What's it all about?

Curling is a Winter Olympic sport played on specially prepared ice rinks. It is played in teams of four with 20kg curling stones slid along the ice to a target, about 45 metres way. The stone is made to curve towards its target by putting a slight spin on the stone when releasing it. Each player has an active part to play on every stone their team plays.

The team leader (skip) is strategic and instructs the team on what he/she wants. Two of the team Sweep in front of the stone, making it travel further and straighter, and the fourth team member throws the stone (sometimes called 'rocks'). All 4 players throw two stones on each 'end' and there are 8 or 10 ends in a game. The stones are thrown alternately by each team.

The game goes back to the 16th century when it was played on frozen lochs in Scotland . It is now played widely in Canada where it is a major sport with over 1 million players; currently it is played in over 40 countries worldwide. Great Britain has one of the strongest teams at Olympic level.