Every time the Winter Olympics roll around, all the media outlets and TV viewers scramble to find out about this weird "curling" sport. Well, it's that time again, and while you may see ample curling coverage on Blogcritics, you may not really understand what curling is.
"Hey Suss, I liked your story on curling ... too bad I had no clue what you were saying."
So let's explain a little bit. I'll start out with the questions I get asked the most:
Often Heard Question No. 1: "Who throws the stone, and who sweeps?"
Both. Each end (think baseball innings), players throw two stones each, for a total of 8 stones per team and 16 stones per end. The lead throws the first two stones, The second throws the next two stones, the third (vice-skip) throws the next two, and the skip throws the final two. Teams alternate throwing stones. The skip is usually the best player on the team, and he/she stands at the other end calling shots and putting their broom on the ice, giving the thrower a target. The other two players who aren't either skipping or throwing are the sweepers. The vice acts as the skip during the skip stones.
Often Heard Question No. 2: "What are you sweeping in front of the rock? There's nothing in front of the rock."
No, not really, but this is where science comes into play: Thrown rocks will not go straight, they will always curl one way or the other (hence the name of the sport), and sweeping in front of the rock will melt the ice a bit, making that rock stay a little straighter. It will also allow the rock to travel a bit further if it's underthrown. The third reason is that while there's nothing really in front of the rock, debris like dirt or fuzz may have landed on the ice, and the sweeping will knock that out of the way. The smallest bit of dirt can knock the stone off course.
Often Heard Question No. 3: "How do you not fall down?''
Curling ice is not the same as hockey or skating ice. Typical arena ice is perfectly flat, but curling ice has tiny little bumps on it. Before the games, the the ice is prepped with a fine spray of warm water (known as pebbling the ice), which melts and creates tiny bumps known as the pebble. So the pebble has better grip than your common skating ice. This pebble also allows curling rocks to travel across the ice. A curling rock really wouldn't move across skating ice very well.
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Article comments
1 - Joanie
I wasn't trying to be cute, Suss -- I am cute. Devastatingly so, I might add.
Anyhow, thanks for the "Everything you wanted to know about curling but were afraid to ask" article.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Don't make us laugh.
There's probably more questions, I assume. I hope. Or else I did my job too well the first time, which can't be right.
3 - Jamison
LOVED this blog... i posted on my blog how I am falling in love with this sport (I live in Alabama, we dont see it often)... but the American Women's curling team has got me hooked the most (Cassie and Jamie Johnson... cute as heck!)
4 - Mary K. Williams
This was great Suss - nice informal, yet informative piece. Thanks for including me as well : )
5 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Matt,
Thanks for including my question in the article. Metulla, unfortunately, is a bit far from where I am - and right under the nose of the Hizb-allah missiles aimed at this country.
A missile is just another form of rock, I suppose, so the Hizb-allah just want to get into the game and join all the fun, right? A friend in need is a friend indeed.
It's enough to give a guy a heart attack...
6 - larry
what a fun thread. i didnt know anything about curling.i still dont. what i have learned is that women in curling are babes.
7 - Douglas Mays
Dammit! I have been into Curling for about 40 years. I've never played it (although I do have the only Curling rink west of North Dakota down the street from me-Seattle). I have seen a few live tournaments and watch alot on the CBC when in season.
Anyway, Curling is cool....
DM
8 - RJ Elliott
I doubt there are any curling ice rinks here in East Central Florida...although there is a skating rink just north of Melbourne...otherwise, I would definitely give this sport a try!
9 - Matthew T. Sussman
Douglas, what's holding you back from going to an open house?
And RJ, the only rink in Florida is in Sarasota ... sorry, man, that's probably a bit of a drive.
Here's an interactive map of all the curling rinks in the US. Find the one nearest to you, call 'em up and ask when their next open house is!
10 - justin
Hey, I was wondering. We have a yard game called Bocci Ball is curling like Bocci Ball? The idea seems to be the same. I think curling would be fun, but i am a geek and love chess, also. Hey dont hate me cuz im beautiful!!!!!
11 - Matthew T. Sussman
Justin, yeah there are similarities between bocce and curling. Bocce balls are thrown, so that adds a third dimension to the game, but they both have the same goal in that you have to get closest to the center. While I'm not that certain on the rules of bocce, I don't know if you can score multiple points per end/inning/round, or if it can be a team game, but yes the two games have that similarity.
The other main difference (besides the playing field) is that curling has a boatload more strategy.
12 - navi Hiebb
I am a Canadian who curls regularly, I play mate on a provincial team so i know something about curling. First i would like to say that this is the best description of curling i have ever read. Since i think you know what you are talking about i would like to ask a few questions. I have a fiberglass performance broom thats a little out of date and no website i have found gives me any hints on what I should upgrade to, I would like to upgrade and don't mind spending a few bucks to get a good broom. What do you use and/or what do you recommend? My last question is about shoes. I have new asham shoes with disks, i have the thick white plasticy disks on it and some of the people on my team have brick or stainless steel disks, do you think that they are worth the money or i should stick with my shelf disks?
13 - Wanka from Bullamakanka
I reckon we should have curling in Oz ... proper curling like they play in Canada, not the one with the GE Hair-o-matic like they play in America - it's perfect for Down Under, and everyone could play "mate".
Once the ice has melted - after about 4 minutes - we could all go for a swim and then have a few beers and belt the living sh.t out of each other.
14 - Christopher Rose
Stan, is it late at night and you're pissed or early in the morning and you haven't woken up from that lovely dream you were having?
15 - Navi Hebb
I love that "it's perfect for Down Under, and everyone could play "mate"." and I invested in an Olson Reactor 2.
16 - Trey
This was informative... thank you. I am looking on how big a sport this is today. I mean how many people participate and how many people watch?