Curling

Curling is one of the oldest team sports. Its history dates back to medieval Scotland, where players slid ordinary field stones across frozen lakes. Today the stones are standardised and made from almost 20 kg of granite with a plastic handle. Curling takes its name from the rotation given to the stone on release. The sport grew in popularity after the 1998 Winter Olympics. The first Olympic curling medals were awarded as early as 1924.

No. Curling is played in shoes with rubber soles. Clean trainers with good tread are suitable for starting your adventure. Please bring a clean pair to change into.

Yes. It is both a sport and a strategic game. You need to be able to push a 20 kg stone along the sheet, which is not particularly difficult because the specially prepared ice lets the stones move very lightly. Sweeping is the most demanding part, but if you manage at home, you will be fine. Curling is suitable for children and seniors alike. If you have limited mobility, you can use a delivery stick to release the stone from a standing or seated position.

Stick curling is a suitable solution for people with knee, back, heart, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, ankle or foot problems, as well as older players. Stones are delivered using a stick from a standing or seated position, including from a wheelchair, allowing everyone to take part. We encourage wheelchair users to enjoy the sport of curling.

A curling stone is a thick granite disc weighing between 17.24 kg and 19.96 kg, with a plastic handle attached to the top. The handle lets the player hold and rotate the stone during delivery. On properly prepared ice, the stone follows a curve in the direction of its rotation. The handles are coloured so that the stones of each team can be distinguished.

To understand sweeping, it helps to explain how a stone moves on the ice. Pebbling, spraying tiny drops of water, is necessary before a game. The delivered stone rotates and moves over the tops of the frozen droplets, following a curve in the direction of its rotation. Sweeping warms the ice surface and reduces friction along the stone's path. The harder the stone is swept, the farther it travels and the smaller its curve becomes. Sweeping allows the whole team to participate in the shot. A brush is also used as support during delivery. Brush pads are made of a special synthetic material; in the past they were made from horsehair or straw.

Beginners can wear flat trainers. More advanced players wear special curling shoes. They look like sports shoes but have different soles: one for sliding and one for stability. The sliding sole is usually made from Teflon and is used during delivery, sometimes while sweeping or moving quickly along the sheet. The other shoe is used to push out of the hack and should provide the best possible grip. It may have an ordinary sports-shoe sole or special sticky rubber.

A hack is a foothold fixed into the ice that the delivering player pushes off from.

A game is played between two teams of four:
 Each team alternately delivers eight stones towards the opposite end of the sheet, into the circles known as the house. The smallest circle is the button, whose centre is the tee. Each player delivers two stones.
 After a stone is released, two players use brushes to influence its movement and bring it as close to the centre as possible. The team captain, or skip, decides whether to sweep the stone and influence its trajectory.
 The aim is to place your stones closer to the centre of the house than the opponent's stones once all 16 stones have been delivered. This part is called an end. A game consists of 8-10 ends.
 A team scores one point for every stone closer to the centre than the opponent's best stone.
 Players may deliver stones that stop where intended (a draw), knock out other stones (a take-out), or block the opponent's shots (a guard).

A full game takes about two hours. A single end takes approximately 15 minutes.

Preparing the ice is called pebbling. Drops of water are sprayed and freeze on the ice surface, allowing stones to slide over them. Without pebbling, a stone would stop after a few metres because of friction.

Curling ice is quite different from hockey or skating ice. The surface of a curling rink is perfectly level and covered with pebbles, or frozen water droplets. They provide better grip for shoes than skating ice while allowing stones to move with less friction, which would not be possible on skating ice.

If you have never tried curling before, join our “Try curling” sessions (online registration). Sessions take place on weekday evenings and at various times on weekends. They last about 90 minutes, during which an instructor shows you how to deliver stones and sweep. We provide all the equipment: stones, brushes and special shoe sliders. Sessions are held in groups of up to eight people. You can register online, by phone or in person. We also organise curling events and PE lessons for larger groups. If you get hooked, join our regular training sessions, league and tournaments.