curling

curling, a game similar to lawn bowls but played on ice. Two teams of four players (given the titles lead, second, third, and skip) participate in a curling match. Each player slides round stones, concave on the bottom and with a handle on the top, across the ice of a rink or a natural ice field toward the tee, or button, which is a fixed mark in the center of a circle (called the house) marked with concentric bands. The object of the game is for each side to get its stones closest to the center. Curling originated in northern Europe in the early 16th century and became organized as a competitive sport in the late 19th century. It was permanently added to the Winter Olympics program starting with the 1998 Games.

Rules and equipment

Each player delivers two stones alternately with the opponent beginning with the lead of each team and ending with the skip, who is also the team captain. One point is awarded for each stone that comes to rest nearer the tee than does any rival stone. A team can score up to eight points with the 16 stones delivered in an end, or inning, unless no stone is in the house or the nearest opposing stones are equidistant, in which case there is no score. Blocking and knocking out an opponent’s stones are important strategies of the sport. The usual number of ends in a match is 8 to 12. In international competition a match always consists of 10 ends; ties are broken by the addition of extra ends until a winner emerges. Mixed doubles matches consist of 8 ends.

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Britannica Quiz

Winter Sports Quiz

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A distinctive part of the game is the use of a brush, or broom, to sweep the ice in front of the sliding stone. This is a tradition carried over from the days when curling was played outdoors on frozen lakes; it was necessary to clear the snow to provide a path for the oncoming rock. Sweeping is still used today on indoor rinks because it both removes stray ice particles and smooths the surface of the ice, thus assuring the stone a longer ride. The broom is also used by the curler for balance during delivery of the stone and by the skip to indicate where the curler should aim. The ice is meticulously groomed to keep it completely level. Prior to competition, a mist of water is applied to the ice to create a pebbled surface that helps guide the stones.

The rink is approximately 42.1 meters (138 feet) long and 4.2 meters (14 feet) wide, though measurements may vary. The houses are 3.6 meters (12 feet) in diameter, and their centers are 34.7 meters (114 feet) from each other. A scorable stone must come to a rest between the hog line (located 6.4 meters [21 feet] before the tee) and the back line (which runs across the back of the house). The hack, a rubber block used by the curler to get a push, is located behind the back line. The stone weighs an average of 18.1 kg (40 pounds) and cannot exceed 19.9 kg (44 pounds); its circumference cannot be more than 91.4 cm (36 inches), and its minimum height is 11.4 cm (4.5 inches). Virtually all curling stones are made from an especially dense granite that is sourced from Ailsa Craig, an uninhabited island off the southwest coast of Scotland.

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Know your curling lingo

• End: Unit of play, similar to an inning. An end is over when each player on both teams has delivered two stones. Matches typically have between 8 and 12 ends.
• Stone: A large, round piece of granite with a handle mounted on top that curlers slide on the ice
• Hack: A rubber block that is used by a curler to propel themselves forward to deliver a stone
• House: A circle marked with concentric bands. The object of curling is to get your team’s stone closest to the center of the house, called the tee.
• Lead: The player who delivers a stone first for each team
• Skip: The team captain and the last player on the team to deliver a stone
• Tee: Also called the button, the center mark of the house

History and organization

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Curling is associated especially with Scotland, where the game dates to the early 16th century. Paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder dating from about the same time are evidence that the game was also played in the Low Countries, but it was Scotland that promoted the game worldwide. The Grand Caledonian Curling Club was organized at Edinburgh in 1838 (royal patronage made it the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843) with the announced purpose of becoming an international body. The International Curling Federation (now World Curling) was founded there in 1966.

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A Canadian branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club was founded in 1852, but the Royal Montreal Curling Club had been in existence since 1807. The Canadian championship was inaugurated in 1927 and became the world’s biggest curling event.

In the United States the Grand National Curling Club of America, affiliated with the Royal Caledonian, was formed in 1867. The oldest club in the United States is the Orchard Lake Club near Detroit, Michigan, founded in 1832. The first U.S. championship was held in Chicago in 1957, and in 1958 the United States Curling Association was organized as a federation of 125 clubs. There is also the United States Women’s Curling Association (founded 1947).

There are curling clubs or associations in most countries in western Europe. World championships have been held since 1959, the Canadians usually dominating them. Curling was a part of the inaugural Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix, France, in 1924, but that event was not considered official by the International Olympic Committee until 2006. After having been a demonstration sport at three subsequent Olympic Winter Games (in 1932, 1988, and 1992), curling was finally added as a full medal sport for the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

Wheelchair curling—in which a player pushes the stone from a stationary wheelchair and no sweepers are used—was added to the program of the Paralympic Games in 2006. A new event, wheelchair mixed doubles curling, will debut during the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games.

World curling championships