. The Stones The Very Basics The Curling Stone

..
'[he Basics
TheStones
. The Delivea of the Stone
. S_trategy
of the Game
The Very Basics
Curling is played on ice with (approximately)42-poundgranitestones.The sizeof the playing surface(a
'sheet')is 138 feet long by approximately 14 feet wide. The goal is, after all 16stonesare played(8 by
eachteam),to have a stoneof your team'sclosestto the centerof the house,calledthe 'tee' (seeabove).
This is accomplishedby sendingyour stoneto rest in scoringposition (a 'draw'),by knocking your
opponent'sstonesoutof scoring position (a 'takeout'),and by guardingyour own stoneswith others.The
teamwith the closeststone,inside the house,scor~sa,point,or more if they alsohavethe secondclosest
stoneand so on. Eachround is called an 'end' and consistsof two stonesdeliveredby eachplayer on
eachfour-Qlaxerteam.The stonesare deliveredfrOn:lthe hack on one side of the sheetto the houseon
the oppositeside. This consistsof the player pushingoff from the hack with the stoneand releasingit
with a spin, or ~,
which gives Curling its name.
The Curling Stone
..
The curling stoneoriginatedin Scotlandfrom large chunksof rock bowled acrossthe ice. nonehaving
Curling - What is it?
Page 2 of 6
any particular size or shape(seecurling histo~). They evolvedinto what are now matchedsetsof fairly
unifonnly madestones.The are all madeof pure granite,and they areamazinglyhard.The beststones
comefrom a single granite mine on an island off the coastof Scotland.Shippingis quite expensivedue
to weight (16 stonesin a setat 42 poundsa piece,not including packaging),and manufacturingis
expensivebecauseof the toughnessof the material,which is groundwith diamonds.
The stoneis concaveon both the upperand lower
On somestones,the degreeof concavity is
on both sidesto allow for reversingthe stone
'faster'
or
ice. Athe
handle,
a circular
.
, is'slower'
boltedonto
stoneusually
throughon
a channel
-~
-
-
middle
of highlighted
the stone to region
a bolt on
the
other end, as shown: in
the red
in the
cross-sectionaldiagram.The figure on the right showsthe top of the stone,more obviously concave,but
without a smoothrunning surface.The handleis affixed onto this circular surface.
In the figure above,part A is the bottom of a curling stone,which is concave,althoughyou can't seeit
well in this picture. The red circle is the actualrunning surfaceof the stone.This allows the stoneto go
farther,more accurately,and pick up more 'curl' thanwould be possibleon a flat surface.
~
There is a lighter-coloredbandin a ribbon aroundthe curling stone.This is the 'striking
surface'.In manufacturing,the entire stoneif very highly polished.This surfaceis dulled down for the
purposeof improving collisions with other stones,both so that therewill be a larger contactpatchin the
collision and so that the stoneswill not chip.
(~lick here for a video demonstrationof the stoneSJelivery
The stoneis deliveredsort ofsiInilarly to a bowling motion. Actually, it's not that similar, but it's the
only thing that evenresemblesit. You startoff at what'scalleda 'hack',or basically a block sticking out
of the ice.
Your first motion is to take the stoneand pull it backwards,frequently
lifting it off the ice in the backswing,then you swing it forward into a
smoothglide down the ice.
However,to deliver a stonewell, you shouldglide along with the
stoneas far aspossible.
Good curlersusuallyglide very closeto the ice, in an odd, very
stretched pose.
http://www.brown.edu/Students/Brown_Curling_Club/info/expl.html
03/12/01
Curling - What is it?
Page 3 of 6
You mustreleasethe stoneby the
- -~~~~::~
--~~-""-
_0'--
'hog
~,
line'
(~ee at the toQ 0; the
the dIagram
of the nnk)
As you slow down, the stoneglides on, to comeinto play on the
oppositeside,beyondthe other hog line.
~
~~~~~-~ = -
The Game
Curling is always mentionedas a gameof strategyby curlers,partly becauseit is, but also probably
becausethey want to makesurethat it's seenasmorethan throwing rocks and slipping aroundon the
Ice.
