Curling: The Sport and How It’s Played

Curling is an official winter Olympic sport played and enjoyed by many. A fact about curling you might find interesting is that it is actually the only sport to be played every day throughout the winter Olympics. Curling is most popular in Canada, with the country hosting about an overwhelming 90% of the world’s curlers. But how is curling actually played?

Curling is a sport played on ice, hence being in the winter Olympics. During play, competitors slide smooth stones made out of granite with a handle commonly referred to as simply “rocks” or “stones” onto a sheet of ice. The throwing of the stone gives it a curvy trajectory called a “curl”. A curl is achieved by rotating the stone a bit before throwing. The ice is rugged to start, but to make the stone slide better, aim better, and slide farther, players can use brooms to sweep away the chips of rugged ice.

Curling uses four players per team and eight stones per team, each player throwing two stones. A target at the end of the course, marked as two rings, one smaller and one bigger; the smaller ring is within the larger ring. Points are scored by sliding the stone closest to the middle of the rings. The points are added to a team’s score once an “end” is finished. An end is completed once all teams have slid all of their stones. Curling games are usually made up of eight to ten of these “ends”. Teamwork is also a crucial factor in curling, since one placement of a teammate’s stone could be strategically altered by another teammate to score more points.

As of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the men’s USA curling team has finished with a record of 4 – 5 and will not be heading into the semifinals after their loss to Great Britain. The women’s team, however, is doing well with a great 5 – 2 record after beating Denmark with a final score of 10 – 3, giving them a chance of a playoff spot. (It is important to note that these results are accurate as of the afternoon of February 18th.)

Curling is often played not only on certain courses designed specifically for curling, but also can be enjoyed on frozen lakes, as long as the body of water is frozen enough. Anybody can enjoy curling with the proper equipment, inside or outside of Canada. It is played in the USA, mainly in colder states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, or even right here in Michigan. (This winter especially. 🥶)

Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling
https://www.usacurling.org/