Curling

Curling is a sport in which two teams of four players slide large granite stones toward a bull's-eye-like target on a rectangular sheet of ice. Teams score points by sliding more of their stones closer to the center of the target than the opposing team. The sport gets its name from the curling motion of the stone as it travels down the ice. To guide the stone toward the target, players sweep the ice in the stone's path with brooms. This creates friction, slightly melting the ice, and allowing the sweepers to alter the stone's motion, speed, and direction.

Often called the "roaring game" because of the sound the stone makes as it skids across the ice, curling has been played in the colder climates of northern Europe since at least the sixteenth century. It was a popular sport in Scotland, and Scottish immigrants brought it to Canada and the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Curling was included in the first Winter Olympics in 1924 but was later dropped. It was reinstated as a medal event in 1998 as both a men's and women's competition. In 2018, mixed doubles curling, meaning teams containing men and women, was added.

Origins and History

Curling is believed to be one of the world's oldest team sports, though its exact birthplace is debated. Both Scotland and the northern European mainland have been linked to its origins. The earliest possible evidence of the game was a square curling stone inscribed with the date "1511" and discovered in a Scottish pond. After further examination, however, scientists believe the stone may have originated at a later date. Written records from 1540 Scotland show a challenge between a monk and a monastery official involving a contest of throwing stones across the ice. Paintings by sixteenth-century Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel depict people skidding stones across frozen ponds in a manner similar to curling, which suggests that a form of the sport was being played in the Netherlands at the time. It is also possible that curling evolved from a similar game from Austria called eisschiessen, or "ice-shooting."

The earliest specific reference to the sport comes from a 1639 poem by Scottish author Henry Adamson who mentions "curling stones" and "curling" several times. The Kilsyth Curling Club, founded in 1716 in the Scottish town of Kilsyth, is believed to be the oldest curling organization in existence. Curling was very popular in Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and was carried overseas to Canada and the United States with waves of Scottish immigrants. In 1807, the Montreal Curling Club was the first club established in Canada. The first club in the United States formed in 1832 in Michigan.

The Grand Caledonian Curling Club formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1838 to act as the sport's governing body. The club created the first standardized rules of curling, which were adopted in Europe and North America. The sport later caught the attention of Britain's Queen Victoria, who assigned royal patronage to the club, thereby allowing it to change its name to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC).

In 1965, the RCCC met with curling officials from six nations to form an administrative committee called the International Curling Federation (ICF). The ICF approved a constitution and adopted a standard set of rules in 1968. In 1990, the ICF changed its name to the World Curling Federation (WCF), and the name changed again in 2024 to World Curling.

Rules and Regulations

Curling was originally played on frozen ponds and lakes, but the modern sport is contested indoors on a rectangular ice surface known as the sheet. The sheet is 150 feet (45.7 meters) long and 16.5 feet (5 meters) wide. The sheet's dimensions can vary somewhat according to space available but cannot be less than 146 feet (44.5 meters) long and 14.6 feet (4.4 meters) wide. Near each end of the sheet are four concentric circles that form a bull's-eye pattern with a total diameter of 12 feet (3.7 meters). The circular pattern is called the house, and the center of the target is known as the button, or tee.

The sheet is further divided by a series of several lines. The center line runs from one end of the sheet to the other. The back line extends across the width of the sheet at the back of each house; the tee line runs parallel to the back line through the center of the bull's-eye. The hog line is placed 21 feet (6.4 meters) in front of each house and extends width-wise.

Each game consists of eight to ten periods called ends. Players take turns sliding polished granite stones down the ice toward the opposing house. According to WCF regulations, curling stones and their plastic handles must weigh between 38 and 44 pounds (17.24 and 19.96 kilograms) and have a circumference no greater than 36 inches (91.44 centimeters) around. For a shot to be considered in play, the stone must be released by the hog line and stop within the opposite hog line and back line.

The four players on each team shoot twice in an end, for a total of sixteen shots. At the completion of an end, teams receive one point for each stone that is closer to the button than an opponent's stone. Only stones within the house count, and only one team can score in an end. If teams fail to leave a stone in the house, no points are scored, and the end is considered a blank end. The team with the most points after all ends have been played is considered the winner. If the score is tied, an extra end is played.

Strategy and Tactics

Players throw a stone with a slight twist of the wrist, which causes the stone to curve, or curl, on the ice. As the stone is released, two other players follow it down the ice, occasionally sweeping the area in front of the stone with special brooms. The sweeping motion causes friction that melts the ice and creates a thin layer of water. This allows the stone to travel longer distances and curve less. The team captain, or skip, calls out instructions to the sweepers, telling them when to sweep and when to stop.

A four-member curling team is known as a rink. The first two stones are thrown by a player called the lead, who then takes a role as a sweeper. The lead must be good at setting up defensive shots and must have strong sweeping skills. The second throws the third and fourth stones and is usually tasked with taking out, or knocking away, opponents' guarding stones. The third throws the fifth and sixth stones and tries to set up the final shots of the end. In addition to handling the strategy for the team, the skip throws the last two shots of an end. The skip is usually the most skilled at both offensive and defensive shots.

Teams attempt to set up all eight shots to get their stones closest to the button while leaving other stones in defensive positions. The team that throws the last stone of an end is said to have the hammer. The hammer is a valuable shot in a match. It can be used either to score points or to knock away the opponent's stones to ensure that the opposing team does not score. The team that loses an end is awarded the hammer in the next end.

Professional Leagues and Series

Several international curling competitions were held in the nineteenth century, but the outcomes of these events were not recorded. The first official international competition occurred in 1924 during the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. Curling was one of sixteen medal events and drew men's teams from France, Great Britain, and Sweden. Great Britain captured the gold. Curling was not contested at the 1928 Winter Olympics. The sport returned for the 1932 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, but only as a demonstration event.

In 1959, curling officials in Scotland and Canada created the Scotch Cup, the sport's first official world championship. The inaugural event was held in Scotland and won by Canada. In 1968, the Scotch Cup was replaced with the Air Canada Silver Broom and officially sanctioned by the ICF as the World Curling Championship. In the 1970s and 1980s, the ICF created championship tournaments for women and younger players. In 1989, the men's and women's events were combined as the World Curling Championships (WCC), and the men's and women's junior events as the World Junior Curling Championships (WJCC). The WCF later added championships for wheelchair-bound participants and mixed doubles.

Curling was reinstated as a medal sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. From 1998 through 2022, the Canadian men won three gold Olympic medals, and the United States, Sweden, and Great Britain each won one gold medal. During the same span of time, the Canadian women and the Great Britain women won two gold medals, and the Swedish women won three. A mixed-doubles curling event was added for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, which Canada won that year. Italy received gold for mixed doubles at the 2022 games in Beijing, China.

Popularity

As of 2024, World Curling had seventy-four member associations, including the United States, China, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The sport is especially popular in Canada, where some consider it one of the country's national sports. As of 2024, Canada was home to more than a thousand curling clubs.

The United States Curling Association (USCA) sponsors nearly 200 member clubs across the nation. The sport typically gains a larger following during the Olympic Games as a result of increased exposure on television. In many places in the United States, the interest in curling spikes after the Olympics, leading to an increase in the number of curling clubs.

Bibliography

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