Strategyis definitely the big thing in competitivecurling, though.A great dealof effort goesinto
planning an end so your team'sstoneendsup closestto the center.Thereare a bunchof different
strategicmoves,and herewe showthe standards:
TheDraw
A 'Draw' is obviously the most basicmove. You
sendthe stonedown the sheet,and with the help
of the sweel1ers
and the direction of the ~, you
somehowget the stoneto stop whereyou want it.
Here is showna perfectdraw into the Tee,the
centerof the House.This would be fairly
pointlessas a first shot,as it could easily be taken
out.
The Takeout
Here,the greenstoneis takenout by the yellow.
The yellow continueson, maintainingmost of it<:
momentum(usually takeoutsare thrown harde
than draws),while also knocking the greenstone
http://www.brown.edu/StudentsIBrown_Curling_Club/info/expl.html
03/12/01
Curling - What is it?
Page4 df 6
out of play. The yellow stonecould, of course,
remainin play if it remainedin bounds,but in a basictakeout,the only concernis removingthe other
team'sstone.
Guarding
Guardingis, as its nameimplies, placing a stonein
another(with
a two
draw)
to prevent
takeout.
.front
In thisofdiagram,
we see
green
stonesaand
three
yellow stonesthat havealreadybeenplayed.To
protectstoneA, the yellow teamhassenta draw,
stoneB, immediatelyin front of A. This preventsa
takeoutby stoneC as would havehappenedhere.
The Team
The team consistsof four players,called the 'Skip' the 'First', the 'Second',andthe 'Third'. Terribly
imaginative.The Skip (click hereto seea skig of the old days)is essentiallythe teamcaptain-generallythe most experienced,well-temperedpersonon the team.Play rotatesso that all four team
membersget to deliver two stoneseach.At any time, there is one skip, two sweepers,and one person
delivering a stone.When the Skip is scheduledto deliver his stones,the 'third' (so called becausehe is
the third in line to deliver stones)actstemporarily as skip. From this, we canpretty much guessthat the
later stonesare more important to the outcomeof the game.I'm not surethat they couldn't deliver in any
order they chose,but that seemsto be the way it's done.Sweepingis directedby the skip, and the type of
shot,as well as the placementof the shot,is called by the skip (or acting Skip).
The Ice
A large elementof the gamenot mentionedso far is the 'curl' of the stone.As you can seein the above
diagrams,the stoneis not coming in on a perfectly straightpath.This is due to the curl put on the stone
by the curler. As the stoneis delivered,a slight spin is put on it, acting like a very, very slow curveball.
The pebbleis what helpsthe stonepick up the
. As is seenhere,the ice is
beforethe gamewith a 'pebbler',which
smoothlyhilly effect on the ice, much
little pebbles.Without the pebble,the stone
not be able to travel asfar. Our bestguess,
what we've beentold by peoplewho
know,
is
that
the small travelling surfaceof the
- ~"'- ",
,,~
.
stoneitself combinedwith the small contactarea
of the ice (createdby the pebble)createsthe sameeffect you get when you brakeon an ice patch.A thin
film of water on top of ice createsa hydroplane.Using brooms,the sweepersslightly warm the pebble
and thereby increasethis effect, causingthe stoneto glide fartherand grip less(which alsohasthe effect
of lesseningthe lateral motion due to curl).
-
httn:llwww. brown.edu/Students/BrownCurling- CIub/info/expl.html
03/12/01
Curling - What is it?
Page5 of 6
Here'san explanationwe got from a pamphletpublishedby the United StatesCurling Association:
Eachplayer shootsor deliverstwo stoneseachend,or inning, alternatelywith their
counterparton the opposingteam.A twist of the handleon releasemakesthe stonecurl, a
little like a "hook" in bowling.
All four team membersshoottwo stonesan end and sweepfor their teammates'shots.
While one player shoots,two sweepasneeded.Sweepingposishesthe ice so the stone
travels farther if deliveredtoo softly, and vigoroussweepingrequiresfitness.In a typical
two hour game,a curler walks almosttwo miles.
The skip actsasteam captainand strategist.Strategyis a major factor in curling, as
important as shootingskill. Somepeoplecall curling "chesson ice".
The playing surfaceis called "a sheetof ice", and is designedto allow play in both
directions.
