Section 3: Playing Area
3.1 Sheet Dimensions
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).
3.2 Key Lines and 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 completely crosses the back line is removed from play.
- Tee line: A line drawn through the centre of the house at each end, perpendicular to the centre line. The intersection of the tee line and centre line is the tee (button).
- Hog line: Located 21 ft (6.40 m) from the tee line at each end. The delivering player must release the stone before the near (delivery-end) hog line. The stone must fully cross the far (playing-end) hog line to remain in play.
- Centre line: Runs the full length of the sheet through the centre of both houses.
- Courtesy line: Located 4 ft (1.22 m) behind each hack. Non-delivering team members must remain behind this line during the opponent's delivery.
3.3 The House (Target)
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.
- 12-foot ring: 12 ft (3.66 m) diameter — the outer boundary of the house.
The rings are typically painted in alternating colours (red, white, blue, white from outer to inner). A stone must be touching or within the 12-foot ring to be eligible for scoring.
3.4 Ice Preparation
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. This pebble reduces the contact area between stone and ice, lowering friction and enabling the stone to curl. The pebble is nipped (shaved level) before play to ensure consistency.
3.5 Free Guard Zone
The Free Guard Zone (FGZ) is the area between the hog line and the tee line, excluding the house itself. Stones resting in this zone during the first five deliveries of an end are protected under the Free Guard Zone rule (see Section 5).