Curling rules

The equipment

• Teams of at least four and at most eight people, with one captain (playing or not).
• Eight discs with a handle per team, each team in its own colour.
• Lanes with a short run-up and, a few metres before the end, the curlhouse: the red, white and blue target on the ice.
• Wooden beams mark the end and the sides of the lane.
• Good footwear and warm clothing (ideally recognisable per team).

The game

• The toss decides which team starts. Each player plays one or two discs, eight per team.
• Team A slides the first two discs towards the curlhouse, from any point on the start mat. The order of players is free.
• Then team B plays two discs and tries to get into a better position. After that, the team lying worst keeps playing until it lies better or runs out of discs.
• The team that wins a round (an end) starts the next end.
• A match has three ends and lasts at most 20 minutes. After 15 minutes a signal sounds: the current end may be finished, but no new end starts. After 20 minutes play stops; the discs lying at that moment count.
• A win earns two match points plus the score difference (8–3 becomes 2 points, +5). A draw: one point each, difference zero.

Rules of play

• You can try to get as close as possible to the centre (the dolly): a draw.
• If the opponent lies too well, you may knock their disc away: a take-out.
• You may play off the opponent’s discs and off the wooden side.
• Discs that hit the back beam are out; the referee places them behind the end beam.
• If a disc ends up upside down in the lane, the referee removes it. That disc may not be played again in that round.

The score

Only discs inside the curlhouse, or partly on the blue ring, can score. The disc closest to the dolly is a point for that team. That disc is removed; if the next closest belongs to the same team, that is another point. Keep counting until you reach an opponent’s disc. So you can score at most eight points per end. If nothing lies in the curlhouse, there is no score and the same team starts the new end.

The referee

The referee decides in all cases where they are called upon, and intervenes in case of irregular or dangerous play and in situations not covered by these rules.

Terms

• Curlhouse — the red, white and blue circles in which you score.
• Dolly — the white centre of the curlhouse.
• Draw — playing a disc as close as possible to the dolly.
• Take-out — knocking away an opponent’s disc.
• Guard — a deliberately short disc that makes the opponent’s play difficult.
• Turn-over — a disc that ends up upside down and is removed.

Coaching is just as important as technique. Help each other, be a team — and enjoy your curling!