CURLING SCHEDULE
» Day 5
Tuesday, Feb. 16
Men
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Women
2-5 p.m.
» Day 7
Thursday, Feb. 18
Men
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Women
2-5 p.m.
» Day 9
Saturday, Feb. 20
Men
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Women
2-5 p.m.
» Day 11
Monday, Feb. 22
Men
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Women
2-5 p.m.
» Day 13
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Tiebreakers
9-noon
2-5 p.m.
7-10 p.m.
» Day 15
Friday, Feb. 26
Women’s bronze-medal
game,9-noon
Women’s gold-medal
game
3-6 p.m.
» Day 6
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Women
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Men
2-5 p.m.
» Day 8
Friday, Feb. 19
Women
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Men
2-5 p.m.
» Day 10
Sunday, Feb. 21
Women
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Men
2-5 p.m.
» Day 12
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Women
9-noon,7-10 p.m.
Men
2-5 p.m.
» Day 14
Thursday, Feb. 25
Semifinals
Women,9-noon
Men,2-5 p.m.
» Day 16
Saturday, Feb. 27
Men’s bronze-medal
game,9-noon
Men’s gold-medal
game
3-6 p.m.
DECONSTRUCTING THE GAMES
CURLING: Of rocks, pebbles and brooms
It might look relatively straight forward, but there are a lot of elements at play in this tactical, technical sport.
Canwest News Service writers Al Cameron and Lyndon Little explain:
SWIVEL HANDLE
BROOM: Takes the
Equipment
advances
Putting the curl in curling
From the initial delivery at one end of the 44.5-metre sheet
of ice to the final result at the other,what makes a curling
rock behave as it does is more complex than it might seem.
Below are the various factors at play.
old-style push broom to
another level.Lighter,
more manoeuverable,
more effective.
Today’s brooms are
lighter but stronger,
making a difference
for sweepers,especially in weekend
cashspiels where
teams can play 10
games in three days.
MATERIALS: The handle
itself is the key,made of
carbon-fibre.Heads,with
hair or synthetic material,
are interchangeable depending on ice conditions.
CORN BROOM: The
original sweeping
tool is used by only a
few players today and
even then it’s only
used for the delivery.
WEIGHT: Old-style woodhandle brooms weighed
nearly two pounds;the
new brooms are half that.
Over 10 ends of sweeping,
that’s significant.
SWEEPING RANGE: A
swivel head allows a
sweeper to manipulate
the sweeping position,
providing better coverage
in front of the rock.
PUSH BROOM:
Introduced in Europe
and now used
throughout the
world,it’s easier
to use than a corn
broom and leaves less
debris on the ice.
Stone
1.THROWING
It all starts with the delivery.In the early days of curling,
competitors delivered their stone directly with a push
from the hack,the foothold frozen into the ice at both
ends of the sheet.Later,players began experimenting with
a slide before releasing the rock.Whatever the method,the
rock must be released before the player reaches the near
hog line,which is just over 10 metres from the near hack.
Before release,the curler gently spins the rock to throw
an in-turn or out-turn.An in-turn spins clockwise for righthanders,counter-clockwise for lefties;an out-turn does the
opposite.Ideally,rocks rotate three to four times down the
ice,and curls up to five feet on draws,less on takeouts.
2.HOW THE ROCK REACTS
Science tells us that stones curl thanks to a thin film of
water that builds under the rock’s narrow running surface
— which is only 12 cm in diameter.As the rock rotates,
one side of the running surface (the outside edge) moves
faster than the inside edge.The film of water,
caused by friction,is larger and more
slippery on the outer edge than the
slower inner edge.This causes the
rock to curl to the right or left
depending on the turn.
Running surface
RINK
Team: Each team
has a lead (throws
first),second,viceskip (assists the
skip with tactics,
throws third) and a
skip (throws last).
Umpires: There
are two.
The team with the last stone
is said to have the hammer.It’s
akin to the home team’s last
at-bat advantage in baseball.
House: Only
stones totally or
partially in this
circled area can
score points.
1.OH,CANADA
Canada hasn’t missed the podium since curling
became a medal sport in 1998,although they’ve
won gold just twice in six attempts.
2.HOME SWEET HOME?
No host country has ever hit the medal podium
in curling,although the Canadian women,
skipped by Linda Moore,claimed gold in 1988
when curling was a demonstration sport.
