CURLINGHÅNDBOKA 2011
1 Overview of the Sport ...................... 3
2 The Delivery.................................... 12
3 Advanced Delivery Skills ............... 30
4 Sweeping ......................................... 42
5 Basic Strategy ................................. 53
6
Advanced (Team) Strategy........... 63
7
The Field of Play ........................... 72
8
Practice ........................................... 78
9 Team Development ........................ 82
10 Advanced Team Performance .... 86
11 Junior Curling ............................. 91
1
Overview of the Sport
Description
Curling is a team sport played on ice. The sport, which is now an Olympic medal sport,
probably originated in the 1500's on the lakes and ponds of Northern Europe. Two teams of
four players each slide 42-pound granite rocks down a sheet of ice 140 feet long by 15 feet
wide (see Figure 1.1). The rocks are delivered from one end of the sheet to the other toward
the center of a 12-foot diameter target.
Curling is played actively in more than thirty countries in Europe, Asia, North America, New
Zealand and Australia. The majority of players live in Scotland, Canada and the United States.
It is mostly played indoors at dedicated curling facilities housing multiple sheets (lanes) of
ice.
Curling can be enjoyed by nearly all age groups for social play and high-level competition
such as the Olympic Games. Curling awareness has increased dramatically since the 2002
Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Games in Torino, Italy in 2006 where media coverage of
the sport dramatically increased in the United States. Many teams are preparing for
competition in the Winter Games in Vancouver, BC in 2010.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to score as many rocks as possible by throwing them closest to the
center of the 12-foot ring. The targets are painted into the ice just below the surface at both
ends of the sheet of ice, to allow the game to be played back and forth, usually eight or ten
times. Each player throws two rocks toward the target, alternating with the opponent. Rocks
traveling down the ice will curve anywhere from six inches to six feet. After all sixteen rocks
have been thrown the score is determined. Teams score one point for each rock closest to the
center of the house without an opponent's rock closer. In each end (similar to an inning in
baseball), only one team can score.
A unique part of curling is the concept of sweeping. Players vigorously sweep, or brush the
ice in front of the rock to keep it moving. The friction (and resulting heat) of the brooms
momentarily melts a molecular layer of the ice in front of the rock. This thin layer lubricates
the bottom of the rock allowing it to travel farther and straighter.
The Playing Area
Some History
As mentioned earlier, the game originated on the frozen lochs of Western Europe several
hundred years ago. There was a point in curling history where temporary enclosures were
placed around the curling section of the frozen lake. This was done to protect the curlers from
the elements.
Ice that is formed by cold air is known as "natural" ice. For natural ice to occur, obviously the
temperature must be below 0 C (32 degree F). This limited the growth of curling to the
northern latitudes. When the sport finally came to North America (early 1800's), it was
primarily played in Canada, where the winter temperatures were consistently below freezing.
In the early 1900's, refrigeration technology allowed ice to be prepared in regions where
winter temperatures are often above 32 degree . This ice is known as "artificial" ice. Almost
all curling facilities now have artificial ice, which allows curling to thrive in lower latitudes.
Artificial ice is produced using a process of compressing ammonia or Freon® and then
allowing it to expand and cool. This cooling process removes heat from the playing surface,
lowering the temperature, and creating ice. This is done by running cooling pipes under the
playing surface. The pipes are usually four inches apart, run the length of each sheet, and
carry cold liquid chilled by the ammonia or Freon. A four-sheet club has approximately six
miles of pipe under the ice.
Artificial ice allows people to curl in warm climates as well. The refrigeration compressor is
driven by one or more large capacity electric motors. These motors draw an enormous amount
of electricity. To date, dedicated curling facilities in warm climates (35 degrees North latitude
and below) are essentially non-existent. Curling in these climates usually happens at ice rinks
that share ice time with skaters, hockey players and curlers.
The Sheet
The modern sheet of ice is approximately fifteen feet wide by about 140 feet long. Rubber
"hacks" are placed in the ice for foot traction during for delivering the rocks.
Figure 1.1 Sheet Dimensions
The Hog Line
The hog line has two functions. The far hog line serves as the leading edge of the area "in
play" meaning rocks must fully cross the hog line to stay in play during the end. The nearer
hog line serves as the farthest edge of the delivery release point meaning all rocks must be
released before they touch the near hog line.
Anecdotal Explanation
The name hog line comes from an old shepherding term. The line of slow-moving sheep at the
trailing edge of the pack was referred to as the as the hog line, meaning they were as slow as
hogs. This line of sheep was the farthest back a sheep could be and still be part of the group.
You can draw the distant similarity. In curling, it's the farthest point a rock can be from the
center and still be in play.
As players began to slide in delivery (1940s and 50s) rules were put in place to prevent a
player from sliding the entire length and placing the rock in house. The near hog line seemed
to be a suitable spot. Starting in the 1950s, the body was not allowed to cross the hog line
during the delivery. In 1973, the international organization wrote the rule stating the rock
must be released before it touches the hog line and the body would be allowed to slide past it.
Today, the rock is removed from play if it touches the hog line prior to release.
The Ice
From a distance, curling ice appears perfectly smooth. After a closer look, you'll notice that
the ice appears bumpy. The rocks ride on these small frozen bumps called "pebble". The
pebble is put on before each game with a machine that works like a flower sprinkler. Without
the pebble, there would be too much friction between the ice and the rocks, making it too
difficult to throw the rocks the full distance. Pebble is what makes curling a "finesse game".
The ice is maintained between games by sweeping off debris and scraping the surface two or
three times a week. A special scraping machine is manufactured just for curling ice. The
resurfacing machine removes the build-up of pebble and any frost that has settled before new
pebble is applied.
Occasionally, due to the uneven freezing of the surface, the entire area is flooded and allowed
to freeze slowly. This levels the ice and is done about every six weeks.
It is very difficult to prepare a perfectly level ice surface. Even though most imperfections
can't be seen, the way the rocks behave while in motion may indicate the presence of ridges
and troughs. This is part of the game. Skips must determine what the sheets are like as early
as possible, similar to "reading" the green in golf.
The ice surface temperature is maintained somewhere in the 22-25 degree range. In some
cases, sophisticated equipment is used to measure and maintain these temperatures.
The Air
The air temperature in some clubs is controlled. The ideal air temperature at chest level is
around 40 degree F. Not only is it comfortable for the curlers, the heat keeps the relative
humidity lower so frost won't build up on the ice. Some clubs have dehumidification systems.
This further decreases the relative humidity. Lower latitude clubs with no heating capabilities
usually have frost problems. Higher latitude clubs with no heat are very cold.
The Curling Team
Teams are made up of four players. Each player throws two rocks, alternating with the
opponent. The first position is known as the Lead and throws the first two rocks. The second
position is known as the Second and throws the second two. The third position is known as
the Vice Skip and throws the third two rocks. The fourth position is known as the Skip (calls
each shot and is the team captain) and throws the last two rocks.
The skip controls the game by determining all of the shots and developing the game strategy.
Since the rocks curl as they travel down the ice, the throwers must aim at a point other than
the intended resting point. The skip is responsible for providing an aiming point. He or she
places the broom upright, directly over the desired aiming point. The skip is also responsible
for determining whether sweeping is necessary and communicating this to the sweepers*
The use of a team coach is becoming more popular. Curling coaches are required to
"passively coach" the team. Rules state that the coach cannot interact with the team during
play. Even with the existence of a team coach, the skip must call all of the shots. Coaches
generally communicate before, after and in some cases, during a break half way through the
game. Time-outs are another opportunity for coaches to intervene.
* There are certain instances when the skip is not responsible for determining sweeping. (See
the Sweeping section)
Types of Shots
Essentially, there are only two types of curling shots, the draw and the takeout. There are
many variations of these two shots, however.
Draws are shots that are only thrown hard enough only to reach the field of play at the other
end. Takeouts are designed to remove rocks from play.
As mentioned earlier, we intentionally rotate the rocks as we throw them. These rotations are
called turns. A clockwise rotation (for a right handed person) is called an In-turn while a
counter-clockwise rotation is called an Out-turn. The names originally come from the
direction your elbow took as you were throwing. (the elbow pointed out as you rotated the
out-turn and vice versa). This is no longer appropriate because the elbow shouldn't move at all
but the names remain.
Below is a list of possible draw shots:
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Open Draw a rock thrown into an empty house
Center Guard a rock thrown short of the house to be used as protection
Corner guard a rock short of the house and off to the side
Come around any draw shot that curls around another rock
Raise Tapping a front guard into the house
Tap back a heavier weight draw designed to push another rock back but not out of the
house
Freeze a draw that comes to rest touching another rock
Corner-freeze a draw that comes to rest on the edge of another rock
Below is a list of possible takeout shots:
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Normal a takeout thrown with enough weight to firmly remove another rock (a normal
takeout undisturbed should hit the back wall and bounce back about a foot)
Hack Weight Hit a takeout thrown with enough weight to gently remove another rock
(a hack weight takeout undisturbed should come to rest at the back wall)
Peel a takeout thrown with very hard weight to remove rocks from play (undisturbed
peel weight shots should hit the back wall and bounce back several feet)
Hit & Roll a takeout that, after making contact with another rock, rolls to a designated
place
Tick/Chip a takeout thrown to hit another rock thin enough to move it to the side
without removing it from play
The Skip's Signals and How to Interpret Them
All shots called by the skip have an associated hand or arm signal. Hand signals were
developed due to the length of the sheet of ice (the option is to scream to other players at the
other end). Also, many curling clubs are so loud that talking is difficult.
Skip's signal can vary dramatically. Listed below are the most common signals used. There
are two basic types:
1. Signals to determine the shot
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Tapping the ice with the broom (intended resting point)
Right arm extended (in turn for right-handers)
Left arm extended (out turn for right-handers)
Tapping the rock with the broom (intended takeout target)
2. Signals to determine the weight
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Tapping the hack with broom (intended weight)
Touching the arm at the wrist, elbow or shoulder
Touching the upper body at the waist, chest and neck
The Game Flow
Games consist of either eight or ten "ends" depending on the level of competition. League and
bonspiel games are generally eight ends while play leading to a national or world
championship would be ten ends. An end in curling is similar to an inning in baseball. Each
end takes approximately fifteen minutes, so an eight end game would generally take two
hours to play.
Each game, the teams are assigned a sheet of ice (similar to a lane in bowling) at the curling
club. Curling clubs have anywhere from two sheets to eight sheets of ice.
Pre-Game Routine
The game begins with a handshake. It is customary for each player to shake hands with each
opposing player and each teammate. Shake hands with the opponent first.
We teach the kids to shake hands in our junior programs. The W.E.ST. Technique is a good
handshake method for juniors AND adults.
W eb
E ye Contact
S olid
T wo
Web
When reaching out for the handshake, make sure the webs (area between the thumb and index
finger) of each hand make contact.
Eye Contact
Remember the color of their eyes.
Solid
Use a solid grip that is firm but not overpowering. This can be used for men and women.
Two
Shake two times.
Practice Slides
In league games, it is customary to NOT practice. Most curlers take a few "practice slides"
before throwing the first rock. This is done by sliding out of the hack area with no rock. Do
not throw rocks prior to any game unless it is specifically mentioned in the league rules.
Practice slides help limber-up the body (pre-game stretching is also recommended, see the
Delivery section) prior to throwing the first rock.
In championship games, a short pre-game practice is allowed, generally ten minutes per team.
The Coin Toss
The vice skips on each team toss a coin to determine who has the last rock advantage in the
first end. In most cases the winner of the coin toss chooses to throw the last rock, the loser of
the toss chooses the rock color.
Beginning of the Game
At this point, the skips move to the opposite end of the ice and the team not delivering moves
between the hog lines. The skip calls the shot, the first rock is thrown, and the game is on.
Note: In many clubs, the rocks are numbered from one to eight. Unless told otherwise, the
lead should throw rocks number one and two, the second throws three and four and so on.
Each player will throw two stones per end, alternating with the opponent. Your team throws
one, the opposing team throws one, and so on. As the lead is throwing, the second and vice
are designated sweepers, with the skip calling the shots. When the second is throwing, the
lead and vice are the sweepers. When the vice is throwing, the lead and seconds are sweeping.
When it comes time for the skips to throw, the vice skip takes over responsibility of the house
and calls all sweeping for direction. The lead and second remain as the sweepers for the skip's
shots. Yes, the lead and second sweep more than the vice, and the skip doesn't sweep at all.
Position of Players
Understanding where to position yourself on the ice is critical to team performance as well as
playing by the rules. The leads and seconds must position themselves between the hog lines
unless they are about to sweep or about to deliver a rock.
If you are about to deliver a rock, position yourself behind the hack and remain quiet and still
as your opponent delivers. As soon as the opponent delivers the rock, choose your rock and
move into the hack area. While the opponent's rock is still in motion, begin the setup process
in the hack (described in the Delivery section).
If you are about to sweep, position yourself on the tee line approximately two feet from the
sideline. Confirm the shot and weight with the thrower. As your teammate begins to deliver,
start moving forward and to the center trying to "meet" the rock near the hog line. At this
point you may begin sweeping the rock if necessary.
When you have stopped sweeping, return to the other end of the ice. Be sure not to walk down
the center of the sheet, preventing the opponent from viewing. As you are walking back, try
not to distract the opponent in the hack. If time permits, stop and remain still while the
opponent is delivering.
Completing the End
Once all sixteen rocks have come to rest, the vice skips from each team agree on how many
rocks are counting and to which team they belong. Only one team can score in an end and the
most any team can score is eight. Occasionally, when the counting rock or rocks can't be
determined by the naked eye, a special measuring device is used (see the Measuring Rocks
section). Normal scoring in an end may be one, two, three or even four rocks. Scores of five,
six and seven are much less common. Scoring all eight rocks is as rare as a hole-in-one in golf
and many players never see one.
Scoring
Having last rock in any end is clearly an advantage. It's called having the "hammer". The
hammer in the first end is determined before the game by a coin toss, generally by the vice
skips. In championship play, the hammer is evenly but randomly assigned.
After each end, when all sixteen rocks have come to rest, one team will score one point for
every rock it has closest to the center. Only one team can score in an end. The scoring team
gives up the hammer in the next end. If no team scores in an end, either deliberately or by
accident, the hammer is retained.
The vice skip of the scoring team is responsible for posting the score after each end. On the
curling scoreboard, numbers 1 through 16 (possibly 17, 18, 19 etc.) are painted horizontally
from left to right. These numbers represent the rocks scored. At one end of the scoreboard,
there is a stack of individual numbers from 1 to 10. These represent the ends and are hung
either over or under the painted numbers. Since teams throw different colored rocks, the ends
are hung above or below the painted numbers depending on color. In curling, the rocks scored
are posted cumulatively, meaning two rocks scored in the second end are added to whatever
was scored in the first end (if any).
The team scoring in the end throws first in the next end. This means that the scoring team will
never have last rock advantage after just scoring.
Finishing the Game
At the completion of the game, it is customary to again shake hands with your opponents and
your teammates. It is now time for broomstacking. Most curling clubs have some sort of
gathering area for broomstacking teams. There will usually be table set up behind each sheet
of ice designated for this.
Conceding the Game
Curling is one of only a few sports that allow a team to concede before the end of the game. It
is customary to concede the game if you think the lead is insurmountable, even if it is
mathematically possible to still win or tie. Of course if it is mathematically impossible to tie
or win, the game is over and the losing team should immediately shake hands.
Game Speed
Most people find that fifteen minutes per end is a comfortable pace for the game. In fact, most
league schedules and game times rely on this. Slow play not only delays the following games,
it allows players to get bored and/or cold. It is important to be ready to throw when it is your
turn.
Timed Games
At all championship level games and in some bonspiels, time clocks are used to control the
speed of the games. The reason for time clocks is to prevent one team from taking enormous
amounts of time to call the game. The clock is similar to a chess clock and each team has 73
minutes (146 minutes total) to complete a ten end game. Teams out of time lose the game.
The clock begins at the start of the forward motion of the rock and stops when the skip or
acting skip is clear of the playing area. Skips should note that even if your rock has come to
rest, the clock would continue to run until you completely give way to the opposing skip.
It is necessary for the lead and second to be ready to play when the opponent's rock comes to
rest. This is a noticeable difference in the pace of the game. Teams under the clock no longer
have the luxury of casually moving into the hack and taking their time. The pace at the
beginning of end is usually faster than the pace at the end due to the vice skips and skips
discussing the shots. The faster the leads and second are, the more time the back end has to
discuss the strategy.
Equipment
Equipment for Curlers
Curling equipment comes in a range of complexity and cost. The only essential items are a
"slider" and a "broom". A slider is a piece of Teflon®, plastic or steel that is slipped onto
one foot in order to easily slide down the sheet of ice. The modern game of curling is
designed around the ability to slide with no effort. The other foot usually wears a rubber-soled
shoe used to grip the ice. To throw the rock, one foot pushes while the other slides. Righthanded curlers push with their right foot and slide on their left.
The broom or brush is used to sweep the ice (polish it, actually) and most curling clubs have
brooms available for use. See the Advanced Equipment section for the CurlTech choice on
purchasing a broom
More advanced curlers may choose to purchase special curling shoes with a built-in slider.
See the Advanced Equipment section for the CurlTech recommendation for curling shoes.
There are many manufacturers of curling equipment in the United States and Canada. Most
veteran curlers choose to have their own curling equipment; shoes, brooms, special curling
gloves, pants, jackets, etc. The list of equipment types and styles is endless. Consult your
local curling trainer or curling professional for advice on appropriate equipment.
Equipment for the Curling Club
Curling facilities own a variety of equipment that directly affect to the game.
Refrigeration System
The most expensive and complex equipment in the club is the refrigeration system used to
make artificial ice. Heating, dehumidification and water purification systems are also complex
and expensive.
Rocks
The next most critical piece of equipment is the rocks. They are made from solid chunks of
special, high-density granite found in Wales and Scotland. Earlier rocks came from an island
off the Scotland coast called Ailsa Craig. The island's best granite is called "blue hone". Blue
hone granite is very dense and lasts long as a running surface. Unfortunately, they have a
tendency to break or chip near the striking band. A better striking rock is a Trefor
(pronounced Trevor) quarried in Wales but its running surface wears quicker and can pit,
causing irregular movement. The best rocks today are Trefor granite with blue hone inserted
as the running surface. The cost of a rock is between $300.00 and $500.00! With proper care,
they can last many decades. Se the Field of Play section for more detail on rocks.
Misc. Club Equipment
Other equipment at the curling club includes measuring devices, ice scrapers, large
maintenance brooms and scoreboards.
2
The Delivery
Overview
"Delivery" is the curling term for throwing the rock. CurlTech has defined a delivery that is
the compilation of interrelated steps and processes that allow the curler to take full advantage
of today's ice conditions. The CurlTech method discussed here is the next generation of the
time-tested "balanced, flat-footed" delivery. It is the result of years of studying the curling
greats and what made them great players.
This section provides an in-depth look at the proper curling delivery. It will introduce you to
everything related to throwing the rock. These "mechanics and systems", when applied
consistently, will improve shot-making leading to overall enjoyment of the game. The basics
covered in this section will enable any curler to enjoy club level social games as well as toplevel competitive games. The delivery fundamentals are the same for all levels of play. Your
need to master these fundamental skills will be a function of your desire to play at higher
levels.
The CurlTech delivery incorporates the coordination of many muscles and body parts moving
fluidly. The combination of small and large muscle use will enable you to achieve power
AND finesse in your game. This section describes a comprehensive delivery system that
includes:
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Delivery Process
Delivery Mechanics
Delivery Support Functions
We provide a complete package for learning and implementing the delivery.
Simple Delivery Goals
When broken down and analyzed, the delivery can be a very complex thing that few people
master. To avoid over-analyzing your delivery, consider two things the most important. Make
these two components your goals.
1. Throwing the rock straight (on the line of delivery)
2. Throwing the rock with a fluid motion (for consistent weight control)
The remaining part of this section describes the easiest way to master the above components.
Throwing the Rock - The Evolution
The methods for throwing a curling rock (the delivery) have evolved over hundreds of years.
In the early days it was as simple as gaining a foot-hold on the ice and hurling an object
forward. In the 20th century, equipment such as rubber hacks and polished rocks were
introduced. It wasn't until the 1940's that the slide was incorporated into the delivery, thanks
to Canadian curling great, Ken Watson. By adding a slippery surface to the non-hack foot, the
curler could "slide" out of the hack and control the rock's weight and direction with greater
ease. It was at that time that the delivery began its accelerated evolution. Almost immediately
after Watson showed curlers his slide technique, they began to modify it. Because of Watson's
delivery style, a significant rule change was needed. The near hog line became a dual purpose
line as the players were not allowed to slide past it (no part of the body could cross the line).
Ice conditions varied around the world but most curling club ice was slow compared to
today's standards. Some thought that sliding with less effort would improve their game and
they began to roll up on the toe of the sliding foot reducing foot contact with the ice. The "toetuck" delivery was born. Although a full-foot slide was introduced by Watson, the tuck
delivery became popular for two reasons. It reduced friction on the slow surface, and allowed
the curler's body to get closer to the ice. Since the slower conditions were conducive to a
takeout game instead of draw game, this delivery allowed them to better "sight" the rock
toward the skip's broom on the takeout. Again a rule change was need. Since many players
were sliding, the hog line rule was changed so the body could cross the line as long as the
rock was released by it. This type of long slide, toe-tuck game continued through the 1970's
but some leading-edge players preferred the stability of the full-foot slide. In the early 80s, ice
conditions improved dramatically due to the introduction of purified water/ice and the use of
the ice scraper as regular maintenance tool. These two things improved the speed of the ice
and curling began a rapid evolution to an aggressive, draw-type game and the need for the
tuck delivery was no longer. In 1990 the Free Guard Zone rule further propelled the game to
finesse and draws.
CurlTech Delivery Principles
The CurlTech delivery is a no-lift, balanced, flat-footed delivery. At first glance, it looks no
different than most other balanced, flat-footed deliveries. Only after breaking down the parts
can you fully realize the difference (and the value). Balance (the body directly over the sliding
foot) is still the foundation of the delivery and will be stressed in many different sections.
Several things make the CurlTech delivery different from other deliveries. The first is the use
of large AND small muscles to throw the rock. Most other delivery methods stress the large
muscles of the legs as the key power generator. The next is fluidity. The delivery skills taught
here, when done properly, will become seamless. Nothing about the delivery is stepped or
broken. This is critical for the development of the body's kinesthetic sense of motion
(kinesthetic sense of motion refers to the body's interpretation of relative movement through a
variety of sensory inputs) needed for judging draw weight and achieving overall rock control.
Since the delivery method discussed here incorporates many muscles working in unison, no
one muscle is dominant. Consistency and weight judgment are improved. Also, in tense
situations, this delivery is less susceptible to nervousness and stress as many body parts are
incorporated.
Balance - The Foundation of a Good Delivery
The term "balance" in the curling delivery means the body is balanced over the sliding foot.
Your athletic ability will dictate to some degree the level of balance that can be achieved. No
matter what your ability, though, balance is still a key component. Some people can balance
perfectly on their sliding foot with no pressure on the rock or broom. This is preferred but is
not necessary for most curlers to enjoy the game. For most of us, balance simply means not
favoring either side (rock side or broom side) during the delivery. A little pressure here and
there on the rock or sliding device is not a problem. Balance allows the body to slide more
upright. The more the body is upright, the straighter the slide becomes. A straight slide will
produce a straight "line of delivery". Refer to the Line of delivery Section for more
information.
Power Generation
There are four key power generators in the CurlTech delivery. They must exist each time you
throw a rock.
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Weight Shift
Body Drop
Followed by and to a lesser degree:
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Leg Drive
Arm Extension
Tempo
Tempo refers to the rhythm of the delivery and is discussed later in the section. It is also an
important ingredient in the CurlTech delivery. The timing and the flow of the moving parts
will also help the fluidness of the motion.
Delivery Components
The delivery has four macro (and many micro) components. These macro components are
known as the "delivery-critical" components. They are defined here as the moving delivery
parts that are readily visible and discernable. They are:
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Forward press
Draw/step (weight shift and hip elevation)
Slide
Release
1-2-3 Motion
We found that teaching a 1-2-3 motion helps new and existing curlers focus in the main
components. Think of the delivery as a 1-2-3 motion with a release at the end.
The Body Drop Concept
Timing, called "Body Drop" by CurlTech, is also a key delivery component. If done properly,
it is seamless and may not be a discernable part of the delivery. Body Drop refers to the body
"dropping down and forward" during the delivery allowing gravity to help generate power. It
is covered in detail later in this section.
If more than four macro parts can be identified in a delivery, the delivery is too complex. In
fact, reducing the number of delivery parts seems to be the way of the future and seen by the
Olympic curlers in 2006. Fluidity is essential to judging proper weight and is discussed in the
last section.
The Delivery Process and Mechanics
The process for delivering a rock includes all of the things that happen before, during and
after throwing the rock. The four component parts described earlier must be included in the
overall process of delivering the rock. Let's first review the entire process and break it down
in detail. Each step of the process should happen on every shot. The "delivery critical"
components are in bold print.
1. Setup, shot planning and pre-shot mental preparation
2. Forward press
3. Draw/step
4. Slide
5. Release - and apply rotation
6. Follow-Through
These steps will become seamless over time.
A Quick Note: All descriptions of the delivery are for right-handed players. Lefties please
adjust.
The Six Steps to the CurlTech Delivery
1. Setup, Shot Planning and Mental Preparation
Setup
Setup refers to the body position in the hack. It is the starting point of the delivery. Begin this
process as your opponent's rock is traveling down the ice. When your skip is ready to call the
shot, you'll be ready. Use the following steps for a proper setup.
Retrieve the proper rock for delivery. Move to the hack and step into it from behind by
placing the ball of your foot against the back of the hack, toe pointing toward the broom.
Most of your weight should be on your hack foot at this time. It will stay there for the
beginning portion of your delivery.
Drop to a comfortable squatting position with approximately 60-70% of your body weight on
the hack foot. Keep your back straight but relaxed.
Setup Option
If you are unable to squat in the hack, simply position the feet as described earlier, bend the
