Added by Nashville Curling Club
Updated
Curling is a game of skill and traditions. A shot well executed is a delight to see and so, too, it is a fine thing to observe the time-honored traditions of curling being applied in the true spirit of the game. Curlers play to win but never to humble their opponents.
A true curler would prefer to lose rather than win unfairly.
A good curler never attempts to distract an opponent or otherwise prevent him/her from playing his/her best.
No curler ever deliberately breaks a rule of the game or any of its traditions. But, if he/she should do so inadvertently and be aware of it, he/she is the first to divulge the breach.
While the main object of curling is to determine the relative skills of the players, the spirit of the game demands good sportsmanship, kindly feeling and honorable conduct. This spirit should influence both the interpretation and application of the rules of the game and also the conduct of all participants on and off the ice.
Be on time! Get to the club in time to change and warm up before the game. When you're late, you're holding up seven other players. Delays are upsetting to your opponents and your own team. If you know you'll be unavoidably late, inform your team in advance.
Get a sub. There may be occasions when you're not able to curl as scheduled. It's your responsibility to get a substitute. Call your skip and give the name of the curler substituting for you or the names of people you have called. No shows are no no's!
Start with a handshake. At the beginning of a game, greet the members of the opposing team with a handshake, tell them your name, and wish them good curling. Make sure everyone knows everyone else.
Finish with a handshake. When the game is over, offer each of the players a hearty handshake and move off the ice. The winning curlers traditionally offer their counterparts some refreshment. In turn, your opponent should reciprocate.
Practice on a different sheet. If you arrive early, want to throw a few stones to practice or warm up, and the ice is available, by all means do so. But be sure not to use the sheet you'll be playing on. You may not throw practice rocks on a sheet that will be used for a league game if the ice has already been prepared (pebbled and nipped).
Keep the ice clean. Change your shoes in the warm room. Sand, grit, and dirt are the ice's worst enemy. The shoes you wear should only be used for curling. Keep them clean.
Be ready. Take your position in the hack as soon as your opponent has delivered his/her stone. Move to the side of the sheet once your rock has been delivered; the next curler is in the hack preparing for their shot. Keep the game moving; delays detract from the sport. Be prepared to sweep as soon as your teammate releases the rock.
The lead from the non-hammer team in the next end should not help put the rocks away, instead the lead should find their next rock and get in the hack, clean the rock, and be prepared to throw as soon as the skip calls the shot.
Place your skip’s rock in front of the hack to help speed up the game.
Skips should keep the game moving by minimizing delay in making decisions. Avoid long conferences. This is rock science, not rocket science. It is not acceptable to slow down the game on purpose when you are ahead to avoid playing additional ends.
Be courteous. Don't distract your opponent in the hack. Keep your distance, be silent and motionless. Don't walk or run across the ice when a player is in the hack. Don't gather around the back of the house when an opponent is throwing. Sweepers should stay on the sidelines between the hog lines when not sweeping.
Wait for the score. Vice skips are the only players allowed in the house while the score for the end is being decided. All other players should wait beyond the hog line until told they may move into the house to clear the rocks.
Be a good sport. Compliment a good shot. One of the nicest curling traditions is that players and spectators compliment a good shot by either side while not remarking on a poor shot or a competitor's misfortune.
Do not slam brooms or any equipment into the ice due to frustration or elation, debris may dislodge from equipment and alter play (plus it doesn’t look good on you).
The rules of the game can be found here: World Curling - Rules of Curling
Here are some reminders of rules that people tend to forget:
You may not use any physical device to attempt to measure a stone, that includes putting your broom next to the stone to see how close it is to a circle. You may only use your eyes during an end and the official measuring device at the end of an end if the vices cannot agree on the score. For the purposes of the free guard zone you may use the biter bar during an end if the skips cannot agree whether a rock is in or out of the house.
When sweeping an opposing stone behind the tee line, you may not start sweeping until the rock touches the tee line. If the throwing team wants to sweep behind the tee line they have priority over the rock but they may not block or prevent the other team from sweeping if they are not. Only one opposing stone can be swept at a time.
You may only sweep rocks that are in motion. If you anticipate a rock will be hit and start moving, you may not start sweeping until that rock starts moving.
A rock is in play if it completely crosses the hog line or if it comes in contact with a stone that is in play.
If a rock is burned (hit by one of the sweepers) before it crosses the hogline, the sweepers should remove it immediately. If it is burned after the hogline the shot should continue as normal and after all the rocks come to a stop the sweepers should inform the opposing skip which rock was burned and how. The opposing skip the has the following options:
1) remove the touched stone, and replace all stones that were displaced after the infraction to their positions prior to the violation taking place; or 2) leave all stones where they came to rest; or 3) place all stones where it reasonably considers the stones would have come to rest had the moving stone not been touched.
If a stationary rock is accidentally moved, the person who moved it should inform the opposing skip who will place it where it was in his/her estimation.
The skip does not have to throw fourth and the vice does not have to throw third. The choice of throwing order and the selection of vice and skip is done before the game and has to remain the same throughout the game.
The free guard zone only applies to stones of the opposing team.
Free Guard Zone: A stone that comes to rest between the tee line and the hog line at the playing end, excluding the house, is deemed to be within an area designated as the FGZ. Also, stones that are in play, on or before the hog line, after striking stones in the FGZ, are deemed to be in the FGZ.
If, prior to the delivery of the sixth stone of an end, a delivered stone causes, either directly or indirectly, an opposition stone to be moved from the FGZ to an out-of-play position, then the delivered stone is removed from play, and any displaced stones are replaced, by the non-offending team, to their positions prior to the violation taking place.
Maintaining the ice in good condition is not only the job of the Ice makers but it requires effort from all the club members.
Please help us maintain the ice in good condition by doing the following for league and pickup games:
Before each game the ice will be pebbled and nipped. Only people that have been trained to do it and have approval from the ice crew can volunteer to do it. Doing it wrong could hurt the ice condition. The nipper is also a very sharp tool that should be handled appropriately for safety reasons.
During the game please take care of the ice:
* If you fall and you are ok, please get up quickly, it only takes a few seconds for the ice to start melting.
* Try to avoid putting your hands on the ice to avoid hand prints. If you need to use your hands to get up, it is fine as long as you do it quickly.
* Clean the running surface of the rock before throwing it. This helps avoid picks and scratches on the ice when there is hard debris under the rock. If you notice the rock is scratching the ice. Stop it immediately and clean it before rethrowing it. If you’ve never cleaned a rock before, practice it in the space behind the hacks and ask another experienced club member for advice on how to do it.
* Avoid drinking or eating over the surface of the ice.
Curling Club in Middle Tennessee