How Long Is An End In Curling?

Curling is less like football or hockey, in which quarters or periods are timed, and more like baseball, in which innings vary in length: Ends are not timed. Curling officials do keep track of time, however, over the course of a game. Rules exist to prevent players from spending too much time between shots, because they have a limited amount of time to complete a match. Officials can also warn players for playing too slowly, which helps speed up the match.

Stones Thrown

Each team delivers eight stones per end. The end begins with the leads from each team trading alternating shots, followed by the seconds, thirds and skips. After the players have delivered these stones, the end will finish and a new end will begin.

Scheduled Time

The actual time that an end takes to complete varies, as certain scenarios and shot types can cause one end to last longer than others do. For example, if a skip has a very difficult shot to make, he might analyze the shot and his ability to make it before delivering his stone. If an end plays out without any difficult shots arising, it will likely go faster. An end typically lasts about 15 minutes, and many curling leagues base their schedules around this allotment.

Match Time

At major events, each team has 73 minutes to complete 10 ends. This keeps games to a total of 146 minutes and prevents teams from playing too slowly. Although teams do not have to complete any end in a set amount of time, they must plan ahead to have sufficient time for shots in the later ends. Teams also must allow sufficient time for the third and the skip, as their shots usually end up scoring points in an end.

Reasonable Time

Players must deliver their stones in reasonable time and the chief umpire can remove stones from play if teams do not follow this rule. The umpire will begin by giving the team a warning, at which time the team has 30 seconds to deliver its next stone. You should make sure that your lead and second have themselves ready to deliver their stones immediately after the other team has completed its shot, as this speeds up the game. The umpire will give the skip and the third two minutes before giving them a warning to complete their shots.