Ethan Trex
What Exactly Is Curling?
by Ethan Trex - February 16, 2010 - 11:10 PM

Olympic curling has taken to the ice, but if you’re like most Americans, this writer included, the game is a bit baffling. Here’s a quick, stripped-down primer on everyone’s favorite icy alternative to shuffleboard. It doesn’t cover anywhere near all of the game’s nuances, but it should give you enough info that you can enjoy watching an end or two. (And yes, you’ll learn what an “end” is.)

curling

What’s the object of curling?

Good question. First, let’s get a bit of the jargon down. The playing surface in curling is called “the sheet.” Sheet dimensions can vary, but they’re usually around 150 feet long by about 15 feet wide. The sheet is covered with tiny droplets of water that become ice and cause the stones to “curl,” or deviate from a straight path. These water droplets are known as “pebble.”

At each end there’s a target that looks like a big bullseye. These targets are known as “the houses.” The center of the house is known as the “button.” Basically, the object of the game is to get your stones closer to the button than the other team gets theirs.

What’s with the sweeping?

curling-usa

Remember how we talked about the pebble of ice droplets that the rock has to travel across? When the stone touches the pebble, there’s friction, which can slow down the stone and makes it curl away from its straight path to the house.

Obviously, that friction is not always a good thing, but sweeping helps combat the problem. The sweeping motion raises the temperature of the ice by a degree or two, which diminishes the friction between the pebble and the stone and keeps the stone moving in a straight line.

What about all the yelling?

curling-yellingEach curling team has four members: a lead, a second, a vice-skip (or third), and a skip. Each “end” (curling’s equivalent of a baseball inning) involves both teams shooting (or “delivering”) eight stones at the house, with players delivering two stones apiece.

When the lead, second, and vice are delivering their stones, the skip stands at the opposite end of the sheet (near the house) and uses his broom to give his teammates a target for their deliveries. Once the stone has been delivered and is a “running stone” (that is, one that’s still sliding), the skip then yells to the sweepers to let them know when to sweep and how hard. When the skip shoots the last two stones of a team’s end, the vice takes over calling the shots.

How do you keep score?

In each end, both teams send eight stones down the sheet. Once all 16 stones have been delivered, the team with the stone that’s closest to the button (center of the house) effectively “wins” the end. Only this team will earn any points for the end. It gets a point for each of its stones that are in the house and closer to the button than the other team’s closest stone. Since the team that won the end always has at least one stone that’s closer to the button than their opponent, the team always scores at least one point, and could score up to eight points.

If neither team manages to keep a stone in the house during an end, it’s known as a “blank end,” and no points are scored. Olympic curling matches last for 10 ends unless there is a tie, in which case it goes to extra-ends, curling’s equivalent of overtime.

What’s the hammer?

As you might have guessed from reading about the scoring system, throwing the last stone of an end is a huge advantage. If you’ve got the last stone, you can always try to knock the other team’s best stone away from the button. If a team holds the last stone for an end, it “has the hammer,” and should probably be able to score some points. If the team without the hammer manages to somehow stymie their opponent and score points, it’s called a “stolen end.” Whichever team fails to score points in an end gets the hammer for the next end.

So is there strategy involved?

curling-russiaYes, there’s all sorts of strategy in curling. Let’s say your team doesn’t have the hammer. You’re at a huge disadvantage when it comes to scoring points, so you might opt to play defensively. To do that, you might just deliver a number of “guards,” or rocks that will sit in front of the house and provide an obstacle for the other team’s stones. Alternatively, guards can be used to defend your stones that are already in the house from being knocked out by the other team’s “takeout” shots.

The third major type of curling shot is the “draw,” a shot that’s meant to avoid other stones and come to rest in the house. Generally, a draw is used with the hope of scoring points, a guard is thrown to protect the house or a stone that’s already been thrown, and a takeout is used defensively.

May I see a clip?

Yes you may. Here’s a video from the 2006 Gold Medal game:

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Comments (58)

  1. Wow. Another wannabe “sport” masquerading as an actual Olypic-class challenge.

    This is why we have so many ESPN channels. Because NO ONE else wants to air it. Boring!

    posted by okinawadato on 2-17-2010 at 1:24 am

  2. Curling is awesome, that’s what!

    posted by Brian on 2-17-2010 at 2:50 am

  3. It’s “Olympic,” not “Olypic,” the Olympics are being broadcast on NBC, not ESPN, and demeaning an Olympic sport that requires a great deal of mental acumen on a ‘mental_floss’ blog is stunnningly obtuse.

    posted by Luke on 2-17-2010 at 3:05 am

  4. Curling has been a part of Winter-style places for a very long time. Just because it isn’t sponsored by beer, and no one blows up (as far as I know it’s never happened :P) doesn’t mean it isn’t a sport.