knees slightly and grip the rock. You are now in the "hips-up" position without squatting.
Press the rock forward and begin the next step (d).
Clean the rock - Flip the rock and clean the running surface. With the rock still inverted, clean
the ice area under the rock then replace the rock in position. Do this to the side to keep debris
away from the sliding area.
Place your sliding foot flat on the ice, slightly ahead and to the left of the hack foot (heel to
toe). There should be about one inch between the toe of the hack foot and the heel of the
sliding foot.
Figure 2-1. Setup position.
Point the knee of your hack leg directly at the skip's broom. The shoulders and hips must also
be square to the broom at this point.
Holding the broom with the pad facing up, place the head ahead of your sliding foot. The
broom handle should be gripped about a foot from the brush head. The grip point depends on
the length of your arm and body. It should be in a position to comfortably hold the broom
with the head in the correct position with the left arm slightly flexed. It is important to keep
the head of the broom clearly ahead of your sliding foot throughout the delivery. Allowing the
broom to fade back in the delivery will move your left shoulder back and out of "square".
If you throw with a sliding device, place your hand on top of the device with a soft grip. Make
sure you left hand is even with your right hand to ensure shoulder alignment.
Position the rock directly under your throwing shoulder. For most people, this is just to the
side of your hack foot (other starting points are discussed later in this section). The imaginary
line between your starting point and the skip's broom is known as the "line of delivery" (also
discussed later). Your throwing arm must have a small degree of flex at the elbow at setup.
Receive the shot call from your skip.
Grip the rock - Place your fingers under the handle until your middle finger is positioned in
the center of the rock (directly over the center axis of the rock). Hold the handle with the first
set of pads on the fingers (closest to your palm). Your palm however, should never touch the
handle. Bring your thumb across the handle to the other side and place it near, but not
touching, the tip of your index finger. Keep the wrist high without feeling awkward. Your
hand should remain in this position throughout the delivery. Cock the handle in the opposite
direction of the intended turn. This is toward your body for in-turns and away from your body
for out-turns. The position should be at a 45 degree angle for both turns. Keep this angle
throughout the delivery until you are ready to release the rock.
Figure 2-2. The proper grip for a right-hander's out-turn
You are now ready to begin preparing mentally for a successful shot.
Figure 2-3. Front view of the proper setup position.
Pre-Shot Mental Preparation
Use the power of positive thinking when preparing to shoot. Remember that games should be
played swiftly (fifteen minutes per end maximum) so don't spend too much time here. This
process should take only a few seconds.
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Mechanics of the pre-shot mental preparation:
Prior to setup, try to anticipate the shot called.
Get in the proper setup position and clean the rock.
Understand the shot called (confirm with sweepers if necessary).
Visualize perfect mechanics.
Visualize perfect weight and line.
Visualize a fluid delivery
Visualize success.
Channel your focus.
Execute.
It is important to visualize the weight and line before visualizing the completed shot. The
entire setup and mental preparation process should take 8 -12 seconds. Visualizing the
completion of the shot instead of the components may train you to "steer" the rock toward its
destination instead of throwing at the skip's broom with proper weight. Trust your skip. If the
broom is wrong adjustments can be made on the next shot.
2. The Forward Press
Once you are comfortable in the setup position, the skip has called the shot and the sweepers
are ready, the fluid motion of the delivery starts (remember the two simple goals). Begin by
moving the rock slightly forward approximately 4 to 5 inches. This "press" is the beginning of
your body's kinesthetic sense of motion and is the first step in establishing proper tempo in the
delivery, which again is critical to proper weight judgment. Remember to maintain the grip
described earlier.
As the rock is pressed forward, your lower body should remain still. Move only at the waist
and keep both arms slightly flexed at the elbow. Your knee may drop slightly but try to avoid
pressing forward with just your arm. This will take your shoulders out of square before you
begin the delivery.
3. The Drawback and Step (the draw/step move)
This component is one of the most important in the delivery. Generating power in the delivery
is critical to controlling the rock. Power generation starts with the draw back as the hips are
elevated and shifted back. This positions the hips up and back which enables your body to
drop and shift forward in the next step. The remaining power will be generated from leg drive
and the arm extension. (Discussed in step 3a). During the draw/step, think of drawing-in
energy then directing the energy forward toward the skip's broom.
Here's how it works. Begin by drawing the rock back. Immediately after the rock starts back,
lift your hips up and back. Leave your sliding foot in place for a moment then, as your hips
are approaching top-dead-center, take a step back onto your sliding foot. When done properly,
the sliding foot moves from the setup position to the step position rather quickly (Figure 4).
The term step refers to putting pressure on the sliding foot at its farthest back position. From
the setup position, simply slide the sliding foot back into position and put your body weight
on it. This requires lifting your hips and upper body with your hack leg. The sliding foot
should now be about 12 inches behind its original spot. Your throwing arm will almost be
straight. At this point, your hips should be back (anywhere from directly over the hack to well
behind it, depending on the shot, your skill level and ice conditions) and about two feet higher
than the setup position with a slight bend at the knee. Your weight has shifted to the sliding
foot with the foot about two to four inches behind the hack. It is very important that the
sliding foot is directly behind the position it started in. If your weight is not on the sliding foot
at this point, you have not shifted your weight properly, giving up critical delivery power and
control. Remember, to be perfectly fluid, step back only after you have begun the drawback
and elevation. This allows the step to be quicker adding tempo to the delivery.
Figure 2-4. Weight shifts onto back foot. Notice the hips are
behind the hack at this point.
Think of this motion as an opportunity to create a pendulum action with your hips. Many will
argue that consistent draw weight was achieved through the pendulum motion of the old back
swing delivery. We agree to some extent and think that the "hips up and back" position is very
similar to the back swing motion. To maintain the proper tempo in the delivery, don't shift
your weight back any farther after you've stepped onto the sliding foot. This interrupts the
pendulum-like motion by creating a flat movement back. It also disrupts the tempo of the
delivery.
Draw/Step Option
One acceptable option for the draw/step is to elevate your hips during the forward press. By
the end of the press, the hips are fully elevated as in Step 3, ready for the Draw/Step move.
(This is the fluid version of the trunk lift)
Figure 2-5. Hips shifted up and back. Legs and shoulders square to
the broom.
3a. Unleashing the Power - Transitioning from the Draw/Step to the slide.
Now is the time to generate real power in the delivery. Power refers to the strength of the
forward motion. Power equals control. The more power generated the more control you will
have over the rock (and your game).
The Body Drop (formerly called "Timing")
The term "timing" is widely used to describe certain movements in the delivery, particularly
how the sliding foot comes into play after the Draw/Step move. Timing (really a delay of the
sliding foot) allows the upper body to drop into place and provide added power to the
delivery. CurlTech uses the term Body Drop to more accurately describe this process.
The Body Drop Process
Once your hips are up and back, begin moving the rock forward toward the skip's broom
without moving your sliding foot. Your body will follow (except for the sliding foot). This
puts the rock in front of your body keeping it on the line-of -delivery.
Delay the Foot
Leave your sliding foot behind the hack until the rock is 2-3 feet in front of the hack (Figure
2-6). As your body moves forward over the hack and then over the ice, quickly bring your
sliding foot to a position under the center of your upper body. Your foot should "catch" your
body as it drops. Try and wait until the last moment to bring your sliding foot forward and
place it in a position on the ice that will allow your body to balance over it. As a reference, the
rock should almost be halfway between the hack and the back line as the sliding foot is
crossing the hack foot. This "body drop" allows gravity to generate power. The combination
of the fast sliding foot motion and the weight of you body coming forward and down to the
delivery position will generate the power needed. With this combination move, you will
generate enough power to throw the wide range of shots with accuracy and consistency. Be
careful not to kick your sliding foot past the center of your body (too far right). The result will
be a drift to the right, as your body is not balanced over the sliding foot.
Figure 2-6. The sliding foot delays slightly before moving forward.
This stop-action photo shows how dramatic the body drop is.
A correct Body Drop is an athletic move and requires a certain amount of coordinated body
movements and leg strength. It requires practice. Start slow by delaying the sliding just a little
bit and work into it.
4. The Slide
At this point gently push out of the hack with your leg. The leg drive should perfectly
compliment the weight given to the rock by weight shift and body drop. Leg drive is roughly
30% of the total power of the delivery. Weight shift, body drop and arm extension represent
the remaining 70%. Excessive leg drive produces more of a "push" from the large leg muscles
(quadriceps) instead of a fluid "throw" from the whole body. This is the major difference
between the CurlTech delivery and the others.
As you slide out, you will now be transferring all of your weight from the hack foot to the
sliding foot. This is the most difficult part of the curling delivery. Your sliding foot should
move in behind the rock with the heel on the line of delivery and behind the center of the
rock. Once your sliding foot is in place, the heel should be underneath your sternum. Try to
angle your sliding foot out at this point. By turning the foot to the left (out) you increase the
sliding area of the foot. Approximately 45 degrees is optimal however, some people cannot
turn their foot in this manner. Turning the foot is not delivery-critical. It simply helps you
balance. After the initial weight transfer, the slide should be established. This should occur at
or before the tee line.
Once your delivery is established, no downward pressure should be on the rock or the broom
(sliding device) at this point. As a practical matter though, the broom can be used to help you
balance when learning the delivery. Perfect balance is great but, as mentioned earlier, the goal
is not to put excess pressure on the rock or broom. Your hack foot should trail directly behind
your body, on the line of delivery.
Your upper body should be roughly 30-45 degree to the ice at this time. This position allows
good balance and visualization of the entire plane in front of you. A position that is too low
will not allow the visualization of the plane while a position too high will not allow good
broom alignment and sighting.
Your broom head is still clearly ahead of your sliding foot and your shoulders are square. The
broom should be resting on the ice with minimal pressure. (If one of the sweepers kicked it,
your delivery would still be sound)
Always Think Balance
As discussed earlier, balance is the number one building block to throwing the rock on the
line of delivery. Balance allows you to slide straight at the skip's broom and to throw the rock
on the line of delivery without lateral movement (drifting). Focus on balancing over the
sliding foot. If possible, put no weight on the rock or broom (sliding device). Without some
type of balance, you will never reach your true potential as a shot-maker. Most curlers favor
the broom side by leaning on the broom. This puts your body weight "off-center" and results
in a drift to the right.
To test for proper balance, raise your broom one inch off the ice after your delivery is
established (top of house). If you use a sliding device, take the pressure off the handle.
The Sliding Device
The rules permit a player to deliver a rock with a broom, without a broom or with a sliding
device. The use of a sliding device began in the late 1990's. Devices such as the Crutch or
Stabilizer can be used by the novice curler to help achieve a more upright, balanced-like
delivery. If balance is difficult to achieve, we recommend the use of a sliding device that
allows you to place a little weight on the broom side of the body. As mentioned earlier, the
more weight you put on the broom or sliding device, the more your body will be out of square
and a drift right will occur. If you need the device for any reason, try to use as little pressure
as possible.
Caution!!
The sliding device can cause some logistics problems with your team. After delivery, the
device must be placed at the opposite end of the sheet in preparation for the next end. Frontend players (lead and second) are not allowed outside the hog lines during the end unless they
are throwing, sweeping or preparing to sweep. Moving though the house area with your
sliding device is a violation of the rules and may be distracting to your opponent. Using a
team sliding device (everyone slides with the same device) is a better option. Each player
simply hands off the device to the next player.
Figure 2-7. A proper, balanced slide. Notice the sliding foot
"peeking" out from the side of the rock with the heel on the lineof-delivery.
A Note About Sliders.
The sliders that are built into curling shoes are faster and more stable than the slip-on sliders
used by newer curlers. As soon as possible, invest in a good pair of curling shoes for
improved balance. The best shoes for stability are ones with a thick Teflon slider on a shoe
with a good, stable, high-grade leather upper.
CurlTech Choice for shoes:
1/4
inch Teflon, two holes and a firm, leather upper
1/4
inch Teflon, two holes on any other shoe
5. The Release
As you slide through the house, your arm should still be slightly flexed and the handle still
cocked. They both should remain this way until just a few feet from the intended release point
which, depending on how much power is being generated by the delivery, should be
somewhere between the top of the house and a foot from the hog line.
All of the rock's rotation is applied within a 4-5 foot area by shifting the handle from the
cocked position to the twelve o'clock or hand shake position.
When you are four or five feet from the release point, begin rotating your rock and
straightening your arm. The flexed arm allows you to throw the rock instead of just letting it
go. This is known as a "positive" release, referring to the solid rotation of the rock and the
forward movement of the arm toward the skip's broom.
Application of the Handle in Detail
In order to keep the rock on the line of delivery, the rock must be rotated over its center point.
The pressure that turns the rock comes from only two fingers and the thumb, one finger on
each side of the center point. For an in-turn, the thumb moves to the right and ring finger to
the left, counter to each other. Each pressure point is the same distance from the center axis of
the rock. For the out-turn, the index finger and ring finger apply the necessary pressure. For
consistency and predictability, the rock should rotate approximately 2 - 2 1/2 times during the
length of the shot.
Any lateral movement of the rock while putting on the turn will result in the rock moving off
the line of delivery. This is where many shots are missed. Extend the arm through the base of
the skip's broom. Never raise the arm at release. This will interrupt the fluid forward motion
of the release.
6. The Follow-Through
The follow-through is also a key component of the delivery. It is important to stay in the
sliding position for several seconds after letting go of the rock. This will prevent you from
"popping up" too early and will also give you a good look at the shot as it travels down the
ice. This is valuable in the assessment process that each player should go through immediately
following the shot. To improve balance and build leg strength, hold the balanced delivery
position until you stop. Never rest your hand on your sliding foot. This will create a balance
dependency in the follow-through and reduce overall balance consistency. Avoid the
temptation to follow directly behind the shot. This is a team sport and the other players on
your team have control of your rock. After release, consider this the "hand-off" point to your
sweepers and skip.
Watch the rock as it travels down the ice. This will allow you to see the rock's overall path for
future reference. The farther away you are the better your overall view of the entire shot. The
skip and sweepers are usually prepared to handle the sweep calls.
Do not rest your bare hand on the ice for longer than an instant. Your body temperature will
melt and damage the ice in a matter of moments. Also, never rest your knee on the ice for
longer than a few seconds. Even with pants on, your body temperature will melt and damage
the ice.
Post-Shot Assessment
During the assessment of each rock, determine if you've hit the broom with the proper weight.
If it was a good shot, try and remember what it felt like so you can do it again.
If you missed the shot, try and figure out why. Make minor corrections on your next shot. Be
objective and critical of your delivery. Acknowledge your mistakes. You can't get better
without learning from them.
Weight Window
The responsibility of the person throwing the rock is to throw the proper weight on the proper
line (hitting the broom). Because sweeping can add 8-10 feet of distance to a rock, the
thrower only has to hit the "weight window". Depending on the quality of your sweeping, the
window is approximately eight to ten feet deep, meaning that if a rock is thrown ten feet short
of the intended stopping point, the sweepers can increase the distance. So, any rock thrown
inside the ten-foot weight window is thrown correctly. It is then up to the sweepers to
complete the shot. If a rock is thrown beyond the intended stopping point, there is nothing the
sweepers can do to help. In other words, it's better to be a little light than a little heavy on
draw shots.
Determining proper weight is difficult to teach because it relies mostly on the body's sensation
of position and movement. This kinesthetic sense is enhanced by the fluidity of the delivery.
Adjusting the Delivery for Different Weights
One of the most commonly asked questions from beginning curlers is "how do I adjust the
delivery for different weights". Several different weights are required to throw all of the shots
in curling. In addition, ice conditions are different from club to club. They may even be
different within the club, where the conditions are constantly changing. From guards to heavy
peels, the CurlTech delivery can accommodate.
The answer to the above question is that all power generators of the delivery need to get
stronger for stronger shots. Specifically, the weight shift, body drop (slider foot delay) and to
a certain degree, leg drive.
For example, on heavier shots and heavier ice, the weight shift may change from the hips
being over the hack to hips being completely behind the hack. Body Drop may change from a
slight delay to a long delay. Leg drive may change from almost nothing to a full push. Arm
extension may change from a slow extension to a quick one.
Extra power is also needed with small-framed or petite curlers. The body weight/rock weight
ratio changes significantly from a 100 lb frame to a 185 lb frame. The smaller framed curler
must use the extra power to throw all shots. The rock is 42% of the 100 lb curler's body
weight. This is equivalent to the 185 lb curler throwing a 78-pound rock!
Harnessing the Power
Changing weight first depends on the body's ability to generate power and ice conditions at
the time. Each person has a varying degree of athleticism. This is a big factor when it comes
to describing how to adjust weight. Early thinking on the no-lift delivery centered on leg
drive. More weight - more leg drive. Less weight - less leg drive. This is not the case. The leg
muscles cannot be tuned finely enough for the subtle changes needed, particularly on fast ice
As a general rule, curlers should generate enough power to slide through the hog line.
Now that we understand the power generators, we must adjust them all when adjusting
weight. The following matrix is directional only. Each curler will differ. Use it as a base point
and modify if necessary. The first matrix describes how the power generators may work
throwing different shots on different ice conditions.
Weight Shift
Draw on 23-second (hog to tee) ice.
Leg Delay
Leg Drive
Large Frame
Hips slightly behind hack
Medium
Small
Small Frame
Hips behind hack
Medium
Medium
Junior
Hips behind hack
Large
Medium
Takeout on 23-second ice.
Large Frame
Hips behind
Medium
Medium
Small Frame
Hips well behind hack
Large
Large
Junior
Hips well behind hack
Large
Large
Draw on 25-second ice.
Large Frame Hips over hack
Small
Negligible
Small Frame
Hips over hack
Small
Small
Junior
Hips over hack
Medium
Medium
Takeout on 25-second ice.
Large Frame
Hips over hack
Medium
Small
Small Frame
Hips behind hack
Medium
Medium
Junior
Hips behind hack
Large
Medium
As you can see, the delivery can compensate for different ice conditions. Use these to start
and modify as needed.
Weight Control Simplified
Many curlers over-think the weight control necessary to make most shots. As it relates to
draws, there are an infinite number of places a rock can stop between the hog and the back
line. A common question is "how do I change my weight for all these different shots. The
Curling School suggestion is to break down all shots into three weights.
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Short of the house
In the house
Through the house
The Default Weight or Default Delivery
This refers to a reference point delivery that you can practice. It should be your in-the-house
weight at your club. If you can zero-in on your default delivery, the other two weights can
easily be achieved on demand. All guards (short-of-the-house) can be thrown ten feet shorter
than your default. Hack weight to bumper weight (through-the-house) can be thrown ten feet
farther than default.
Try not to throw shots to their exact spot. Remember sweeping can add eight feet or so.
Timing Rocks
Many curlers use stopwatches to help gauge the speed of the ice. By timing the rock's travel,
you may be able determine how fast or slow the ice is and judge relative changes in the ice
speed. Most players time draw shots from the hog line to the tee line (some time rocks from
hog to hog). A typical hog to tee time for a draw on normal ice is between 23 and 25 seconds.
The higher the number, the faster the ice (25 seconds is faster than 23)
This is counter-intuitive. The terms fast and slow refer to the ice conditions and not the rock
speed. Imagine trying to throw a rock ten feet on a concrete surface. Because of the rough
surface of concrete, you would have to throw the rock extremely hard and fast to cover that
distance. As the rock travels over the concrete, it slows down rapidly and may only take one
or two seconds to come to rest. Now imagine throwing the rock the same distance (ten feet)
on ice. Since ice is much smoother and slicker than concrete, much less energy is required to
move the rock ten feet. This rock actually is moving slower and traveling longer. It may take
five or six seconds to come to rest.
In the early ends of a game, the ice may be frosty or may have a fresh pebble. This means
more friction, similar to the concrete example above. As the game continues, the pebble
slowly wears away and the sweeping removes most of the frost. The ice gets faster as the
game continues. Draw times at the beginning of a game may be 21 to 22 seconds. This will
most likely increase to 23 or 24 seconds toward the middle ends.
Be careful not to assume that the ice is the same speed in all areas. A faster track is created
down the center of the sheet. An area approximately three feet on either side of the centerline
is usually faster than the outer edges. The reason for this is most rocks travel down this fasttrack area. It is also caused by the polishing of the ice resulting from sweeping and by the
polishing action of the sweeper's shoes. Shots thrown on the outer edges can be a second
slower than the center track. In the later ends however, the fast track area begins to flatten-out
due to the number of rocks, footwork and sweeping. This leads to a slower area called a flat
spot or "fudge" spot and the ice gets slower. This happens sometimes in longer, more
competitive games.
Don't try to judge draw weight from times alone. Timing helps judge relative ice speed. It
helps you respond to changes in the ice surface during a game. It also helps you judge ice
speed at other club's relative to your own club. As mentioned in the Sweeping Section, try to
get a "sense" of draw weight first. Use stopwatch times to enhance your skills.
Troubleshooting
CurlTech receives many requests to analyze individual deliveries. Our first response to curlers
would be to ask the following questions:
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Is your rock consistently on the line of delivery throughout the delivery?
Is your weight consistently close to the desired weight?
If a curler can answer yes to both questions, no changes are necessary, even if the delivery is
not proper. A proper delivery simply helps the curler be consistent with line and weight. Of
course most curlers answer no to both questions. This is where delivery analysis and
troubleshooting comes into play. The following matrix will help identify any problems with
your delivery. These apply to right handed curlers. Lefties please adjust.
CurlTech Troubleshooting Chart
Symptom
Problem
Correction
Unbalanced delivery
Sliding foot
misaligned
Move sliding foot under
chest
Drifting to the right
Not balanced
Move sliding foot left
Soft release
Apply turn faster
Short release
Recalibrate closer to hog
Turning in at release
Establish grip and maintain
LOD outside/in
Maintain LOD
Turned out at release
Establish grip and maintain
Hard release
Apply turn slower
LOD inside/out
Maintain LOD
Weight not shifting
Shift weight back
Hips not elevated
Bring hips up and back
Improper body drop
Delay sliding foot
Too little leg drive
Push during body drop
Delivery lacks tempo
Step back onto foot 1-2-3
Delivery too low
Raise head and torso
My rocks curl more
My rocks curl less
Not generating
power
Draw weight stinks
Converting to the No-Lift Delivery
The curling delivery has evolved over the years. Today's delivery requires finesse and minute
calibrations due to the increased quality of the ice surface.
Curler's who learned to deliver with a back swing may want to convert to a no-lift delivery.
CurlTech strongly believes the no-lift delivery, when done properly will allow each player to
reach their true potential.
Benefits to Converting
The no-lift has three clear benefits:
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Fewer opportunities for mistakes with less moving parts
Better draw calibration on fast ice
Easy to eliminate the "C" curve
Less moving parts refers to the back swing itself. Prior to the no-lift, most delivery
troubleshooting (other than balance) revolved around the direction of the back swing and the
down swing. With fewer moving parts, no-lift the delivery is much smaller resulting in a
"softer" draw delivery with good "feel".
Losing the "C" Curve
The affect of the hack configuration and placement was rarely discussed as a delivery
variable. It was probably the most under diagnosed problem in the back swing delivery. The
common problem of the "C" curve was created by the hack placement. The rules state that
each hack must be three inches from the centerline. This means the hacks were roughly six
inches apart. If you place your foot straight in the hack (this is what was taught), there is not
enough room between the ankle and the centerline to draw the rock back straight (on the line
of delivery). Most curlers who kept their foot straight in the hack had to draw the rock back
(back swing) outside the line of delivery to clear the ankle. This resulted in the rock coming
back down across the line and in front of the body. This is the "C" curve. The most proficient
back swingers twisted their foot in the hack to avoid this. This was never taught in any curling
clinic but was absolutely necessary to maintain the line of delivery. Since the rock is not
swung in the no-lift, this is not a factor.
Even with the no-lift delivery, there are still opportunities to create the "C". Avoid pulling the
rock in front of your body as you slide out of the hack. This happens much less with fewer
moving parts.
The Conversion
Converting to the no-lift from a swing delivery is very simple. It does however require some
rethinking about how power is generated. With the swing delivery, power is generated from
three key areas:
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Back swing approx. 50%
Body drop approx. 30%
Leg drive approx. 20%
Most curlers who convert without instruction simply remove the back swing from their
existing swing deliveries. By reviewing the above chart you can see that could be a huge
mistake. Removing the back swing without replacing it with another power generator leaves
you with a much weaker delivery. This leads to frustration on slower ice or when asked to
throw takeouts. In this case, curlers compensate with leg drive power. This may work for
larger people and on heavier hits but experience shows that the leg muscles cannot calibrate
small enough to throw consistent finesse shots. In some cases, small-framed people don't have
the leg strength to throw heavier shots. This is the most common problem of the conversion.
Take a look at the no-lift power generators.
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Weight Shift approx. 25%
Body Drop approx. 50%
Leg Drive approx. 20%
Extension approx. 5%
The no-lift requires that you replace lost power with power from shifting the hips up and back
(and then down and forward in the Body Drop). A slight arm extension can also help with
power and act as a fine-tuning technique.
The one benefit to the back swing was it provided good tempo to the delivery. With the rock
swinging back into position, there was no chance to slow or break the rhythm of the delivery
(since the rock weighs 42 pounds). This created a natural tempo in the swing delivery. If you
remove the swing, tempo needs to be replaced. Read the Delivery section to create tempo with
a no-lift delivery. It's as simple as adding a 1-2-3 rhythm.
Enjoy your new delivery. Your shot-making percentage will increase resulting in more fun.
CurlTech Delivery Quick Reference
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Setup
o
o
o
o
o
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3
Ball of your foot on the back of the hack.
Squat with weight on the hack foot
Sliding foot ahead of hack foot
Left hand (grip on broom or device) in front of the sliding foot
Cock the handle at 45 degrees
Forward Press
o Move the rock slightly forward
Draw/Step
o Draw the rock back under the throwing shoulder
o Simultaneously raise the hips
o Delay sliding foot then step back
Body Drop
o Move the rock first
o Delay the sliding foot
o "Catch' the body as it drops into the sliding position
o Slide
o Position the sliding foot with the heel on the line of delivery
o Arm still flexed
Release
o Slowly extend the arm and rotate rock positively towards skips broom
Follow-Through
o Continue sliding until body stops (or half way, which ever happens first)
Advanced Delivery Skills
The Curling School gets many requests in the advanced delivery category. There are only a
few true advanced concepts when it comes to throwing the rock. Advanced skills should only
be used after you are proficient in the fundamental skills.
Test yourself and your readiness for advanced skills by answering the following questions:




Do you slide balanced over your sliding foot?
Is your balanced delivery instinct (do you do it on every shot)?
Do you slide through the hog line on every shot?
Does your rock consistently stay on the line of delivery?
By answering the questions, you can gauge your readiness. If you answered no to any of the
questions, more work is need on the basics.
What to expect in this section:





Mastering the skills
Tips on Tempo
Balance is the key (once again)
Advanced Mechanics
Axis Analysis
Mastering the Skills
Many curlers come to the Curling School asking for "advanced" delivery tips. Most of these
curlers are looking for a quick fix to some fundamental issues. These curlers are often told to
refocus on the basic delivery skills. We direct them to the certain delivery components that
can be changed for better performance. Mastering the "delivery critical" components of the
delivery must be done first. They are:






Draw/step
Body Drop
Balance
Tempo
Line of Delivery
Release
Master the above delivery components and you have a delivery shared only by players at the
highest level. Only after mastering the above skills can you fully benefit from advanced skills.
Here are some tips on mastering the fundamentals:






Use a 1-2-3 (one, one thousand, two one thousand, etc) tempo cadence for the press,
draw/step, and slide.
To drop properly, the rock must be 1-3 feet away from the hack before the sliding foot
begins to move.
Strive for perfect balance. Do what ever is necessary (practice, strength training, etc.)
to slide perfectly balanced. Don't cheat or kid yourself. If you can't slide every time
without pressure on the broom, you're not perfectly balanced.
The rock should never leave the line of delivery during the delivery.
Have someone video tape you and give you feedback.
Hold the proper grip and angle for most of the delivery, rotate at the end.
If there's one thing that rises to the top of the list, it's balance. Balance is the main building
block of the delivery. Weight shift and body drop come next then the release. Tempo is an
added feature that helps you gain consistency.
Balance First
The term balance comes up a lot in this manual. To the advanced curler, balance is still
fundamental. Of course having perfect balance does not guarantee the other components are
correct. Once balance is achieved, the other key areas such as tempo, proper drop and release
can be achieved.
In addition to the obvious line of delivery issues associated with a straight, upright delivery,
there is also a subtle weight component. A balanced delivery moves straight down the line of
delivery. This means that all of the energy in the delivery is concentrated toward the skip's
broom.
An out of balance delivery that leans on the broom drifts to the right. As the delivery drifts, a
portion of the delivery energy is diverted from forward to sideways. This may not seem like
much but on 24-25 second ice it could be the difference between the button and the top eightfoot.
The advanced curler "owns" balance. To a top-level player, balance is not an occasional thing
or something that must be thought of on every shot. Balance must become instinct to achieve
a high level of success.
Different players have different levels of natural ability. One player may be able to slide
balanced each and every time with little practice or effort. On the other hand, some curlers
must work constantly on their balance to ensure an instinctual balance situation in games.
Read the Practice Section to learn about how you change instinct.
The Sliding Device
We recommend the use of a sliding device for any curler who is unable to balance properly.
Take this test. Take a practice slide out of the hack with no broom. If you can do it, you can
balance. If you can't (either you fall or your sliding foot is completely out of control) you
should be using the sliding device. This is called the "gun to head" method of testing for
skills. If forced to throw balanced, can you? Most people lean on the broom or sliding device
because it's easy, not because they have to. If it is not possible to throw balance, use a sliding
device. It also helps keep the shoulders upright and square to the broom.
Adding Tempo to the Delivery
To gain even more consistency in your delivery and shot making, add tempo to the delivery.
Tempo refers to the rate and rhythm of the press, draw/step and slide. In golf, instructors teach
tempo to regulate the swing as not to swing too fast or slow. The same logic applies to
curling. To gain the most consistency in the delivery, a constant rate and rhythm must be
incorporated. It's as simple as slowly counting to three (one, one thousand - two, one thousand
- three one thousand).
Tempo Detail
Use the following to master tempo.
1 - The top-dead-center of the forward press
2 - The step back onto the sliding foot
3 - The start of the slide (when the sliding foot plants under the chest)
Tempo allows all body parts to work together fluidly. Any delay or quickening of the count
disturbs the rhythm.
Tips on Tempo
In the Delivery section, a 1-2-3 count is suggested for smoothness. As you progress with your
tempo one more modification is necessary. Add a slight delay between drawing the rock back
and drawing the sliding foot back. The sliding foot must delay slightly before moving to the
step position. In the overall process of the delivery, think about this as a "double delay". This
means the sliding foot delays twice during the delivery. Delay the foot after drawback and
delay it again after forward movement. Think about the sliding heel kicking in behind the
rock and never moving with it. This is a subtle modification. It is also a truly advanced
delivery characteristic.
The sequence looks like this:






Forward press
Draw the rock back and elevate the hips (simultaneously)
Move the sliding foot from its setup position to the step position AFTER your hips
have started moving.
Move the rock forward
Delay the sliding foot again
Slide
Line of Delivery
In earlier versions of the Curling School material, the line of delivery was a sub topic in the
delivery section. With today's no lift delivery and questions regarding where to draw the rock
back, a dedicated section on this topic is necessary.
Line of Delivery Defined
The term "line of delivery" has been used many times so far in this section. Line of delivery is
defined as the imaginary line between the skip's broom and the rock's starting point. The skip
and the thrower establish this imaginary line. When the skip places the broom down as an
aiming point, one end of the line is established. The line is complete when the thrower
establishes the starting point. This line is fixed once it has been established. Obviously, the
skip's broom position will likely change each shot. On the other hand, the throwers starting
point should be the same each time.
The big question - Where Should you start the rock?
Line of Delivery Options
The answer to this seemingly simple question is still being debated among the curling
instructional community. Instead of providing the answer, we'll provide the options and let
you decide what works for you.


Option #1 (preferred) Directly under your throwing shoulder
Option #2 The center of the hacks (between the hacks)

Option #3 Your hack toe
Option #2 was used almost exclusively when the rock was thrown with a back swing. We had
no choice. Now that the back swing is a thing of the past (at least as far as instruction goes)
we have three options.
Option #1 is the most comfortable and allows you to throw the rock by extending the arm in a
straight-forward manner. This is preferable. It is also the easiest method. The ease comes at a
cost however. Because the rock starts left of the center line, the geometry of the line of
delivery changes as it relates to the sheet geometry. For example, when the skip's broom is on
the centerline, the line of delivery runs down the left side of center.
Option #2 offers the most consistency if you play on a team with right-handers and lefthanders. It is a more conventional starting point because it utilizes the line of delivery we've
used for many years. This option is recommended for competitive teams seeking:

Line of delivery consistency on both sides of the centerline
Line of delivery consistency between right and left handed shooters
Option #3 is not recommended because it dramatically changes the line of delivery geometry
from one side of the centerline to the other. Rocks thrown on this angle travel down the inside
of the center line. It also forces you to throw from your chest (like throwing a Frisbee)
increasing the chances of lateral movement in your release.
Hitting the Broom
"Hitting the broom" refers to accurately throwing the rock down the intended line of delivery.
It is very difficult to site the rock from the delivery position. Most curlers can never truly site
the broom. Since the rock is always slightly to the right of the body center (a little farther right
than the right eye) it is very difficult for the shooter to accurately sight their shots. As a
thrower, try to accept the skip's feedback as to whether or not you hit the broom. The skip is
the only player to have true sighting ability of the rock. This probably leads to the cause of
skip/player disputes regarding hitting broom.
Shooter "why did I miss that shot?"
Skip "you were wide"
Shooter "no I wasn't"
We encourage players to "feel" what it's like to hot the broom.
The Release and the Hog Line
The current WCF rules states that the rock must be clearly released by the hand before it
touches the hog line. In championship play, the hog line rule has been contentious for many
years. This rule does not favor the athlete. It essentially says that if the Hog Line Judge can't
tell, it's a violation. Canada and the United States play slightly different rules. In the US, the
rock must be clearly touching the hog line before it's a violation. This favors the athletes and
is much easier to call from a Judges perspective.
Sensor Handles
In world play (and in some national play) there are no Hog Line Judges. They have been
replaced by technology. Sensor handles are used to determine violations. The handle
measures conductivity when the hand is placed in it. If it senses conductivity from your hand
at the front edge of the hog line. The handle has two lights, one green one red. A "clean"
release will activate the green light. A violation will activate the red light and the rock is to be
removed from play.
Before each shot, the internal mechanism of the handle must be activated to allow
conductivity to be measured. This is done by flipping the rock up side down during the
cleaning process. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY ACTIVATE THE HANDLE, THE HAND
MUST BE ON THE HANDLE AS YOU FLIP IT. A handle that is not properly activated will
not sense your hand and will act as a "dead" or inactive handle. An inactive handle can be
thrown over the hog line with no red light. Of course players are already figuring this out.
Check your opponent's rock as it travels. A clean release will shine green for about half the
sheet. If no light shines, it's inactive. Expect a new from the WCF that requires proper
activation prior to each shot.
The Curl Profile
The curl profile is the shape of the curl and its path. After release, rocks will stay on the line
of delivery for a very short time. Most rocks run straight at the skip's broom for certain
amount of time until the friction under the rock can force it to curl. See Why Rocks Curl for
more information. The rock curl profile has five components:





Slide
Release
Free Run
Break Point
Finish
Slide
During the slide, the rock is the hand of the shooter. The friction under the rock has no effect
because the hand won't allow the rock to begin curling and there is no rotation.
Release
At release point, the turn is applied. By quickening or shortening the release, the shooter has
the opportunity to lengthen or shorten the free run respectively.
Free Run
The free run is the portion of the shot where the rock begins to decelerate but has not started
to curl yet.
Break Point
The break point is the point where the rock noticeably begins to curl and leaves the line of
delivery.
Finish
The finish is the portion of the shot between the break point and the where the rock stops.
During this phase, the rock is actively curling.
Manipulating the Curl Profile
A truly advanced delivery topic that can be discussed is manipulating the curl profile through
line of delivery and release modification. Manipulating the curl profile and line of delivery
can produce dramatic results. Use the following techniques when you are proficient at the
basic delivery and release mechanics.
Quick Release
The term "positive release" was used in the Delivery Section to help curlers with a more
predictable curl of the rock. It means making a move slightly toward the skip's broom by
extending the arm from the flexed position and rotating the rock at a certain rate to ensure a 23 revolution spin.
The "quick release" provides more extension and more rotation resulting in the straightening
of the curl profile. Instead of applying the turn over a 3-4 foot area, try applying the turn over
a one foot area. This will increase the rotation to 4-5 revolutions. Quick releases work well on
ice that curls 4-6 feet. The positive action at release changes the curl break point, making it
happen later in the shot.
Spinner
The spinner is the radical version of the quick release. Spinning the rock (6+ revolutions) at
release dramatically increases the rotation and virtually eliminates the friction differential
under the rock. This results in a very straight curl profile.
Why do people do this? Three reasons: some players need to take the curl out of a rock
without throwing extra weight. For example, a draw that needs to sneak through a port and
stay straight to finish. Another reason would be to add some predictability to a known bad
rock (either a pig or cutter). Rocks with pits will run truer if more rotation is added. The other
is very swingy ice or flat ice due possibly to a warm (or worn) ice surface.
Squaring Off
In simple terms, "squaring off" refers to the deliberate shift from standard L.O.D. acute angles
to known field of play vectors in order to prevent a subsequent opponent counter-play. Just
kidding, see the next paragraph for a better explanation.
Square Release
The square release is used on very straight ice. It means slightly over rotating the rock past 12
o'clock. This causes the opposite effect of the positive release. It changes the break to an
earlier point. There are two ways to square a rock.


Slide wide and turn the rock in with a normal release
Hold the handle straight and release past 12 o'clock
This happens quite a bit in regular play but it's done inadvertently. You may have heard the
term "dump" at release. This is the controlled version of the dump.
Axis Analysis
Axis analysis regarding the curling delivery is an industry first. CurlTech created this type of
analysis. In a proper curling delivery/slide, the body should be fixed over three axis'. An easy
way to troubleshoot a deliver/slide is to look at the three primary axis' to lead us in the right
direction.
The curling delivery involves three primary axis':



Vertical Axis
Horizontal Axis
Longitudinal Axis
In addition, and on a more complicated level:


Compound Vertical
Compound Horizontal
During a proper delivery, the body is fixed and there is no rotation around any axis throughout
the delivery. The only visible movement in the delivery is the arm extension and release
rotation. Rotation around these axis' is will create problems.
Let's discuss how this happens.
The Vertical Axis
This axis runs straight up and down and perpendicular to the line of delivery. While in your
extended delivery position, the axis runs from the ice surface, through your mid section and
continues to the ceiling. In a proper delivery, the body (as it relates to the vertical axis) should
be fixed through release with no rotation around this axis. The shoulders and waist should be
square to the skip's broom.
There are two types of vertical axis problems:


Fixed
Rotational
Fixed Vertical axis problems exist when the curler slides out of the hack and is fixed in an
"out of square" position. This can be measured in "degrees off center". The most common
fixed axis problem is a delivery 5-15 degrees to the right.
Rotational problems exist when the player slides out of the hack and rotates around this axis
during the delivery. The most common problem is a rotation to the right (clockwise). This is
also known as a "fishtail". The cause of the problem is an incorrect push from hack and
compounded by a possible out of balance situation. The fishtail may correct itself by rotating
counter-clockwise resulting in severe lateral forces being applied to the rock.
One type of vertical problem is balance related. In an effort to slide smoothly, some curlers
will bend the trailing leg at the knee while keeping the lower leg flat on the ice (some as much
as 90 degrees). This creates a comfortable position to balance in because the back leg is
supporting the delivery. The problem exists when the bent leg forces the waist and shoulders
to be out of square to the right as mentioned earlier. What does this look like out on the ice?
Because the out of square curler is facing to the right, they will have a difficult time staying
on the line of delivery. They will miss to the right in almost all cases. Out-turns will seem to
"float out" and in-turns will appear to be narrow and curl more.
The Horizontal Axis
This axis runs across the body and perpendicular to the line of delivery and parallel to the ice.
Imagine a line from sideline to sideline, parallel to the ice and running through your mid
section. Again, the body should stay fixed throughout the delivery. The most common
horizontal axis problem is movement of the upper body at the hips. Fixed horizontal axis
problems occur when your upper body is too low or too high. A variable problem is the upper
body moving up or down during the slide.
The Longitudinal Axis
This axis runs parallel to the line of delivery. Image a line from head to toe. Rotation around
this axis is the most common. It looks more like a "tilt" in the body during the slide. It's
caused by an out of balance slide where the sliding foot is too far right. This causes a
noticeable reliance or "lean to the left" on the broom or sliding device.
A Compound Longitudinal problem exists when the body is turned to either side at the waist.
It is most common when a player leans to the right, putting the delivery out of square at the
upper body only.
The Parallax Syndrome
Parallax refers to sighting angles. The dominant eye discussion revolves around this. Imagine
a line that starts at the broom, passes through the extended hand, up the arm to the shoulder.
This is the true line of delivery. Since the shoulder is about six inches from the right eye and 8
or 9 inches from the left, neither eye is behind the true line. This results in sighting the broom
at a slight angle (parallax). This can be confusing at a minimum. Right eye dominant righthanders get a closer look than left eye dominant players.
The bottom line is that if you're right eye dominant, you have a parallax sighting problem. If
you are left eye dominant, it's worse.
Don't Over-think the Parallax Problem
This issue has been discussed for decades. Many instructors identify the parallax problem as a
key problem in the delivery, particularly left-eye dominant curlers, and try to create solutions.
Turning your head, leaning to the right, drawing the rock to the toe are all attempts to solve a
problem not worth solving.
Using a Backswing
The deliver by CurlTech is very versatile. It can generate power and finesse to throw most of
today's curling shots. Occasionally, you will face a situation where extreme power is
beneficial. Extreme power can be used for shots like the following:



Clearing multiple rocks
Removing nearly frozen rocks
Flat and/or cross-house doubles
To attain extreme power a backswing can be used. Adding a backswing delivery to you no lift
delivery can allow your team to add more shots types to your game plan. A backswing
delivery is different in a few ways. Instead of simply swinging the rock with your normal
delivery, a few modifications are needed to throw the rock accurately.
Let's start with the hack foot. Using a no lift, the hack foot is straight in the hack pointing
parallel to the line of delivery. With a backswing delivery, the hack foot must be turned
slightly to allow the rock to pass by the ankle without taking it off line.
The next change is the weight shift. With a backswing delivery, the hips to not move behind
the hack as in a no lift delivery. The hips stay over the hack. The sliding foot should be placed
back in a similar fashion to the no lift but no weight is placed on it.
The rock should be swung back between knee height and waist height. When done properly,
the swing delivery can generate hits weights in the 2.0 - 2.4 split range.
Only One Hack?
It's clear that when you look at the design and placement of the hacks, they were designed for
curlers to swing the rock back. The right-hander's hack (left one) is three inches left of the
center line. This puts the entire body left of the centerline at setup. This was required when
everyone lifted to rock. With almost all new curlers learning the no-lift delivery, the question
is constantly asked, "why can't we design a single hack for both right and left-handers".
This may seem like a simple question. It would be if all players used the no-lift delivery. The
main reason we have not seen a "uni-hack" is because there is still a large percentage of back
swing type deliveries.
What's best?
The best thing for no-lift curlers would be a hack that is closer to the center line. This of
course is unacceptable for a back swing curler. An adjustable hack is the answer. A single
hack on a sliding track with five positions;





Right-hand backswing - three inches left of center
Right-hand no-lift - one inch left of center
Right and left no-lift drawing to the toe - center
Left-hand no-lift - one inch right
Left-hand backswing - three inches left
Advanced Shot-Making Troubleshooting
The above chart covers some common delivery problems related to mechanics. There are
some other shot-making problems that can be addressed. All missed shots can be put into one
of four categories.




Delivery mechanics
Mental mistakes
Physiological breakdowns
External factors
Delivery Mechanics
Many shots are missed due to improper deliver mechanics. In this case, the curler was not
trained properly or proper training was not followed by enough practice and repetition.
Mental Mistakes
Some shots are missed due to mental mistakes. Not thinking the shot through or rushing the
shot. Not fully understanding the skip's call. Not thinking about the "pro" and "amateur" side
misses.
Physiological Breakdowns
This problem is slightly different and combines the mechanical problem with the mental
problem. This is when the stress and anxiety of a given situation affects the mind and body.
The most common problem is nervousness that causes excitability and an inability to control
the power and muscle movements. If the heart rate is high or "butterflies" exist, the tendency
is to over throw due to an increase in adrenaline. This is why many last shot draws are too
heavy. If the body is susceptible to nervousness you will either come out too hard and heavy
or come out hard and heavy then pull back (missing short).
External Factors
Everyone is familiar with external factors. External means outside the throwers control. These
include sweeping errors on draw shots and line call errors on takeouts. Bad information on ice
speed or bad rocks is also a good example.
The Coach's Role in Troubleshooting
The job of a good coach is to identify why shots are being missed. He or she must work at two
levels:


Season level - systemic long term
Game level - "in the moment"
Coaches must review missed shots throughout the season to determine if the problem is
systemic (faults in the delivery, physical problems, behavioral and mental issues) or game
induced. Systemic problems can be addressed off the ice and in practice. Game problems
must be addressed during the game which is very difficult for most coaches.
Delivery Theory Flow Chart
Below is a revolutionary new way of thinking about how and why the delivery works. Use it
to ask questions about and troubleshoot your delivery. The chart clearly shows how all of the
delivery components are interrelated.
Using the chart:


To ask "How" questions, work down the chart.
To ask "Why" questions, work up the chart.
For example:
How do I achieve consistent weight?
Through weight shift, tempo and Body drop.
Why do I need good balance?
To achieve consistent line.
All of the terms used in the chart are described in the Delivery section.
Advanced Equipment
Equipment and Performance
Having the proper equipment is an important component to playing well. Since there is an
endless list of equipment, decisions on the best equipment to use may be difficult. The
following is a list of subtle differences that you should consider.
Shoes
All serious curlers must have dedicated curling shoes. There are a few options. Several
manufacturers make curling shoes. CurlTech recommends Teflon as the slider material.
Remember, your balance can depend a lot on your shoes. The better the sliding platform, the
easier it is to slide balanced. In addition to performance, your shoes should be comfortable
and warm. Teflon can be customized for additional performance. A company called Balance
Plus makes a slider with shallow holes drilled into the bottom. This provides a "perimeter"
effect similar to a perimeter-weighted golf club. The holes provide a greater "sweet spot" in
the center of the slider, increasing balance performance.
CurlTech recommends the Balance Plus Deluxe shoe with the 1/4 inch slider and two holes.
A slightly less expensive alternative is to purchase a good pair of athletic shoes and have the
slider added to it. The Balance Plus company can add their slider to most flat-bottom shoes.
Sliders
Sliders come in various speeds, shapes and materials. Generally, the advanced curler will use
a slider that provides the least amount of friction and provides the most stability. The 'thick"
Teflon® slider is the most common advanced slider and can be used be the novice and
advanced curler. It is fast and quiet, provided very little friction. The only other slider that
may be faster is one made of stainless steel. Stainless steel sliders are cost prohibitive for most
curlers and don't provide the much additional performance enhancement. Other advanced
sliders include the "red brick" slider. It is a fast slider that was effective on poor or rough
surfaces found many years ago.
Brushes and Brooms
The terms brush and broom are interchangeable. Natural bristle brushes were popular in the
1980's and 1990's. Horsehair and hog-hair brushes were the standard. Today, the standard is
synthetic. Synthetic brushes are made of Cordura® or other high-friction material. The
biggest advantage to using synthetic brushes is the weight-to-effectiveness ratio. They require
less effort to create friction resulting in much more efficient sweeping. They are also much
cleaner due to the reduced amount of shedding. Curlers playing on multiple teams such as
league play should purchase a broom that allows them to sweep on both sides of the rock.
As a rule, don't purchase a straight, fixed-head broom. Some type of adjustable or swivel
broom is a must for sweeping effectiveness. Straight brooms are for sliding and skipping.
CurlTech Choice:
1. Hammer XL or Performance with soft head
2. Any other adjustable type
The brooms listed above are for individuals sweeping on both sides and playing on different
teams. They will work on competitive teams but are not the most effective. A fixed angle
broom is the most effective for team play.
4
Sweeping
This section will cover a wide variety of sweeping topics. Specifically, the areas covered are:





The Purpose of Sweeping
Why Rocks Curl
Sweeping Equipment
Sweeping Mechanics
The Purpose of Sweeping
In the early days of curling, when games were played outdoors on the lochs, snow and other
debris was cleared from the path of the moving rocks. Bunches of sticks were used as debris
clearing devices. However, as the sport evolved, it became clear that, in addition to clearing
debris, vigorous sweeping affected the moving rocks.
The purpose of sweeping is twofold:


