Curling

(PD) Photo: Michael Nishizaki
Curling

Curling is a sport in which 2 teams, each consisting of 4 players, attempt to guide a heavy, circular stone or rock (which is flat on the bottom) down a long, narrow sheet of ice towards a target consisting of concentric rings. There is a set of such rings at each end of the playing surface and a game consists of 10 "ends" in which each team throws 8 rocks, with 2 rocks thrown by each of the team's 4 players. The game utilizes a system of proximity scoring in which only one team can score in each end - the team whose rock (which must be "in play") lies closest to the center of the target rings. This team will score one point for each of their rocks (again, in play) which are closer to the center of the target than the nearest opponent's rock.

Beginning in 1998, curling became a medal sport in the Winter Olympic Games after an absence of over half a century.

Rules

Teams consist of four players each and each player gets to throw two stones per end. Players are named in the order that they play their stones.