Sochi Sports Guide: Curling

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Date: 10-20 February
Venue: Ice Cube Curling Centre

Overview

Curling is a complex sport in which teams of four members work to deliver a 19.96kg stone across the ice and towards a designated, specially-marked ice zone. The object is to deliver stones as close to the centre of the ‘house’ as possible.

Curling made its debut as an Olympic medal sport in 1998 after appearing as a demonstration sport in four previous Games. Sochi is host to team competitions for both men and women.

Jargon buster

House: The scoring area, marked out on the ice and made up of four concentric circles. The diameters of the rings are 3.66m, 2.44m, 1.22m, and 0.3m in diameter respectively.

Draw: A shot for scoring. Draws are typically aimed to stop inside or in front of the house.

Takeout: A shot that knocks another rock out of play.

Skip: The captain of the curling team, the skip is responsible for deciding tactics. The skip will often hold the broom in the house as a target for where teammates should aim their shots.

Vice-skip: The player who shoots third on each team. The vice-skip will hold the broom in the house as the target when the skip shoots. Also known as the ‘third.’

Second: The person who shoots second on each team. The second will often sweep for her teammates, and is typically strategically strong at throwing takeouts and other power shots.

Lead: The person who shoots first on each team. The lead will sometimes sweep for her teammates, and is typically strategically strong at throwing draws and takeouts.

Hurry: A vocal command given by the skip to direct teammates to sweep.

Basic rules

A curling game is made up of ten ‘ends’, during which each team delivers eight stones (two per person). After all stones in an end are delivered, scores are added. A team scores one point for each of its stones located in (or touching) the house that are closer to the centre than any of the opponent’s stones.

The team with the most points at the end of ten ends is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, extra ends are added until one side wins.

Curling stones are delivered across the ice one at a time, alternating between teams. Teammates sweep the ice ahead of the stone to guide its path towards the aimed target in the house.

Ones to watch

Coming off a recent World Championship (competing as Scotland) in 2013, the British team of Eve Muirhead, Vicky Adams, Anna Sloan, and Claire Hamilton (pictured above) is looking strong for Sochi. Muirhead was the skip for GB in Vancouver at only 19 years of age, and four years later she is looking to better her team’s seventh place finish - they will be looking to return to the medal podium for the first time since Rhona Martin, Deborah Knox, Fiona MacDonald, Janice Rankin, and Margaret Morton won women’s curling gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City games.

Rivalries and favourites

Sweden is likely to be Team GB’s strongest competition, although the two-time defending Olympic Champion nation will have to contend with the retirement of skip Anette Norberg. The Canadians took Olympic silver in 2010 and have subsequently won two World Championship bronze medals, whilst the Swiss and Chinese teams are also medal contenders.

Who to follow on Twitter

@evemuirhead
@Team_Muirhead
@annasloan1
@n16vck – Vicki Adams

Olympic fact

After they won gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics, the Swedish women’s curling team was treated to celebrity status in their home country. They starred in Swedish metal band HammerFall’s music video for ‘Hearts of Fire.’

Erin Walter, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

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