A Brief History and Fun Facts About Curling

• Curling is played in over 35 countries throughout the world

• Curling was "invented" in Scotland in the late 1400s

• The first organized curling club was established in Lochleven Scotland in 1668

• Much later a set of 12 rules was published and adopted by most clubs

• The Royal Caledonian Curling Club was formed in 1836 thus creating a governing body which eventually led to uniform rules and regulations throughout Scotland and the rest of the world

• There are 4 curlers (skip, vice skip, second and lead) on a curling team, each of whom deliver 2 rocks each end

• A game is played on a "sheet" approximately 14 feet wide and 140 feet long of pebbled ice

• A game lasts approximately 2 hours or 15 minutes an end. There are 8 ends in club games.

• The object of the game is to have your team's rocks (also known as stones) closest to the centre of the house which is made up of 4 circles 12', 8', 4' and approximately 1' in diameter

• The curling rock weighs approximately 44 pounds or 19.95 Kilograms. They are made of special granite found only in Wales or Scotland

• There are two types of shots:

• A draw shot, which is intended to stop in or in front of the house

• A take out shot which is intended to hit an opponent’s rocks and move it

• There are two types of turns:

• An in-turn where the rock rotates clockwise for a right-handed curler and counter clockwise for a left-handed curler.

• An out-turn where the rock rotates counter clockwise for a right handed curler, clockwise for a left-handed curler.

• Sweeping or brushing may be done by any or all members of the team delivering the rock to make the rock go further or usually to make it run straighter