    Even if it wasn’t? They’re called the Olympic GAMES for a reason.

    posted by Bakedpotatoes on 2-17-2010 at 3:50 am

  5. it kinda sounds like bocce ball on ice

    posted by mary on 2-17-2010 at 7:45 am

  6. Mental acumen? Required for curling?!?!?!?

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    Please, more comments like that one! Too funny!

    And yes, I did misspell. Oopsie!

    posted by okinawadato on 2-17-2010 at 7:45 am

  7. I kind of thought it was interesting. I may actually watch a curling match this time.

    posted by Kay on 2-17-2010 at 8:19 am

  8. wow…I was actually going to look up “curling” this morning after watching some of it last night in awe. I’m still not sure I get it; maybe you have to be Canadian to really appreciate it? One question I had: is there a time limit? The reason I ask is because last night they called “time out.”

    posted by Pete on 2-17-2010 at 8:23 am

  9. One of the reasons I enjoy the Olympics so much it the opportunity to see and enjoy sports that you would normally never see on TV. True, I would probably not watch these events if they were on all the time but for the next two weeks I will be as big a fan of curling and cross country skiing as you can find in the U.S.

    posted by Micky on 2-17-2010 at 8:31 am

  10. I never knew what curling was until I heard the Jonathan Coulton song “Curl.”

    Also, Stephen Colbert tried out for the US Olympic curling team.

    posted by WaitingIsFullness on 2-17-2010 at 8:32 am

  11. Wow. I’m a southerner and never knew a thing about it. It actually looks pretty awesome. I wonder where I could give it a shot? Not likely anywhere around the Carolinas.

    posted by Eric on 2-17-2010 at 8:53 am

  12. @Eric..You’d be surprised on the availability. I got interested after the last olympics, looked it up and found a Curling club here in Indianapolis. Luck had it there was a clinic 2 weeks later and it only cost me $10 to go.

    Good fun, just watch your step. Even with sneakers on, it’s easy to slip and fall while sweeping.

    posted by Marty on 2-17-2010 at 9:17 am

  13. Curling is an insane joke of a “sport” and is no more interesting than, say, blowing the seeds off a dandelion and having teams who blow on them try to make the seeds fly toward a “goal.” (Btw, this new Dandelion Blowing event is being added to the 2012 Summer Games – you just watch!!!)
    And Luke, when you’re criticising someone’s spelling make sure you use spell check yourself. Anybody can slip and miss a key, just as easily as you happily overtype ‘n’s. Now go get some mental acumen (it’s hiding under your bed). Oh, and I second the HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….

    posted by Bubba on 2-17-2010 at 9:29 am

  14. Oh, thank goodness someone spelled this out so nicely! I’ve watched curling at the last two Olympics, trying to pick up the rules as it went along, and every time I thought I had it figured out, the commentators said something that made me realize I had it totally wrong. Now I can watch it AND actually know what they’re on about.

    recaptcha: would castors…I just replaced those on a hope chest! Hahaha!

    posted by Kate on 2-17-2010 at 9:32 am

  15. You can have blowing up in Curling, but it’s only visible in “Men With Brooms”, and it’s pure Hollywood.

    posted by Andy on 2-17-2010 at 9:42 am

  16. I have been trying for years to figure out this sport, and had no luck! Thanks a ton for the great article, and armed with this new knowledge I am looking forward to actually getting it this year!

    posted by Erin G on 2-17-2010 at 9:49 am

  17. The fiancé and I watched the last half of the Women’s USA/Japan game last night, and I found it rather intriguing. J’s coworker, who is from Minnesota, was there, so he was able to explain some of their strategies to us (he’s watched a good deal of it, and played it a few times). It was pretty cool. I’d watch it again.

    posted by nutmeag on 2-17-2010 at 10:30 am

  18. You mean all this time, I’ve been sweepin’ my floors for nothing? I could’ve been curling?!

    Damnit!