Sweeping makes the rock travel farther.
Sweeping makes the rock travel straighter.
Why Rocks Curl
Before discussing the mechanics of sweeping, it is important to understand what is happening
underneath the rock as it travels down the ice. Curling rocks are approximately 12 inches in
diameter; however, there is a smaller, ringed portion that the rock rides on. This narrow ring is
about 5 inches in diameter and is called the running surface.
Figure 6-1. The running surface. Approximately 5" in diameter.
Rocks are intentionally rotated either clockwise or counter-clockwise when thrown.
Intentional rotation provides the necessary degree of predictability as the rock travels down
the ice. Most rocks, if thrown without a rotation, will assume a rotation at some unpredictable
point. As the rock is rotating, one side of the running surface will always be moving faster
than the other as it travels over the ice surface.
Example: If a rock traveling down the ice has a clockwise rotation, the left side of the rock is
traveling faster over the ice than the right side.
Differences in pressure create frictional melting that cause a rock to pivot (or drag) over the
slower side. A more detailed explanation of this is provided in the Field of Play section.
How Sweeping Works
First of all, let's discuss what is happening under the rock as it travels over the ice. The rock
travels over the pebble. The pebble provides a low contact area with the running surface (the
rock rides up on the pebble). The limited contact area created by the pebble allows a low
friction environment to exist. Simply put, the heavy rock creates friction and causes frictional
melting. The melted ice is more slippery. This naturally occurring frictional melting helps
explain why rocks seem to "glide" down the ice.
Now add sweeping. The sweeping motion briefly polishes the ice (pebble) just before the rock
travels over it. The sweeping action melts a molecular layer of ice for a very brief moment,
resulting in a molecular layer of water. This creates an even lower friction environment that
helps the naturally occurring frictional melting. This combination allows the rock to
decelerate slower. This results in the rock traveling farther.
The technical definition of sweeping is that it decreases the rate of deceleration. The overall
reduction in friction has another effect: Since the rock is dragging less on both sides, the rock
will travel straighter.
Sweeping cannot make a rock move faster, only farther!
The Weight Window
The amount of force necessary to propel a rock forward is known as "weight". Good sweepers
can add an additional 8 - 12 feet to a rock's distance. This is important to know because, as
you are throwing the rock, your throwing weight needs only to fall inside this 8-12 foot
"weight window". This provides a fairly comfortable margin of error for a thrower with good
sweepers.
Example: A rock thrown 8 feet short of the house without sweeping can easily be swept into
the house by good sweepers. As a thrower, your responsibility was to hit the "window" and
not the actual finished shot. This is what makes sweeping such a critical part of the game.
Sweeping Equipment
There are a variety of sweeping devices being used today. Synthetic-type as well as the
traditional horsehair or hog's hair. The more popular synthetic brooms have a fabric, such as
Cordura, stretched over a padded surface. Although introduced many years ago, these
synthetic brooms became popular in the mid 1990's and are the standard sweeping device
today. They are very effective and keep the ice clean. Some people argue that the synthetic
brooms are so effective in polishing the ice that they erode the valuable pebble that the rocks
ride on. This creates an undesirable "flat" surface with more area of contact on the running
surface.
Carbon fiber handles were introduced around the year 2000. They are much lighter than the
standard fiberglass handles. They do not offer much in additional sweeping performance other
than perhaps some increased head speed due to the lighter weight. These handle are much
more expensive. If money is not an issue, choose the carbon fiber.
CurlTech Choice for individual (league type) sweeping:
1. Any high-friction "swivel" type that is adjustable
2. Adjustable lower-friction type (easier to sweep with)
The above brooms have the flexibility to sweep on both sides.
Mechanics of Sweeping
Let's talk about what makes a good sweeper. The best sweepers today are effective and
efficient. Sweeping effectiveness has been the focus of much debate over the last thirty years
or so. While many people argue that the most effective sweeping comes from rapid movement
of the brush, others argue that effective sweeping is caused by increased pressure of the brush
on the ice. CurlTech believes that a strong balance of both will achieve optimum results.
Rapid movement with as much pressure as possible is what great sweepers strive for.
Sweeping efficiency refers to a sweeper's ability to be the most effective while using the least
amount of energy. The sweeping style discussed in this section is the preferred method of
most top teams. CurlTech teaches a sweeping style with the following main components:
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Body is Upright
Inside arm down
Grippers on both feet
Shoulder driven
The method, also known as "sweeping high" is the best combination of effectiveness and
efficiency.
The Sweeping Stroke
Stance
To start sweeping properly, take a standing position that is 45 degrees to the rock's path,
trying to face the rock and the skip at the same time. With the brush head on the ice, place the
inside hand (the hand closest to the rock) on the brush handle half way down using downward
pressure. This is the bottom hand and it will be supporting much of your body weight during
the sweeping stroke. The outside hand (top hand) should be placed underneath the handle (an
underhand grip) about one foot from the top. The end of the handle will be tucked under the
arm.
Figure 6-2. Proper sweeping stance. The inside-hand-down position allows for good viewing
of the skip's signals. It also helps judge draw weight as it allows the head to be in a more
upright position. An adjustable, sponge-type broom is shown in this photo.
Using an outside hand down position is another popular method. Since most people have a
stronger side, this position allows some people to switch sides without switching strokes. The
advantage of an outside arm down position is a more perpendicular sweeping stroke. This
helps two sweepers stay close. The disadvantage is the body position. The head travels in a
more backward style. This results in poorer visual communication with the skip and poorer
weight judgment (the field of play is moving sideways across the body instead of into it).
Brush Motion
The rules state that you must move the brush from side to side. It is not clearly stated as to
what side-to-side really means only that it should "roughly perpendicular" to the rock's path.
The most effective sweeping motion is approximately 90 degrees to the rock's path and covers
an area just wider than the running surface, (remember, it's only five inches). A sweeping
motion that is shorter than this is subject to scrutiny by the officials and a motion greater than
this is waste of energy. The stroke should be away from your body, and then back toward
your body. Keep your top arm tight to your body. By staying tight, you will begin to put more
and more pressure on the head as you begin to move your weight over the top of the brush.
With experience, you will gradually place more of your body's weight over the head of the
broom.
The power of the sweeping stroke comes from the top shoulder (shoulder driven). The
shoulder "drives" the brush head out and pulls it back. Because of this, most right-handed
curlers (strong right side) will feel more comfortable sweeping on the right side of the rock.
For best results, place the strongest sweeper about 4 to 5 inches in front of the traveling rock.
This is called "taking the rock". With the brush head perpendicular to the path, move the head
back and forth with a clear and visible motion. Most adjustable brush heads are at least five
inches long so the running surface is automatically covered by simply placing the broom head
in front of the rock. Any clear and visible movement at this point is acceptable. The second
sweeper should be as close as possible to the inside sweeper without risking contact with the
brushes. As a beginner, you may want to stay well clear of the rock to avoid hitting it with the
brush. The most effective team sweeping is with the sweepers on opposite sides because the
brushes can easily stay close together. Eighty percent of team sweeping effectiveness comes
from the inside sweeper. The outside sweeper representing the other twenty percent.
However, the only way the inside sweeper can achieve this eighty percent is with the second
sweeper present. The lead sweeper (farthest away) prepares the ice for the inside sweeper.
They work together to create great sweeping. Sweeping with only one person will reduce the
effectiveness by forty percent.
Note: Adding a third sweeper accomplishes almost nothing. As a skip or a thrower, avoid
"jumping in" to help. This is a waste of time and only increases the chances of you or a
teammate burning a rock.
The Adjustable or "Angle" Brush
The angle brush is a standard brush with the head turned at a 45-degree angle. It was created
to cover the entire running surface while using a shorter stroke. This was done to keep the
path as clean as possible without the need to move the brush quickly (Figure 6-2). Another
strong benefit of the angle brush is the decreased distance between the inside and outside
sweepers since the angle brush head is perpendicular to the path instead of parallel.
Figure 6-3. Proper angle-brush position.
The Foot Motion
In the Delivery Section, the use of a slider was discussed. Proper sweeping must be done
without a slider. If you throw with a slider, remove it for sweeping. If your slider is built into
your shoe, cover it with a gripper. Sweeping effectiveness requires a solid platform to sweep
from. The proper sweeping motion, when moving with the rock, looks like a skating motion.
Walking fast or jogging next to the rock is not very effective or efficient. As you move with
the rock, your inside foot should be skating forward. Your outside foot should also be skating
forward but it will lead the body. The outside foot will extend much farther than the inside.
The inside foot should also never cross the outside foot during the motion. The most pressure
is created when the body weight is over the top of the brush. This can only happen using the
tripod method (Figure 6-2) with two feet and a brush head. In the beginning, you will have to
support your weight on your feet. When you become more comfortable, begin to shift more
and more weight onto the brush head.
To have the greatest degree of flexibility with your teammates, learn to sweep effectively on
both sides of the rock. This will allow you to sweep with anyone at any time.
Preparing to Sweep
As the shooter prepares to throw the rock, the sweepers must take a position near the tee line
and the side lines. This allows the shooter to view the skip. As the shooter begins to come out
of the hack, the sweepers slowly meet the delivery at or near the hog line. One sweeper will
always "take the rock" which means sweep closest to the rock. As a general rule, the person
taking the rock will "clean" the surface in front of the rock to avoid the rock picking up small
debris. Clean by slowly moving the brush head across the surface. The pressure should be
light as not to create too much friction. This cleaning should be done in a position ready for
sweeping if the skip calls.
Quick Tip: When a right-handed player throws the rock, their broom is extend out to the left.
This interferes with the left side sweeper at the beginning of the shot. If possible have the right
side sweeper take the rock, since there is no extended delivery broom. This allows the sweeper
to clean or sweep at a much earlier point.
When finished, move immediately to the sides and walk back in a non-distracting manner. It
is not necessary to stop completely.
Advanced Sweeping
The remainder of this section will cover some advance sweeping concepts and techniques that
can be used by teams. The topics are:





Team Sweeping
Sweeping Communication
Corner Sweeping
Interval (split) Timing
Judging Weight
Team Sweeping
Once the rock has been delivered, the sweepers are responsible for judging the weight. Is it
moving too fast, too slow or just right? It is not realistic to expect the skip to judge the weight
from 120 feet away. After the rock has been thrown, the sweepers communicate the weight of
the rock to the skip. The skip then makes a line sweeping decision based on whether or not the
rocks curl needs to be straightened out.
Judging the weight of the rock is very difficult and takes lots of practice. You can increase
your ability to judge rocks with a few sweeping techniques.
1. Sweep as upright as possible, this allows you to visualize the entire field of play and
judging motion and speed becomes easier. The fluids in the inner ear must remain as stable as
possible for accurate motion judgment. By dipping the head down (leaning over too much)
you change the orientation of the fluids. This not only decreases motion judgment, it causes a
slight bit of vertigo (spatial disorientation) when the head is returned to the upright position.
2. Take a sweeping position that faces the skip. This also helps view the entire field of play
and allows you to view the skip at all times. Curling clubs can be very loud at times and
visual contact with the skip may be the only means of communication. This can be done by
placing the inside hand in the lower position. This will naturally put you in a "forward facing"
position.
Team sweeping refers to teams striving for similar sweeping styles. This continuity will make
all sweeping calls more consistent. For example, the most effective sweeping is two sweepers
sweeping from opposite sides of the rock. This allows the brushes to be as close as possible to
each other, limiting the amount of cool down that happens after the brush passes over the
surface.
Sweeping Communication
For the most part, sweepers judge weight and skips judge line. It is very important for both
parties to understand each other. For example, a skip judges line based on how he or she
thinks the rocks will curl. Since rocks curl less with more weight, the skip must know any
weight deviations as soon as possible.
Try the following:
Before the rock is thrown, make sure the sweepers know the exact shot and weight called. If
throwing a draw for example, the sweepers should communicate the weight to the skip at the
halfway point. Commit to an area of the house such "top four" or "back twelve". This can be
verbal or visual depending on the circumstances. As the rock travels down the ice, the
sweepers must continuously report the weight to the skip. To simplify matters, only
communicate weight if it's different than what the skip expects. Over-communicating such as
screaming-out "the weight is good" is not necessary. Effective communication is not
necessarily constant communication.
Weight and Position Systems
Teams can use any communication and weight system they desire. Many teams use a
numbered system to communicate draw weight and rock position. The 1-11 system works
well.
1. Long guard
2. Mid guard
3. Close guard
4. Top twelve-foot
5. Top eight-foot
6. Top four-foot
7. Button/tee line
8. Back four-foot
9. Back eight-foot
10. Back twelve-foot
11. Just through
Sweepers should communicate these numbers to the skip as soon as possible. It is not
necessary to communicate detailed weight positions at the release point. At the half way
point, the sweepers must commit to something. At the hog line the sweepers must be certain.
Keep in mind, these are swept weights. The system will get very confusing if teams don't
understand the "swept verses unswept" numbers. A better system that incorporates this
numbering system is the "quiet system". Using this system, the sweepers say nothing if the
weight is correct. This has three benefits:
1. Less chance of miscommunication
2. No over-communication
3. Swept vs. unswept problem is eliminated
This "by exception" system works well because it keeps the noise to a minimum especially in
loud arenas and clubs.
Example of the Quiet System
The skip calls a draw to the top four- foot (6), the sweepers say nothing until they know (or
think) it's not in the four foot. If they can get it to the four-foot with sweeping, they still say
nothing. If the weight is heavy, they immediately communicate the heavy weight resting
position, such as 8 or 9. The skip can then decide if an alternate is necessary. If the weight is
light, the sweepers communicate the swept weight such as 3 or 4.
It is always necessary to confirm the shot with the sweepers and thrower before the shot is
thrown.
When learning this system, teams can start by using a less complex numbering system. The
following can be used when just starting out.
1. (long guard)
2. (mid guard)
3. (close guard)
Top house
Tee line
Back house
Through
Corner Sweeping
In the early 90's, a new sweeping concept became popular called corner sweeping. This refers
to sweeping across one side of the running surface instead of sweeping across the entire
running surface. This was done to gain even greater control over the rocks curl. For example,
by sweeping the inside edge of a takeout (the slow side), friction is reduced on the slow side
only, reducing the pivot action discussed earlier in this section. Because of this the rock runs
straighter. Sweeping the outside edge of a draw could make it curl more. This results in more
manipulative sweeping. There is a down side to corner sweeping however, it is very difficult
to be control the consistency of the rock's curl. This could result in less predictable shots.
Even though corner sweeping may be more effective, most good teams prefer to concentrate
on good overall sweeping skills.
The sweeping of one corner only is a violation of the rules. To conform to WCF rules, the
corner must be swept by using differential pressure. The entire brush head will cover the
running surface but only the desired edge will receive pressure. This is done by "twisting" the
handle on a fixed head broom. We suggest you use good, solid sweeping most of the time and
twist in the extreme cases. Working the edge is nearly impossible with a swivel type broom.
"Split" Timing (Interval Timing)
Interval timing is a scientific method that helps sweepers judge weight. A designated sweeper
can time a shot between two points, usually the back line and nearer hog line. This "split" is
the time it takes the rock to travel from back line to hog line and will indicate its ability to
make it the rest of the way. This is a relative measurement. The time that is measured cannot
be easily calculated into a long time due to the deceleration of the rock. The times can be used
as a reference.
Example: On 24-second ice, one of your players normally throws a 3.65 second draw split
(time from back to hog). If the same player throws a 3.90 second split, it is likely to need
sweeping.
The following is rough example of converted split times on 24 second (hog to tee) ice.
3.60 23 seconds
3.65 23.5 seconds
3.70 24 seconds
3.75 24.5 seconds
3.80 25 seconds
3.85 25.5 seconds
3.90 26.0 seconds
Splits by position will only be same with players that have consistent, fluid deliveries
such as the one described by CurlTech in the Delivery section. Different delivery types
may yield different split times on the same shots.
A word of caution. Don't rely on the clock as your sole judge of sweeping. As you develop,
you will be able to judge rocks without the use of clocks. Great teams use a combination of
judgment and clock speeds.
Suggestion:
Appoint one sweeper as the split timer and the other as the weight judger based on perception
alone. As the timer, don't tell the other sweeper the split time. Let the two methods work
together.
"Finishing" the Draw
Most curlers associate sweeping with rocks traveling farther and straighter. This is true for
most shots. There is a case though when sweeping will cause a rock to appear to curl more.
As a draw is coming to rest, many newer curlers continue to sweep the rock in an attempt to
keep it straight. Sweeping will keep the rock moving, which means it continues on its path.
Imagine the arc of a rock that is curling. It begins straight then starts to curl (see The Curl
Profile in Section 3). If the rock could move forever, it would eventually leave the sheet of ice
across the sideline. Sweeping rocks after the curl begins does two things:
1. It reduces the amount of additional curl.
2. It keeps the rock moving on its current path.
Finishing the rock refers to keeping it moving on its arc. This pulls the rock even deeper
behind a guard because the rock is still moving on its curl path. This is important to know
since many come-around shots can be "finished", meaning the rocks can be swept under the
guard. The mistake many new skips and vices make is to stop sweeping. This only makes the
rock stop short and not continue to curl under. On the other hand, if a rock is curling too much
at the end, stop sweeping. Additional sweeping here will only continue the rock's path.
Sweeping Systems
A sweeping system is an interrelated group of sweeping activities. Teams should design their
own system by compiling known and proven components. In any sweeping system, you will
have the following components:
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Equipment type
Sweeping Style
Positioning
Communication
Weight Judging Techniques
Equipment Type
The best team brooms are the ones that create the most friction with the least effort and allow
the two sweepers to sweep in close proximity. Lighter, carbon fiber handles dramatically
reduce the weight of any broom reducing fatigue, particularly over longer competitions. The
carbon fiber handle brooms are slightly harder to control due to the lack of weight. Head
"float", meaning the head of the broom drifts off the line, may result during the transition to
these brooms. As the head grabs the ice, the friction pulls the head toward the rock causing an
oval pattern to the sweeping stroke. Many teams, however, will agree that the advantages
outweigh the disadvantages of these brooms. For team sweeping, where the players are in
fixed positions for each shot, swivel-head brooms provide the best coverage. Fixed angle
brooms allow for differential pressure if desired.
If using fixed angles, it will be necessary to switch brooms for different players. A team
switching system is simple if the players are in proper position after each shot. A team can
own four broom types for efficiency. A straight broom for sliding and skipping and angles for
sweeping.
CurlTech Choice for team sweeping equipment:
1. 8" or 10" fixed angle with carbon fiber handle (for differential pressure)
2. Swivel type with carbon fiber handle (no differential pressure)
Sweeping Style
The same sweeping style described earlier in this section should be used by the advanced
players. The sweeping stroke must be short, vigorous and with as much pressure as possible.
Positioning
Positioning refers to where and when each team members place themselves during the game.
Competitive games are timed and effective positioning helps play quickly without rushing.
Select a position for each player that can be replicated each end.
The "Ready Position"
Those of you that coach or play baseball or softball understand the "Ready Position" concept. This refers
to the position of the players as the ball is put into play. In curling, the sweepers take a ready position just
before they need to sweep (or are called on to sweep). The person taking the rock (closest to the rock),
must be in the ready position AND cleaning the path at all times. Cleaning the path helps prevent "picks"
and allows the sweeper to sweep immediately when the skip calls. The outside sweeper (not on the rock)
needs a ready position that is upright and facing the skip. This sweeper communicates weight information
to the skip.
Clean in front of the rock at all times unless you want a pick. Create a skip's signal to stop
cleaning. There are times when a pick may help.
Who Takes the Rock?
The "throwing arm" side sweeper should always take the rock. When a right-handed player
throws the rock, their broom is extend out to the left. This interferes with the left side sweeper
at the beginning of the shot. Since there is no extending delivery broom, the right-side
sweeper can clean or sweep at a much earlier point.
5
Basic Strategy
This section will provide the new and intermediate curler with an outline for strategic
decision-making. These strategy principles will apply to most games particularly league
games. See the section on Team Strategy for a more detailed look at how teams plan and
execute. Each player, team, game situation and ice conditions are different so we'll
concentrates on the decision-making process and not on individual shot calling.
Strategy Principles
Someone once said that curling is chess on ice. This is true to some degree because, in
addition to throwing and making shots, the skip must determine the course of action to be
taken before and during the game. During the game there are several options to each possible
situation. The skip must decide what shots to call and when to call them.
Most curlers use the term "strategy" to describe the process of calling the individual shots.
This is not entirely true. CurlTech believes the game has two separate components:
1. Game strategy - overall game approach
2. Calling the Game - shot-by-shot tactics that support the game strategy
Component number two is also known as "calling the game".
The term "strategy" is often used to describe both of these components, but we want to
concentrate on the differences between them.
Game Strategy
The term strategy best refers to the overall course of action taken by any team during the
game. This "game plan" is determined before the game starts and is based on known variables
like your team's skill level, the opponent's general strengths and weaknesses and known field
of play conditions (See Section 9, Field of Play). Even the format of the competition can
impact the game strategy. Strategy can change, and sometimes should, during a game. For the
most part, the game strategy is determined before the game and all shots called during the
game are in support of the overall strategy.
Good teams discuss the game strategy before the game starts to allow input from all team
members. Coaches can play an important role in determining the game strategy.
Some examples of overall game strategy are:
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Play an aggressive or conservative game (discussed later in this section)
Play the percentage game - a conservative game - you'll make more shots than your
opponent
Force the opponent to play draws around guards (opponent may not have draw weight)
Favor a certain turn (in-turn or out-turn) based on your opponent's deficiencies
In the early ends play conservatively then play aggressively in the middle and late
ends (you may think the opponent will tire faster than you)
Play conservatively to position yourself in a long competition
Play shots your team can make
Once the game strategy has been determined, the skip must support it by thinking about how
each end will be played. In each end, the skip then must determine what shots to call and
when to call them. Shot calling represents the tactical support of the larger strategy.
There is no such thing as textbook strategy or game calling. There are guidelines, however,
that apply in many cases.
Particularly at the league level, the first and most important component to strategy is
execution. Without proper execution of shots and sweeping, no strategy will be effective. The
best strategy is the one that plays to your team's strengths and takes advantage of the
opponent's weaknesses. Any type of strategy or tactics is appropriate if it's effective. In most
league play, the players make about 50% of their shots. Find the shots that your team can
make and stay away from the ones they can't.
Quick Note:
Olympic level players make 85% of their shots. This opens the strategy door to almost
anything since the majority of shots called are made.
"Aggressive" vs. "Conservative" Game Strategy
The term aggressive refers to calling and executing shots that, when executed properly, have
the highest potential for forcing the opponent's mistake (or inability to score). In curling, as in
other sports, this strategy has a high degree of risk and a high potential pay-off. Aggressive
shots usually include different types of draw shots like "come-arounds," freezes, tap backs,
etc. For example, a perfect freeze almost eliminates the opponent's ability to remove the rock,
increasing the chances to score more than one. On the other hand, poorly executed freeze may
leave a rock wide open for a hit and roll, resulting in the opposition counting or scoring two.
A conservative strategy is used by teams who want to keep the game free of clutter. The shots
most likely played in a conservative game would be mostly take-outs or shots thrown into the
rings without cover. Teams playing a conservative game throw so many takeouts that some
people believe the game has become boring to watch. Because of this, the World Curling
Federation adopted a rule that would force teams to play more aggressive games. This rule is
called the "Free Guard Zone" rule. This rule was adopted for spectators. You won't find many
people watching your league games, but the National and World Championships enjoy a
sizable crowd, live, on television and on the Internet.
Calling the Game - The Thought Process
As mentioned earlier, calling the shots is not the same as game strategy. Once you and your
team have developed a strategy for the game, the skip must calls shots to execute.
CurlTech believes very strongly that individual shot calling is the result of a decision-making
process. Since there are an infinite number of variables to consider, we teach "how" to decide
on the shot. We do not prescribe calls for certain situations. This comes with experience.
There is no text book shot calling.
There are six key decision factors on each shot:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Who has last rock?
What end is it?
What's the score?
How's the ice?
How good are you?
How good are they?
The following pages offer suggestion on how to deal with the six factors.
1. Last Rock
Most of the time, shot calling in any given end is determined based on who has last rock.
With last rock advantage, the idea is to score, usually more than one rock. If more than one
rock cannot be scored, many teams will decide to blank the end, retain the hammer, and try
again next end. Without last rock, the idea is generally to steal one or more or, in some cases,
to force your opponent to only one.
Generally, with last rock, try to keep the center of the sheet open. Since you have the last
rock, you will need to have access to the center of the house for the last shot (the four foot).
By not keeping the center open, you will run the risk of having the center of the house
blocked for your last shot. Having last rock is not an advantage if you can't score with it.
Without last rock, most teams try to steal one or more rocks. To do this, try to throw rocks
short of the house, preferably in the center of the sheet. With these rocks in place, a rock can
be drawn in behind, under cover. This represents the best chance to not only prevent the
opponent from scoring but to steal the end.
2. End
Considering your game strategy, you may want to play more conservative shots early in the
game. This will allow you and your team to become acclimated to the conditions, allow you
to read the ice and to assess the opponent's strengths and weaknesses. This may also keep the
game close by not allowing either team to score a big end.
Later in game (the last three ends) is the time to stay steady. Many games are won and lost in
the last three ends. Teams must concentrate on a good balance between aggressive shots and
good execution. Now is the time to protect your lead or to make a move if you're behind.
3. Score
Again, based on your game strategy, the score will help determine the shots called. For
example, in a close game (difference of one or two rocks) the shots called should not stray
from the game plan.
If your team is down by a considerable margin, the game strategy should change to a more
aggressive one. This is the time to call freezes, center or corner guards, close come-arounds,
etc. If the opponent puts a rock in the house, you may want to ignore it and put up a corner
guard (you can remove the shot rock later). Another approach is the freeze. The best freeze
situation is when the opponent's rock is behind the tee line. This is a low risk freeze if you
have the hammer because the button is still open for your last draw. Even if the rocks are in
front of the tee, try freezing to them. This will make it difficult for the opponent to remove
them. The old phrase "live and die by the sword" certainly applies here. Aggressive shots can
backfire if not executed properly and you may end up shaking hands earlier than anticipated.
Aggressive shots will yield a higher return (more rocks).
If you are leading by a considerable margin, consider changing the strategy to keep things
open. This, if executed properly will limit the opponent's ability to get back into the game.
This is risky because any dramatic change in strategy must be accompanied by solid
execution or it will backfire. A good example is the team trying to keep things clear that
cannot make a peel therefore leaving rocks in front of the house without any counters.
The throw-through is an important tactic late in the game with a sizable lead. The theory
behind the throw-through is that if there are no rocks in play, there is nothing for the opponent
to draw around or freeze to. Usually, teams wait until the last few ends to throw rocks
through. The throw-through being executed in the middle ends is a strong statement that you
believe the opponent can't catch you. This is embarrassing if they do.
4. Ice (Field of Play)
This refers to ice and rock conditions. Certain ice conditions favor certain shots. For example,
straight ice (less than two feet on a draw) does not favor the come-around. In many cases a
come-around attempt on straight ice will result in a rock that is wide open for the opponent to
hit and roll. In this case, the promote is a better call. The promote is easier to throw on straight
ice because it removes the variable of a large curl. Sweeping is also very effective in keeping
a straight rock even straighter.
On the other hand, ice that curls (more than 2 feet on a draw) favors the come around and not
the promote.
In some cases, the ice will curl on one side and run straight on the other. If available, always
choose the straight side for hits and the curl side for draws.
Another ice condition that drives shot calling is the speed of the ice. Fast ice (24 seconds or
higher) will favor the aggressive shots like the freeze or the tap back. Sweeping is usually
more effective on faster ice therefore players can be sweep a rock to a more precise location.
Slow ice (23 or less) does not favor aggressive shots but favors the conservative approach of
heavier hits or hits and rolls.
Remember, ice conditions change during the game. The pebble may be heavy to start then as
it begins to breakdown the ice gets faster. If the pebble breaks down too much, the ice may
slow down again. This is the best reason to time shots to determine relative change in ice
conditions.
5 & 6. Skill Level
This refers the skill of you own team as well as the skill of your opponent. Skill is broken up
into two categories.