The object of shootingis to get the stone,or rock, to cometo rest at a predetermeinedplace
(a draw or guard)or to move anotherrock (a takeoutor raise).
The scoreis determinedafter eachend of 16stones.Seethe exampleillustratedat bottom
right. A 12 foot circle, the house,is the scoringarea.Stonesin the housemust be closerto
the tee (center)than any opposingstoneto score.
The maximum scorein one end is eight points.Typically, one to threepoints are scored.
Gamesare 8 or 10 ends,lasting 2 to 2.5 hours.
So, there it is.
That explanationdidn't include the very basics-- which are,basically,that you usethe hack (seebelow)
to push off, you with the stone.You travel with the stone.You must releaseit by the 'hog line' on your
side.To count as a valid shot, it must makeit pastthe hog line on the other side.The form is sort of
shown on the previouspage,with our really pretentious"Ivy LeagueChampions"logo. The stick guy
with the very long neck hasjust deliveredthe stone,and it's on its way to the opposite'house'.People
who are really good seemto move effortlesslyhalfway down the sheetafter they've releasedthe stone.
You usethe broom to supportyour left side(assumingyou're right-handed).You slide on your left foot,
with your right leg stretchedout behindyou, dragging,asyou lean far forward to releasethe stonewith
your right arm. Picturesare coming soon,but it's a bit of work to scanthem, etc.
MORE COMING SOON!
138 ft.
http://www.brown.edu/Students/Brown_Curling_Club/info/expl.html
"1
03/12/01
EQUIPMENT
!
like most SPOrts. comfort
the ectiv;ty
A beginning
is the key to enjoying
curler cen be equip-
ped et little expense. for the PUrpoSe of trying
the sport. The following personel geer is rec-
'" .
I
!
F~6
ommended
- clean
running
shoes
or
shoes
- stretchy
slacks or sweat
- warm. not bulky. sweater
- close fitting gloves
- rorextra wa.mth.2nd
a hat or toque
flat
soled
leisure
pants
pairorwarm
socks and
All curling clubs will have as part or their
facilities. regulation Curling rocks ror use. For
instructional purpoSes. the club may also provide a variety or curling brooms or brushes
Beginners may be outfitted with sliding tape or
a slip-on slider to one root. In order to enable
the curler to glide along the ice
CURLING
COMMON
House -
brightlYcoioured circle/target
at each end of the ice surface
-;'2
End -
the time it takes for both teams
Bonspiel
to deliver all the rocks to one
end of the ice surface end determine the relative score
a curling tournament
ROCKS
/
-;g.
THROWING
TERMS
THE ROCK
The action by the curler which places the rock
into play is Called the delj.e~. The delivery is
started from the stance position (fig. 1J.where
the curler places himself into the eppropriate
hack or starting block While in the &t8nce. the
curler lines up the desired shot. concentrates
on the objecti.e end begins the deli.ery
F;,.
I
-
-
CURLING:
SImfIF~CANCE
BACK
~
LINE
OF LINES
Once a rock
has passed completely
is out of play.
It
sides of tlte hack.
should
be removed
over
immediately
this
line,
and placed
it
to
the
TEE-LINE
A rock thrown with perfect
draw weight
is one which
comes to rest on this
line
- referred
to as Wtee-weight".
Once an
opponent's
rock has crossed
this
line,
the other
team may try to
sweep it out.
If you are delivering
a rock and pass over this
line,
you must release
the rock.
-
BOG LINE
-
NEAR ONE
your broom cross this
may continue
to slide
FAR ONE
-
line
1.
to
remain
in
You must release
Once the rock
the line.
the roc~ before
you or
has been released,
you
The rock must cross
-
completely
over
this
play.
GLOSSARYOF CURLING TERMS
Biter
-
Blanking
scoreless
end.
\'\
line.
over
Burned
A rock
barely
touching
12ft.
the End 1.ttempt of
end in order
to carry
A moving
Rock
Draw weight
in the 12ft.
stone
A de1ivery
circle.