    Victor@icomplainthereforeiam.com

    posted by Victor @ I Complain Therefore I Am on 2-17-2010 at 10:38 am

  19. Well Bubba, curling is a hell of a lot more interesting (and more of a sport) than NASCAR…

    posted by Bert on 2-17-2010 at 10:45 am

  20. @Andy — there’s also some curling explosion action in the Beatles movie “Help!” only because a bad guy exchanged a curling stone for a bomb…in an effort to kill Ringo!

    I’m so sad. That’s how I was introduced to curling.

    posted by Tracie on 2-17-2010 at 11:19 am

  21. Though both curling and NASCAR seem to involve bumping competitors out of the way…

    posted by VM on 2-17-2010 at 11:21 am

  22. My wife and I started the Ariz curling club. Officially The Coyote Curling Club. Yes, we curl in the desert.

    posted by chris Rubenstrunk on 2-17-2010 at 11:21 am

  23. Thanks Mental Floss for the post! I’ve been curling for a couple of years and love it.
    There’s likely at least one curling club in every major city now, even though many have to use hockey (known in the curling world as “arena” ice) which does make for a different game. There’s exceptions in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and North Central US.
    Eric, if you live anywhere near Raleigh, they do have a club, the Triangle Curling Club and they have some pretty good players. Check it out if you can.

    posted by Joe on 2-17-2010 at 11:25 am

  24. Could one of the Curling fans let everyone know when and on what channel we can catch some Olympic curling?

    posted by Jason English on 2-17-2010 at 11:30 am

  25. http://www.nbcolympics.com will have live streaming starting at 12 EST today on their website.

    posted by Andy on 2-17-2010 at 11:47 am

  26. I never knew so much about curling. I will definitely be checking out the Olympic curling.

    Thanks for all of the Olympics posts. It helps to tide me over while there are no Olympics on TV.

    posted by Sarah on 2-17-2010 at 12:19 pm

  27. Tracie– I’m totally the same way and when someone mentioned explosions, that’s the first thing I thought of. That and good ol’ Mal Evans as the channel swimmer who comes up out of the hole in the ice created by the explosion :)

    posted by Fruppi on 2-17-2010 at 2:16 pm

  28. Yes, VM, but in curling, the competitors are smart enough to hold down jobs, unlike NASCAR drivers. And in curling you can turn both ways, not just left.

    My GF is totally into curling, since yesterday, now I will know whats going on when she has it on.

    posted by hockey zombie on 2-17-2010 at 2:23 pm

  29. What a strange sport. I don’t even know what shuffleboard is.

    posted by alizzz on 2-17-2010 at 2:37 pm

  30. Hard for me to think of it as ‘exotic’ as most of you seem to, because here it seems like it’s on TV all the time. I’m also one of those people who think it doesn’t belong in the Olympics. The Olympics to me is all about athleticism, the need to be in peak physical conidition to excel at your chosen sport. While curling requires years of practice to master the skill, I think any 50 year old pot bellied guy could potentially make it to the Olympics in curling, and you can’t say that about the other sports.

    posted by TheBear on 2-17-2010 at 2:51 pm

  31. @Pete

    Each team has 70 minutes to complete the 10 ends. If they don’t, they forfeit the game. Your clock only runs when it is your turn.

    I don’t know if that is an Olympic thing or if all Curling is like that.

    posted by HansMoleman on 2-17-2010 at 3:15 pm

  32. I much rather watch Curling then a marathon (and I run those!) Acording to my wife, running is not a sport but competitive exercise)

    Curling is a lot like Boccee, but more so like it’s French cousin Paytonk

    posted by Chris on 2-17-2010 at 5:30 pm

  33. One of the hallmarks of excellence in a sport is to make what you do look easy, whether it’s throwing a rock down 150 feet of ice or driving a car at insane speeds. Knowing as many curlers as I do, I know it takes years of work to develop good curling ability. For those who pursue it only for recreational purposes, however, it seems that it’s a drinking team that sometimes curls! :)

    posted by Beth on 2-17-2010 at 5:49 pm

  34. Beth:

    Driving a car at insane speeds doesn’t belong in the olympics either. I know it takes skill, so does darts. But does anything that takes skill belong in the olympics or only the ones that require the utmost physical conditioning? Their motto is “higher, stronger, faster” is it not?

    posted by TheBear on 2-17-2010 at 6:06 pm

  35. I’m a Canadian so I’ve seen a lot of curling (my parents played in leagues, and we even curled in gym class), but somehow I failed to answer this Trivial Pursuit question correctly: “In which sport do you throw rocks at a house?” The correct answer, of course is curling; my answer: vandalism. My brother and I still laugh about that one!