The ability to hit the broom on line
The ability to throw the proper weight
You should already know the basic skill level of your teammates. Common sense applies
here. Don't call delicate draws for someone who can't even hit the house. You are usually
better off with a rock in play than with a rock in the garage. On the other hand, heavy hits are
not a good idea for someone who can't throw more than draw weight. Just as you avoid these
weight-based situations with your own team, try to exploit them from your opponent. Try to
force the opponent to a draw and so forth.
When it comes to hitting the broom and line, avoid hits with the person who can't hit the
broom. The draw may a better option.
Now is a good time to watch the releases of your opponent. Many curlers (even the advanced
players) throw rocks off line during the release. Try to spot patterns with your opponent. If
your opponent has the tendency to toss out the out turn, then force that person to throw that
turn. Sometimes a partially covered rock is better than a rock fully covered because it tempts
your opponent to go after it, perhaps on their weak side.
Basic Shot Calling
The following are some standard shots when not playing the Free Guard Zone.
With the Hammer.
Of course, if you have last rock, you will need to wait for the opponent to throw before you
throw your first rock. Where the opponent's rock ends up will then determine your course of
action.
Let's use the above examples and respond to each.
If the opponent places the rock directly in front of the house about one foot, then the most
aggressive response would be to draw behind it. For the most part, the Free Guard Zone game
is played inside the four foot and the first team in has a definite advantage. This is a difficult
shot, particularly on straight ice. You run the risk of leaving it wide open where your
opponent can hit it and roll behind the guard.
Your options are limited here. Another choice would be to draw to the side of the house,
ignoring the center guard.
Another would be to split the guard and the shooter onto the rings. This is effective when
you're trying to keep things clean because you can remove it with your next rock if it's in the
house.
Without the Hammer.
The aggressive starting shot without the hammer is to place the rock in front of the house, on
the center line anywhere from 1/2 in to 2 feet out. Since it cannot be removed from play, it
will allow you to build up front guards in order to draw around or promote. Remember,
asking your lead to throw this shot is like calling for yourself to hit the button.
A conservative starting shot without the hammer would be a draw to the four-foot. If this is
the decision, be sure that the rock is not behind the tee line. Your opponent may take the
opportunity to freeze to it, forcing you to throw more difficult shots.
Free Guard Zone Strategy Guidelines
The Free Guard Zone rule is now played in almost every league, bonspiel and championship.
To understand its impact on the game let's understand the rule itself.
The "Free Guard Zone" Rule
"No rock lying in the free guard zone can be removed from play by the opposition until
the first four rocks of the end have come to rest. The free guard zone shall be the area
between the hog line and the tee line, excluding the house."
Note: The rule states that; no rock can be removed by the opposition; this means that you can remove
your own rock from the free guard zone.
Because rocks thrown into the free guard zone cannot be initially removed, teams are forced
to play with one or more rocks in front of the house. This creates a certain degree of
excitement with more aggressive shots being played.
Figure 7-1 The dark grey area represents the Free Guard Zone.
Generally, there are three tactical approaches to playing with the Free Guard Zone Rule when
your opponent places the first rock short of the house:
Be the first team to the four-foot by drawing around the center guard.
1. Ignore the first two opponent's rocks and begin clearing rocks once four rocks have
come to rest.
2. Ignore the center guards and draw to the sides
3. Like regular tactical guidelines, deciding when to use the above guidelines depends
more on who has last rock, the end and the score.
Below are the standard shots called in these situations. Remember, hammer determines the
opening play. Let's assume the opponent will play a center guard. The following shots are to
counter the opening play.
Hammer Option #1 - Draw Behind
Early in the game or in a game where the score is close, even with last rock advantage, many
teams decide to draw behind a rock in front of the house, after all, your options are limited
because you cannot remove the front rock from play. This is a fairly aggressive shot. This is
an attempt to be "first in" meaning the first team into the four foot. There is risk however,
when deciding to play in the house. Don't be behind the tee line. The opponent will draw to
them and lock in a rock for a steal. Once you decide to play in the house, "the game is on".
Non-Hammer Counter-Shot
After you draw behind their opening center guard, they will follow into the four-foot. If they
are down several points or late in the game, their opening center guard suggests they want to
steal, possibly at all costs. If they're desperate, they will follow with another center guard.
Hammer Option #2 - Corner Guard
Even if they put up a center guard, put up a corner guard and try to force the opponent to the
sides. Eventually, you will have to move the front guard and play aggressively for multiple
points.
Non-Hammer Counter-Shot
After you place the corner guard, they will still draw behind the center guard. Again, if they're
desperate, they'll put up another center.
Hammer Option #3 - Clear
Another option, particularly if you are ahead on the scoreboard is to wait a few shots then
begin clearing the front rocks in order to expose the four-foot. Usually, by the time you're
allowed to remove rocks, there are multiple rocks in play. Teams that have players, the second
in particular, who can throw heavy weight are more likely to be successful with this option.
The key to this approach is the heavy weight take out. The weight needs to be heavy enough
to move multiple rocks.
After the first rock, some teams try the "tick" shot. This is a regular or hack weight shot
designed to move the center rock to the side without removing it from play. Be careful,
missed shots here may result in more clutter. The pro-side here is missing it wide.
Non-Hammer Counter-Shot
After you throw through or tick, they will either draw in or place another center guard.
Hammer Option #4 - Draw to the Side
The last option is used primarily with weaker teams. Try drawing to the sides. This increases
the risk factor for the other team to steal. If they truly need to steal, they will ignore the side
rocks and concentrate on center guards needed for the steal. If they are not committed to
stealing, they will chase you to the sides. Eventually, one team will hit and roll behind the
center.
Non-Hammer Counter-Shot
After you draw to the side, they will either draw in or place another center guard.
Two Rules of Thumb
Don't expect to steal if you don't have a rock in the four-foot. This doesn't mean you won't
ever steal without a rock in the four-foot. It means don't expect to steal. Good skips can find
way to the four-foot in many cases. Don't guard rocks outside the four-foot. You're better off
trying to get a rock into the four-foot.
Don't make the opponent's shot for them, particularly when you have the hammer. Many
inexperienced skips try to prevent their opponents form making good shots only to help them
make it with a poor shot. Most experienced curlers can remember a game when the hammer
team was shot rock in the four foot after the opposing skip's first rock. The opponent had a
fairly difficult shot to get shot rock and the hammer skip elected to try and remove the
potential opponent's rock. The takeout was a little wide and heavy and he chipped the
opponent's rock in for shot. The opponent guarded his new shot rock and the hammer team
was unable to get to it, losing the game.
Don't throw the rock if it's the only way the opponent can win. If the opponent is running out
of rocks, they hope you'll help them. An extreme example of this, team A and B are playing
the final game of a regional playdown. The winner advances to the national event. Team A
was up by three points playing the last end without the hammer. Team B had one rock in the
house, one rock out front (ten feet out) and one shot left. It was impossible for team B to split
the front rock on to rings. Team A elected to try and remove the front rock and end the game,
running team B out of rocks. The shot was a little narrow, hit the front rock, driving it onto
their corner guard and spilling into the house. Team B now sits two and draws for one more,
tying the game. Skip A was so distraught, she missed her two shots in the extra end and lost
the game. Clearly, if skip A had not thrown her last shot, she would have won the game and
advanced to her first national event. It's ok to not throw a shot.
Summary
Obviously there are a lot of variables that come into play with game strategy and shot calling.
As you see more and more situations, you'll begin to develop a sense of what works and what
doesn't.
Never criticize anyone's strategy until you have all the information. It is very difficult to
understand all calls from behind the glass. What seems to be an obvious strategy blunder may
turn out to be a game-saver or a brilliant assessment of conditions. It's better to ask, "why did
you call that shot?" than to assume the call was bad to begin with.
See the Advanced Strategy section for more strategy and tactical option for your team.
6
Advanced (Team) Strategy
The subject of advanced strategy comes up a great deal. Many people ask how to improve
their strategy and shot calling beyond the basic principles. Unfortunately there is no absolute
answer for any strategy since all games, players and shots change continuously. Typically, the
same guidelines and principles that apply to basic strategy also apply to advanced strategy.
The biggest difference is the proficiency level used in applying the skills. Advanced strategy
is the combination of:
1. Your team's overall game plan
2. Your team's technical skills
3. Capitalizing on the opponents' shortcomings.
A team that is highly proficient in shot-making and sweeping can easily apply a more
complex, higher level of strategy than a developing team. Another factor in employing
advanced strategy is your skip or team's ability to assess the opponents' technical ability in the
game at hand and to capitalize on their weaknesses. A trained curling instructor will be more
proficient at this than a curler of similar experience but with no training or fault analysis
background. This why many coaching certification programs require training and delivery
analysis as a component.
Creating a Game Plan
All teams should have a plan of action for any given game. Even in league play, skip's can
prepare for the opponent. The following process represents the five steps that can help teams
plan and execute. You should modify this process to fit your own needs.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
On-going assessment of your own team
Assess your opponent
Assess the field of play
Create a plan (pre-game)
Debrief the plan (post-game)
Step #1 Ongoing Assessment of your Team
An obvious team goal is to get as much performance out of your team as possible. The rule of
thumb in advanced strategy is to know what your team can do and never ask them to do what
they can't. This sounds simple and logical but many skips don't follow this rule. Skips often
ask the team to throw rocks that have a high degree of difficulty when a simpler shot can
achieve almost the same result. This is an ongoing learning process for the skip and the team.
Top teams don't necessarily make more difficult shots. They just don't miss the easy ones.
Step #2 Assess your Opponent
Good teams assess their opponents using a system, not just by trial and error. This section
offers a few suggestions on assessing your opponent. Becoming a student of delivery
mechanics can make you a better curler and can give your team a competitive edge. Few
players are mechanically perfect. Understanding the key components of the delivery and
identifying the flaws in your opponents' mechanics can gain you a significant advantage when
calling shots. Likewise, assessing their strengths is also important. For example, if a player is
more proficient with an out-turn than an in-turn, you will want to play more shots which force
the use of their in-turn.
Pre-game
The first opportunity to assess your opponent is before the game. Take stock of their
equipment choices, particularly the shoes and brooms. Low-end equipment can indicate lowend skills. Are the shoes newer with enhanced balance features or are they older models made
with thin Teflon or red brick? Are the brooms angled or not? Are stop watches visible? Many
teams have matching uniforms but this feature is not an indication of good skills.
Practice slide
A former world champion from Sweden once told us "all players look good from the side".
This is quite true especially in the practice slide. Never judge a player by their practice slide
alone. Most people are on their best behavior and show-off when they know people are
watching. Evaluate the opponents' practice slides to judge their basic balance skills. Do they
demonstrate a balanced, flat-foot delivery? Do they ride up on their toe? Do they employ a
sliding aid? Also, this is the time to note if they are left-handed players.
Shaking hands
The handshake process is an overlooked area of skills assessment. It's very subtle because
there is no direct correlation between interpersonal skills and good mechanics. There may,
however, be a correlation between interpersonal skills and personal confidence. The
handshake, at times, is your first encounter with an opponent. A soft handshake with no eye
contact can indicate shyness and possibly a lack of confidence or self-assuredness. Challenge
this team earlier than you normally would. On the other hand, strong, firm handshakes may
indicate confidence and self-esteem. You may not be able to take advantage here.
See the Overview - Game Flow section for the proper handshake method, W.E.S.T.
First rocks
The first time your opponents throw a rock in the game is the best time to assess the delivery
mechanics. Note the position of the rock when it is drawn back. If it is not on the centerline,
you can take advantage early on the different geometry of their line of delivery. Noticing if
the team has different draw back positions will help you assess the brooms (lines) being given
by their skip. Different geometry requires different brooms. This is especially true between
right and left handed players. You can't use the opposing skip's broom without understanding
why they chose it!
Balance
Remember, balance is the most fundamental of all delivery components. An out-of-balance
delivery will cause inconsistency and line-of-delivery problems. Most out of balance righthanders will drift to the right. This means they tend to float the out-turns out (wide) and turn
the in-turns in (narrow). Even if the rock is not clearly off the broom, there are lateral forces
at work that change the curl profile.
High/Low
Check how high the delivery is. This can be an indictor on how consistent the draw weight
will be. A high delivery (head and chest almost upright) may be extremely consistent with the
draw because they have a broader view of the playing field. This makes draw calibration
easier. On the other hand, a low delivery, which looks impressive, will have difficulty with
draw weight consistency.
Note the type of leg drive for each opponent. A stepped delivery with a strong leg drive and
no body drop will cause inconsistent draw weight. On the other hand, a fluid all-body delivery
will be very consistent.
Step #3 Assessing the Field of Play
The field of play refers to the ice, rocks and other playing conditions. Good teams understand
and make decisions based on conditions. A full knowledge of the field of play is essential.
Review the Field of Play section for details regarding the assessment of conditions
Step #4 Creating a Plan
Learn to create a plan before every game. If you have a coach (and all good teams should
have one) he or she should manage this process. If not, the skip can do it.
Using the game plan form, summarize the opponent and the playing conditions. Also
summarize any other component that would affect the game such as round robin standings,
time of day, day of the week, team fatigue factor, etc. Based on all the assessments, devise a
plan for the beginning, middle and end of the game.
The skip will always be monitoring the status of the game in order to adjust the plan midgame. During your timeouts and fifth end break discuss the plan with your coach. Good
coaches will also be assessing the opponent during the game looking for areas to exploit.
Step #5 Debrief the Plan
After the game, debrief with your coach. This will help you learn from the game. Losses are
key to learning, but only if you change the behavior next game.
Shot Calling
The Basic Rule
With only a few exceptions, skips today play the hammer ends to either blank or score
multiple points, depending on the end and score. With the Free Guard Zone Rule, scoring two
or more is easily achieved with even a moderate degree of shot-making skills. The nonhammer skip will usually try to steal or hold the opponent to only one. These conflicting
strategies make the game fun.
This section covers some advanced topics. It is essential that you are familiar with the basic
concepts first. The Basic Strategy Section will move you through basic and intermediate
levels of game planning and shot calling. This section takes the skills in the Basic Strategy
section and uses them to win games.
Advanced topics included in this section are:




Game Control
The Automatic Deuce
Assessing Your Opponent
Professional Skipping
Game Control
"Control" is a very broad term. In curling strategy it means positioning your team to win. A
good skip will always give the team an opportunity to win, providing the team has a moderate
skill level. Being "in control" of a game can be defined as:


Tied or ahead at any time with the hammer
Two or more points ahead at any time without the hammer
Many top-level skips believe that a score of "down one with the hammer" in the late, even
ends is also a control position. This varies with each skip. Talk to as many skips as you can to
get a sense of this.
Let's assume that your opponent can execute a two-point strategy at will with the hammer (the
"automatic deuce" is discussed later). This means if your opponent has the hammer, they can
score two with good shot-making. If you are tied, your opponent will move up two with their
deuce. If you are up one, they will be up one after the deuce. The key to game control is to
position yourself so that you will be in control even when your opponent scores two.
When to Take Control
Positioning yourself for control begins with the coin toss (or in championship, the assignment
of the hammer). After you have assessed your opponent in your pre-game meeting (Basic
Strategy), you may decide to "spar" for an end or two. This means playing open, conservative
shots until you feel comfortable enough with the ice to be more aggressive. If you have the
hammer in the first end, you may decide to play for control from the beginning. Scoring two
in the first end of any game is significant as it puts you in a control position from the
beginning. Statistically, scoring two in the first end gives you a 70% chance to win the
game.
Game control is much more significant in the later ends of the game. It is absolutely critical in
the concluding ends (8, 9 and 10).
Obviously the amount of effect control has on the outcome of the game is determined by how
long or at what point you are in control. Although being two points ahead after the first end of
a ten end game is significant, it is much less significant than the same score after eight. The
classic control position would be having last rock in the late, even ends of a close game.
One thing that skips have different opinions on is whether or not it is considered a control
position to be down one with the hammer in the tenth end. Many skips believe this to be a
control position because they believe the automatic deuce concept.
Managing a Lead
Gaining the lead in a game is always a top priority. Once you've done it, certain things can be
done to maintain it. The end in which you take the lead will dictate your actions. Early leads
are different than late leads. Large leads (4 or more) are different than a one or two point lead.
Giving up a large score early forces the opposing team to shift into a full aggressive strategy.
This is difficult to fend off in a long game.
The Automatic Deuce
Since the four-rock Free Guard Zone Rule was put into play in the early 1990's, the nature of
game strategy has changed considerably. If either of the two skips are willing to play
aggressively (more rocks in play), the other skip must play along, at least for the first four
rocks. No longer can a team decide to play hits all game unless the opponent is also willing to
play this way. The automatic deuce concept refers to the ability of any team at any time to
score at least two rocks with the hammer. For this to happen, the hammer team must execute
at 90-100% in the end. Oddly, the non-hammer team can give up two points (scenario #2)
without missing a shot. Below are some examples of how to take two at will.
Scenario #1 Red is down four with the hammer in the sixth end of the game.
Clearly the hammer team (red) must get back into this game.
Yellow Lead #1
Throw-through
Red Lead #1
Corner guard
Yellow Lead #2
Tries the "tick" shot and misses
Red Lead #2
Corner guard opposite side
Yellow Second #1
Peels corner guard #1
Red Second #1
Draws behind corner #2
Yellow Second #2
Peels corner #2
Red Second #2
Draws to opposite side to sit two
At this point the hammer team simply matches hits with the opponent for two points. In this
scenario, the yellow team has essentially conceded two points here, probably to avoid giving
up three or more. As you can see, the non-hammer team is powerless to defend against two if
the hammer team can execute. In this case, the hammer team just scored two and is now down
two. If they can hold their opponent to one in the next end, they regain hammer and can try
this again, coming within one point.
Scenario #2 Red is down one with the hammer
This is a close game, obviously and both teams may want to play more aggressive shots.
Either way, you can score two if you execute.
Yellow #1
Draw to top four
Red #1
Corner guard
Yellow #2
Freeze to yellow #1 in the top four
Red #2
Hit and roll behind guard (leaves yellow #2 in four foot)
Yellow #3
Peel corner guard
Red
Hit and roll to other side of house
At this point, the hammer team simply matches hits with the opponent for two points. As you
can see, the non-hammer team is again powerless to defend against two if the hammer team
can execute. One key shot here is the hit and roll behind the corner. Another key shot in this
scenario is the yellow team's decision to peel the corner guard. Yellow gives up two without
missing a shot. The reason yellow peels the guard is to defend against giving up three or
more, which could happen if the guard is left in play.
Both scenarios point out the key role of the lead and second players. Without proper
execution of the front-end, the team must rely on misses to score more than one point with the
hammer.
Assessing Your Team
Before you successfully exploit your opponent's weaknesses, you must think objectively
about you own team's skills. If you've been playing together for a long time, you probably
understand their strengths and weakness through trial and error.
Professional Skipping
Good skips are made through time, training and experience. This section shares some tips
from experienced skips that allow you to play within the rules and focus on executing the
game tactics.
Skips Position
The rules allow the skips to take almost any position in or around the house. The "Spirit of
Curling" dictates, to some degree the guidelines of good sportsmanship when it comes to
positioning. Skips should first encourage their teammates to position as prescribed by the
rules. Leads and seconds position themselves between the hog lines when not shooting or
sweeping. The best teams in the world stick close to this rule.
Where should you stand as the non-throwing skip?
Your first responsibility as a skip when the opponent is throwing is to assess the shot and ice.
Position yourself behind the back line and stay still as the opponent is throwing. Distracting
movement of any kind is a violation of the rules. In timed games, the throwing team has
control of the sheet when their clock is running. Once the opponent's rock touches the tee line
however, the rights of both skips are equal and the opposing skip can take a position in the
house.
Position of the Throwing Skip
Obviously, you have control of the house when your team is throwing. You are free to wander
around the house looking at angles and assessing the situation. Once you decide on the shot,
take a position roughly near the "center of action" of the called shot. The exceptions to this
guideline are guards. Stand in the house for guards. This gives you a bigger perspective of the
curl of the ice. You may need this knowledge later in the end.
Brooming
Deciding where to place the broom on any given shot is the skip's responsibility. Before
championships games, the practice session will give you a good sense of how much curl there
is on the ice. With no practice, the skip must decide without good information. As a general
rule, place the broom 6-8 inches from the edge of the rock for takeouts. If the ice is perfectly
straight, you will hit the edge of the rock. If it curls, sweep it and catch the other side. For
draws, place the broom 2-3 feet from the intended target.
Place the broom head on the ice at the desired location. As the broom is moved out toward the
outside of the house, make sure the handle is on alignment with the line of delivery. The
handle must be shifted slightly outward to allow it to extend through the line of delivery.
Many inexperienced skips place the broom and handle perpendicular to the tee line, regardless
of house proximity. On outside shots, the handle of the broom will not extend through the line
of delivery and cause a visual problem for the thrower.
Sweep calls
Sweep call can be broken down into two categories:


Weight calls
Line calls
In the Sweeping section, we talked about how sweepers judge draw weight so we'll leave
draw sweep-calls to them. Sweep calling for line is purely the skip's responsibility. Almost all
shots have some "line" component. Knowing when to call sweeping for line is one of the most
difficult parts of skipping. One reason why it's so difficult is because it's a very hard skill to
teach. Good line callers have good spatial orientation. They can visualize the complete curl
"profile" within the space of the sheet. Like other skills, some people are better at this than
others. The first step in learning to judge line is to fully understand the arc of a curling rock.
On a draw, the rock remains on the line of delivery for only a short time after release. As soon
as the rock leaves the hand, the forces of friction (and frictional melting) take over and the
rock begins to curl. There are several things that contribute to when and how much a rock will
curl.




Condition of the rocks - sharp or flat
Ice conditions due to ice making
Ice conditions due to wear and tear of a game
Release point


Release type (hard or soft)
Any lateral movement at release
Any or all of these factors can contribute to when the rock will leave the line of delivery. This
can differ from as much as a foot out of the hand to never. This is the real trick to sweep
calling.
See The Curl Profile in the Advanced Delivery Skill Section for more information.
Generally, the desired outcomes on line calls for takeouts are rolls and caroms. Double and
triple takeouts require good line calls. The best line callers visualize the entire arc that finishes
"through" the intended rock target. Trying to call sweeping to hit a rock in a certain spot is
much more difficult to do properly. Skips with weaker spatial skills must rely on this method.
Here are some tips for judging sweeping for line.





Understand how your teammates release the rock.
Assess as quickly as possible the rock and ice conditions.
Stand a few feet back from the target area. This allows you to see a larger plain.
Position yourself slightly inside the arc. Judging objects moving toward you is easier
than judging them moving away.
Train yourself to anticipate the "break" (the point when the rocks leaves the line of
delivery) of a rock.
Nice-to-Know Skip Tricks
The Throw (drag)
The term "throw" is a billiards term used to describe how the forces of momentum and inertia
are applied when two or more pool balls make contact. The same principle applies in curling.
Three terms must be understood:



The shooter
The object rock (the ones that's hit first)
The thrown/dragged rock
When two stationary rocks are close together (from touching to 4 inches), the action of a
takeout on them will favor the path of the object rock. Even if the stationary rocks are missaligned, the direction of the object rock will be continued through the dragged rock. The
object rock essentially drags the thrown rock with it.
Stationary rocks four inches or more apart will carom.
Beware. The "throw" is counter-intuitive. To trust a call involving a throw, practice the
angles. The rocks move in the opposite direction of what you may think.
Straight Side
If there is a difference in how the rock curls depending on the turn, choose the straight side for
throwing takeouts. Assuming your teammates can come within 6 inches of the broom, contact
will almost always occur. The same takeout on the curl side may miss entirely.
Live/Hot Hit - Dead/Cold Hit
These terms refer to how rocks move after they make contact with each other. Visualize the
examples from the skip's position. An out-turn striking a rock on the left side will bounce off
the rock in a lively fashion due to the rotation of the moving rock. The contact is working
"with" the rotation. Hitting at the same point on the right side with an out-turn will come off
"flat" or "dead" because the contact is working "against" the rotation.
Jam Side
This refers to takeout shots when there is another rock (close behind and usually yours) that
you don't want to touch or "jam" onto. Play the shot on the opposite side of the arc. As viewed
from behind, if the object rock is right and your rock is back and left, play the out-turn. It is
less likely for your rock to over-curl (cross the rock) than to run straight. If you play the inturn, there is 50% more chance of jamming your rock in back, particularly if the rock runs
straight. The amount of rock necessary to contact on the out-turn is much less than with the
in-turn. This means a rock that crosses must hit the object rock much thinner to move it
toward your rock. The out-turn works with the arc and momentum.
Skipping Equipment
Skipping does not require special equipment. There are some advantages that can be gained
through some quick equipment knowledge. If possible, wear a gripper over your slider when
skipping. This will allow you to never get caught off balance and allows you to move quickly
to an unanticipated situation.
Choose a broom that can be the most effective for short bursts of energy. High friction
brooms are best since the skip generally sweeps from the tee line to the back line.
Skipping Etiquette




Be as cordial as you can.
Avoid constant talking that might distract you and your opponent.
Stand quietly with minimal movement when the opponents throw.
Never discipline your teammates during a game.
Watching the clock
Another responsibility of the skip is to manage the clock during a championship game. It is
your responsibility because you have overall control of the game. It's a good idea to appoint
someone (usually the vice skip) to monitor the clock throughout the game and report slow or
fast play to you.
Summary
Teams develop slowly, so should your team's strategy and shot-making. In time, your game
plans will be executed properly and games will be won through proper planning and
execution.
7
The Field of Play
The term "Field of Play" refers to ice and rock conditions. In this section, field of play is
discussed as it relates to the competitive game.
Topics included in this section are:

