Ice stock sport or stick shooting, also known as curling or stick sport, is particularly popular in the Alps. The rules of the game are similar to the more well-known curling, but there are differences in the material and rules of the game. Basically, this recreational or competitive sport is a precision sport.
In the past, curling could only spread in areas with freezing water and establish itself as a popular winter sport. Today, this recreational sport is played all year round and is mostly organized in clubs.
This sport probably originated in Scandinavia, where a similar sport was played in the 13th century. The aim is to let the ice stick slide and bring it to a standstill as close as possible to a goal – the so-called Daube. Paintings from the Alps and Holland from the 16th century show people playing curling. The first clubs were founded before 1900, but there were no fixed rules. From Upper Bavaria it has been handed down that entire villages often competed against each other in curling on a frozen foothills of the Alps.
The first European curling championships were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1951, and the first curling world championships in 1983 in Frankfurt am Main. However, this sport is not an Olympic discipline, despite efforts to do so in 1936 and 1964. The centers of this sport are traditionally located in the Alps in southern Germany, Austria, South Tyrol and Switzerland. Furthermore, curling is popular in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland and attracts interest in Australia, the USA and Canada, as well as in Africa and South America.
Requirements and Equipment
A curling stock, the target object (the stave) and a suitably marked playing surface are required to practice this sport. There are no regulations for the clothing of the athletes. A so-called ‘Daube’ is placed on the marked field as a target. The players take turns throwing the ice stick. The aim of the game is to “place” the curling stones as close as possible to this stave. There are also competitions where the distance achieved is important. It can be played as an individual competition or as a team competition.
The playing field
The playing field has markings for the starting zone and the end zone with the center cross. The end zone is marked by four concentric target rings with a cross in the middle. Sticks falling outside of these rings are no longer valid for the game.
The stave is positioned at the center cross at the beginning of the game. The distance to the playing zone is 15 to 20 meters, in competitions 24.5 meters. In curling, the playing surface is ice in winter and asphalt, concrete or concrete paving stones in summer. There are also curling carpets. It is played indoors or outdoors. The dimensions of the playing field are always the same: the distance between the starting point and the center cross in the target field is up to 24.5 meters.
The Ice Stick
Today, standardized, detachable, modern curling stones are common. In the past, these were individually made of wood and provided with an iron ring. This tire provided both the necessary hardness when hitting other sticks and optimal weight distribution. The bottom of the curling stone was made slippery with ski wax.
The modern tournament stick consists of three parts, a handle, a stick body and a sole. These are available as summer outsoles made of plastic and as winter outsoles made of rubber. These have different degrees of hardness (Shores) and therefore different gliding properties. There is a corresponding color code for this. The particularly soft purple outsole requires the most strength. The gradations are blue, yellow, orange, grey, black, green and white. The light, red outsole with a special profile is popular in summer.
The stick body weighs between 2.73 and 3.83 kilograms. Depending on their weight, these stick bodies are provided with a code letter, which must be visibly attached: Type M, L, P or E (student stick).
Type M: 3.80 to 3.83 kilograms
Type L: 3.70 to 3.73 kilograms
Type P: 3.50 to 3.53 kilograms
School stick type E: 2.73 to 2.78 kilograms
The older types of poles made of wood are also used as a leisure sport in winter. In Austria, for example, there are the so-called Birnstingl, sticks made of pear wood.
Competition rules for curling
Ice stock sport can be practiced as a leisure or competitive sport. A distinction is made between team competitions, distance and target competitions.
Game play and game duration
A game usually lasts about 30 minutes and usually consists of four so-called turns. A turn denotes a game run. This regulation applies to individual competitions as well as to team competitions. If both teams have thrown four times each, a turn is over. You play twice in one direction and then twice in the opposite direction.
Players throw the stick at baseline with a kickstand and are not allowed to cross that line. It is permissible for a newly thrown stick to displace the already positioned sticks or even the stave. However, if a curling stick shoots beyond the marked end zone, it is no longer in play. The winner is the player whose ice stock comes to rest closest to the daube in all turns. Teams score points per turn and the team with the most points wins.
Team competition
In a team competition there are a total of six turns. Usually two teams (in the language of the Stockschützen “Moarschaften”) of four to five players compete against each other. Each player has a shot and it is the turn of the team that is not in the best position to save. The face-off changes with every turn, regardless of the outcome of the last round.
As in the individual game, in the team game all members of a team try to bring their sticks as close as possible to the stave. The stave is placed on the center cross before the beginning of each turn. Players are allowed to move sticks or staves that have already been thrown. She remains in this new position, which then applies to the scoring.
Each player can thus put himself and his team in a position closer to the stave. This only has to be put back on the center cross if it ends up outside the target field. If a stock falls outside of the target field or the end zone, this stock is no longer in play and is therefore not evaluated.
When both teams have played with all their sticks, the turn is over. The team whose sticks are in the best position gets the stick points in this round.
Scoring
For the stick in the best location (closest to the stave), three stick points are awarded.
Each additional stick of the same team that is closer to the stave than the opponent’s closest stick scores an additional two points.
Points are deducted for sticks outside the target field, three stick points for the first stick of the team with the best location and two points for all other sticks.
