Cheers for Curling in Winter Olympics

Orin Christianson, Charger Staff

The Winter Olympics are known for a number of exciting events such as skeleton, luge, down hill slalom, bobsledding, and others.

However, all of these sports cannot hold a candle to the heart pounding excitement that is curling.

Part of the appeal of curling is the fact that virtually anyone can do it. Simply by looking at the men’s curling teams,mostly made up of overweight men at least forty years old, one can tell that these men are not very athletic.

As Brent Chaffin, a psychology teacher, said,”I believe it (curling) is a growing sport. My prediction is that Miami will be a hot bed for curlers. If the YMCA really cared about the youth of the nation, they would begin programs throughout the country to help develop the talents of young stone throwers.”

Curling, which originated in Scotland, is played on a sheet of ice 138 feet long and 14 feet wide. The game is played with sixteen stones (eight stones per team) which weigh forty-two pounds each and are made of solid granite.

The object of the game is to get as close to the center of the Tee (which is the red circle in the center of The House). The teams are made up of four players, called the Skip, who is the leader, the First, the Second, and the Third.

One player delivers the stone and the other two sweep,while the Skip calls out directions to the sweepers. The game is divided into ten to twelve ends, in which every player throws two stones. When the skip delivers his stones, the Third acts as Skip for a short time.
Curling is often referred to as “chess on ice” because strategy is such an important part of the game.

There are three basic strategic moves one can make during the game called the Draw, the Takeout, and Guarding.

Copyright 2003 Cookeville High School