    posted by Ranger J on 2-17-2010 at 6:23 pm

  36. Thanks for the helpful and timely post!

    Just this morning we were talking about how watching curling is like watching a baseball game: you can either get really into the minutiae of strategy or just chill out and discuss Life’s Great Questions between shots!

    posted by Miss Moneypenny on 2-17-2010 at 6:43 pm

  37. Hydrate! Hydrate Hard!!

    posted by Andy on 2-17-2010 at 7:02 pm

  38. I’ll admit that I have made disparaging remarks about curling in the past, but after watching it and reading this article, I have to say, it’s pretty cool. My feeling is, to get to the Olympics in ANYthing, you’ve got to be really excellent. So stop being snarky, naysayers.

    posted by Colette on 2-17-2010 at 7:17 pm

  39. I agree with the person who says the hallmark of any excellent athlete is making their sport look easy. Curling is a lot tougher than it looks, and I’ll bet that the people who are saying that curling isn’t a sport and doesn’t belong in the Olympics haven’t actually ever tried it. If you think it’s so easy, why are you sitting at home typing about it instead of curling on your country’s team in the Olympic bonspiel???

    posted by Cheryl on 2-18-2010 at 11:10 pm

  40. OK 1st what is the “stone” made of does it have a hard outer shell.like a wax or something else.and what is the weight requirements of this said “stone” do they have like a 10lb stone or a 25lbs stone
    and over time duing the matches would’nt the sheet become slicker and more of a flatten surface and not have any pebbles left

    posted by leo on 2-19-2010 at 3:24 pm

  41. leo-

    The stones are made of granite, which I believe comes from one area of Scotland. (Which, BTW is where the sport itself originated, not Canada as many people think.) Also, all of the stones weight 44 lbs. Sometimes you will hear a commentator refer to “weight” or that a throw is “too heavy,” but this just means how hard the stone is thrown. “Too heavy” = thrown too hard.

    And yes over the course of a match the pebbles do get worn down so the ice will behave differently in certain parts of the sheet that have gotten more play.

    posted by justin on 2-19-2010 at 4:50 pm

  42. The women of Olympic curling are HOT!!!!! Who knew!

    posted by Frankie on 2-19-2010 at 8:12 pm

  43. Justin-

    TY very much-you was very helpful.i know it was some what of useless facts i wanted to know but you helped

    posted by leo on 2-20-2010 at 1:37 am

  44. Thanks for the help, and the follow on about the hammer.

    I’ve become much more aware of the nuances, and the only thing that bugs me about this Olympics so far is the only sport I seem to catch on TV is curling. I keep missing the snowboarding and skiing.

    Keep up the smart writing!

    Bob

    posted by Bob Jenkins on 2-20-2010 at 7:18 pm

  45. Thanks for the explanation! I think one of the great things about the Olympics is that there’s something for everyone. Maybe they should add Nascar to the summer games . . .

    posted by Martha Donnelly on 2-21-2010 at 5:33 pm

  46. I live in a cold enough place (New Hampshire), but could curling be played on an artificial ice surface, like they use for warm weather skating?

    ( see the other Olympic blog post..)

    posted by John W on 2-22-2010 at 10:29 am

  47. There used to be a Curling Bonspeil held near Palm Springs (Palm Desert?) every March in the 1980′s. Is it still on? I curled in Canada in the early 1950′s. The “vice skip” was actually called a Mate. I have a cup to prove it.

    posted by merrill on 2-22-2010 at 4:05 pm

  48. @merill:

    You must have used the old style straw brooms that I remember watching on TV when I was young. It looked much harder using those things.

    posted by TheBear on 2-22-2010 at 6:15 pm

  49. Why doesn’t the hammer rotate even if the other team steals? I would think it’s like breaking serve in tennis. It would be more of an advantage if you stole and then also got the hammer.
    Curling is impressive, takes skill and intelligence. Remeber ski dancing? THAT did not belong in the olympics.

    posted by Janet on 2-23-2010 at 1:49 pm

  50. It is all Shuster’s fault!

    posted by John Flynn on 2-23-2010 at 1:58 pm

  51. A friend sent me this site so I could get an explanation of the sport. I just started watching it on the Olympics this year. I was glad to get the info so I understand some of it now. Thanks.

