Support the International Middle Child Union Curling Crusade!

As part of my new found and ongoing support for Curling (SEE PREVIOUS POST), I will be posting a series of Curling-related observations and information here at the blog throughout the Olympics, along with daily schedules, results, and more on Twitter @MidKidMusings.

How to Sound Really Cool When Talking About Curling (if that’s at all possible.)  It’s hard to support a sport you don’t know much about. I realize it’ll take some time to fully understand Curling -- just like a Middle Child, it can be kind of quirky -- so below are some great links to get all the details on how the game is played. There’s also a link to a Virtual curling game. There’s even a link to a “Curling for Dummies” -- swear to God. To get you started, here’s my own little Curling crash course:


           The surface that curling is played on is called a sheet, because it’s literally a sheet of ice. The sheet has a 12 foot wide target - or house - at either end. Two teams or rinks of four players each slide 40-pound polished granite rocks, which are also called stones, down the sheet toward a house at the other end. It’s called Curling because the stone takes a curved path as it travels down the ice. Sweeping with brooms makes a stone curl less and travel farther. Each team tries to get more of its stones closer to the center of the house , called the button or pot, than the other team.

          Now that you know the basics, here are some terms and expressions that will make it sound like you know what you’re talking about. Just like with any sport, or like with politics -- come to think of it, like with anything -- if you know just enough, you can fake you’re way through it.

          When a stone barely touches the house, you call it a biter. If it comes to rest within the house it's called a draw. When it draws to the button, you “Draw the lid" or “Draw the pin." A stone coming to rest touching another stone is called a freeze. A perfect freeze is called a weld. When there's a good shot, you can say "Nice rock," or "That was on the broom" or "That really hit the broom." Conversely, when a rock picks up a piece of debris that alters its course, you can say, "The rock picked!"  

          So, there you have it -- a Curling cheat "sheet," if you will. Get it? If you don't, then you need to read this post again!

Click and learn:  

The Curling School; The World Curling Federation; A Beginners Guide to Curling;  

Curling for Dummies; play Virtual Curling