3.RULE BRITANNIA
Rhona Martin’s stunning win in women’s curling
at Salt Lake City was Great Britain’s only gold
medal in 2002.In the UK,49 per cent of TVs
were tuned in to the gold-medal game,despite
its post-midnight start local time.
4.BY THE NUMBERS
Canadian men have a cumulative 24-7 record in
three Olympic Games to top the overall standings,followed by Norway at 20-9.The Canadian
women also have a 24-7 record,while Sweden
is second with a 21-9 mark.
5.WORLD RECORDS
Canada is coming off a season in which it failed
to win a gold medal at the world men’s,world
women’s and world junior championships.
The last time that happened:1992.
Physical and mental strength
Curlers need touch and nerves of steel to
throw a rock 40 metres down a sheet of ice
to a target that’s probably behind cover,
through openings often no bigger than the
rock itself.
Top sweepers have incredible arm and core
body strength;they need both strength and
cardiovascular endurance to get through an
Olympic tournament.
Cardiovascular
endurance
Arm and
core body
strength
MEDAL FAVOURITES
Canadians are among the medal contenders
42.50 m
Free guard zone:
In this zone,the
first two shooters
may place their
stones so that they
block access to the
house.This is a protected area, since
the first two shooters on each team
are not allowed to
remove the opposing team‘s stone
within it.
Tee Line: Behind
this line,players
may sweep a stone
thrown by the opposing team.
HAMMER
4.32-4.75 m
Hack: Two rubber
blocks,one at each
end,are starting
places for the
throwing curler.
21.95 m
No amount of sweeping can make a rock travel faster.
Sweeping can,however,make a stone travel farther than
it otherwise would by decreasing the rate of deceleration.
Good sweeping can add close to four metres to a rock’s
distance.Sweeping breaks down the ice pebble on which
the stone slides,reducing the friction on the rock.
Sweeping also helps to control the amount of curl.
Vigorous sweeping will help a stone curl less than it
otherwise would.Therefore,players doing the sweeping
— with help from the skip,who watches the rock’s
progress from the other end — must at times make
difficult decisions on whether it’s more
advantageous to sweep the rock for direction
or for distance.
Often you’ll hear the skip yell “No for line”,
meaning the rock doesn’t need any help from
the sweepers controlling the amount of curl.
After that,it’s up to the sweepers to decide if the
rock needs sweeping for distance.
Pebbles — water droplets frozen
as tiny bumps on the surface of
the ice — reduce the friction
between the ice surface and the
stone by reducing the total
contact area between the two
surfaces.When the cup of the
stone is raised off the ice surface,
resistance is reduced.The
number of pebbles,therefore,
influences the draw weight.
Without pebbles,most curlers
wouldn’t be able to throw the
stone hard enough for it to reach
the rings at the end of the sheet.
THE ATHLETES
6.40 m
3.SWEEPING
4.PEBBLES
SMART FACTS
Hog
Line
Button
Back Line
FOR MORE ON THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES GO TO VANCOUVERSUN.COM/2010
WOMEN: While
Canadian teams
still enter world-level
events as favourites,
it’s hardly automatic
anymore.Jennifer
Jones didn’t medal at
the 2009 world championship,while 2006
Olympic rep Shannon
Kleibrink struggled to
win bronze that year.
Calgary’s Cheryl
Bernard knocked off
both at Olympic qualifying to secure her
MEN: Canada has
reached the final
in three previous
Games,and given
Kevin Martin’s track
record it’s hard to
imagine him not
making the podium
in 2010.The Edmonton skip — trying
to replicate Brad
Gushue’s gold-medal
performance at Turin
four years ago — is a
four-time national
Bernard
Wang
spot at the 2010
Games.She’ll face formidable opponents
led by newly crowned
world champ Bingyu
Martin
Murdoch
champion,2008
world champion
and 2002 Olympic
silver medallist.
Norberg
McCormick
Wang of China,whose
country has enjoyed a
stunning rise in the
sport,and 2006 champion Anette Norberg
Ulsrud
of Sweden.Debbie
McCormick of the
United States also
has a world title on
her resume.
Shuster
Britain’s David Murdoch has won two
of the past four world
titles and is also a
favourite,along with
Norway’s Thomas
Ulsrud and John
Shuster of the U.S.
GRAPHICS:BY ROGER WATANABE AND MAGGIE WONG/VANCOUVER SUN