Considered one of the favorites of the Winter Olympics, curling is a sport that, at first glance, resembles bocce, but has a complexity that has earned it the nickname “chess on ice”. The competition involves throwing stones towards a target, and at the end, the player or team with the most points is declared the winner. Let’s find out all about Curling!
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All about Curling: history of the sport
Curling is one of the oldest team sports in the world, practiced since the 16th century on the frozen lochs of Scotland;
The first club dedicated to the sport, the Kilsyth Curling Club, was founded in 1716 and is still active today;
In the 19th century, the first rules of the game were established. Curling took part in the first edition of the Winter Olympics in Chamonix 1924, but only returned to the Olympic program in Nagano 1998.
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All about Curling: how do the games work?
The game is played between two teams who, on an ice rink, must throw a stone weighing around 20 kg as close as possible to the circular target, known as the “house”;
The aim is to get your stone closer to the center of the circle than your opponent’s.
Each match consists of 10 rounds, called “ends”. The teams play eight stones per end, alternating;
Score
The score is determined by the position of the stones at the end of each end. The more stones a team has near the center of the house, the more points they earn.
Match dynamics
The game begins with each member throwing two stones towards the target called end (division of the game);
The other players then sweep the ice to eliminate bumps and change the trajectory of the stone;
Grinding is crucial as it raises the temperature of the ice to the melting point, reducing friction between the stone and the surface. This task should be carried out with smooth, parallel movements.
There is no limit to the number of sweepers, but after the tee line, only one sweeper can operate.
Categories
Currently, curling has three main categories: team (4 men or 4 women); mixed doubles (1 man and 1 woman) and mixed team (2 men and 2 women). The latter is only played at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
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All about Curling: equipment
The main equipment of a curling athlete are the brooms, made of carbon fiber, which serve to reduce friction on the stone, helping to maintain or alter its trajectory and speed;
Players also use the “sliding foot” (shoe with sliding sole) to make their throws.
The granite stone weighs between 17 and 20 kg, has a circumference of 910 millimeters and has a handle for easy handling;
The curling rink is 5 meters wide and 45 meters long and has specific characteristics, different from field hockey and skating arenas.
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All about Curling: dictionary of the sport
House: target that defines the scoring area of the game. Only the stone closest to the center of the target counts for points.
End: each segment of a match. In team games, there are ten ends. In doubles, there are eight.
Hog Line: the line that indicates the limit where the athlete must release the stone during the throw.
Hammer: advantage of throwing the last stone of the end.
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All about Curling: Brazil in Curling
A group of Brazilians living in Canada, who started practicing curling, were responsible for introducing the sport to Brazil;
Marcelo Mello, Celso Kossaka, Luiz Augusto da Silva and César Martins already played in the province of Quebec, Canada, and connected with the CBDG to form the first national team.
The following year, the first initiative was the America’s Challenge against the United States team;
Since then, the sport has grown in Brazil, with the country participating in four World Championships in the Mixed Doubles category, which became Olympic in 2018. Since 2015, the CBDG has organized the National Championship, significantly increasing the number of practitioners.
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- 2008: formation of the first Brazilian curling team with Marcelo Mello, Celso Kossaka, Luiz Augusto da Silva and César Martins.
- 2009: Brazil challenges the United States for the first time in the America’s Challenge with the men’s team.
- 2010: Brazil faces the United States again in the America’s Challenge with the men’s team.
- 2014: Brazil participates in the Mixed Doubles World Championship for the first time with Marcelo Mello and Aline Lima, placing 34th.
- 2015: Brazil’s men’s team challenges the United States for the third time in the America’s Challenge.
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- 2015: Marcelo Mello and Aline Lima represent Brazil for the second time at the Mixed Doubles World Championships, finishing in 30th place.
- Brazil participates in the first World Mixed Curling Championship (non-Olympic discipline) with Marcelo Mello, Sergio Vilela, Isis Oliveira and Luciana Barrella, placing 35th.
- CBDG organizes the first edition of the Brazilian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Vancouver, Canada.
- 2016: Brazil participates in Mixed Curling at the Winter Youth Olympic Games with Elian Sabra, Victor Santos, Raíssa Rodrigues and Giovanna Barros.
- For the third year in a row, Marcelo Mello and Aline made up Brazil’s doubles team at the World Mixed Doubles Championships, finishing in 29th place.
- Raphael Monticello, Marcio Cerquinho, Alessandra Barros and Luciana Barrella represented Brazil at the Mixed World Championships, coming 33rd.
- Vancouver, Canada, is hosting the second edition of the Brazilian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
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- 2017: Brazil challenges the United States in the America’s Challenge with the men’s and, for the first time, women’s teams.
- Anne Shibuya and Marcio Cerquinho achieved the best result in Brazil’s history at the World Mixed Doubles Championships, finishing in 28th place.
- Marcelo Mello, Sergio Vilela, Aline Lima and Luciana Barrella made up the Brazilian team at the Mixed World Championships, achieving the country’s first win in a team competition (7-3 against France), finishing in 30th place.
- The Brazilian Curling Championship is taking place in Toronto for the first time and, in partnership with Curling Canada, is organizing a clinic for Latin Americans with more than 150 participants.
- 2018: at the America’s Challenge, Brazil faces Canada, the sport’s leading power, for the first time.
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