\ Guard
playing
last
rock to create
rock advantage
into
next
by sweeper's
sufficient
weight
broom.
to put
the
rock
touching each other.
stones
protectinq
One stone
skip
last
touched
of
Two stationary
Freeze
ring.
another
from removal
by opposing
~ock.
1.
TERMSCont'd
GTJJSSARY
OF CURLING
---
-
Hac~
ering
The toe-hold
or foot
suppor~
stone at each end of ice.
his
A stone
Heavy
In-Turn
Light
Narrow
skip'
delivered
Clockwise
-
A stone
turning
that
A stone
wi~~
is
by the
more weight
of
~~e handle
delivered
delivered
used
with
inside
player
~~an is
of
in
deliv-
desi~ec.
a moving
insufficient
stone
weight.
the imaginary
line
to the
5 broom.
On the
skip's
1. stone
Broom
broom.
delivered
Coun ter-clockwise
Out-Turn
stone.
turning
Back Ring Weight
- ~ stone
to stop in the back-rings.
Sheet
The ice
Short
A rock
Plan
Strategy
Swinqinq
Ice
-
area
that
of
stops
play
Playing
the
with
a gama is
short
of
conceived
ice
of
delivercd
on which
on line
accurately
on which
its
in
handle
desired
the
of
sufficient
be"ing
the
with
mind
curve
~~e
a moving
momentum
played.
destination
of
the
followed
skip.
by a
'rae-Line
':ha horizontal
line
bisecting
nent may sweep your rock until
it passes
~e
Weiqi1 t
Wide
-
skipf.s
2.
A
the rings.
this
line.
No oppo-
amount of momentumgiven to a delivered
stone
dalivercd
outside
of
thc
imaginary
stone.
line
to
~~e
broom.
~INGEnQUETTE
~
.
Curling
~ known for its
keen rivalryl
but even more so for the
courtesy
and good sportsm~~ship
of its
compatitors.
Only a few
of the courtesies
below can be found in the ~e
book, but all
are practised
by those who know and love this
ancient
sport.
While
Leave
Skips
a match
is
the ice
free
in
progress,
for
and vic~-skips
keep
may stand
When a cu:lar
and be still
is
the
centre
player
inside
of the playing
team has priority.
both skips have equal pii vi leges
Congratulate
your
embarrass
a player
off
the opposing
the
Rack of
.
circle,
but
the
hack,
rink.
the
skip
I
.
opposition
when they make a good
who has missed his shot.
iri
the
sweepers.
the sweeping. li..'1e
keep
a resPectable
shot
and never
distance
away
and qu!2t.
Be ready to play when it's
your. turn and don't
reasonable
time to play - set up rocks.
Never
player
of
and his
cross
when an oppo6ing
is in the
the ice
hack.
.
When it's
your turn
ready
to go,RULES
not in
J:MPORTl\NT
.
stone
to play or ~weep,.
t.~e lounge.
is
take
~eing
a.live~
look
more than
a
played
a
or
Be on the
ice,
~
3.
A moving stone cannot be touched
by any part
broom or body, or by other
team members.
If
be removed from the ice by the pl~ying
side.
Score one
any stone
circle
is
skips,
an
is allowed
whether
or
point
for every stone which is nearer
the button
than
of the opposing
rink.
Any stone touching
the outer
eligible.
Disputed
shots must be settled
by the viceumpire or neutral
party,
in that order.
~!o measuring
until
the end is over,
except by the umpire,
to decide
not a stone is alive.
When a stone
play.
A stone
strikes
of the sweeper's
so, t.~e stone must
passes
the
must pass the
another
stone
"back
"hog
first.
line"
line"
it
to
is
automatically
stay
in
play,
unless
out
of
it
-
When the
4 stones.
skip,
If
vice-skip
the lead
or second is
is absent,
the
absent,
second
the lead must
plays
4 stones.
play
All. curlers
must start
their
delivery
from the hack.
A curl.ermay slide
past the hag' line
as long' as thc rock has been rel.eased
before
any part of the curler's
body or broom crosses
the hog
line.
Sweeping from tee to tee is always
Behind the tees,
or sweeping
line,
equal rights.
4.
under
skips
direction
of
and ~.ice-skips
the skip.
have
SWEEPING
Sweeping
affe~t
ice,
is
a very
important
part
the length
of a throw
by
and helps
hol~
the direction
of curling.
as
Good sweeping can
much as 10 or
of the stone.
