The Etiquette of Curling – Texas Style
You as a Curler
Your first and foremost goal is to have fun. Not having fun won’t be tolerated.
The Start of the Season
On the first night of curling, expect toarrive 30 minutes early. This will give you time to meet your teammates. The DFW Curling Club Competition Committee will do it’s best to accommodate requests from individual players on who they’d like to play with and what position they’d like to play. We will assign positions to each person based on desire and experience, but these are not set in stone. You can spend this first half hour strategizing or arguing over who should play what position. In the end, please inform the on-ice official if your lineup has changed, so that accurate records can be maintained.
In addition to meeting your teammates, the club will take this time to pass out information to each team and make sure that everyone knows what they are doing.
You should exchange emails and phone numbers with each other. This will give the skip a means of contacting you about club updates sentto them, and you a means of notifying them that you won’t be able to make it on a given night.
Weekly Game Nights
In general, you should plan to arrive at the Dr Pepper Stars Center no later than 15 minutes prior to your draw time. This is a chance for youto get together with your team and talk strategy. It is very important to know whether you have a full team prior to ice setup. If you arrive too early, there’s a fine bar upstairs that serves a wide selection of 3 beers on tap and a bevy of bottled drinks, liquor, wine and soft drinks for the truly dedicated.
If you plan to arrive later than 15 minutes prior, you should notify your skip, and give him (or her) an estimate of when you plan to be there. This allows them to decide how to proceed when the game starts.
You should notify your skip as soon as possible if you do not intend to make an event.It is the responsibility of the skip to find a substitute if necessary.
The vice skip is responsible for bringing a coin (or something to flip) with them each evening.
Before the Game (Ice Setup)
Once the ice has been cut by the zamboni, it’s time to set up. Each draw is limited to two hours.It is unfortunate, but the cost of ice is exorbitant, and we must pay hourly. This time includes our ice setup, which should take about 15 minutes – with everyone’s help!
It is very important that all curlers assist in ice setup.The following tasks must be done prior to starting a draw: pebbling the ice, laying the hacks, hanging the scoreboards, setting up the rocksand starting the draw clock. Each draw will have an official “instructor” assigned to each task. Refer to the website or ask the on-ice official who this person is.
It is imperative that at least one person from each team assist with ice setup responsibilities each night.Don’t worry about being new to the game. The instructors will be happy to show you how to do the task regardless of experience level. We typically need 2 people to pebble, 3-4 people to lay the hacks, 1-2 people to get the scoreboards and one person to start the draw clock.
In addition to ice setup, both teams assigned to a given sheet are responsible for their own rocks. The rock card for the given sheet can be moved from the rock freezer onto the ice, and all 16 stones laid a safe distance behind the hack.The vice skip is responsible for determining what sheet you will be on, and who you will be playing.
Making New Friends
Once setup is complete, it’s time for the formalities. The two vice skips flip a coin. Whoever flips throws the coin into the air and lets it fall onto the ice. The other vice calls heads or tails as the coin is in the air. The winner of the coin toss has the option to take hammer in the first game, or to choose a color. The loser gets to choose whichever option was not selected.
It is common practice to greet each person of the opposing team with your name, a handshake, and the phrase “Good Curling” prior to starting the game. If you like your team, you may continue this habit with them (hopefully they know your name already).
At this point, the skips of both teams proceed to the far end of the ice (furthest from the zamboni door). The team that does not have hammer should then prepare to throw their first rock, and the team with hammer should move to their starting positions.
Starting Positions
For the team not throwing rocks, the skip or vice skip should be behind the far house and off to the side. They should not be standing behind the person in the house until the rock is delivered. The person throwing the next stone should be behind the delivering hack, preparing to throw. The two sweepers should be position on either side of the rink, a short distance beyond the hog line (about where the blue lines are on the hockey sheet).At no point during the opposing team’s throw should the non-throwing team be between the hog line and the hack.
If a player is out of position when the other team commences to throw, they should remain still and quiet in that spot until the rock has been released by the throwing team.
Preparing to Throw
For the team throwing rocks, the skip or vice skip should be in the house. The person throwing the stone should be in the hack. The other two players should position themselves to either side of the hack, somewhere between the back line and the hog line, and be prepared to sweep. All eyes should be on the person in the house until they have indicated the shot to be thrown.
The person who is throwing a rock should put on their slider (or remove their gripper) and proceed immediately to the hack. One of the sweepers should assist the deliverer by moving the lowest numbered stone in front of the hack. The skip (or vice skip) should be doing one of two things: 1) figuring out the next shot, or 2) standing in the house ready to inform the team of the next shot.
The person throwing the rock should wait for the skip (or vice skip) to call the shot. The “curler” should then make some form of indication they understand what is being requested. The two sweepers should be standing far enough apart to allow the person throwing the rock to see the skip.
