Curling is a sport played between two teams of four players each on a sheet of ice. The objective is to slide polished granite stones towards a target area called the house. Points are scored based on which team's stones are closest to the center of the house at the end of each round, called an end, after both teams have thrown all of their stones. Players use brooms to sweep the ice in front of a moving stone to help it travel farther and curl around other stones. Special shoes are worn, with one having a slider sole to help players deliver and sweep the stones across the ice sheet.

1. Curling

2. • Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet
of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and
shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns
sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks",
across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target
marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones. The purpose is
to accumulate the highest score for a game; points are scored
for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the
conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams
have thrown all of their stones. A game may consist of ten or
eight ends.

3. • The playing area in curling is shown here. Stones must
land between the hog line(bottom of photo) and
the back line (behind the rings) and may not contact
boards or out lines (on the sides) at any time during
travel.
The
curling
stone is
made
of
granite

4. The curling stone
• The curling stone (also sometimes rock, North America), as
defined by the World Curling Federation is a thick stone disc
weighing between 38 and 44 pounds (17 and 20 kg) with a
handle attached to the top.The maximum allowable
circumference is 36 inches (910 mm).The minimum height is
4.5 inches (110 mm). The handle is attached by a bolt running
vertically through a hole in the centre of the stone. The handle
allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release; on
properly prepared ice, the stone's path will bend (curl) in the
direction the front edge of the stone is turning, especially as
the stone slows. The handles are colored to identify the stones
by team. Two popular colors in major tournaments are red and
yellow. The only part of the stone in contact with the ice is
the running surface, a narrow, flat annulus or ring, 0.25 to
0.50 inch (6.3 to 13 mm) wide and about 5 inches (130 mm) in
diameter; the sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring
and the inside of the ring is hollowed concave to clear the ice.

5. Curling broom
• The curling broom, or brush, is used to sweep the ice surface
in the path of the stone,and is also often used as a balancing
aid during delivery of the stone.
• In earlier days, brooms were made of corn strands and were
similar to household brooms. Brushes were used primarily by
elderly curlers as a substitute for corn brooms. Today, brushes
have replaced traditional corn brooms at every level of curling,
but are universally referred to as brooms. Curling brushes may
have fabric, hog hair, or horsehair heads. Modern curling
broomsticks are usually hollow tubes made of fiberglass or
carbon fiber instead of a solid length of wooden dowel. These
hollow tube handles are lighter and stronger than wooden
handles, allowing faster sweeping and also enabling more
downward force to be applied to the broom head with reduced
shaft flex.

6. Curling broom

7. Shoes
• Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic
shoes except that they have dissimilar soles; the
slider shoe is designed for the off foot (or sliding
foot) and the non-sliding shoe for the hack foot:
• The slider shoe is designed to slide and typically
has a Teflon sole. It is worn by the thrower
during delivery from the hack and by sweepers
or the skip to glide down the ice when sweeping
or otherwise traveling down the sheet quickly.

8. Curling shoes, showing a slider sole

9. Other equipment
• Other types of equipment include:
– Curling pants, made to be stretchy to
accommodate the curling delivery.
– A stopwatch to time the stones while
sweeping to get a feel of the speed of the
stone. Stopwatches can be attached either to
clothing or the broom itself.
– Curling gloves and mittens, to keep the
hands warm and improve grip on the broom.

10. Thanks for your attention!