15
fe~t
on
keen
Sweeping looks
is.
feet.
with
far easier from behind the glass t.~at it really
Beginners
should practise
sweeping without
moving their
This knees
teaches
balance,
your
slightly
bent. as you havc to bend ovcr . the stone
It takes a lot of practise
The most effective
method
shuffle.
Sweepers should
stone,
sweeping
as closely
A sveeper must
stone and knov
be left
entirel<
Tn~ Over
The Under
Griu
Gri~
to correct~y
sweep a moving stone.
of sliding
with the stone is a rhythmi9
sweep directly
in front
of a moving
as possible
without
touching
it.
a~so be ab~e to
just
hov hard'to
vith
t~e skip,
judge the veight
or speed of t~e
sveep.
The judgment
should
not
but shou~d be under his ~~rec~i
- Grip the top of the handle
lightly,
but ti~~lJ
vith
the ringers
of the right
hand.
Nov sli~e
your left
hand yell
dovn the 8h~tt
vith
the pal::!
under or tovards
your body.
Here agnin grip
vithyour
tingers
to leave your vrists
tree to
deli ver t ha t all-important
flipping
act ion .t 0
the broom.
-
The right
hand grip
is the same as in the over
grip.
The di!ference
is in the left
~~nd.
~~e
palm faces outvard
or avay from your body.
Personally.
I prefer
the over grip.
but the
important
thing
is to use the grip
that
is ~os~
natural
and comfortable
for you.
5.
BASIC CURLING STRATEGY
~~
Tbe shots cal~ed
by a skip during
eAch end are trequen~ly
based
on vhe~ber
or no~ bis team vi~l
be throwing
the last
rock in that
end.
Aasuming tha~ you make ~he ~ast aho~,.you
sho~d
score a~
leas~ one poin~ in eyery end in which you ~hrov last.
. It
te~m
! has the last
rock adYan~age,
team A vil~
try,
by c~~~ing
certain
sho~s. to make certa.in
that
the skip ot team B has. a di!f1cu~t shot on. his last
rock.
On the" other. hand, team B vill
t:-j
score
tage.
more
th~n
have
~he
Regardless
of vhether
you
should
be called
depending
have last
shot or
on the situation.
not,
a)
It
one rock
b)
I~ 70U have one rock in, the opponents
have none - dr&v ~
rock in to the opposite
side ot the house.
~eep the rock3
spread ou~ to ~ake it more di!ticult
for your op~onen~s t~
m~ke doublc
take-outs.
.
c)
It
your
options:
your
one
opponents
oppor.ants
(i)
(11)
(1ii)
have
have
any~ime
~vo
rocks
they
counting,
in,
you
aentioned
bT haTing
last
may
try
of
it
shots
are comnon~y
the
last-rock.adT&ntagc.
rock
certain
take-it
take-out
the shot rock
it they are lined
up one in trcnt
hit
the tront
one hoping
to drive
back one tor & double
take-out
treez~
to the shot rock
Whi~e
the preTious~T
str&~egT
is dict&ted
a)
~oin~
~d7an-
shots
out.
several
the other,
onto the
c~~~ed,
certain
vith
last
rock
i. Keep a~l r~cks avay troc
the tront
ot the house.
You vant
your skip to haTe a clear
sho~ to the house on his last
rock.
It your opponents
have the shot rock and guard it,
~
good ca~l 1$ otten
to take-out
thc guard.
Then it they miss
guarding
it on ~h~ next shot,
70U ~~n remOTe the shot r~ck.
a)
vith
last
rock cont'd
2. Do not guard your rocks in the house.
around.
Even if your opponents
remove
your skip viII
s~ill
have a clear
shot
Spread them
the shot rock,
at it.
b) vithcut
last
rock
1. Plug up the front
of the house to block the path of
your opponent's
rocks.
2. It TOU get rocks
in the house, it is otten
a good idea
to guard them.
It you have tbe sbot rock and bave it
guarded bT the time the opposing
skip comes to play his
last
shot,
he otten
vill
have plaT a dray and count only
one.