Curling, sometimes referred to as the ‘roaring game’, which comes from the noise a curling rock makes when moving on the ice. It’s not clear where the game originates from but it’s known for being one of the oldest team sports. A 16^th-century painting by a Flemish artist shows a game which looks a lot like curling. It’s considered that perhaps curling used to be a simple time-killer and people threw stones on ice, making use of the cold winter. But then it developed to being the oldest and one of the most appreciated team sports. These days there is a World Curling Championship which has many followers and attracts a big audience of viewers.

Rules

The rules of this sport were officially drawn in 1804 and strangely, they haven’t quite changed ever since. There are only a few small exceptions. In curling, there are two teams of four players. Each team slides a curling rock on ice towards a target at the other end of the ice field. Every team aims to get more stones as close as they can to the centre of the target. Once 16 stones have been played, the score is counted, according to the location of the rocks. Every stone that is closer to the centre than the one of the other team, brings one point.

Equipment

There are five things that form the equipment to play curling. The first item is a brush, or a broom. It’s used for pushing the rock on the ice. There are two types – a push broom an a straw broom, which has long bristles and looks like a standard cleaning broom.

Another item is a curling rock, which is also known as a stone. It’s made of rare granite which is produced and polished in Scotland and weighs over 19 kilos.

Shoes are an essential part of the equipment too. Curling shoes look like normal athletic shoes but the difference is that they have different soles. There is a slider shoe which is worn on the sliding foot, and a non-sliding shoe, which is worn on the hock foot.

Ice is an inevitable part of curling. When the sport is played indoors, ice is sprinkled with water, which freezes and creates a surface, which helps the grip of the stone.

The rink is about 42 metres wide and has a target at both ends.

History And Facts

Curling was once played outdoors on frozen ponds. In some countries curlers still enjoy doing it when the weather allows but it usually takes place in indoor rinks. The temperature is now carefully regulated. The first curling clubs are said to have been set up in Scotland and by the 19^th century, the game was spread to other countries where there were communities of Scottish people, such as Canada, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland. There are still arguments whether Scotland is where the sport was invented but it’s strongly believed it is. The first major evidence to prove that it originated from Scotland is a curling stone, which originated from 1511 and was found in a pond in Dunblane, Scotland. Anyway, even if curling was not created in Scotland, at least it was where the game was developed and formed as the sport it is today.

Author Bio: Paula is a sports fan for many years. She works for http://www.qualitycleaninglondon.co.uk/cleaning-services-nw10-harlesden/ but her free time she spends reading for sports.

Photo Credits:

•  http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2568/4208306580_118659686e.jpg
• Wikipedia