    But I am amazed at the people who make fun of it yet I’m willing to bet could not play it. I guess it just falls into the category “Those who can’t make fun of it.” So what if you don’t like it. I’m sure there are many things you do others don’t like but have better things in life to do then make fun of you. I just don’t get why people take the time to go to a site of something they do not like & make fun of it. Are they really that bored or insecure?

    But thank you to the people who gave the explanations.

    posted by Ann on 2-24-2010 at 10:57 am

  52. Curling 2010 on the Xbox 360 has a tutorial mode that helps explain the rules and strategies of curling as well. You can get the free trial from the Xbox marketplace. There are also curling games for the iPhone and android phones, so there are plenty of chances to practice once you think you have the rules down.

    posted by dadoo Games on 2-24-2010 at 12:39 pm

  53. Curling. Nice article. Still boring.

    posted by Lori on 2-26-2010 at 12:21 pm

  54. Even though I’m a Canadian, I laughed at curling and thought it was a joke until about 8 years ago. Then I watched some Olympic curling, stayed still long enough to listen to the commentators and understand some of what they meant — and I was totally hooked. The game is amazing, and it sucks you in as a spectator like no other sport I have ever watched.

    The fact that the team which wins the end loses the hammer for the next end creates extremely interesting strategic situations. It’s absolutely riveting to watch a team which has a one-point lead but DOESN’T have the hammer trying to FORCE the other team to WIN the end — but by only one point. That way, the team doing the forcing gets a tie score, but has the hammer in hand. If they do this in the 8th or 9th end, they almost have the game in the bag.

    The game also has the excitement of unpredictability, because an error of a fraction of an inch creates an error of a foot or two. Then that foot or two — in front of the T-line or behind, behind a guard or in the open — is the difference between a team having an enormous advantage and being in deep doo-doo. It can change in one shot, which results in frequent cliffhanger tension and “hero” shots. I just saw Sweden beat Canada for the women’s gold medal in extra ends, and the the reversals and surprises in the last few ends were astounding, in both directions.

    One last thing: If a team plays a lot of delicate slow shots, and leaves a lot of rocks sitting in the house and in front of the house, this is aggressive. If a team sends the rocks screaming down the ice to bash into other rocks and knock them out of play, this is defensive. Don’t just trust me on this; watch some curling and you’ll see why.

    posted by Steve on 2-26-2010 at 10:25 pm

  55. If anyone is still reading this, maybe there’s a rule intricacy you can explain to me.

    I was watching Canada/Norway. Late in the game Canada has a one point lead, Norway throws a guard.

    Now I was thinking that no matter what Norway throws, you automatically peel. It’s a no brainer and guarantees that Norway can’t get more than one point, but that would probably make the game too easy. So I’m thinking that there has to be a rule that if there’s one guard out and nothing in the house then maybe it’s illegal to peel it?

    posted by TheBear on 3-1-2010 at 12:36 pm

  56. Curling came from Scotland. Like all things Scottish, it takes months of training to do, and weeks of training to appreciate.

    posted by Vern Wall on 7-23-2010 at 3:28 pm

  57. You’re probably not reading this anymore, TheBear, but what you’re referring to is ‘The Four Rock Rule’ or ‘The Free Guard Zone’, and it’s precisely what you surmise. For the first four rocks, you’re not allowed to take out an opponent’s guard. You can move a guard, and you can take out a rock in the house, but you can’t totally knock a guard out of the game.

    The free guard zone is actually a relatively recent invention in curling — dating back to the early 1990s.

    Way back in the history of the game, doing open peels wasn’t a guaranteed success, because the ice quality wasn’t that high or that consistent, so people would routinely try to peel guards and miss, setting up opportunities for offense. But as ice got better through the 70s and 80s, curling got increasingly boring at the highest levels, because those open peels became complete no-brainers. Scores were low, games were boring and consisted of almost nothing but peeling of guards.

    It’s a much, much more interesting game now.

    posted by Jacquilynne on 9-20-2010 at 12:35 pm

  58. “Whichever team fails to score points in an end gets the hammer for the next end.”

    This is still not entirely accurate, by the way. If the end is blank, the hammer remains with the team it was with in the previous end. So failing to score points isn’t sufficient to get the hammer — you have to force your opponent to score. Strategic use of blank ends, forcing points, etc, are a big part of the strategy of the game, and it’s all about hammer management.

    posted by Jacquilynne on 9-20-2010 at 3:29 pm

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