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Field of Play Standards
Rock Performance
Championship Ice
Assessing the Field of Play
Field of Play Standards
In some countries rigid field of play standards have been developed for championship play.
To date, the World Curling Federation has not developed a set of standards for this area. In
the United States, for example, championship field of play conditions must meet the following
standards:
Standard
Acceptable Deviation
Rock Type
Trevor granite with blue hone inserts
Well-matched rocks
Rock Pairings
Closely matched by pair
None
Ice Curl
Four feet both ways
1/2 foot either way
Ice Speed
24 - 25 seconds ends 1-11
None
Ice Durability
Pebble conformation ends 1-11
None
The above standards were developed by athletes and Board members. They represent a good
balance between ice that plays well for the athletes and ice that is suitable for an aggressive
game, where lots of rocks are in play. Television audiences prefer the action of a house
cluttered with rocks. Ice-makers at US championships must meet this standard or risk not
being accepted at future events.
Rock Performance
Championship rock performance and ice conditions go hand in hand. The performance of the
rocks is generally related to the aggressiveness and consistency of the running surface. As
stated earlier, differential pressure from a rotating rock creates uneven friction and frictional
melting. The term "aggressive" refers to the running surface that creates good overall friction.
The rougher the running surface, the more friction is created. Rock-makers create a balance
between a rough surface that will curl and a surface that will still run at speeds within the
standard. A more difficult task for the rock-maker is creating perfectly matched running
surfaces. All rocks on a given sheet must perform the same.
Running surfaces (running edges) don't last forever. The manufacturer shapes the edge on the
lathe with cutting tool. When the rock is placed into service at the cub, it begins a slow
deterioration process. The edge can either wear away or "pit". Aggressive edges smooth out
as they age and must be retouched occasionally. Some ice techs believe rocks should
"worked" before every large event. Pitting occurs slowly as the rocks expand and contract. A
pitted edge is very inconsistent in how it plays.
Types of Rocks
Blue Hone
Blue hone (from Ailsa Craig) granite is light gray in color and has a smooth, tight grain.
These rocks have superior running surfaces and are usually well matched. Blue hone rocks
chip easily and are usually chipped at the striking band due to their poor striking
characteristics.
Trefors (pronounced Trevor)
Trefors are quarried in Wales and come in different colors, red, brown, gray and blue. The
striking bands are usually in good condition due to the great striking characteristics. However,
depending on the age and care of the rocks, the running surfaces are probably in poor
condition due to pitting. These rocks must be checked carefully for a proper match.
Common Green
These rocks have a distinctive, green, speckled color. They are not particularly good rocks
and should be checked carefully like the Trefors.
Inserted Rocks
A common practice today is to insert Trefors and common greens with blue hone running
surfaces. This is done by coring-out the running surface of a rock and gluing in a blue hone
insert. As far as matching these rocks, they will behave like a solid blue hone with better
striking characteristics. These have the best of the best as far as overall playing
characteristics.
Championship Ice
Creating a championship ice surface is very difficult. Twenty to thirty different variables
come into play during the process. Before an ice technician can begin working with the
variables he or she must understand the ice performance standard.
Basic Ice Maintenance
To achieve to above standard, the ice must be maintained using some basic maintenance
techniques. Ice is scraped daily to remove the pebble from earlier draws. A proper scrape
completely removes the old pebble so a new pebble can be applied. In many clubs, the ice is
either not scraped daily or under-scraped. It may also be over-pebbled. This means the pebble
will build up over time, creating and course surface which be slower and straighter. The ice
will also slowly increase in thickness.
In championships conditions, the ice is scraped after each game. This completely removes the
old pebble before the new pebble can be applied.
Ice Performance
Several factors come into play when trying to achieve the championship standard. We break
them down into three categories:
1. Facility related
2. Ice tech related
3. Athlete related
Facility Related
Ice sub floor - Sand based vs. concrete base and the amount of insulation under the base.
Concrete is preferred due its durability, levelness and even distribution of cooling. Sand bases
can cause pipe runs due the uneven cooling of the feed and return cooling pipes.
Overhead lighting - Light creates heat. Certain lighting systems create more radiant heat than
others. Fluorescent lights create almost no radiant heat.
Ice paint - In some cases, dark painted ice can absorb heat more than lighter colors.
Radiant energy from the sun - Radiant heat from the sun can penetrate the roof and ceiling.
A barrier can be created to reduce the radiant heat.
Compressor Cycling - The capacity of the compressor(s) will dictate how fast the heat can be
"pulled" from the ice bed. Temperature control set points will determine the temperature
range of the surface. Large capacity compressors combined with tight set points (a tenth of a
degree) will allow the ice technician to maintain a constant surface temperature.
Heat and Humidity control - Heat will suspend moisture. Dehumidification will remove
moisture. A combination of the two is preferred. Heat will also create a load that the
compressor will have to pull out. The humidity in the rink should be controlled to provide a
proper amount of humidity. High humidity will result in frost. A low humidity environment
will result in "sublimation" which means the ice is changing from solid to vapor without
passing through the liquid stage.
Ice Technician Based
Amount of pebble - The ice tech can control the amount of pebble applied. He or she will
consider the type of play and length of game. Generally, after a clean scrape (scraping the ice
back to flat with no pebble build-up) the ice tech will apply a double pebble with either a
medium or small pebble head.
Size and shape of the pebble - The size and shape of pebble will depend on the temperature
of the ice surface (freezing base) and the temperature of the pebble water. Warmer water is
desirable because it melts into the surface and freezes in a rounder form. Cold pebble freezes
on the surface with a tall shape.
Pebble water quality - Pebble water should always be a good quality de-ionized water.
Pebble water will adhere best if there is no gas or impurities in the water. The ice tech can degas the pebble water by letting it stand open for several minutes after heating.
Pebble water temperature - As mentioned above, warmer water is best for pebble.
Heat - The ice tech can control the amount of heat in the rink area. Heat suspends moisture
and will not allow it to condense on the ice.
Humidity - Humidity can also be controlled.
Athlete Based
Weight of the athletes - Heavier athletes create more friction on the pebble with their shoes.
A men's draw will break down pebble faster than a women's draw.
Types of shoes - Hi-grip shoes will also cause more friction. Players wearing a slider when
sweeping will create less friction.
Types of brooms - Synthetic brooms cause more friction than hair brooms. This is why they
work better.
Ice Technician Control Points
A good ice technician will asses the facility and the rocks and develop; a plan of action. There
are three main areas that an ice tech must control:
1. Ice surface temperature
2. Ice surface moisture
3. Pebble durability
Moisture is an ice technician's biggest problem. It causes condensation on the surface which
leads to frost. Moisture lubricates the running surface, causing straight ice.
Assessing the Field of Play
Good teams have a plan to assess the field of play before each game. Below is a sample plan
for assessing the conditions.
Assessing the Ice
Assessing the field of play conditions is not the same as reading the ice. Good teams
understand ice and the variables that affect performance. This section covers three ice
variables a player should know.
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Ice surface temperature
Pebble size and amount
Climate control (heat and humidity)
Surface Temperature
Teams should know the ice surface temperature at the beginning of the game. They should
also know when the compressor "pulls". Surface temperatures in the 21-22 degree range will
produce a slower, straighter condition. Temperatures in the 23-24 range will produce faster
and swingier ice. Know the factors that affect the surface temperature during a game. There is
no such thing as a constant surface temperature. At night, when the lights are off and the ice is
not in use, the refrigeration system will maintain a surface temperature in the set range with
very little margin of error. Large heat loads (lights, players. heaters, etc.) are difficult to
remove quickly resulting in a spike of surface temperature. For example, a surface that will
remain at or near 22 degrees when the ice is not in use may increase or spike to 25 degrees
when the players start the game. The capacity of the plant and the set points dictate how high
the spike will be.
Example
A curling club maintains a 22 degree surface when not in use and the lights and heaters on.
When all of the players enter the ice area and begin to play, an enormous heat load is added to
the static condition. Each player represents a certain BTU (British Thermal Units) heat load.
This heat will be transferred to the ice surface and the compressor will have to pull it out.
There is a lag between the addition of the heat load and the compressor sensor. In some cases,
the compressor is unable to pull the heat out fast enough and the surface temperature rises.
When players leave the ice (removing a heat load) the surface will either remain constant or
drop (if the compressor is pulling).
Begin your ice assessment by having a discussion with the ice technician. Prior to the
competition, ask to see the refrigeration plant and ask what the compressor cycles on:
Sensing Area
Brine temp
Short Result
Long lag time
Long Result
Large temp range
Bed temp
Medium lag time
Med. Temp range
Surface temp
Short/No lag time
Small temp range
Ask the ice tech what the ice surface temperature will be at the beginning, middle and end of
the game. Ice with surface temperatures in the low 20's may be straighter and slower. As the
temperatures rise, the rocks curl more and it becomes faster. This is the case until about 27
degrees. Temperatures higher than that create soft, unplayable ice and there's probably
something wrong with refrigeration system. The pebble will last longer in lower temperatures
and will break down faster in higher temperatures.
The key to managing the surface temperature is knowing when it changes. Everyone has
experienced a change in speed and curl after the all the other sheets have left the ice. With
four to six sheets of people on the ice, the refrigeration system is working to remove the heat
load (BTU's). If the heat load leaves quickly, the compressor lags behind and continues to
operate. The surface temperature can drop a full degree by the time the system shuts off on
temperature. In addition, the heat source offered by the players is no longer available,
resulting in the air losing its moisture-suspension qualities.
Pebble Size and Amount
Ask the ice technician what size pebble he or she plans to use. A medium pebble will last
longer while a fine pebble will break down earlier.
Heat and Humidity Control
Ask the ice tech if the club or arena has heat and/or dehumidification. Dry air has less
moisture than humid air. With no moisture in the air (dehumidification) there will be no
condensation on the surface. This means no visible moisture (frost). Early condensation looks
like a dull film across the ice. You will notice that the sweeper's shoes will displace the
moisture and cause a smooth spot. The moisture taken up by the shoes may even leave a spot
on the ice where the shoe stops. Dry ice conditions promote speed and curl. Moist conditions
lubricate the running surface and prevent curl.
Assessing the Rocks
At the higher levels, your ability to assess rocks is critical. Games have been decided on a
team's inability to spot a bad rock and deal with it. The following is a guide to rocks and how
to assess them.
There are many different types of rocks in play across the world. Wear and tear on these rocks
differ with the type of granite used and the amount of playing time they get. As mentioned
earlier, some granite is susceptible to wear and pitting causing them to behave differently.
Mismatched rocks are a growing concern. With the good ice conditions we have today,
particularly the speed, mismatched rocks can play an important role in the outcome of the
game. As rocks age, the running surfaces change shape. They either wear (get flatter) or they
"pit" which means small pieces of granite break lose due to constant freezing and thawing
(expansion and contraction). This aging process is important to advanced curlers because it
rarely happens evenly across a given set of rocks, causing the speed and curl of some rocks in
the same set to differ. Most players use the rock numbers to throw rocks in sequence but there
is no guarantee that these rocks travel over the ice at the same speed or in the same manner.
Know the Granite
Your first step in rock assessment is knowing what granite you're playing with. Most rocks
today are Trefor granite with blue hone inserts. This is the best rock type. The running surface
is made of blue hone which is a durable running surface. Visually inspect the running surface
and determine if the rock is aggressive or conservative. An aggressive running surface will
feel rough to the touch. The aggressive running surface will curl more with less speed.
Matching Rocks
Mismatched rocks (one slower or faster than the other) can greatly affect your ability to
calibrate draw weight. A rock that is ten feet slower than the other will cause you to over
compensate on each throw.
The best way to determine if two rocks are running at the same speed is to throw many, many
draw shots on a good quality ice surface. The larger the sample size, the more accurate the
data. Record the results and use the information in the future.
Steps for assessing rocks during a competition:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ask the locals for rock information
Visually inspect the running surfaces
Throw the rocks in practice and look for patterns
Run the rocks together
Track game patterns
Watch other teams throw them
Throw the Rocks
In practice throw the rocks that you will be throwing in a game. Start by playing the rocks
straight up the numbers. If you suspect a mismatch move to step 2.
Run the Rocks
If you suspect a bad rock, run the two rocks one in front of another for about fifteen to twenty
feet. If the rocks are matched, they will run together in both directions. If one is faster, it will
pull away from the other. This is not an exact science. Use this process only to determine
really bad rocks.
Look for Patterns
Since most players do not have the luxury of running rocks (particularly at other clubs), the
next best thing is to watch each rock closely for signs of unusual behavior. Designate a player
to watch the rocks and the tracks on the ice. Bad rocks usually create a pattern (always light
with a good split, for example). Always confirm split times with the team timer if you suspect
a bad rock.
If time is not a concern (rocks at your own club) a good way to match rocks is to time them. If
you have an opportunity to throw practice rocks, or you want to match rocks at your club,
throw as many rocks to tee line as you can. Time them from hog to tee. This will give you the
rock's speed in seconds. When complete, match the similar times. Teams using "split" or
"interval" timing can match rock speed quickly by monitoring the splits. Consistent rocks will
have consistent times in either case.
8
Practice
Like many sports, practicing the curling delivery and skills is an important part of developing
the needed consistency required to make shots on a regular basis. The curling delivery is very
complex and it is not something most of us do very often.
Practice looks different for each skill level. For example, novice curlers practice balance,
stability and basic weight control. Intermediate curlers practice balance, Body Drop, release
and weight control. Advanced curlers practice balance, release, tempo and precise weight
control.
Why We Practice
Practice makes us better at a given skill. The repetition of the doing something over and over
engrains the behavior or mechanics into muscle memory. Proper practice can make any skill
instinctual. Most skills can be performed properly when you have the opportunity to think it
through thoroughly. It's when you're "in the moment" that most skills are lost. When you can't
thoroughly think through the skill process, you revert back to whatever your body is
comfortable with. Practice can change this. So, if you want to make the big shot to win the
game under pressure, you'll need to make the proper delivery instinctual.
Simply throwing proper practice rocks at the club will train your body to recognize a proper
delivery and develop the muscle memory. Throwing practice rocks can also be a trap where
bad habits can be reinforced. This chapter describes some specific practice techniques that
will help you develop your skills.
There are two types of practice sessions;
1. Practice to make your team better
and
2. Practice to make your individual contribution to a team better
If you play on a regular team, the best practices are the ones with the entire team present.
If most of your curling is in leagues (on several different teams), then you may want to
concentrate on the following practice drills. First, find someone to practice with. Try and find
someone who can reasonably assess your skills and provide feedback to you. Practicing alone
is only good for developing your balance and gives a good sense of the overall delivery. The
mistake many people make is trying to practice hitting the broom alone. It is virtually
impossible for you to determine precise accuracy and line of delivery from the throwing
position. The only way to accurately practice line of delivery is to throw at a broom held by a
person who can provide you feedback.
Individual Practice Drills
Remember, curling is a team sport. Practicing alone can hone only a few of the skills needed
to be successful on a team. The following practice dills can be done alone and greatly improve
your shot-making. If possible, practice on a freshly scraped sheet or a sheet that is close to
game condition.
Drill #1 Balance All Levels
Since the fundamental component to a good delivery is balance, this drill is invaluable. Begin
with your normal stretching routine. Take a few practice slides followed by throwing a few
rocks. This will loosen up the body for the balance drill. Now, go back to sliding without the
rock but this time raise the broom off the ice one inch as you finish sliding. Keep your
throwing hand at handle level without touching the ice. As you repeat the sliding drill, begin
raising the broom earlier and earlier until you can slide without the use of the broom from the
back line through the hog line.
Finish the drill by throwing a few rocks. The broom must be off the ice at the back line.
Drill #2 Weight Control All Levels
Try to practice weight on a sheet that is in game condition. This practice should be done by
position to create your "default weight". Leads should throw all eight rocks six feet short of
the house as the sweepers can bring close if desired. Seconds, thirds and skips should practice
a default weight in the top twelve or just short. If conditions are sub standard, usually slower,
throw all eight rocks to the hog line. If you're not sure, and you have a practice partner, splittime the draws. The split time from back line to nearer hog line should be between 3.50 and
3.80 seconds. Take-out weight can be practiced by setting up a few rocks in the house and
removing them. Again, split timing can help. The split on take outs should be between 2.75
and 3.10 seconds.
Drill #3 Drop Drill Intermediate Level
This drill helps with the body drop become instinctual. Setup in the number two, "hips up and
back" position. This is the "loaded" position ready for forward motion. From this position,
move the rock and your body forward without moving your sliding foot. Pick a point in front
of the hack where the rock will touch before the sliding foot moves. Start with a spot one foot
from the hack. Remember, don't move your sliding foot until the rock reaches that point. Once
you feel comfortable, move the point out farther. This drill gets you into body drop form.
You'll notice your slide will become longer and more powerful with each adjustment.
Drill #4 Establish the Delivery Intermediate Level
The term "establish" refers here to point when the final, balanced delivery position has been
achieved. From the normal setup position, close you eyes and begin the normal delivery.
When you are completely settled in the balance, sliding position, open your eyes. This is the
point where your delivery is established. It should be near the tee line.
Remember, to be established, you must be in the delivery position and balanced.
Drill #5 Hitting the Broom All Levels
Have a person hold the broom for you. Agree on what weight you would like to throw. Hack
weight seems to work well. Throw the rock back and forth with the other person changing the
broom with each shot. Provide feedback on the shot each time. If you throw hack or takeout
weight, you can both use the same rock over and over. This is a great practice drill because
you begin to feel and see what its like to "hit the broom".
Team Practices (Advanced)
During team practices, a combination of mechanics and team related drills should dominate. If
the entire team is present, they have the opportunity to practice actual shots. This can be done
by either setting up a particular shot and throwing it over and over, or by playing the "perfect
team".
The Designated Shot
Pick a shot that the team throws a lot. Execute the shot with full sweeping and line calling.
Agree on a standard for each shot. For example, three come-arounds in a row or three peels in
a row or two freezes. This drill allows the players to practice a common shot when the
pressure is off. This goes along way when the pressure is on.
The "Perfect Team"
This refers to playing an imaginary team that does not miss any shots. It begins with the skip
gathering a few opponents' rocks at the house end. After your team throws a rock, the skip
then determines what the perfect shot would be and executes it by placing the opponent's rock
in the perfect spot. The skip must play for both teams. This drill is very valuable because it
can simulate actual game conditions without the need for an opponent.
A word of caution when playing the perfect team. They're very good. Expect to give up
multiple points. In fact, the goal of this drill is to try and limit the perfect team to one or two
points in each end.
One-On-One, Two-On-Two, Etc.
Playing small games breaks up the monotony of any practice. As part of a practice, play a two
end game of two-on-two (or one-on-one if you have another sheet available). To make the
game even more interesting, do not allow any takeouts. This forces the team to concentrate on
finesse shots rather than "blasting". If a player takes a rock out by mistake, it must be
replaced. Once the rocks build up, it provides a good opportunity to practice raises.
Four in the Four
With this drill, the goal for the team is to draw the four-foot, four times in a row. Start with
the normal team line-up at the beginning of an end. The lead throws a draw to the four-foot
with the skip in position and the second and vice sweeping. After the lead throws, the second
throws and so on. Continue this until you have drawn the four foot four consecutive times. If
one person misses, you must start over. The purpose of this drill is two-fold, to see and
understand each delivery for sweeping purposes, and to simply practice drawing to the fourfoot. It develops a good sense of draw weight, what your sweepers are capable of, and good
practice for the sweepers making weight judgment calls.
This drill is harder than it sounds. Create a rule that does not allow the team to move to the
next drill until four are in the four. Pressure builds up with each four-foot draw.
Simulated Game
Have your coach simulate a game from beginning to end. Start with a real opponent. Choose a
team that you will play in competition. The coach should discuss the game plan before the
game just as if you were about to play them for real.
In the warm room, with your magnet board, have the team sit at a table with the skip facing
the incoming shots. Have the vice, second and third sit opposite the skip. This allows the
players to visualize the game as it sets up from their positions (skips see the game coming at
them, the rest see it going away). The coach will act as the opponent. The value of this drill is
not individual shot calling, it's how the skip is thinking and making decisions. The vice should
be part of the decision process on skip's rocks and should be available for consultation if the
skip needs it.
It is not necessary to throw all shots. The most important part of this drill is:
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The skip's thinking in the early, middle and late ends
The skips rock in all ends
The sixth end strategy (right after the break)
The closing strategy in ends eight through ten
This drill helps prepare your team for the thinking process in a real game.
Sweeping Anaerobics
Throw a rock with two sweepers. Sweep hard from hog to tee. After sweeping, immediately
measure the heart rates of the sweepers. This should drop quickly so the sweeper can throw a
rock. Chart your progress. See Sweeping and Conditioning in the Team Development Section
for more information.
9
Team Development
At the advanced or competitive level, the curling team becomes more than simply a collection
of four individuals. Since curling is one of the only true team sports (everyone on the team
has some responsibility on every shot), a proper "fit" at each position is essential.
Although there are many components to great teams, there are four key elements to building a
great team. Listed below are four key points when building a team. They are listed in priority
order.
1. All players are comfortable with the position they are playing. This means a comfort level
with mechanics of the position, but most importantly the positional hierarchy (playing lead or
second) is in no way a reflection of their skill level or their value on the team.
2. All players have similar releases and release points.
3. All players strive for similar "lines of delivery".
4. All players recognize the value of team communication, sweeping and positioning systems.
Elements number two and three can be overcome by playing and practicing together. Element
number one is probably the most important and is responsible for many teams not staying
together for more than a couple of years. "Skip syndrome" means that more than one player
on the team thinks they should skip.
The Anatomy of a Curling Shot
Before we discuss the individual positions on the team, it's helpful to understand how a shot is
made from beginning to end and how team members interact. Individuals do not make shots,
teams do. Curling is one of the few sports (I can only think of one other, crew) where the
whole team directly participates in every shot.
Below is a sequence of events that take place on every shot. All four players are involved. It
may seem like a lot of things are happening at once, but it all flows together. When a team is
functioning properly, all of these things should happen on every shot.
Note: It takes many months of practice as a team for all of these things to happen perfectly.
Don't expect your league team to be able to execute in this fashion.
The Draw
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The skip decides on the shot to be called.
He/she communicates the shot to the other team members.
He/she surveys the ice conditions and sets the broom.
He/she communicates the weight required for the shot.
At the other end, with the sweepers in place and ready, the thrower confirms the shot
called and the weight required with the sweepers.
The shooter focuses on the shot and throws the rock at the broom with the proper
weight.
The skip gives the sweepers an initial line indication (could be nothing if the line is
good).
The sweepers return with an initial indication of actual weight (could be nothing if the
weight is good).
If the weight is too light, the sweepers begin to sweep.
At the half way point, the sweepers tell the skip where the rock will stop.
The skip continues to communicate the line and may call sweeping if the line is tight.
The rock comes to rest. The skip and sweepers were in communication the entire time.
Notice that during this sequence of events, the shooter only has two responsibilities, hit the
broom, and throw the weight.
The Takeout
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The skip decides on the shot to be called.
He/she communicates the shot to the other team members.
He/she surveys the ice conditions and sets the broom.
He/she communicates the weight required for the takeout.
At the other end, with the sweepers in place and ready, the shooter confirms the shot
called and the weight required with the sweepers.
The shooter focuses on the shot and throws the rock at the broom with the desired
weight.
The skip gives the sweepers an initial indication of relative line.
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The sweepers return with an initial indication of actual weight.
The skip calls sweeping if necessary.
The rock comes to rest. The skip and sweepers were in communication the entire time.
Again, notice that the shooter still only has two responsibilities, hit the broom, and throw the
weight.
Choosing the Players
Remember rule number one. All players must be comfortable in their positions. They must
also be right for the job. Each position on the curling team has a certain profile. When
searching for team members or analyzing an existing team, keep the following profiles in
mind.
The lead:
Responsibilities: The lead is responsible for setting up the end. In most cases, the results of
the lead rocks determine the tactical approach to any given end. In many cases, the outcome
of the end is a direct result of the lead's shots. Once the lead has thrown both rocks, the lead's
responsibility is to be a supportive teammate for the others and to become one of the core
sweepers.
Profile: The lead is the type of person that fully understands the role of the first player. In the
past, the lead has usually been recognized as the least experienced player or the least skilled
player on the team. This may be the case on a league team, but at the competitive level the
lead may be as skilled and experienced as the other players on the team. The difference now is
that the lead clearly recognizes the significant role that is expected of him or her. Leads
generally throw draw shots with a few takeouts now and then. Pick a lead that has a fluid, allbody delivery, which results in very consistent draw weight. Also find a vigorous sweeper.
The Second
Responsibilities: The second's primary responsibility is to maintain the tactical initiatives
developed by the skip and set up by the lead. There are a wider variety of shots at the second
position. The second often is asked to make the first offensive or aggressive move. This could
be the first come-around of the end. Playing the Free Guard Zone rule, the second is usually
the one to "get under" first, meaning the first player to draw behind a guard or guards. On the
other hand, the second may also play the role of clean-up person depending on the game
strategy or how the lead performed. If the lead missed one or two shots, the second may be
called upon to clear the area with heavy hits or doubles. The second should have the ability to
throw heavy weight take-outs while still being able to hit the broom.
Profile: The second, like the lead, is the type of person that fully understands the role of a
team player. Since the shot-making requirements are broader than the lead, the second must
possess a well-rounded set of shot-making skills. The second is the position that is the least
recognized in the overall scope of the game. This person must realize that this position is by
no means a glamorous one. If a cheerleader were present on the team, it would be a perfect fit
at the second. Pick a second with strong power generating (long foot delay) potential. The
delivery must still be fluid in the other categories for consistent draws. Once again, find a
vigorous sweeper.
The Vice Skip:
Responsibilities: The vice is called upon to make every type of shot, from guards to peels,
and from freezes to doubles. The vice skip must have the skills to throw any type of shot at
any time. The vice is often asked to make the "kill" shot. This is the shot that seals the end. In
addition to shot-making skills, the vice must have excellent knowledge of strategy, house
management and possesses good spatial skills for line calls. This is the most difficult job on
the team because the vice is expected to make flawless sweep calls on the skip's rocks.
Remember, the vice only calls sweeping on two shots per end. In most cases, the vice is the
most well rounded player on the team.
Profile: The vice skip must also be a true team player. Because their skill level parallels the
skip, they must support and have confidence in the skip as the team leader. They must fully
understand that, even though they may be the best shooter on the team, their role as vice is
critical. Pick a third with few delivery problems. Any major problems will result in limited
success. Try to find a vice that can sweep on both sides.
The Skip:
Responsibilities: The skip's role is to provide overall leadership and strategic direction to the
team. The biggest shot-making responsibility of the skip is to "close" the end. This could be
the final execution of the tactics developed for the end. On great teams, the skip is called upon
to throw maintenance shots like guards, open takeouts, open draws etc. However, in many
cases the skip is called upon to make key offensive shots like come-arounds, freezes, hit and
rolls, and four foot draws under pressure.
Profile: The skip must have a stabilizing influence over the rest of the team. Even if the skip
is not the best shooter on the team, he/she must be able to calmly execute the final shots. After
the skip throws, the end is over. Because of this, the pressure of any given shot may be
extremely high. The team must have the confidence that the skip will close the end (and
sometimes the game) successfully.
Obviously, team dynamics are an important part of a team's success. There is no guarantee
that four great shot-makers will make a great team until they have become a cohesive unit
with similar goals and expectations.
Any player that doubts the others in the positions will immediately become the catalyst for
failure.
Working with a Coach
Curling coaches have become more popular in the last twenty years. Many competitive teams
have a coach and the World Championships and Olympics require one for each team.
Selecting a coach can be difficult due to the nature of the required skill set. A good coach will
have the following skills:

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Team goal setting
Delivery and sweeping technical analysis
Conflict management
Game planning


Opponent analysis
Field of play analysis
Coaching a curling team during a game is passive. The rules do not allow a coach to call
shots, freely replace players during a game, etc., like other sports. This requires the coach to
plan properly before the game because the only interaction with the team will be during timeouts and the fifth-end break.
Coaches look at a much bigger picture with their team, forcing a team to focus on long term
goals instead of short term.
10
Advanced Team Performance
Championship curling teams develop and perform in different ways. All teams though, must
move through different stages of team development before they can expect to perform at a
high level. Like all great teams, performance is based on skill, mental toughness, coaching
and circumstances*. Learning proper mechanics and practicing them will get any team to high
level of skill. It's the mental toughness and circumstances that is more unpredictable when it
comes to measuring and anticipating performance.
*The term "circumstances" is a catch-all word referring to luck, bad ice, bad rocks and any
other external factor we can't control.
The Performance Equation
Players with excellent mechanics don't always perform at a high level. Before a mechanically
correct player can achieve true team success, other factors must be in place. Team comfort,
team confidence and a positive team attitude must be in place. Of course comfort, confidence
and attitude are very difficult to measure. This is why the performance formula can be
expressed as:
Skill + X = Performance
X refers to the immeasurable component of comfort, confidence and attitude. Let's try a Major
League Baseball team example. Occasionally a baseball team wins a World Series with what
some people would describe as a marginally talented team. How can this happen? There are
usually one or two individuals on the team that bring out the best in everyone. It could be the
manager, the team captain or some other more obscure person. A good example is Kevin
Millar of the 2004 Boston Red Sox. He was the catalyst for team cohesiveness during that
season. Either way, they performed beyond the sum of their talent. It works the other way as
well. One bad egg on the team can disrupt the entire team and limit performance (Tyrell
Owens of the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles).
How can we translate this to curling? Usually a team that underperforms on a continuous
basis has a similar problem. The cause is usually a person out of position. This person
believes he or she should be playing a different position. This alone can cause friction on a
team and prevent the comfort, confidence and attitude needed for success. Even if the
dissatisfied person is not outwardly showing their displeasure, it can be apparent to the skip
and manifest itself in poor performance.
CurlTech Development Model
All curlers develop skills and knowledge about the sport as they play. CurlTech has a formal
development model that applies to individuals and teams. The model has three stages and is
quite simple:
1. Learn the mechanics of the delivery and sweeping.
2. Become proficient at both.
3. Learn to execute a strategy with your skills.
Before any player can truly perform they MUST be proficient at the delivery mechanics. This
can be simplified even further. Throw the rock consistently on the line of delivery with a fluid
motion.
Players and teams develop skills in three stages mentioned above. In regards to mechanics,
stages 1-3 of a player's development is very similar to how Major League pitchers develop
through single A, AA, AAA and Minor Leagues.
Skill Development Stage I
Stage one of mechanics development is the most important phase of all because it must
happen first. In phase I, the players on the team learn to throw the rock consistently on the
LOD with a fluid motion. This is done by repetition with the proper delivery techniques. A
Single A pitcher learns to properly throw the fastball, changeup and breaking balls.
Skill Development Stage II
Stage II requires the players to make shots with their proper deliveries and learn to execute
shots consistently as a team. The pitcher in AA learns to predictably and consistently locate
the pitches learned in the A league.
Skill Development Stage III
In stage III, the team learns to win games through proper execution of the shots coupled with
game strategy. The pitcher, now in AAA, learns to win games with their skills by strategically
making outs.
In the Major League Baseball system, a pitcher will not advance to AA unless they can
properly demonstrate the skills. In curling, a player cannot expect to win games unless they
first master the skills.
The trap most curlers fall into is winning games without the skills. How can that happen?
Even poor mechanics can win games if your schedule of opponents is weak. Teams find out
quickly that they can't compete without skills once they enter higher level cash spiels and
national playdowns.
Levels of Team Commitment
Below is one example of different championship team levels based on the desire to perform.
Level I
This team:
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has living, breathing human-beings to qualify
is comprised of four individuals
can have differing goals and mechanics
may practice and bonspiel occasionally
is considered a recreationally competitive team
experiences limited success at the lower levels
Level II
This team:
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
is individual basedmay practice occasionally
may bonspiel occasionally
may have a coach
may prepare physically for championships
may play in club leagues
depending on skill level, enjoys moderate success at the regional level
Level III
This team:
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accepts all team positions and has confidence in each other
strives for similar skills
practices, spiels and may play in leagues
strives for advanced sweeping skills*
strives for perfect delivery mechanics
strives for team systems** in the area of positioning, sweeping and communication
strives for mental toughness in championship situations
prepares physically for championships
depending on skill level, enjoys moderate success at the regional or national level
Level IV
This team:


has achieved the criteria in level III.
depending on skill level, enjoys moderate to high levels of success at the world level
Team Skill Standards
Delivery
All players:
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are balanced and flat-footed
have similar release types
have similar release points
have similar delivery tempo
Sweeping
All players:


Achieve maximum pressure and head speed
are positioned for effectiveness, efficiency weight judgment and communication
use the best equipment possible
Team Conditioning and Strength Training
Fitness and strength are not required for recreational curling. You've probably already noticed
that curlers come in all shapes and sizes. Overall fitness will, however, help your curling
game and at the advanced level, it is required. We had the opportunity to discuss curling with
the US. Olympic training specialist at the Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs, CO.
He mentioned some basic guidelines for Olympic athletes, including curlers. Even if you don't
plan on curling in the Olympics, these guidelines should help. The fitness specialist
mentioned two main fitness components:


General fitness
Specific fitness
Being generally fit refers to having a healthy heart, not carrying too much weight and having
some basic muscle tone and endurance.
Specific fitness refers to the areas of fitness that are specific to curling. Even the specialist
admits to only knowing a limited amount about curling. He mentioned the two key
components to curling fitness:
Conditioning and Sweeping
Setting the standard is important. With your coach, establish the throwing heart rate that is
desired for each shot. Some curlers can smoothly throw a draw with a heart rate over 120.
Most curlers need a heart rate under 120 to calibrate the draw properly. First, agree on the
sweeping stroke and mechanics (speed and pressure) for your team. Then, sweep a draw from
the hog to tee and measure your heart rate. Measure the amount of time it takes for your heart
rate to drop below 120 (or your own target). Since the opponent's rock takes only 30 seconds
maximum, this is the standard you should be training to.
Chart your progress over the season. With a good program in place, your sweeper won't let
you down in the semis and finals.
Interval Training
In addition to general cardio training, curlers will enjoy the benefits of interval training as
well. In the gym, elevate your heart rate to the maximum sweeping rate as determined by your
coach and team. Stop the exercise and wait until your heart is at throwing rate (also set by the
coach and team). This can also be done on the ice, live.
General Conditioning
Curling is an anaerobic sport. Most players (except the skip) must sweep vigorously then calm
down enough the gently delivery the rock. This requires the heart to calm down quickly,
which is associated with general fitness and conditioning. A good cardio program is
necessary.
Strength Training
Curlers need leg-muscle strength to sustain the delivery position for any length of time. The
leg muscles, specifically the quadriceps, carry most of the body weight during the slide.
Strong quadriceps will help with a consistent flat-footed delivery. Lack of muscle strength in
the legs is not noticeable if players are playing games on an irregular basis. Muscle strength
becomes critical if a player is playing multiple games per day or playing many games over an
extended period of time. Good sweepers that can sustain quality sweeping over a week's time
must also have god core strength in the abs and back
A solid weight raining program can be found at any reputable gym, health club or personal
trainer.
Performance Phasing
Have you ever wondered why a team with average skill can beat a great team? This happens
quite a bit in all sports. Comments like a team is "in the zone" or "up for this one" can
describe an average team that is performing at a high level (usually temporary). On the other
hand, comments like "the team is flat" can describe a good team that is not performing well.
An average team performing well can beat a great team that is flat.
All teams operate in a certain performance range. In curling, we can measure the performance
level by charting the shot made against the shot called. Top teams with good mechanics and
mental toughness operate higher than teams without.
The following chart shows the shot-making percentages of team ranging from the club team
to the world contender.
Great teams
80-90%
Good teams
65-80%
Average teams
50-65%
Club teams
Below 50%
Teams fluctuate within their performance range. A great team may play at the 85% mark for
most games but can perform slightly higher or lower based on circumstances. On occasion,
the great team curls at the 70% mark. This is considered "out of phase" with their normal
performance. In this example, the great team is out of phase on the negative side. In many
cases the team can overcome this. However, problems occur when an average team is out of
phase on the positive side and the great team is out of phase on the negative side. The average
team normally curling in the 65% range may have a 75% game (out of phase on the positive
side). The great team may play a game in the 70% range (out of phase on the negative side)
and be beaten by the average team.
11
Junior Curling
Junior curling is a broad term that includes all young curlers up to their senior year in high
school (12th grade). Juniors provide many things to a strong curling club. They are the future
of most clubs as life-long league members and in some cases, the championship players of the
next generation. Whether you're a program coordinator, instructor or just a Sunday afternoon
helper, this section will help you understand how young people learn and develop as curlers.
For curling to be a positive experience for the kids, they must HAVE FUN FIRST. A bad
experience early will lose them forever. Please concentrate on the kids having fun first. For
the youngest curlers, fun means combining some non-curling activities into the curling day.
Knocking down bowling pins, short games, etc. will help keep the youngest curlers interested.
As they grow and transition through the different age categories, playing real games and
learning the sport will be fun enough. Also, having fun will always ensure a good learning
environment.
Before the early 1990's, junior curlers threw the 42 lb regulation size rocks. This was fine
with the older juniors but if you couldn't throw them the full sheet, you could not curl. Today,
children of almost every age can enjoy the sport starting with smaller, junior rocks. These
rocks are half the weight of a regular rock. With proper instruction and realistic expectations,
children as young as five years old can learn the sport of curling and have fun on the ice.
Many curling clubs around the world have junior rocks for use by the smaller kids.
This section describes:
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How to recruit young curlers.
How to categorize your young curlers for best results.
How to prepare your club for young curlers.
How to prepare your instructors.
The skill and knowledge standards for each category.
Training techniques, sample sessions, drills and games.
Skill and knowledge expectations for each group.
Recruiting Young Curlers
The vast majority of young curlers today are the children of existing club members. In an
attempt to build a strong junior program, the Junior Coordinator must look outside the club
for young members a well.
Curling at the Olympic Games, televised in the United States on the NBC stations, has
dramatically elevated the level of curling awareness. Instead of the old "word of mouth"
recruiting style, clubs can take advantage of the television coverage. This dramatically helps
clubs recruit juniors outside the member base.
There are two approaches for recruiting young people.


Recruit by targeting adults AND children
Recruit only children
Approach #1 is better suited for clubs that need overall member support. Approach #2 is
better suited for clubs at or near capacity during the evening but are looking for other day-part
curling. In either case, there are plenty of young people out there looking for an after-school
activity. Fortunately, curling is a sport that be enjoyed by people with a varying degrees of
skill and athleticism.
Three selling points can be used with non-curling parents.
1. Children of all ages and skill level can enjoy curling
2. Athletic and social skills are part of curling
3. In most cases, children have a much greater chance of becoming an Olympian in
curling than in any other sport (there are only 15,000 total curlers in the US, very
small compared to baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, etc.)
Most young curlers (and adults) will agree that attending a bonspiel was a deciding factor
when deciding to stay with curling. Try to get the young recruits to a local bonspiel as early as
possible. Of course, the out-of-town bonspiel is usually more appealing particularly with the
high school age curlers.
Categorizing Young Curlers
CurlTech categorizes young curlers into three groups:
1. Little Rockers
2. Youth Curlers (split into two sub-groups - Green and Blue)
3. Junior (teenage) Curlers
Each group has their own skill standards they can work toward and a set of expectations from
the instructors.
For the purpose of instruction, training and social interaction, we separate kids into groups
first by grade. As appropriate, the separation criteria can also include age and then, as they are
transitioning from junior rocks to big rocks, by ability. Try to keep peers together if they're in
the same grade. Difficulties arise when trying to keep grade-different friends together.
Siblings also represent a challenge when transitioning through the categories, particularly if
the category sessions are at different times.
The following categories may help your instructional program.
Little Rockers
Kindergarten and Grade 1
(ages 5 & 6)
Youth
Grades 2 through 6
(ages 7-12)
Junior Curlers
Grades 7 through 12
(ages 13-18)
The Youth Curling category is further defined by skill, maturity and experience. This age
group begins to properly develop curling skills and like all sports, develop at different rates.
They should be split into two sub-groups. Use colors (Green and Blue) instead of A and B.
Colors are more neutral and don't imply better or worse.
In the Youth category, split the young curlers as follows:
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Youth Group Green Grades 2-4 using junior rocks
Youth Group Blue Grades 4-6 using adult rocks
The Green group kids are the younger Youth Curlers (grades 2-4, ages 7-9). They are
becoming more comfortable with the delivery but can't throw the adult rocks yet. Think of all
your Youth Curlers as Green Group until they can throw the adult rocks, and then move them
up to the Blue category.
Notice the Green/Blue overlap at grade four. This "flex" area gives the coordinator some
flexibility when transitioning this age group. It is perfectly acceptable for a fourth grader to
stay in the Green group if he or she is having trouble with the mechanics. It is also acceptable
to transition a fourth grader into the Blue group. If they have friends in the program that are
the same grade, try to keep them together.
Preparing Your Club
Your club, ice and equipment will need some special attention to accommodate young curlers.
The capital investment is minimal and the eventual payoff for your club regarding young
curlers is huge. Get the buy-in from your Board and begin your program.
Dues for Young Curlers
Clubs should offer a dramatically reduced rate for the young curlers. Choose a dues rate that
allows the parents to easily get the kids involved but don't give away your program by underselling it. A good program has value and should not be undersold. Fees in the $30 to $50
range work well. Don't try to make money on the kids. They will be life-long full dues paying
members later on. In fact, ask your Board to subsidize the junior program.
Equipment
There a several equipment items your club will need for the Junior Program (see Figure 13-1).
The most important are:
Smaller size (junior) rocks
Sliding devices
Full, slip-on sliders
Figure 13-1. Young players need a variety of brooms, sliders, sliding devices and two types of
rocks. The small rock at the left is a "toy" rock and should not be used for delivery.
Rocks
You'll need two types of rocks. Your normal rocks will be used for the older, larger kids. A
set of smaller rocks is required for the younger, smaller kids. The junior rock with granite
inserts work best. Google "curling rock manufacturers" for rock dealers.
Small rocks are used by the Little Rockers and Youth Green curlers. The regulation size rocks
are used by the Youth Blue and Junior curlers.
Sliding Devices
The sliding device is used by all of the young curlers in your program until they can transition
to a broom for sliding. They come in many sizes and shapes. You will need several sliding
devices since all of the Little Rockers and half of the Youth curlers use them. You can
purchase them or make them yourself.
Sliders
Always use full slip-on sliders. Purchase one slider for every young curler on your list. . If
necessary you can de-rate them (make them slower) by covering the Teflon with duct tape.
Brooms
Cut off some brooms for the younger kids. Brooms should be about chest high for proper
sweeping.
Other Equipment
Your youngest curlers (Little Rockers) will be throwing the rocks using a half sheet. There are
two ways to accomplish this. Build a hack device that can be inserted half way down the ice
(Figure 13-2) or paint a full size house half way down.
Ice
The younger curlers have a difficult time throwing the rocks the full length of the ice. Make
sure your ice is prepared before each session. Scrape the ice, apply a small pebble and nip if
you can. Try to have 24 second (minimum) ice for the start of the day. The faster the ice, the
better.
Kitchen
Make sure there plenty of kids-type snacks ready for junior day. For each break period, have
plenty of water, juices and healthy snacks for the young curlers to eat. Avoid soft drinks and
low-nutrition snacks. Try sliced oranges and apples.
Uniforms
We recommend having uniform jackets for your junior program. Use the club colors and have
the first names of the kids on the front. The club can provide these or each curler can pay for
their own. Encourage them to wear the uniforms at practice and at bonspiels. The names on
the jackets also help the instructors remember kids during instruction.
Figure 13-2. This is an example of a half sheet hack device. It allows the youngest players in
the Little Rocker group to throw rocks using the half sheet.
Scheduling Ice Time
Work with your Board to schedule a dedicated time for the junior program. Depending on
how many kids you have you should ask for at least two sessions per week, one on the
weekend and one during the week after school. The minimum amount of time must be two
hours on each day. Since your volunteers will be available on weekends, teach the mechanics.
Possibly use a week day time for a junior league.
Staffing Your Program
In addition to the Junior Program coordinator, you will need at least one instructor per sheet
of ice. Add an instructor if you have a lot of Little Rockers. If you plan on adding new kids to
the program during the year, you will need another instructor to work one-on-one with new
kids. Also, a volunteer in the kitchen each session is needed to gather and serve smacks
during break time.
Use the following as a guideline for staffing a three sheet club with 5 Little Rockers, 8 Youth
Green, 8 Youth Blue and 12 Juniors.
Junior Coordinator
1
Little Rocker Instructors
1
Youth Green Instructors
2*
Youth Blue Instructors
2*
Junior Instructors
2*
Kitchen Volunteer
1
Total Staff
9
*The extra instructor here can help newer kids
come up to speed.
Fortunately the parents of the kids usually volunteer to instruct.
Transitioning Through the Categories
Some subjectivity is necessary when moving the kids through the different categories. School
grade should be the first determining factor when moving through the categories. Three other
things will also help determine whether or not a young curler should move up:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Grade
Age
Skill
Maturity
Grade and Age
The program categories are based mainly on school grade. Keep in mind that in any given
grade, the ages could differ by as much as two years.
Skill and Maturity
Skill training in each category is based on the skill standards. All young curlers should be
trained to meet the standard in their last year of their category. Some may reach the goals
early but social reasons should keep them with their peers. Skilled curlers can move into a
higher category but only if the social maturity is there.
The Exceptions
Most of your young curlers will advance through categories by grade. There will be some
curlers that can advance (or not advance) at different times. A mature four-year old that can
focus for two hours may enter the Little Rocker program by exception. Little Rockers
transitioning to Youth Green is a softer transition, meaning the distinction is less clear
between the skill sets. Green transitioning to Blue is also a soft transition where grade
advancement is not as critical. Once again try to keep peers together by grade.
The transition between Youth Blue and Junior (teenage) is absolute because the seventh
grader is turning thirteen during this school year. This means a seventh grader MUST play in
the Junior category.
Preparing Your Instructors
The key to a successful program is a strong volunteer group. Recruit competent parents and
club members to instruct at the junior sessions. Try to find volunteers that are already certified
instructors. Since many of the volunteers are parents, you may not have enough certified
instructors. If there are certification courses available in your area, ask your volunteers to take
the course and become certified at the entry level. You may want to conduct a Junior
Instructor Certification course at your club before the start of the season. Certify each on-ice
volunteer as a Junior Instructor, even if it's only a local or club certification. This will help
ensure consistent instruction across the program. Once you have identified volunteers to be
instructors, follow these steps.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have the instructors submit CORI reports* to the coordinator.
Have them read this section.
Read the Delivery, Sweeping sections of www.curlingschool.com.
Conduct a certification meeting to review the material.
*Child safety in all categories should be a main concern of your program. Like other youth
sport coaching, require your instructors to submit a CORI report or something similar. This
will help protect the children and your club. Contact your national association for
recommendations regarding this process.
Train-the-Trainer Basics
The Curling School uses a standard five-step skill training process. It is very important that
the trainer use this process for all skills training. The following steps are the industry standard
in skill training. More information can gathered in the Teaching Curling Section of this
manual.
Step 1 Review material
Step 2 Demonstrate the skill properly
Step 3 Let the student try the skill
Step 4 Provide feedback to the student
Step 5 Practice
Repeat steps 3-4 as needed. Repeat steps 2-4 if necessary.
One of the most important steps is to demonstrate the skill properly, as described in this
manual. Demonstrating a skill using "your" method will reduce results and not allow the kids
to meet the proficiency standards. Review the Delivery and Sweeping sections before you
demonstrate any skills.
Teaching to the Standards
Teaching standards come in two categories;
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
Proficiency standards - ability to demonstrate a skill
Performance Standards - ability to execute with the skill
CurlTech has defined the achievable proficiency standards for each category. Each category
section will describe the standards for each group. It is very important that the instructors
teach to the standard and not to some arbitrary skill level. This manual provides the structure
for properly developing and measuring skills for young curlers.
Curling is a team sport and performance is difficult to measure. CurlTech does not set
performance standards for young curlers.
Proficiency vs. Performance Standards
Proficiency is a player's ability to demonstrate a skill while performance is based on any other
variables. Demonstrating a balanced delivery does not mean the player can make shots. Shotmaking ability is a performance standard. Performance comes from skills, knowledge and
experience. In our junior program, we do not have performance standards due to the relative
inexperience of the players. However, when the juniors get older and play on more teams,
performance standards are more relevant to the program.
Start thinking about performance standards for the older group. The following are examples
of performance standards.
Individual Performance Standards


Ability to throw on the line of delivery
Ability to throw proper weight
Team Performance Standards

Take-out and draw shot-making percentage
Curling Mechanics for Young People
Just like adults, we teach the no-lift, balanced, flat-footed delivery. The mechanics are the
same for adults and kids. The sweeping standard for juniors is also the same. We teach
upright sweeping with the inside arm down and two grippers. The biggest difference in
teaching kids verses adults is the level of proficiency and expectations.
Review the CurlTech Delivery or the Delivery Quick Reference in the Delivery Section.
Balance is the Foundation
We teach adults to throw the rock balanced. It is the foundation of a good delivery.
"Balance" refers to the body positioned over the sliding foot with no appreciable pressure on
the broom, rock or trailing leg. This results in a straight slide. Although it's preferred, it is not
necessary to slide perfectly balanced over the slider.
Because of individual skill differences, young curlers begin to balance on the slider foot at
different ages. Generally speaking, grades K-3 have a very difficult time balancing on the
slider. As their bodies grow and they develop leg strength, they can begin to slide balanced.
We use a sliding device for all young curlers until they can slide balanced. When they begin
to slide balanced (roughly fourth grade), take away the sliding device and replace it with a
broom. If they cannot balance reasonably without a sliding device, allow them to continue
using it for another year.
Little Rockers (Kindergarten and 1st Grade)
Experience has proven that kids as young as five can enjoy curling. Start your youngest kids
in the Little Rocker category. Require a parent stay in close proximity to their child either on
the ice or just behind the glass. This allows the instructor to easily remove a disruptive curler.
If a Little Rocker's behavior is preventing the others from having fun and learning, ask the
parent to remove them from the ice. A well-timed "time-out" can go along way with the child
AND parent.
The Little Rockers can have fun with the sport even if they can't throw the rocks the full
distance. Little Rockers use the small rocks only.
The Little Rocker curriculum is based on the following age appropriate standards.
Little Rocker Proficiency Standards
Before a Little Rocker advances to the next category (Youth Green), they should be able to
demonstrate the following skills:
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Two pre-game stretching exercises
A proper setup position
A proper 1-2-3 delivery with a full slider, a sliding device and a rock (no release). The
sliding foot should be roughly underneath the body with the hack foot trailing straight
behind.
Upright sweeping with no slider on a draw weight rock (half sheet)
Throw a small rock into play on a half sheet
An in-turn and out-turn from the skip's signal
They should also have the following curling knowledge:


Two safety items to consider while curling
Shot types - draw, takeout and guard
Testing for Learning
Kids see tests as punishment. However, without them we're not sure if our teaching is getting
through. Occasionally test them against the standard. This can be casual and discrete. About
every month, have the kids demonstrate a skill or ask them a curling question. If they can do
it, your teaching is working. If they can't, either your teaching is failing or their not ready yet.
In most cases, the child is simply not ready to demonstrate the skill properly and more
repetition is needed. This is the case in the beginning of each category when the kids
transition from a lower group. Remember, they have two or three more years to practice. As
they get closer to the transitioning to a higher group, note any deficiencies and concentrate on
them. Create a more formal test to judge whether they're ready to transition to another group.
Little Rocker Expectations
If you know anything about kids, you know this group has a very short attention span. Break
up your sessions into 15 minute segments, maximum. Remember, at the early age, this group
cannot properly balance on the sliding foot. They have a very difficult time standing on the
ice much less balancing over a slider. Don't expect them to do so. They should slide with a
sliding device and rock until they are comfortable releasing. They throw on a half sheet or to
the hog line. Components of the mechanics that don't require motion can be taught like adults.
For example, the proper setup position can be taught to any age. The grip on the rock and
broom can also be taught.
With the proper equipment and instruction, Little Rockers can deliver rocks in a similar
fashion to adults, even if it's only a few feet. Never ask a Little Rocker to throw the rock the
full length of the sheet. Even though they may be able, improper mechanics is usually the
result. Throwing half way is a much better way to get them comfortable with the delivery.
Have them throw rocks and play games from the regulation hack to the closest hog line.
Little Rocker Equipment
Sliders
Teaching the youngest curlers to put on the slider can be a challenge. Because of this, start
right away with a full slider demonstration. Use duct tape covered slider for the absolute
beginners. Once they feel more comfortable with a slippery foot, they can transition to a slipon slider. The slider is for delivery only. Never ask them to slide around the ice with a slider.
Because this group cannot balance properly over the slider foot, some assistance is necessary.
Sliding Device
Remember, Little Rockers must use a sliding device when learning the proper delivery. This
allows them to use downward pressure with the left arm to help support the body. You slowly
wean them away from the sliding device when they get older. We've seen dramatic results
with five year-olds when using a sliding device. When the child is big enough to balance on
their own, remove the sliding device and have them slide balanced with a broom. This
happens from ages 8 and up.
Shoes
Also use a good pair of gripping shoes. Test the shoes for grip before sending the Little
Rocker on the ice.
Brooms
A shortened broom will help them develop a good sweeping grip and motion. Cut off some
old brooms. The broom should be chest-high.
Teaching to the Skill Standard
Through repetition, Little Rockers can easily meet the proficiency standards stated earlier.
Each session, you will review the three compulsory items:
1. Setup
2. Delivery
3. Sweeping
The following are examples of sessions lasting an hour and forty five minutes. Alternate the
sessions throughout the year.
Little Rocker Session #1
Stretching 5 minutes
– Off ice
Use two or three stretching exercises. Deep-knee bends and the curling extension should be
mandatory.
– Off ice
Setup 5 Minutes
In the warm room, have the kid's line up and show you the proper setup. Check against the
standard. The kids should be able to setup properly. If time permits, have the kids extend to
the sliding position. This extension drill teaches the kids to balance over the sliding foot.
Putting on the Slider
In the warm room, have the kid's practice putting on their slider.
Delivery
15 minutes
– On ice
At the hack, have the kids take turns practicing the slide with a 1-2-3 delivery. Always use a
sliding device and a small rock. The most important thing for this group is the weight shift
back. They must step back onto the sliding foot before they move forward. They will slide on
the full slider with the sliding device and rock. DO NOT RELEASE. Shot throwing happens
in the draw and takeout drill. Remove sliders and take a break.
Break
10 Minutes
Sweeping
10 Minutes
Elapsed time after break :35
Take the sliders off and have the kid's line up to sweep the center line. Place half the kids on
one side and half on the other. Have each kid demonstrate the sweeping action. Look for the
required components:





Stance is 45 degrees to the line of delivery
Inside arm down with hand half way down the handle
Down hand uses overhand grip to provide pressure
Up hand uses an underhand grip
Drive broom head with upper shoulder
Sweep the center line for half the sheet. Don't change sides, switch hands and sweep back.
The kids are forced to switch hands and sweep on both sides. Never ask a Little Rocker to
sweep a full speed rock.
Turns
5 Minutes
In the hack area, have the kids take turns cocking the handle in response to the instructor's
hand signals. Have them point the handle toward the skip's arm then rotate in the opposite
direction. Move around and use both turns.
Draw
10 minutes
Using the half sheet hacks, have the kids throw to the instructor who is standing about twenty
feet away. The goal is to use the delivery to move the rock forward. After one round, have
them throw to the house (half sheet). They may not be able to make the house. It's important
that the kids throw with a steady slide. It's better to throw a draw half way with a smooth slide
than to hit the house with a huge push. As they get older, they will start to develop more
power.
Break
10 Minutes
Fun Activity
20 Minutes
Elapsed time after break 1:10
See the below list of fun games for Little Rockers
Total Time
1:30
Fun Games for Little Rockers
Little Rockers don't play any regular games. They need a variety of activities to keep them
interested. The same old delivery and sweeping drill get old fast. Below are a few examples of
fun games and activities. Try your own as long as they stress the delivery and sweeping
mechanics.
Bowling pins - Set up a few plastic bowling pins between the house and the hog line. Let the
kids knock them down. This helps them with the concept of throwing the rocks in the right
direction. Keep the pins close to the hog line to ensure proper delivery mechanics.
Short game - Have the kids play a game from the hack to the closest house. Split them up
into teams and coach them through an end or two. This teaches them the basics of shot
calling. They may be able to use the adult rocks. This is not a delivery drill.
Figure 13-3. The "Short Game" can help younger kids learn about shots and basic strategy.
Closest to the Hog - As mentioned earlier, the little kids can't properly throw the full length.
With a sliding device, they can demonstrate a proper deliver (without the balance) if they
throw to the hog line. Play a game where the winner is the closest to the hog line without
going over. Any rock that is over is out of play similar to a real game.
This game stressed the importance of the draw concept. Rocks should be removed from play
if they cross the hog line, just like in a game. Remind them that curling is a finesse game.
Youth Curlers (grades 2-6)
The Youth age group is the most dynamic group because, during their time as Youth curlers,
they are transitioning from small rocks to the regulation size rocks. Because of this, we further
define the category by skill. This age group begins to properly develop curling skills and like
all sports, develop at different rates. As they move from Little Rockers to Youth (2nd grade)
some will grasp the delivery mechanics and others will not. In the Youth category, we split
the kids into two groups, the Green and the Blue. The Youth-Green curlers (grades 2-4) are
younger, smaller and less skilled. They will use the junior rocks. The Youth-Blue (approx.
grades 4-6) group throws the regulation size rocks.
Since the two groups use different rocks, they must have dedicated sheets.
The Youth-Green Group (grades 2-4)
Youth-Green Proficiency Standards
Before a Youth Green advances to the next category (Youth Blue), they should be able to
demonstrate the following skills:

