Introduction to Curling

With Olympic curling just around the corner, I thought I’d provide an introduction to the basics of the traditional four-person game for those who may come across it on TV but are not familiar with the sport. This is the standard format that has been a medal event since 1998*. The mixed-doubles format was added in 2018 and will be the subject of my next post.

Four-Person Curling

Curling is played on a sheet of ice by two teams of four players each. The objective is to score the most points after a certain number of ends. An end is similar to an inning in baseball. Olympic matches consist of ten ends. If the game is tied after ten ends, an extra ends are played until one team scores.

In each end, teams alternate throwing their stones towards a 12-foot diameter circular target (the house) approximately 150’ away. Each player on a team throws (aka delivers) two stones, for a total of eight stones per team. The team throwing the last stone of an end has “the hammer“, which is quite advantageous.

After all sixteen stones have been delivered, only the team with the stone closest to the center of the house (called the pin) scores points. One point is scored for each stone that is closer to the pin than the opponent’s closest stone. The color of the rings does not matter and a stone must be touching the house to be counted. Scoring the maximum eight points in an end is rarer than a hole in one in golf and has never happened in Olympic competition.

The team that scores in an end throws first in the next end. If neither team scores, the end is “blanked“ and the teams retain the same shooting order. In Olympic competition, the hammer in the first end is determined by Last Stone Draws (LSD). Each team delivers two stones at the end of their pre-game practice. The team that is cumulatively closest to the pin is awarded hammer in the first end. In club competition, a coin-flip is often used to determine last stone in the first end.

Player positions are named based on the order in which they deliver their rocks in an end. The lead throws the first two stones for a team; the second throws the next two; followed by the third and then the fourth. Think of this like a batting line-up in baseball.

The skip of a team is the player in charge of strategy, deciding what shots to call. The skip stands in the house and provides a target broom for the shooter to aim at. The skip is also the person often heard yelling at the sweepers. The skip can throw in any position but most often throws fourth. Some skips at the Olympics will throw third. The vice-skip holds the broom and manages the house when the skip is shooting.

When it’s a team’s turn to throw, there is one shooter, one player giving directions (aka skipping), and two sweepers. The primary function of sweeping is “to make the stone go further and to hold a stone straighter.” I quote World Curling because sweeping is an art and curlers have developed different techniques to make a stone curl more or less. This is definitely a hot topic in the sport, that I may try to address in a future post (or two or three or …) Be prepared to see some unorthodox sweeping at the Olympics!

Finally, why is it called curling? Because the rock curls (like a curveball) as it slides down the ice. The direction of curl is based on the spin that the shooter imparts when they let go of the stone. A clockwise spin will curl to the shooter’s right; a counter-clockwise spin will curl to the left. The amount of curl depends on the rate of rotation, the rocks, the ice, the sweeping… yet another topic for a different post. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll see a “spinner” during the Olympics—a shot that spins rapidly as it travels straight down the ice and then takes a hard turn as it begins to slow down. To see what I mean, watch one of the greatest curling shots ever here.

Hopefully I have given you enough information about the four-person curling game so you can enjoy watching the sport during the Olympics. Future posts will address other aspects of the game, including mixed-doubles, terminology, additional rules, and other topics of interest. If there’s something specific you want to know, send me an email. Or sign up for my newsletter to be informed of updates. As a bonus, I’ll send you my handout on “Curling Behind the Scenes for Newbies.”

Good curling!

*Technically, there was a 3-team Olympic tournament in 1924 that was recognized as an official medal event in 2006.