What Is Ice Curling?

Curling is a sport popular in Canada, Sweden, and the upper Midwest of the United States. The game takes place on a sheet of ice, with players sliding smooth, granite cylinders, called stones, from one end of the ice to the other. Although it can take some time to understand the intricacies of curling, you can enjoy playing the game once you learn the basics.

Surface

Curling ice differs from hockey ice: An ice-making technique called pebbling makes the surface rough, with small, raised bumps. Through this pebbling, only a small portion of the stone will touch the actual ice surface at one time. This pebbled surface helps the stone travel down the ice at a faster pace. The surface also has painted rings at both ends, called the house, which signal the scoring areas, as well as lines to define the playing area. The innermost circle has a radius of 6 in., with the other circles having a radius of 2 ft., 4 ft. and 6 ft.

Equipment

All games include the use of equipment called stones and brooms. Each cylinder-shaped stone has a circumference of less than 36 in. and a height of greater than 4.5 in. The stone must weigh between 38 and 44 lbs., which includes a handle and the bolts that attach the handle. Most players now use push brooms made from a synthetic material, although you can use brooms made from hog or horse hair. These brooms look similar to a household broom, but the synthetic material prevents the brooms from leaving debris on the ice.

Game Play

Curling involves players delivering stones down a sheet of ice and attempting to have them come to rest in the rings, or house, located at the opposite end of the ice from where you deliver your stone. When delivering your stone, you will slide along the ice with the stone in front of you, releasing it before you cross a line located 21 ft. from the center of the house, called the hog line. Players sweep the area in front of the stone with their broom as the stone travels down the ice, which helps the stone travel both further and straighter.

Curling games break down into a series of between eight and 10 innings called ends. Each member of a team of four players delivers two stones per end.

Scoring

You score one point for every stone that you have closer to the center of the house, or button, than your opposition at the completion of an end. Only one team can score in each end. Stones must rest somewhere within the house to count as a point. If you cannot determine who has a stone closest to the button, you can use a measuring device to decide. The team with the most points after the completion of a predetermined number of ends wins the game.