This is a common question posed to curlers.

The reality, however, is that all 4 curlers on a team deliver two rocks every end (like innings in baseball) and sweep throughout the game.

Most people who get to experience curling on TV rarely see a full 2.5 hour complete championship level game (with ten ends). Unless you live in Canada, in which case you see complete curling matches every weekend throughout the winter.

When curling is shown here in the US, games are usually highly edited and show only the later shots. This leaves out the Lead's, Second's and even sometime the Vice-Skips' shots, and just show the final "Money shots" by the "Skip".

This years' coverage of the Olympics in Vancouver, however, was pretty good, and we should expect more of the same in future years due to the growing popularity of this wonderful sport!

Sweeping makes curling a team activity, and allows all four players on the team to work together with the goal of reaching a better outcome for each shot than can be achieved without sweeping

You sweep for two reasons:

• Distance (weight) -  Sweeping reduces the friction between the ice surface and the stone, and will allow a stone to glide up to 15' farther than it would have without sweeping.  This is about 10% of the total distance (126' to the center of the target) that the stone will travel.
• Line (curling trajectory) -  Sweeping delays the "curling" action of the stone and straightens the trajectory it travels (again through a decrease in friction), allowing the team to control how much a particular shot will curl (or curve). This allows teams to accurately curl stones behind other rocks, or to hit opponents' rocks with tremendous accuracy.

The main problem people often have with sweeping is that one can easily over-sweep a stone. Good curlers need a keen sense of observation to know when to sweep, and when not to sweep.  Some curlers even use stop watches to inform them of the speed of a rock.

Additionally,  a delivered stone that is too heavy makes sweeping useless.  It is traditionally best to deliver your rock with 90% to 100% of the distance/weight needed on a draw shot, allowing your teammates to sweep the stone (if needed) to the precise desired distance.

To see what Olympic Curlers Debbie McCormick and John Schuster have to say about sweeping  click here.

Our club has all the equipment necessary for a beginner to play (including sliders, brooms, stones, hacks, pebbler, etc.)

However, a fun spirit (especially when we toast a beverage afterwards), is always encouraged!

In addition, we recommend you wear:

• A pair of rubber-soled shoes, clean of mud, rocks, etc (Dirty shoes leave debris on the ice, and this negatively affects the path of the stones.)  Also, the more traction or grip your shoes have, the better.
• Layered and loose-fitting clothes that will keep you warm to 45 degrees.

Should you take to curling, like we hope, you can buy your very own equipment at these stores listed on this page

Most people who try curling are surprised at how physically demanding it can be. It actually makes for a great work-out!

While not a necessity, a greater level of personal fitness certainly helps.

That being said, what makes curling great is that this sport is a lifetime sport with curlers starting as young as 10 years old, and many play well into their 70's, 80's and even 90's.

Most people are not natural born curlers and simply require lots of practice to improve their skills/balance, which we try to build into our beginners program. As well, playing alongside other experienced curlers helps significantly in the learning process.

Most people who are moderately fit easily find the ability to play within their grasp, and that the main problems that keep people from curling are a poor sense of balance, bad backs, ankles, or knees.

Absolutely not! Most new curlers who join our club actually start playing as individuals, and we easily team them up with some of our more experienced curlers, who are more than willing to help new curlers improve their game. In fact, playing alongside experienced curlers is the best way to learn and improve your skills, and also allows you to meet other curlers in our club. We of course also welcome new teams composed of friends, associates, etc, if that is what you prefer, although we recommend playing with experienced curlers now and then, which will dramatically help to improve your skills.