Sports
The Complete Guide to American Olympic Curling
To prepare for the men’s curling gold medal match for PyeongChang 2018, here is your complete guide to Olympic curling for American fans!
With their recent success in PyeongChang, Team USA’s Olympic curling teams have captured the interest of many Americans for this previously little known sport. Re-introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics, curling has since become one of the most popular Winter Olympic sports. With the feel of a neighborhood game of lawn bowling mixed with the subtle strategy of baseball or chess, many Americans have become enthralled with this winter sport. As a result, several ice rinks and curling clubs around the country are gearing up for those who will now want to try the sport for themselves.
This is a guide to better understand the game of curling, so you can follow the USA Men’s team battle Sweden for the gold medal on Saturday in PyeongChang.
A Brief History of Curling
Ontario, Canada, 1909
Though many Americans associate the sport with the US’s northern neighbor Canada, curling began on the frozen lochs of Scotland sometime around the 16th Century. Though the exact time and circumstances of curling’s creation are not known, the first written evidence of the sport appeared in the protocol book of notary John McQuinn of Paisley, Scotland. The sports popularity spread throughout Northern Europe and eventually arrived in North America with many variations on the rules. The first Curling Clubs were founded in Scotland during the 19th Century and the official “Rules of Curling” were drawn up by the Grand Caledonian Curling Club in Edinburgh. After witnessing a demonstration game in 1843, Queen Victoria was so taken with the sport that she allowed the club to change its name to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club which today is the governing body for curling in Scotland.
While curling appeared as a medal sport in the inaugural Olympic games in Chamonix in 1924, it returned as only a demonstration sport in the 1932, 1988 and 1992. Finally, in 1998 curling made its way back to the podium and has been featured as a medal sport in every Winter Games as such since then. To date, Canada has dominated the sport winning 10 medals since 1998, half of which were gold. Sweden and Switzerland are both in line for the second most medals, each with 5 total. The US only has 1 bronze medal. Although curling may have come from Scotland, it was Canada that has elevated the modern sport.
Olympic Curling: Venue, Team, Rules, Scoring
• The Sheet
The layout of the Sheet
Curling is played on an area of curated ice known as a sheet which generally runs 150 feet long by 15 feet wide. For the Olympic games, these sheets are created by the Ice Meisters. Ice for curling is not smooth because ice meisters use special pebbling cans to spray droplets of water on the ice to form a pebbled surface. The pebbled surface helps reduce friction and allow the stone to curl.
• “The Rink” – The Curling Team by Position
While this would seem the appropriate name for the entire venue, the rink is actually the proper term for a curling team. The rink is comprised of four players: The Lead, The Second, The Vice Skip and The Skip.
The Lead
The Lead is the player that throws the first 2 rocks of an end. The Lead then sweeps for the rest of the end.
The Second
The Second, as the name suggests, throws the next two rocks and sweeps the remaining ends.
The Vice Skip
The Vice Skips throws in the third spot, again throwing for 2 ends and sweeping in the remainder.
The Skip
The Skip is the last to throw. The Skip is also the captain of the team. For the first 6 throws of the end, the skip will stand on the opposite side of the sheet near the house and call the throws, similar to a catcher in baseball. Sometimes the skip will hold his broom as a reference point for the thrower and the sweepers as well as yell out commands for the sweepers to help guide them to the point they are aiming towards.
• The House
Standard layout for a curling house
At the end of the sheet is an area called the house. It looks like a large bulls eye and the large dot in the middle is referred to as the button. The object is to get your rocks as close to the button as possible.
• Scoring
A game of curling has 8-10 ends, nearest in comparison to an inning in baseball. A given end is completed when all 16 rocks have been thrown. Only one team can score during an end. The team with a rock closest to the button collects the points for that end. They get a point for each rock in the house. At the conclusion of the 8 ends, the team with the most points wins the match.
One of the appealing aspects of the sport is the simplicity of the equipment. Only a few items are needed to play the game.
Olympic Curling Equipment
• Brooms
Curling brooms
The most important and widely recognized piece of equipment in curling is the broom. In its beginnings, players used actual straw bristle brooms. In modern Olympic curling, brooms are made from synthetic materials. The purpose of the broom is exactly what it seems: to clear the path of the stone from any debris. Should the stone come across a piece of debris or an imperfection in the ice, it may begin to curl in an unintended direction. The sweeping motion also raises the temperature of the ice slightly to help alleviate friction between the stone and the ice, best ensuring it travels the path intended by the thrower.
• Stones
Curling stones are made of a dense granite quarried in Ailse Craig, Scotland. For Olympic style competition, the stones are 42 pounds, polished and have a either a red or yellow handle attached. Stones are kept on the ice for 72 hours before play in order to cool them down and avoid unintended melting of the sheet during game play.
• Shoes
Curling shoe pads
While special shoes are made for the curling, many curlers use regular sneakers and apply a slider to the sliding foot. This is generally a pad made from a slippery substance such as Teflon to help the curler glide down the ice with the stone while simultaniously sweeping. Conversely, the other shoe uses a sole with good traction. Some players use a slider that can be strapped on and removed.
Strategy
Curling is far more than its widely recognized characteristics of throwing and sweeping, it is the strategy employed that makes the sport so compelling to watch. There are several things the team is trying to accomplish when sliding the rock down the ice. The most important, as previously mentioned, is to have the rock closest to the button at the conclusion of the end. Yet to accomplish that, the team may need to defend their rock or eliminate the other team’s position. This can be done several ways.
• Defense
To defend a rock in the house, the team can throw a guard, which is a rock that is out side of the house but in front of the scoring rock. This makes it more difficult for the opposing team to knock the shot out of position, or get a rock closer to the button. Similarly, the team can choose to employ a freeze, which is a shot that lands the rock up against another rock but is also in the house and therefore a potential scoring shot.
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• Offense
There are several shots used to take the other team’s rock out of play. For example a hit-and-roll will knock the opposing teams shot out of the house, eliminating the opposing stone but allowing the shot to end in a scoring position. There are even times when it is advantageous for a team to do this with one of their own rocks. At times the only way to take the opposing team’s rock out is to take your shot out as well. Many times, teams will use this strategy to remove a guard. This is a take out or a peel.
• The Hammer
The biggest advantage a team can have is the final shot of an end. This is referred to as the hammer. The team that does not score receives the hammer in the following end. At times a team will sacrifice a point in order to gain or keep the hammer for the subsequent end. Controlling the last shot in the concluding end can mean the difference between winning or protecting the lead.
Olympic Curling – The Long and Short
Like many compelling sports the beauty of the game lies in its simplicity, and the enjoyment lies in the strategy. With a new-found understanding of Olympic curling, cheer on the US Men’s Olympic team in the semi finals on Thursday. Or find a club and take in the sport live or become a curler! There are many ways to enjoy the elegant simplicity of curling.