The team with the greater number of stock points receives two profit or game points, the other none. In case of a tie, each team gets one point. The team with the most winning points after all turns wins the tournament. If two teams have the same number of winning points, the quotient of all own and opposing stock points (the stock score) decides.
The target competition
There are additional markings on the playing field for this competition: two further target zones are located on the left and right behind the usual field with the center cross. There are also 6 additional markings for the aiming sticks distributed on the field.
A target competition is usually held in 4 rounds with 6 attempts each. Up to 60 points can be achieved in each round. For the overall ranking, 2 rounds, i.e. two times four rounds, are usually played. In championships, there are usually one or two more final rounds for the top-ranked players. A target competition can be an individual or a team competition.
Playthroughs
In an individual competition, one player plays all rounds and is scored individually.
In the team competition there is a different player in each round and the individual results are added together.
- Round: 6 attempts on the middle target rings to bring a stick as close as possible to the center cross. The respective ring in which the stick is placed is evaluated. Rings count from outside to inside: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 points.
- Round: 6 attempts at a target stick, which is placed alternately in certain marked circles on the playing field. This stick has to be transported out of the target field, but the player’s stick should remain in the target field. Depending on the final position of the poles, 0, 2, 5 or 10 points are awarded for each attempt.
- Round: 3 attempts each to the left and right rear target (target fragments) and the stick should be brought as close as possible to the centers of the rings. The respective ring in which the stick is placed is evaluated. Rings count from outside to inside: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 points.
- Round: 6 attempts at a shooting stick in the respective 6 markings. In attempts 1 and 2, the goal is to hit the target stick in such a way that the player’s stick comes to a standstill as close as possible to the center cross. In attempts 3 and 4, the aim is to hit the shooting stick so that it comes to a standstill as close as possible to the center cross. In attempts 5 and 6, the aim is to move the shooting stick from the target rings to the rear rings. In attempts 1 to 6, the respective ring that the stick reaches is scored. The rings count 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 points from the outside to the inside.
The distance competition
In long-distance competition, it is not the accuracy and direction that matters, but the speed and length of a shot. Therefore, the technique of the wide shooters differs significantly from the other competitions. The shooter is positioned in the center of the semi-circle on a stand and must run out to the 7-meter line. All players use the same stick body and outsole. However, the curling stick can be changed, everyone can use their own sticks.
The aim is to shoot the stick as far as possible in a funnel-shaped path. Everyone has five tries, the best of which counts. If the stick leaves the lane, the length measurement is only valid up to the point of leaving. The dimensions of the track depend on the season. The summer track on asphalt or concrete pavement is narrower than the winter track on ice. The funnel track can be extended as required and the widths are considerable. The world record at 566 meters.
Team competitions are also possible here by summing up the individual results of several players.
Special shapes
There are regional and natural differences in traditional curling in the Alps. In the Alpine region, poles made of pear or maple wood are common in recreational sports, and they can vary in shape, size and weight. These sticks have a wrought iron ring and a wooden handle made of birch or ash.
The shots are usually taken outdoors, on frozen ponds, lakes or dammed streams. Outdoor ice rinks are often used for this purpose. The track length here can be 40 meters. A wooden cube measuring 10 by 10 centimeters with beveled corners is usually used as the stave.
There is a special form of curling in Carinthia, Austria. With otherwise very similar rules, the so-called Carinthian stick is used. Despite the smaller diameter of about 20 centimetres, this stick weighs more than 5 kilograms. In addition, a Carinthian stick has a wooden plate with rubber nubs of different hardnesses instead of flat rubber outsoles. With modern sticks there are also metal and plastic running plates.
In “Styrian wild shooting” it doesn’t matter where the stave falls during a hairpin bend. The only thing that counts here is to place the stick as close to it as possible. Team sizes are also not limited and cannot be regulated by and can range from 4 to 20 people.
What is curling sport?
Curling features two teams of four players sliding a large, granite stone on a rectangular sheet of ice. The goal is to deliver the stone from one side of the sheet to the circular scoring area on the other side, called the house. The closer to the center of the house, known as the button, the better.
What kind of rock is used in the Olympic sports curling?
The main source of granite used for curling stones comes from Ailsa Craig, a small isle located off the coast of mainland Scotland. Most of the curling stones used in the Olympics and the Paralympics have come from Ailsa Craig. Kays of Scotland has the exclusive rights to harvest granite from Aisla Craig.
What is the ball called in the sport curling?
The curling stone, or rock, is made of dense polished granite from Ailsa Craig, Scotland, and in the Olympics, each rock weighs 19.1 kg (44 lbs).
Is curling really a sport?
Curling is a team sport, played on ice, where two teams take it in turns to slide stones made of granite towards a target – known as a House. It is an Olympic and Paralympic winter sport with medal disciplines for Women’s, Men’s, Mixed Doubles, and mixed Wheelchair teams.
Why do they sweep in curling?
The basic principle behind sweeping is deceptively simple. The heat produced by the friction generated by sweeping melts the ice and produces a thin layer of water over which the heavy granite stone slides more easily since the friction between the stone and water is less than that between the stone and ice.
How does a curling work?
Sweeping in front of the stone reduces friction and helps the curlers control the amount of curl the stone undergoes. The sweeping quickly heats and melts the pebbles on the ice leaving a film of water. This film reduces the friction between the stone and ice.
