The wonderful sport of

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CURLING!
The wonderful sport of
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What is Curling?
So when most people think of curling, especially
girls, the first thing that comes to mind
probably isnt an Olympic sport, but a way of
styling your hair. Well as much as we would
rather be doing our hair, we are instead talking
about the Olympic sport.
Curling is an extremely complex sport based
around a very simple idea, as stated on the
World Curling Federation Website. You are to
slide stones down ice and try to get them to
stop in the center of the rings. For some,
including myself, this is difficult enough by
itself, but then you add to it the fact that the
other team is using many tactics to try and stop
you. The game is uses many things such as skill,
strategy, and finesse. Also, although you and I
may think that this is a slow paced boring game,
the experts say that is only a perception.
Stones
The stones, also called rocks, thrown during the
game are made of different types of shock
resistant granite. They are about 1 foot in
diameter and 4.5 inches tall not including the
handle, which is added to make it easier for the
player. Brooms and/or brushes are used now to
make the stones move either faster or straighter,
but they were originally used to move snow when
the game was played on frozen rivers and lakes.
The game of curling is filled with skill and
traditions. It is a game centered around
fairness rather than winning. Many teams will
point out when they have broken a rule, even if
you didnt notice it in order to not win with an
unfair advantage and rules are never deliberately
broken. Curlers who are truly good never attempt
to distract an opponent, or of course try to
hinder them in any other way. Curling is a game
filled with sportsmanship and kindness, while
determining the relative skill of the curlers.
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The origin of this little known but grand old
game is a bit vague. Some believe it had its
beginnings as "childs play" on the frozen ponds
and streams of the Continent. Others insist that
the "roaring game" is Scottish through and
through. It is a known fact that the fascinating
game of curling appeared in Scotland in the early
sixteenth century - as evidenced by a curling
stone, bearing the date of 1511, which was
unearthed near Stirling. There is also evidence
that at about the same time, the inhabitants of
Kilsyth formed one of the first curling
organizations, followed soon by other clubs. It
was not until 1760, however, that the famous
Edinburgh Cannon mills Club was established. Both
Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott refer to the
game as the "manly Scottish exercise." The first
Curling rocks weighted only 2 or 3 kg. They had
the design of a hand. And so they were called
"loofies" (loofhand in old English). With the
help of the time, the rocks became like today
ones. The people called them boulders, gave them
a handle and rounded them like the modern rocks.
At the beginning, everybody knew that you must
shoot the rock from A to B, but no precise rules
were known. Especially the length or width of the
rink or the size and the weight of the rock were
unknown. That's why some real boulders appeared
in 18th Century. The biggest one, the "Jubilee
Stone" had the weight of 58.5 kg. If this would
be still so today, Curling would be a sport for
strong men. Fortunately, the evolution took
another way. The curlers took the "Round Stones"
with the weight of approx. 20 kg, but the first
stone which had the today usual hollow grinding
was used in 1784 by Mr. Tam Pate. With this
hollow grind, he was able to play a twist around
a guard. Today we call this curl. Through this
late invention, we know, that the word Curling
isn't based on the verb to curl, but comes from
the old verb to curr (to grumble)
Origin and History
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The first Curling club was founded in Kinross,
Loch Leven in 1668. The first national
association was the Grand Caledonian Curling Club
(founded in 1838). In 1843, the club got the
privilege to be the Royal Caledonian Curling
Club. This Club was the World Federation, till
1966, when the ICF (International Curling
Federation) was founded. Since 1991 the ICF is
called WCF (World Curling Federation). In 1838,
the Grand Caledonian Curling Club was formed for
the sole purpose of fixing standardized rules of
the game for use wherever curling was played.
As curling gained popularity in Scotland in the
early 1800's, a uniform set of rules became
necessary. In some clubs, stones ranged in size
from a football (5-25 lbs) to a basketball (40
lbs or more). Crude handholds were carved into an
edge making it possible for the stone to be
thrown. Other stones had a crude metal handle
bolted into the center. Playing areas varied due
to the size of the frozen loch they had. Some
teams had eight members, others had four or six.
Curling has been played in the United States
since about 1830 when it crept down across the
Canadian border into the New England states and
into the northern part of Michigan. The first
association, known as the Grand National Curling
Club of America, was founded in 1867 and is still
in operation. The game was revived in the central
states in about 1936, having been dormant for
almost 30 years. The game also spread to the
northwest and Alaska - the Fairbanks Curling Club
was formed in 1906, and the Anchorage Curling
Club in 1954. The U.S. Curling Association was
formed in 1958, and now there are affiliated
associations. Today, curling has reached new
levels in popularity (even in the United States,
where media bias against the sport it widespread,
there has been some noticeable improvement). The
recent involvement in the Winter Olympics, a
growing professional cash-circuit, and booming
television ratings in Canada, Asia and Europe has
only boosted the sport's potential in the
"sporting mainstream".