Three pre-game stretching exercises









A proper setup position
A 1-2-3 delivery with a full slider, a sliding device and NO rock. The sliding foot
should be underneath the body with the hack foot trailing straight behind.
Upright sweeping with no slider on a draw weight and takeout weight rock
Throw a small rock draw into play on a full sheet
Throw a small rock takeout on a full sheet (3.20 split)
An in-turn and out-turn from the skip's signal
A release to the hand shake position
Basic shot calling with and without the hammer (center or sides)
Determine and properly post the score
They should also have the following curling knowledge:



Two safety items to consider while curling
In-turn and out-turn rotation (clockwise, counter clockwise)
Shot types draw, takeout and guard
Figure 13-4. This 2nd grader can slide out of the hack with a junior rock. She is in her first
year of the Youth Green category. A sliding device is needed to help her slide and stay
upright.
Teaching to the Youth Green Standards
Like the Little Rockers, the goal of the program is to have the kids have fun AND learn the
proper skills at the same time.
One third of the session should be dedicated to skill training. The other two thirds should be
used for some type of game. For the first third of each session, have the kids perform the skill
training drills for each standard. Each week use the stretching, setup, delivery and sweeping
drills. Alternate each week with the remaining drills. The following is an example of a session
lasting approximately two hours. An instructor must be present to correct problems during the
drills. Just a few poor technique repetitions will cause lasting problems. Once the game starts,
an instructor is need at each end of the sheet.
Testing for Learning
As with the Little Rockers you should occasionally test them against the standard. This can be
casual and discrete. About every month, have the kids demonstrate a skill or ask them a
curling question. If they can do it, your teaching is working. If they can't, either your teaching
is failing or their not ready yet. In most cases, the child is simply not ready to demonstrate the
skill properly and more repetition is needed. This is the case in the beginning of each category
when the kids transition from a lower group. Remember, they have two or three more years to
practice. As they get closer to the transitioning to a higher group, note any deficiencies and
concentrate on them. Create a more formal test to judge whether they're ready to transition to
another group.
Green Group Expectations
This group can begin to properly deliver a junior size rock, although they won't have full
control of the delivery yet. They may or may not be able to throw normal weight takeouts.
Like all categories, some kids will be able to slide over their slider foot without much weight
on the sliding device. At grades 3 and 4, transition them from a sliding device to a broom. If
they can't slide with reasonable balance, keep them on the sliding device.
Youth Green Sample Session #1
Stretching
5 minutes
Off ice
Use two or three stretching exercises. Deep knee bends and the curling extension should be
mandatory.
Setup
5 Minutes
On Ice
Along the wall, have the kid's setup with their brooms (not with sliding devices). Check
against the standard. The kids should be able to setup properly. If time permits, have the kids
extend from wall by reaching out to the center line and shifting weight onto to the sliding
foot. This extension drill teaches the kids to balance over the sliding foot. DO NOT SLIDE.
Slides must be done from the hack to allow the weight shift and step back.
Repetitions: 4 times per player
Delivery
10 minutes
At the hack, have the kids take turns practicing the slide. Always use a sliding device and a
small rock. The most important thing for this group is to shift weight back. They must step
back onto the sliding foot then move the rock forward first. They will slide on the full slider
with the sliding device and rock. DO NOT RELEASE. Shot throwing happens in the draw
and takeout drill.
Repetitions: 6 times per player
Sweeping
5 Minutes
Take the sliders off and have the kid's line up to sweep the center line. Place half the kids on
one side and half on the other. Sliders should be with them perhaps on their arm. The
instructor should demonstrate each time until the kids don't need it any longer. Have each kid
demonstrate the sweeping action. Look for the required components:






Stance is 45 degrees to the line of delivery
Inside arm down with hand half way down the handle
Down hand uses overhand grip to provide pressure
Up hand uses an underhand grip
Drive broom head with upper shoulder
Shuffle feet instead of walking (new skill not covered in Little Rockers)
Sweep the center line the entire length. Don't change sides and sweep back. The kids are
forced to switch hands and sweep on both sides.
Repetitions: Twice up and back
Shots and Turns
5 Minutes
Prepare the kids to play a game by demonstrating the skip's shot calling procedure.
Demonstrate draws and takeouts. In the hack area and without sliding, have the kids take turns
cocking the handle in response to the instructor's hand signals. They can simulate a release to
show understanding. Move around and use both turns.
Repetitions: 2 times per player
Draw
5 minutes
In the hack, have the kids throw a draw-weight rock to the instructor at the near hog line with
a smooth slide and release. After one round, switch to the full sheet. The younger kids (grade
1) may not come close. It's important that the kids throw with a steady slide. It's better to
throw a draw half way with a smooth slide than to hit the house with a huge push. For the
younger kids expect a draw to stop short. As they get older (grades 3 and 4) they will start to
develop more power.
Break
10 Minutes
Game
1 hour
Divide the kids by skill and age. Let the older kids play skip and vice. Instructors should be
on the ice to manage positioning, readiness and game speed.
Youth Green Sample Session #2
Stretching
5 minutes
Off ice
Use two or three stretching exercises. Deep knee bends and the curling extension should be
mandatory.
Setup
5 Minutes
On Ice
Along the wall, have the kid's setup with their brooms (not with sliding devices). Check
against the standard. The kids should be able to setup properly. If time permits, have the kids
extend from wall by reaching out to the center line and shifting weight onto to the sliding
foot. This extension drill teaches the kids to balance over the sliding foot. DO NOT SLIDE.
Slides must be done from the hack to allow the weight shift and step back.
Repetitions: 4 times per player
Delivery
10 minutes
At the hack, have the kids take turns practicing the slide. Always use a sliding device and a
small rock. The most important thing for this group is to shift weight back. They must step
back onto the sliding foot then move the rock forward first. They will slide on the full slider
with the sliding device and rock. DO NOT RELEASE. Shot throwing happens in the draw
and takeout drill.
Repetitions: 6 times per player
Sweeping
5 Minutes
Take the sliders off and have the kid's line up to sweep the center line. Place half the kids on
one side and half on the other. Sliders should be with them perhaps on their arm. The
instructor should demonstrate each time until the kids don't need it any longer. Have each kid
demonstrate the sweeping action. Look for the required components:






Stance is 45 degrees to the line of delivery
Inside arm down with hand half way down the handle
Down hand uses overhand grip to provide pressure
Up hand uses an underhand grip
Drive broom head with upper shoulder
Shuffle feet instead of walking (new skill not covered in Little Rockers)
Sweep the center line the entire length. Don't change sides and sweep back. The kids are
forced to switch hands and sweep on both sides.
Repetitions: Twice up and back
Shots and Turns
5 Minutes
Prepare the kids to play a game by demonstrating the skip's shot calling procedure.
Demonstrate draws and takeouts. In the hack area and without sliding, have the kids take turns
cocking the handle in response to the instructor's hand signals. They can simulate a release to
show understanding. Move around and use both turns.
Repetitions: 2 times per player
Takeouts
5 minutes
In the hack, have the kids throw to the instructor at the near hog line with a smooth slide and
release. Stress the importance of a good push from hack to throw the takeout weight. After
two rounds, switch to the full sheet. The younger kids (grade 2) may not come close. It's
important that the kids throw with a steady slide. It's better to throw a takeout light with a
smooth slide than to throw big weight with a huge push. As they get older (grades 3 and 4)
they will start to develop more power.
Repetitions: 4 per player
Release
5 minutes
In the hack, have the kids setup with the rock cocked at 45 degrees. Have them deliver the
rock keeping the rock cocked until they release in a hand-shake position.
Repetitions: 4 per player
Break
10 Minutes
Game
1 hour
Divide the kids by skill and age. Let the older kids play skip and vice. Instructors should be
on the ice to manage positioning, readiness and game speed.
The Youth-Blue Group (grades 4-6)
Youth-Blue Proficiency Standards
Youth-Blue curler advances to the Junior category for seventh grade regardless of skill.
However, they should be able to demonstrate the following skills:











Several pre-game stretching exercises
A proper setup position
A 1-2-3 delivery with a full slider, a broom (no sliding device) and NO rock. The
sliding foot should be underneath the body with the hack foot trailing straight behind
and no weight on the broom or rock
Upright sweeping with no slider on takeout and peel weight rocks
Throw a regulation rock draw into play on a full sheet
Throw a regulation rock takeout on a full sheet (3.10 split)
A release from a constant 45 degree angle to the hand shake position
Judge the weight of a draw within 20 feet of its resting spot
Focus for an entire 8-end game
Put 1 of 4 draws in play
Make contact on 1 of 4 take-outs
They should also have the following curling knowledge:




Several safety items to consider while curling
In-turn and out-turn rotation
Free Guard Zone Rule
Shot types draw, takeout and guard, peel, freeze, come around


Basic shot-calling tactics with and without hammer
Teaching to the Youth Blue Standards
Again, the goal of the program is to have the kids have fun AND learn the proper skills at the
same time.
One quarter of the scheduled time should be dedicated to skill training. The other three
quarters should be used for a game. For the first half of each session, have the kids perform
the skill training drills for each standard. Each week use the stretching, setup, delivery and
sweeping drills. Alternate each week with the remaining drills. The following is an example
of a two-hour session.
Testing for Learning
As with the Little Rockers and Youth Green groups, occasionally test them against the
standard. This can be casual and discrete. About every month, have the kids demonstrate a
skill or ask them a curling question. If they can do it, your teaching is working. If they can't,
either your teaching is failing or their not ready yet. In most cases, the child is simply not
ready to demonstrate the skill properly and more repetition is needed. This is the case in the
beginning of each category when the kids transition from a lower group. Remember, they
have two or three more years to practice. As they get closer to the transitioning to a higher
group, note any deficiencies and concentrate on them. Create a more formal test to judge
whether they're ready to transition to another group.
Blue Group Expectations
This group can begin to properly deliver a regulation size rock. They won't have full control
of the delivery yet even though they think they should. They may or may not be able to throw
normal weight takeouts. Like all categories, some kids will be able to slide over their slider
foot without weight on the broom. This is the time to transition them from a sliding device to
a broom. If they can't slide with reasonable balance, keep them on the sliding device.
Curling Shoes?
The Youth Blue curlers are encouraged to purchase curling shoes (or have a slider built into a
pair of sneakers) although a full slider can still work well at these ages. The value of curling
shoes is in the sliding platform. With curling shoes, the sliding platform is much more stable
than the slip-on slider and will increase performance.
Figure 5. This sixth grader can balance over his sliding foot. He
delivers a regulation size rock in the last year of the Youth Blue
category. He slides with a regular broom without putting weight on
it. He also slides with a 1/4 inch slider built into his sneakers.
Youth Blue Sample Session #1
Stretching
5 minutes
Off ice
Use two or three stretching exercises. Deep knee bends and the curling extension should be
mandatory.
Setup & Delivery
15 Minutes
At the hack, have the curlers take turns with two practice slides. They will rotate using two or
three sliding devices. For each player, then have them demonstrate the proper setup first.
Early in the season the instructor will demonstrate but as they get more comfortable with the
drill they can do it own their own, with instructor feedback. The younger curlers (grade 4 may
still need a sliding device if they can't balance over the foot). Check for the following
"delivery critical" components:




Step back onto sliding foot with hips behind hack
Delay sliding foot as body starts forward
Place heel on line of delivery
Hold 45 degrees until release
The most important thing for this group is to step back onto the sliding foot then move the
rock forward first. There should be no movement past back-dead-center of the draw step
move. Remember, this is a delivery drill and NOT shot-making drill. Watch closely for
problems with mechanics.
Stand at the hog line and have them throw draw-weight shots to you. Watch the deliveries and
provide feedback.
Repetitions: 4 each
Sweeping
5 Minutes
Take the sliders off and have them line up to sweep live rocks. Place half of them on one side
and half on the other. The instructor should push a rock for the two lead sweepers (the ones in
line first, one on each side) to sweep. They must sweep the rock until it stops or is out of play.
Watch the sweeping action. Look for the required components:




Step back onto sliding foot with hips behind hack
Delay sliding foot as body starts forward
Place heel on line of delivery
Hold 45 degrees until release
The most important thing for this group is to step back onto the sliding foot then move the
rock forward first. There should be no movement past back-dead-center of the draw step
move. Remember, this is a delivery drill and NOT shot-making drill. Watch closely for
problems with mechanics.
Stand at the hog line and have them throw draw-weight shots to you. Watch the deliveries and
provide feedback.
Repetitions: Twice up and back
Draw
5 minutes
In the hack, have the curlers throw draw shots full sheet. It's important that they throw with a
steady slide. It's better to throw a draw half way with a smooth slide than to hit the house with
a huge push.
Time the draws full sheet and have them understand the long time as the sheet speed. Have
them measure the split times to get comfortable with splits being a sweeping tool.
Repetitions: 2 each
Break
10 Minutes
Game
1 hour
Divide the curlers by skill and age. Let the older kids play skip and vice. Instructors should be
on the ice to manage positioning and game speed. At the middle or end of the season, the
instructor can supervise from behind the glass.
Youth Blue Sample Session #2
Stretching
5 minutes
– Off ice
Use two or three stretching exercises. Deep knee bends and the curling extension should be
mandatory.
Drop Drill
10 Minutes
See the Practice Section for an explanation of the Drop Drill.
Before the curlers move into the delivery drill, have them take turns with the drop drill. Make
sure the rock half way between the house and the hack before the sliding foot moves forward.
Repetitions: 2 each
Setup & Delivery
15 Minutes
Now that the curlers have done the drop drill, they can practice the full delivery. They will
rotate using two or three sliding devices. For each player, then have them demonstrate the
proper setup first. Early in the season the instructor will demonstrate but as they get more
comfortable with the drill they can do it own their own, with instructor feedback. The younger
curlers (grade 4 may still need a sliding device if they can't balance over the foot). Check for
the following "delivery critical" components:



Step back onto sliding foot with hips behind hack
Delay sliding foot as body starts forward
Place heel on line of delivery
Hold 45 degrees until release
The most important thing for this group is to step back onto the sliding foot then move the
rock forward first. There should be no movement past back-dead-center of the draw step
move. Remember, this is a delivery drill and NOT shot-making drill. Watch closely for
problems with mechanics.
Stand at the hog line and have them throw draw-weight shots to you. Watch the deliveries and
provide feedback.
Repetitions: 4 each
Sweeping
5 Minutes
Take the sliders off and have them line up to sweep live rocks. Place half of them on one side
and half on the other. The instructor should push a rock for the two lead sweepers (the ones in
line first, one on each side) to sweep. They must sweep the rock until it stops or is out of play.
Watch the sweeping action. Look for the required components:






Stance is 45 degrees to the line of delivery
Inside arm down with hand half way down the handle
Down hand uses overhand grip to provide pressure
Up hand uses an underhand grip
Drive broom head with upper shoulder
Shuffle feet instead of walking
Repetitions: Twice up and back
Takeouts
5 minutes
In the hack, have them throw takeout weight shots to the instructor at the near hog line with a
smooth slide and release. The "Drop" concept stressed earlier is helpful in generating more
power on the takeouts. You can provide them with immediate feedback by split timing the
takeout. The split should be between 3.00 and 3.20 seconds, back line to hog. The younger
ones (grade 5) may not have the strength for full takeouts. It's important that the kids throw
with a steady slide. It's better to throw a takeout light with a smooth slide than to throw big
weight with a huge push. As they get older (grades 5 and 6) they will start to develop more
power.
Repetitions: 3 each
Break
10 Minutes
Game
1 hour
Divide the curlers by skill and age. Let the older kids play skip and vice. Instructors should be
on the ice to manage positioning and game speed. At the middle or end of the season, the
instructor can supervise from behind the glass.
Junior (teenage) Curlers (grades 7-12)
As a rule, the Juniors should be delivering with the broom and not the sliding device. The
sliding device may still be used by exception.
Expect this group to want more autonomy during the session due to more adult-like behavior
(at least with the older kids). Socializing is an important part of this group's junior session. An
instructor is still necessary to provide feedback during drills.
Junior Proficiency Standards
At the end of the Junior program, they should be able to demonstrate the following skills:
Several pre-game stretching exercises





A proper setup position
A balanced 1-2-3 delivery with a full slider, and a broom. The sliding foot should be
underneath the body with the hack foot trailing straight behind and no weight on the
broom or rock. A sliding device is acceptable* if the Junior curler cannot balance over
the foot.
Upright sweeping with no slider on takeout and peel weight rocksWeight control on
guards, house draws, hack weight, takeouts and peels.
A release from a constant 45 degree angle to the hand shake position
Proper weight judgment
*Like adults, there are junior age curlers that cannot balance over the sliding foot. Never force
them to slide with a broom if they can't balance reasonably.
They should also have the following curling knowledge:



Several safety items to consider while curling
All shot types
Basic shot-calling tactics with and without hammer
Teaching to the Junior Standards
Again, the goal of the program is to have fun AND learn the proper skills at the same time.
Playing games is a priority.
In the Junior category 1/4 of the scheduled time should be dedicated to skill training. The
other 3/4 should be used for a game. For the first 1/4 of each session, have them perform the
skill training drills for each standard. Each week use the stretching, setup, delivery and
sweeping drills. Alternate each week with the remaining drills. The following is an example
of a two-hour session.
Testing for Learning
As with the Little Rockers and Youth groups, occasionally test Juniors against the standard.
This can be casual and discrete. About every month, have the kids demonstrate a skill or ask
them a curling question. If they can do it, your teaching is working. If they can't, either your
teaching is failing or their not ready yet. In most cases, the child is simply not ready to
demonstrate the skill properly and more repetition is needed. This is the case in the beginning
of each category when the kids transition from a lower group. Remember, they have two or
three more years to practice. As they get closer to the transitioning to a higher group, note any
deficiencies and concentrate on them. Create a more formal test to judge whether they're
ready to transition to another group.
Junior Group Expectations
The Junior group should be treated like adults as far as skills and mechanics. There is a
remarkable change in the ability to properly deliver a rock during the growth of the early teen
years. We've seen twelve year-olds that can barely balance turn into thirteen year olds with
perfect balance.
There will always be differences based on athleticism. Some juniors will be more proficient at
the skills than others.
As the body begins to be more adult-like, the Junior curler can begin to slide and balance
without problems. As for the delivery, you can expect as much from them as you could from
adults. The younger ones that are just transitioning to Juniors may still have difficulty with
takeout weight.
Sample Junior Session
The Junior group, like all curlers, needs repetition to engrain the proper delivery skills. Every
Junior session should include delivery work. Instructors must be present to provide immediate
feedback. The following drills MUST be done at every session:
1. Stretching
2. Comprehensive Delivery
3. Sweeping
Each week, add a non-compulsory drill to further strengthen a given skill set. The following
delivery drills can help the group focus on a particular detail of the delivery.
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Balance Drill
Drop Drill
Release Drill
Take-out Drill (split-timed)
Draw Drill
Stretching
5 Minutes
By now they know the stretching exercises and can be stretched prior to the start time.
Comprehensive Delivery
15 Minutes
This drill involves properly demonstrating the entire delivery from set up to follow-through.
At the hack, have them take a few practice slides. There may be some that still need a sliding
device if they can't balance over the foot. Watch for the following:
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Proper setup
Use a 1-2-3 tempo in the delivery
Delay the sliding foot at draw back
No backward movement of the hips after stepping back onto sliding foot
Delay the sliding foot until the rock is half way.
By the tee line, slide with the broom 1 inch from the ice
Hold cocked handle until proper release
Repetitions: 3 each
Sweeping
5 Minutes
Take the sliders off and have them line up to sweep live rocks. Place half of them on one side
and half on the other. The instructor should push a rock for the two lead sweepers (the ones in
line first, one on each side) to sweep. They must sweep the rock until it stops or is out of play.
Watch the sweeping action. Look for the required components:
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Stance is 45 degrees to the line of delivery
Inside arm down with hand half way down the handle
Down hand uses overhand grip to provide pressure
Up hand uses an underhand grip
Drive broom head with upper shoulder
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Shuffle feet instead of walking
At the far end, don't change sides but sweep back with switched arms.
Repetitions: Once up and back
Additional Drill
10 Minutes
Add an appropriate additional drill here.
Break
The older kids may prefer to take a break after the game.
10 minutes
Game
1 hour 15 minutes
Divide the Juniors into teams. Let the older ones play skip and vice while the younger ones
play front-end. Early in the season, the instructors should be on the ice to manage positioning
and game speed. Once they understand the routine, the instructor can monitor from behind the
glass.
Elapsed Time:
2 Hours
Additional Drills
Drop Drill & Balance
Before they move into the delivery drill, have them take turns with the drop drill. Expect them
to delay the foot until the rock is half way between the hack and the back of the house. After
the transition period, they should slide with the broom 1 inch off the ice.
Repetitions: 3 each
Takeouts
5 minutes
In the hack, have the kids throw to the instructor at the near hog line with a smooth slide and
release. Have them use the Drop Drill concept to generate more power on the takeouts. After
one round, switch to the full sheet. The younger ones (grade 7 and 8) may not have the
strength for full takeouts. It's important that the kids throw with a steady slide. It's better to
throw a takeout light with a smooth slide than to throw big weight with a huge push. As they
get older (grades 10 - 12) they will start to develop more power.
Split-time the takeouts. After each throw, the thrower takes the stopwatch and clocks the next
delivery. The target takeout should be between 3.00 and 3.20 with a smooth delivery.
Junior Category Social Component
This is the age where social interaction becomes much more a part of curling. We recommend
that all junior age curlers play on mixed teams (two girls, two boys, alternating positions)
when part of your normal junior program. Junior age teams that want more competition may
elect to form all boys and all girls teams to enter the national playdown process. Keep these
teams and programs separate from you club junior program.
There will most likely be a huge difference in physical and social maturity in this age group
since it spans from age 13 to 18. Try to place similar ages on teams and have them play each
other.
Accepting New Kids in Your Program
Each year, your club accepts new young members. Some will have parents that curl. It's
important that they enter the program properly. First, place the new curler into the appropriate
grade category. An instructor will need to work individually with the inexperienced curler by
acclimating them to the club and ice. For the next few sessions, the newer curler should
receive individual attention until they are ready to work the drills and exercises with the
experienced ones.
For example, a new 4th grader will join the Youth Green group and receive special attention
for the first few sessions. A fifth grader is harder to place. You can place them in the Youth
Green for a few sessions or place them directly into the Youth Blue.
New sixth and seventh graders should always be placed in the Youth Blue category due to the
age differences between the Blue and Green. Again, special attention is needed to bring the
new curler up to speed.
Seventh graders can start in the Youth-Blue if they don't have friends in the Junior category.
They can also start in the Junior category. If starting in the Youth-Blue, move them up as soon
as possible. Eighth graders should be placed into the Junior group.
In all cases, the new curler should come through the same development process that your
existing players did. Start them with a sliding device and not a broom. Depending on their
skill level, transition them onto a broom when they can properly use it.
Aging Out of the Program
The World Curling Federation age limit for the Junior Championships is 21. However, your
local Junior program should only include junior high (middle school) and high school age
curlers. Allowing the 19 through 21 year old group into your normal program and bonspiels
could be a problem. Consider them adults (as they are since they're over 18) and encourage
them to curl in the College Curling program, adult leagues and bonspiels.
Competitive Junior Programs at the Club
Your junior curling program at the club should be focused on the social aspects of the game.
The social curler is the backbone of most clubs. Inevitably, some of your young curlers will
seek a more competitive environment. We encourage clubs to develop programs for the more
competitive as well. Keep them separate! Allowing your competitive teams to curl together in
the social program and junior bonspiels will alienate the less competitive kids and your
program will suffer. It's also simply not fair to allow your best players to play together in a
social setting.
Set up another program at your club with different, more competitive goals and objectives.
Give them a separate time slot. This program should include:
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Team development
A commitment to proper delivery mechanics
Advanced equipment (shoes and brooms)
Effective and efficient sweeping
Game planning and strategy
Team communication
Mental toughness
Fitness and nutrition
Higher goals and objectives
Section Summary
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Juniors must have FUN FIRST
Categorize your young curlers by grade
Teach to the proficiency standard for each group
Teach proper mechanics early
Use proper training techniques when teaching kids
Grades K-3/4 (and all brand new curlers, regardless of age) should use a sliding device
and not a broom
For social and maturity reasons your junior program should end after high school
Develop a competitive program for the playdown curlers
12
Important Rules
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These are not the official rules. Some of them have been abbreviated for simplicity. If
you live or play in Canada, you will play by the Canadian Rules. All others will play
by the rules of the World Curling Federation. An official copy of the rules is available
at your club or through your national association.
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Rocks:
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1. If a rock is touched while it's in motion, it is called a burned rock. It is to be
removed from play immediately.
a. The person who burned the rock is the ONLY person that can call that shot burned
(honor system).
b. If the foul was committed inside the hog line, the opposing skip may put the fouled
rock back in play if he/she thinks it would have been beneficial to their team.
2. The curling rock must be clearly released before the stone touches the nearer hog
line.
3. A rock must come to rest beyond the farther hog line to be in play.
4. If a player accidentally throws the wrong color rock, the rock is replaced with the
correct color.
Sweeping:
1. Any number of sweepers can sweep their team's stone at one time as long as the
stone is between the Tee Lines.
2. Only one person (any person) can sweep their rock behind the tee line.
3. The skip or acting skip can sweep an opponent's rock once it has touched the tee
line.
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4. The sweeping motion must be from side to side across the stone. The brush must
cover the 5 inch running surface at all times and finish to the side so no debris is left in
the path of the stone. Also, there must be clear and visible brush head movement.
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Position of Players:
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1. Leads and seconds must position themselves between the hog lines unless throwing
or sweeping a stone.
2. Only the skip and vice-skip are allowed to stand in and behind the house.
3. All players should position themselves as to not distract the opponent.
Ice Etiquette:
1. All players shake hands with your team and with your opponent BEFORE AND
AFTER EACH GAME.
2. The vice-skip is responsible for scoring and measuring stones.
3. Each player on the team should be in position and ready to deliver stone when it is
his/her turn to throw.
4. There is no smoking on the ice.
5. Always wear clean shoes on the ice.