Did You Know - Curling

Curling is one of Canada's most recognizable sports. Most of us have seen the familiar sight of players sliding stones down the ice while teammates sweep and call instructions, but there is much more happening than meets the eye.

Played between two teams, curling combines precision, strategy, communication, and teamwork. Players take turns delivering stones toward the house, the circular target at the opposite end of the sheet. The goal is to finish each end with your team's stones closer to the centre than your opponents.

Do You Speak Curling?

Watch a curling game and you'll quickly realize the sport has a language of its own. Here are a few terms that can help you follow the action:

• House: The blue circular target area where stones must land to potentially score.
• Button: The red circle at the very centre of the house and the spot every team is trying to get closest to.
• Hammer: The advantage of delivering the final stone in an end, giving a team the last opportunity to change the score.
• Guard: A stone placed in front of the house to protect another stone or make it harder for an opponent to reach the target.
• Bonspiel: A curling tournament where teams come together to compete.

What's With All the Yelling?

Those calls aren't just part of the atmosphere. Curlers are constantly communicating about the speed, direction, and movement of the stone. The player directing the shot may call for teammates to sweep harder, stop sweeping, or adjust based on how the stone is travelling. That constant communication is one of the reasons teamwork plays such an important role in curling.

There's Strategy in Every Shot

Curling is sometimes described as "chess on ice" because players are constantly thinking several shots ahead. Teams must decide when to protect their stones with guards, when to remove an opponent's stone, and where to place each shot to create an advantage later in the end.

Strength can play a role, but precision, communication, decision-making, and strategy are what make the sport tick.

Curling in Lethbridge

Clubs:

• Lethbridge Curling Club - opportunities for juniors, adults, and curlers aged 50+, with a variety of playing formats.

Events:

• Swing & Sweep - October 16-18, 2026

Ready to give it a try? Explore local curling organizations, opportunities, and events through the Lethbridge Sport Council Sport Directory and Events Calendar.