History Continued
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1. Curling stones shall be of circular shape 2.
No stone, including handle and bolt, shall be of
greater weight than 44 lbs. or of greater
circumference than 36 inches, or of less height
than 4.5 inches. 3. At the start of a
competition every team shall be composed of four
players, each player playing two stones and
playing each stone alternately with his opponent.
Where five players are registered, these five
players have equal standing and may b e used at
any time, in accordance with the rules, at the
discretion of the skip or coach. 4. No player
shall use footwear or equipment that may damage
the surface of the ice. 5. The rotation of play
stated on the line-up card shall be observed
throughout the game. 6. Where a player is unable
to continue to play in a game or to play at the
start of a game, his skip may a. finish the
game then in progress and start any subsequent
game with the remaining players, in which case
the first two players shall throw three stones
each or b. bring in a qualified substitute for
the game then in progress at the beginning of the
next end, or at the start of any subsequent
game c. commence the game with three players if
one player is late for a reason adjudged valid by
the umpire. The late player may enter the game
in the next end, in his normal position. 7. A
player who has left a game because of illness,
accident or other extenuating circumstances may
rejoin his team at any time during any game in
the competition. If a substitute was selected,
the player may rejoin his team for the next game.
Rules
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• No team shall play more than one substitute in
  a competition.
• Only skips and acting skips in charge of the
  house for the time being may stand within the
  house and the skip of the playing team has the
  choice of place and shall not be obstructed by
  the other skip, but behind the tee line the
  privileges of both in regard to sweeping are
  equal.
• 10. The players, other than the skip and the
  acting skip, shall not stand behind the house,
  but shall place themselves along the side of the
  rink between the hog lines, except when sweeping
  or about to deliver a stone.
• 11. Between the tee lines, a running stone, or
  stone(s) set in motion by a running stone, may be
  swept by any one or more of the team to which it
  belongs.
• 12. Between the tee lines, no player shall sweep
  an opponents stone.
• 13. Behind the tee line, if the delivering
  teams choice is not to sweep, they shall not
  obstruct or prevent the opponent from sweeping
  the stone.
• 14. Behind the tee line, only one player from
  each team may sweep at one time. This may be the
  skip or acting skip form either team. Only the
  player in charge of the house shall be allowed to
  sweep behind the tee line, and shall not start to
  sweep an opponents stone before the stone
  reaches the line.
• 15. The sweeping motion, which shall be from
  side to side, shall leave no debris in front of
  the running stone and shall finish to either side
  of the stone. The sweepers and their equipment
  must be seen to be clear of the stone at all
  times.
• 16. Games shall be decided by a majority of
  shots and a team scores one shot for each stone
  nearer the tee than any stone of the opposing
  team.
• 17. Every stone that is within 6 feet of the tee
  is eligible to be counted.
• 18. Measurements shall be taken from the tee to
  the nearest part of the stone.
• 19. An end shall be considered as decided when
  the skips or acting skips in charge of the house
  at the time agree upon the score for that end.

More Rules
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20. If two or more stones are so close to the
tee that it is impossible to use a measuring
device to determine the scoring stone, the
determination shall be made visually by the Chief
Umpire. If not decision can be made, the end
shall be scored as a blank end. 21. The use of
all performance-enhancing drugs, whether they
have been taken knowingly or otherwise, is
prohibited. 22. A competitor may be required
prior to, during, or after the course of a
competition, to submit him/herself for drug
testing 23. A competitor found to have a
positive test will be banned from further
competition while the reason for the presence of
the banned substance is considered. 24. A
competitor refusing to submit to testing will be
banned from further participation in the
competition. 25. There shall be no smoking
within the confines of the playing area in World
Championships or in play leading up to World
Championships. 26. In all World Championships,
participating competitors are prohibited from
using offensive or foul language at any time in
the playing area. Any violation may result in
suspension by the Federation of the offending
player. 27. In all World Championships, a
warm-up period shall be allowed for each team on
the ice which the will be playing, immediately
prior to the start of each game, in accordance
with instructions given by the Chief Umpire 28.
Immediately prior to the warm-up a disk, light
colored on one side, dark on the other, shall be
tossed by an official in the presence of a member
of each team. The team winning the toss shall
decide which team shall have last stone at the
first end, after which the winner of the
preceding end shall lead. 29. The team which has
last stone at the first end shall practice first.
The Rest of the Rules
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And that concludes Stefana Simonetto, Shelby
Stewart, and Becky Youngers interesting power
point presentation about the most awesome sport
ever invented.
Curling