Curling promoCurling promoIn its recreational form, curling is in fact a non-physically demanding game for two teams of four players who must show team spirit, be able to concentrate and estimate distance, and engage in strategic thinking. Thanks to these attributes, curling is becoming a very popular corporate and teambuilding event as well as an activity for smaller social events.
History of curling:
Curling originated in Scotland more than five hundred years ago, and shares a cultural background with golf and croquet. The sport spread quickly from Scotland to north-western and northern Europe, as evidenced by the first known curling scene in a painting by the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel. Later curling travelled across the ocean, and in cold Canada in particular has become one of the most popular sports.
Curling was featured at Winter Olympic Games for the first time in 1924. At the time it was only a demonstration sport, however in 2006 the curling tournament held at the 1924 Olympics was declared a full part of the Olympic programme. Curling was a demonstration sport at the 1932, 1988, and 1992 Olympics. Since the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, curling has become a full part of the programme (including a men’s and women’s tournament). A world championship has been held every year for men since 1959 (even though World Curling Federation was formed seven years later) and for women since 1979. In 1975 the first European Championship of men and women was held and since then it has been held on an annual. In 2005 a European Championship of mixed teams was added.
The best teams in the world include Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the teams from Scandinavia and the countries of the Alpine region.
Curling Basics
Curling is a team sport in which players slide their stones as precisely as possible on a sheet of ice towards a target area. PRAGUE CURLING ARENA offers four sheets. In a game, two teams ideally consisting of four players each play on one sheet. Each team has a set of eight stones. A part of the game in which all sixteen stones have been thrown is called an end. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends or is played within a time limit. Every player throws two stones in an end, always taking turns with the opposing team. The direction and the length of the stone path can be altered by sweeping the ice with brooms.
The aim of the game is to place and maintain the team’s stones closer to the centre of the circular target (the house) than the stones of the opposing team.
At the conclusion of an end, the team scores one point for each of their stones in the house that is closer to the centre than any of the stones of the opposing team. The top left visualisation shows a situation where the team playing with yellow stones scores one point.
After playing the set number of ends or after the time limit expires, the points scored by the teams are totalled to declare the winner.