🏛️Official — WCF
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Winter Sports
2 players
indoor
rink, stones, handle
10 essential rules
Curling is a precision team sport played on a rectangular sheet of prepared ice, in which two teams take turns sliding polished granite stones towards a circular target known as the house. Originating in medieval Scotland during the 16th century, the earliest recorded curling match dates to 1541 ...
Curling stones are made of dense, polished granite. The majority of competition stones are crafted from granite quarried on Ailsa Craig, a small volcanic island off the coast of Ayrshire, Scotland.
Key Fact: Curling stones are made of dense, polished granite sourced from Ailsa Craig and Trefor, Wales. Weight is between 17.24 kg to 19.96 kg including handle and bolt.
Purpose: Sweeping the ice surface ahead of a moving stone to influence its speed and trajectory.; Construction: Modern brooms use a carbon fibre or fibreglass shaft with a fabric pad head. Traditional corn brooms are rarely used in competition.; WCF Approval: All broom heads must comply with WCF ...
Slider shoe: Worn on the sliding foot (left foot for right-handed deliverers). The sole is coated with Teflon or a similar low-friction material to allow a smooth glide during delivery.; Gripper shoe: Worn on the hack (push-off) foot. The sole features a high-traction rubber coating for grip on i...
Stopwatch: Used by the skip or vice-skip to time stone speed (split times between hog lines) for weight judgement.; Measuring device: Used by officials to determine which stone is closest to the tee when it cannot be determined visually.; Eye on the Hog: Electronic sensor embedded in the stone ha...
Curling is played on a carefully prepared rectangular sheet of ice with the following dimensions: Length: 150 ft (45.72 m) from hack to hack.; Width: 15 ft 7 in (4.75 m) standard; maximum 16 ft 5 in (5.0 m).
Played on a prepared ice sheet with specific markings.
Hack: A rubber foothold embedded in the ice at each end, from which players push off during delivery. The hack is positioned on the centre line, behind the back line.; Back line: A line drawn across the width of the sheet at each end, positioned 6 ft (1.83 m) behind the tee line. A stone that com...
The house is the circular scoring area at each end of the sheet, consisting of four concentric rings: Button: The centre point (tee), marked by the intersection of the tee line and centre line.; 4-foot ring: 4 ft (1.22 m) diameter.; 8-foot ring: 8 ft (2.44 m) diameter.
The ice surface is maintained at approximately −5°C (23°F). After being levelled flat, the ice is pebbled — fine water droplets are sprayed onto the surface and allowed to freeze, creating a textured finish of small bumps.
Call your own burned stone immediately
If a sweeper accidentally touches a moving stone with their broom, they are expected to call the infraction on themselves immediately rather than waiting for the opposing team to notice. Self-reporting fouls is central to curling's honor code and treated as one of the most fundamental obligations a player has.
Hog-line sensors automate hog line violations at higher levels, but burned stones during sweeping remain largely on the honor system at all levels.
Concede when mathematically eliminated
When a team cannot possibly win given the remaining ends and stone differential, the losing skip is expected to extend a handshake to concede rather than force the opposing team to play out meaningless ends. Refusing to concede in a clearly lost position is considered disrespectful and contrary to the spirit of the game.
Curling is one of the few sports where teams routinely end matches before the scheduled conclusion — concession is so ingrained it is treated as mandatory, not optional.
Remain still and silent during a player's delivery
All players and bystanders should be quiet and motionless while a player is in the hack preparing to deliver. Talking, moving in the shooter's peripheral vision, or making distracting noise mid-delivery is a significant breach of etiquette regardless of which team is affected.
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Pre-game and post-game handshake with 'good curling'
Teams shake hands with every member of the opposing team before the first end, exchanging the phrase 'good curling.' A second handshake follows the final end. This ritual is universally observed from recreational club leagues to the Olympics and frames every contest as one between respectful competitors.