Curling does not sound like it ought to be a sport. But it’s actually quite interesting to watch. I saw curling for the first time, recently, on The Amazing Race, actually.
Curling is similar to bocce balls, in that it is a precision game. Of course, it’s played on ice, so that’s a major difference.
Curling has only been a part of the Olympics since 1998 (that’s probably why I’d never heard of it until recently).
The basic jist of the sport is that you push a 44 lb. puck (called a rock or a stone) down narrow lane and try to land in one of the concentric rings. It’s more complicated than that, though, as it’s actually played in teams. There is sweeping involved. And then there’s the “hammer”, or final stone.
Here’s my best attempt at a simple summary.
There are 8 or 10 ends (like innings). Each team has four players. Curling teams are identified by the last name of the team captain (the “Skip”). The sheet of ice (playing surface) is 15’71/2″ wide and 146 feet long, set up to accommodate play in both directions. In an end each team member shoots two rocks, alternating with the team members of the competing team. So, that makes a total of 8 rocks per team per end.
Play begin with the “Lead” player. The “Second” shoots next followed by the “Vice Skip”. The Skip shoots the last rocks and directs the play of the others. The skip decides on shot selection and signals the players.
They are shooting at a 12-foot circle (the house), which is the scoring area. For each stone closer to the center of the circles than any of the opponent’s stones, one point is scored. The team that scores shoots first in the next end, giving the opponent the “hammer”, or last shot of that end.
As the stone proceeds down the ice, it curls (curves). While one player shoots, two sweep to control the curl and the speed. Why do they sweep? Sweeping melts the ice slightly, causing the stone to curl less and slide farther.
Noteable Americans are sisters Cassie and Jamie Johnson. The rest of Team Johnson consists of Jessica Schultz, Maureen Brunt and Courtney George. They are coached by Neil Doese.
If you’re interested in more specifics of how the sport is played and what different terms mean, I recommend curlingbasics.com. You can also watch some video at the site of the Kansas City Curling Club.