Winter Olympic Sports

Curling

History

Gold Medal The sport of curling is one of the oldest team sports. It began in Scotland in the 1500s. People would play on frozen lakes or lochs and use different rock materials from the regions of Perth and Stirling.

Gold Medal In 1838, the first curling club was formed in Scotland, where they came up with the rules for the game. In 1842, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the club, and Prince Albert loved it, so he made it one of his “patronages” (this means to help support the club), and it was renamed the “Royal Caledonian Curling Club” in 1843.

Equipment Used

Silver Medal Curling stone, special shoes with one shoe that helps the athletes grip the ice, and the other allows them to slide, and a broom.

Silver Medal Today, the curling stones are made from a rare granite found in only two places in the world, Scotland and Wales. This granite is very tough and absorbs little water. Each curling stone weighs 17- 20 kg (38-44 lbs).

Rules

Bronze Medal Each team is made up of 4 athletes (the mixed doubles only have two athletes, a man and a woman) who try and get their curling stone as close to the center “button” of the bullseye “house.” The “house” at the end of the lane is a 46 m (150 ft) ice lane called a “sheet.” Each team will throw eight stones.

Bronze Medal There are three players on the ice at one time. One person throws the stone down the “sheet” while the other two players are “sweeping” the ice to help the stone move where they want it to go. The 4th player is on reserve, but they all rotate through the positions and have particular jobs. The “Lead” throws the first two stones. “Second” throws the 3rd and 4th stones. “Third” throws the 5th and 6th stones. “Skip” throws the 7th and 8th stones.

Bronze Medal The tea with the most points at the end of 10 rounds wins and will advance to the next round.

3 events in this category

Men’s Curling: The team has four men. (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924, but then was made a demonstration sport (played only to promote the sport) until the Nagano (Japan) Winter Olympics in 1998 unit it was officially a part of the program)
Women’s Curling: The team is made up of 4 women. (Added to the Nagano (Japan) Winter Olympics in 1998)
Mixed Doubles Curling: The team has only one woman and one man. (Added to the Pyeongchang (South Korea) Winter Olympics in 2018)