During the Throw
The two sweepers should be standing to either side of the rock. They should be a short distance in front of the stone, either sweeping or ready to sweep. Do not try to keep up with a rock if it is going too fast for you.
All members of the throwing team may sweep a stone until it reaches the far T-line, at which point only one person may sweep. If nobody wishes to sweep the rock past the T-line, they must move out of the way of the other team in case they wish to do so.
The non-throwing team should not be moving or talking loudly while the other team is throwing their rock. Once the rock is released, they should immediately prepare to throw the next rock. The non-throwing team may not hinder any curling activities of the other team). The opposing skip (or designated member of the team) may sweep the rock once it reaches the far T-line. This opposing sweeper must not prevent the throwing team from sweeping a rock.
If a sweeper touches a stone, it is their responsibility to make this known. The skip will ensure that the appropriate steps are performed, based on the Rules of Curling.
The Art of Sweeping
The role of the two people sweeping is to judge the speed of the rock. They are responsible for determining whether or not the delivered rock was thrown with the correct speed to stop at the desired position. They are not responsible for curl, only distance. As soon as the speed is known, it should be conveyed to the skip.
The skip will be watching the rock for curl. Based on what they see (and hear from their teammates), they may change the desired shot. Due to the speed of the game, it is often impossible to convey all the details of the desired change. The skip may call for the sweepers to sweep or stop sweeping. It is good practice to obey this call. Good communication is critical to the success of any curling team.
If at all possible, even when not actively sweeping, the sweepers should remain ready to do so until the rock has stopped.
After the Throw
The sweepers should immediately move to the side of the sheet and return to the delivery hack. The skip (or vice skip) should move clear of the house. The vice may remain with the skip for a few seconds to discuss strategy if necessary, but should make every effort to be prepared for the next throw.
The non-throwing team should have a person in the hack, ready to throw, and the skip (or vice skip) in the house, ready to call the next shot as soon as the throwing team has cleared the house. This is called “ready curling”.
No measurements can be made (outside “eyeballing”) until the end is complete.
Skip / Vice Skip Exchange
When the vice skip has thrown their last rock, they should follow it down the sheet and stand with the skip behind the house. The skip and vice will then discuss what has transpired so far. When it is time for the skip to throw their first rockand after determining the strategy, they should move to the delivery hack as quickly and safely as possible.
Upon completion of the throw, it is common for the skip to return to the house to discuss the next shot. However, all effort should be made to do this quickly, as one of the slowest movements of the game is the repositioning of a player down the sheet.
After the End
When the hammer comes to a complete stop, the two vice skips should meet and determine the end’s outcome. The first and second should be moving all stones not touching the house behind the hack. The skip should remain at the house in front of the delivery hack (on the far end of the sheet). It is customary for both teams to move stones behind the hack, regardless of color.
If the vice skips disagree about scoring, they may elect to measure. At this point, all remaining rocks that are not disputed should be removed by the first and second. These two positions should then move to a side and quietly await the verdict. Once the score is determined, the team that won the end should prepare to throw and the other team should move to their starting positions.
Once it is clear who will be recording a point on the end, the lead of that team should immediately begin preparing to throw their next rock. It is not the responsibility of the lead on the team throwing the first rocks of the end to move rocks behind the hack.
Hanging the Score
The vice skip is the only person who should ever touch the scoreboard. At the conclusion of an end, and within the next few throws of the following end, the vice of the team which scored should update the scoreboard with the result. If the game is getting out of hand, they may elect to stop “hanging the score” as a courtesy to the other team. They are still responsible for knowing the score.
Game’s End
Regardless of how long it takes to set up, or how many ends have been played, the draw ends when the on-ice official says so. When the draw clock expires, teams may only play one more end. At the end of a draw, all players and material must be removed from the ice prior to the expiration of the two hour window.
All attempts to get a full 8 ends in should be made, and the on-ice official will not intentionally end a game unless they determine that it will not be possible to finish the game in the allotted time. Refer to the Rules of Play for more information.
Once the last rock is thrown, the two teams again shake hands with the phrase “Good Curling”. Both teams need to pull the hacks, stack the rocks, remove the scoreboard (after it has been record) and return the rock cart to the freezer. The vice skips from both teams are responsible for recording the score.One writes the score down and the other signs it.
All materials brought on the ice, including clothing and brooms, should be removed from the ice surface.
After the Game
It is customary and appropriate for the winning team to purchase the losing team a round of drinks at the bar after the game. If both teams enjoyed the game, and wish to stick around for another round, the losing team should return the favor by buying the next round. This is called “broomstacking”. It shows good sportsmanship and appreciation for the game. The DFW Curling Club strongly encourages this practice.
The Dr Pepper Stars Center has a bar upstairs that is usually open afterward, and is the favorite place in which to celebrate broomstacking. Whether drinking or not, all curlers should head upstairs for a few minutes after a game. Socializing is as fundamental to curling as the game itself.
Brooms off the ice behind the house
Leaving the ice surface