status. No progress was documented, but two years later, in 1959, Scotland and Canada reached a major milestone by launching the Scotch Cup series between their national men's curling champions.

Interest in other countries was generated, and the USA (1961), Sweden (1962), Norway and Switzerland (1964), France (1966) and Germany (1967) expanded the Scotch Cup entry. The 1959-67 results now are recognized in the curling history of the men's world championship.

The success of the Scotch Cup series led to another attempt, in March 1965, to create a global administration. The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (Scotland) convened a meeting in Perth, Scotland, and six countries (Scotland, Canada, USA, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland) agreed to a proposal to form an international committee of the Royal Club, to be called the International Curling Federation (ICF).

The following year, in March, 1966, in Vancouver, Canada, a draft constitution for the ICF was considered by seven countries (France was added to the original six), and the Federation was declared to be established as of April 1, 1966. The constitution was approved in March 1967, at Perth, and a set of rules for international competition was proposed. At the Federation's annual meeting in 1968 in Pointe Claire, Quebec, these rules were adopted, but are subject to amendment and revision each year.

Also in 1968, the Air Canada Silver Broom replaced the Scotch Cup, and it was sanctioned as the World Curling Championship. In 1975, the Federation endorsed the World Junior Men's Curling Championship; in 1979 the Ladies’ Curling Championship; and in 1988, the World Junior Ladies’ Curling Championship. The four events were combined into two in 1989 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Markham, Ontario, and became known as the World Curling Championships (WCC) and the World Junior Curling Championships (WJCC).

The Constitution had a significant adjustment in 1982, when the Federation was declared an independent entity and approved as the governing body for curling in the world, while the Royal Caledonian Curling Club was acknowledged as the Mother Club of Curling.
In 1991, the name of the Federation was changed to the World Curling Federation (WCF).

Curling was a demonstration sport for a second and third time at the Olympic Winter Games of 1988 (Calgary) and 1992 (Albertville) for teams of men and women.
On 21 July 1992, at its session in Barcelona, Spain, the International Olympic Committee granted official medal status to Men’s and Women’s Curling, to take effect no later than the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, with an option for 1998 at Nagano, Japan.

During the meeting of the IOC Executive Board held June 22-23, 1993 in Lausanne, the Organizing Committee of the Nagano Olympic Winter Games (NAOC) officially agreed to include Curling in the programme of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in 1998. Eight teams for men and women participated in Nagano, and this was increased to ten from the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games of 2002 onwards.

At the Semi-Annual General Assembly of the Federation in Leukerbad, Switzerland, in December 1993, a revised Constitution was adopted. This included changes to the Management Structure. The revised structure became operational following the election of the Executive Board at the Annual General Assembly in Oberstdorf, Germany, in April 1994.

From 1966 to 1994, the administration of the ICF and WCF was the responsibility of employees of the RCCC. Following the adoption of the revised Constitution, the WCF set up its own Head Office and Secretariat in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1994.

At the Semi-Annual General Assembly of the Federation in Grindelwald, Switzerland in December 1995, a completely re-written Constitution was adopted in order to comply with Swiss law following the Federation’s registration in that country.

In May 2000, the WCF Secretariat moved from Edinburgh to Perth, Scotland.

The first World Wheelchair Curling Championship was held in January 2002 and in March that year, the International Paralympic Committee granted official medal status to Wheelchair Curling for mixed gender teams. The Organizing Committee of the Torino Paralympic Winter Games 2006 agreed to include Wheelchair Curling in their programme.

Other international events introduced in 2002 included World Senior Championships for men and women, and The Continental Cup, a competition run along the same lines as golf’s Ryder Cup, with Team North America (Canada and USA) versus Europe (now Team World).

In 2003, Curling was featured on the programmes of the World University Winter Games and the Asian Winter Games for the first time.

In 2005, the World Men’s and Women’s Championships were separated once again, and held in different parts of the world. Also that year the European Youth Olympic Festival introduced a curling competition for Junior men and women between 15 and 18 years of age.

The growth of the sport in Asia was recognized with the World Women’s Championship held in Aomori, Japan, in 2007 and Gangneung, Korea, in 2009.

In 2008, the first World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was staged in Vierumäki, Finland. Mixed Doubles Curling marks a break from traditional curling, as teams are comprised of two players – one male and one female. The Championship has grown from strength to strength and is now an annual fixture on the WCF calendar.

About Curling

Rules of Curling

Curling Rules and How Curling is Played

History of Curling

Where to try?