curling

My friend Kristen cracked me up the other day by Facebooking, "We were all cheering the other night while watching curling, but we didn't know why!"

I think Kristen speaks for many of us who live in the United States and are completely mystified by this sport! My Canadian mother-in-law's father was a curler, so I knew that the sport involved (a) a big stone and (b) some brooms, but that was about it.

Our Nadine (of the formidable Canadian contingency here in suziebeezieland) recently took the time to explain the sport of curling to me, and is gracious enough to let me share this same information here in suziebeezieland. Nadine herself is a curler, and modestly says,

I started curling when I was in grade 6 or so. I'm not a very good curler, though it is still very fun. I have a hard time sliding out of the hack because I can't keep my balance, which makes it hard to decide how heavy or light to throw the rock.

The girls' curling team at the school where Nadine teaches are currently doing very well. Nadine writes,

I've attached a picture of my girls' team. (See above.) They had a 7 point end in their last match today, pretty phenomenal when you consider each team only has 8 rocks to throw to get possible points. All but one of their rocks remained in the house! Pretty amazing! We head to provincials next week, which is the highest level in high school athletics in Saskatchewan. If they win this they will be the best ranked team in the province, though just getting to provincials is an amazing feat too, becoming ranked as one of the top 16 teams in the province. I'm so excited. They play a round robin format, with a triple knockout (they have to lose three times). 45 games will be played over the course of three days of competition. It's a pretty huge deal!

Nadine also writes,

Did you know there's even a movie about curling? Made in Canada, by Canadians but it was a fantastic movie. It's called "Men With Brooms," and although it doesn't exactly describe the game of curling, it is a pretty fantastic movie about the passion people have for curling. I think my favorite part of the movie is when they describe the curling rock: "It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, beveled on the belly and a handle a human being can hold. And it may have no practical purpose in itself, but it is a repository of human possibility and if it's handled just right, it will exact the kind of poetry... "

If you're like me (and Kristen's family), you're perfectly willing to cheer for curling and get all excited about it, but you have no idea what the rules are. Here is Nadine's very thorough explanation. Take it with you next time you sit down to watch curling on t.v.! :) Thank you so much, Nadine, for enlightening those of us who are completely in the dark about this cool sport.

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Curling is a precision sport.

There are four members on a team, and each team gets to throw 8 rocks. There is a lead, second, third, and skip.

The skip is the boss of the team and stands at the opposite end of the ice. She holds her broom a certain way and the person throwing the rock points towards the broom and does an in-turn or an out-turn when she throws the rock. This turn determines which direction the rock will curl.

(At this point, I interjected to ask Nadine what it means when the rock "curls." You'll find out what "button" means later on.)

When a rock "curls," it spins like a top, only slower. Rocks don't normally go straight down the ice, so when a curler releases the rock they put a slight spin on it. When it spins it moves across the ice. The rock almost always has to curl towards a certain point. The skip might hold her broom to the left of the button, so when the curler throws their rock they aim at the broom, but they want their rock to curl towards the button on the right, so when they release their rock it is pointed at the broom, but the handle is pointed towards the button. Sometimes the skip holds out a hand or taps a spot on the ice. The spot she taps is where she wants the rock to end up.

When the rock is thrown, two sweepers help get the rock to the other end. The sweeping helps to clean the ice (a stray hair can cause a rock to totally veer off course), but it can also help control the line of the rock. 

When someone on the team shouts "line," they want the sweepers to help keep the rock going on the path it's following. When they shout "hurry" or "hard," they usually want the rock to get moving faster and for it to curl.

Without the sweepers, the rock can sometimes take too long to curl, missing the shot, or it can be thrown too light and without the sweepers it won't make it past the hog line.

The hog line is that first black line that you see when the rock is coming to the other end towards the rings, which is also known as the "house." If a rock doesn't make it past the hog line, it cannot be left in play and must be removed from the ice. There is also a "T line" which is the black line that runs across the house.

The three rings make up the house. The middle circle is called the "button." The closer a rock is to the button, the better. If two rocks are in play, the team that has the rock closer to the button will win the point.

Sometimes curlers will put their rocks between the house and the hog line. These act as guards and can protect the rocks behind them in the house. They are kind of like the front door. If enough guard rocks are in place it becomes difficult to shoot around them to get your rock in the house.

A "take out" is also necessary when the competition's rock is closer to the button than your own. A takeout rock is usually thrown hard and swept hard to increase speed. When it hits the other team's rock, it transfers its speed to the other rock, sending it shooting out of the house, usually.

When the curlers throw their rocks they stand in something called the "hack." This is a little black treaded area that you put your foot in to throw from. Curlers also wear special curling shoes that have a smooth surface on one foot that allows them to slide out when they throw their rock.

Games are played to ten ends, and an eleventh if there is a tie. An end is when all 8 rocks for each team have been thrown to the other end of the ice.

Nadine, keep us posted and let us know how your girls do! We will be cheering them on! :) Yay!