Curling is a team sport played by two teams of four players on a rectangular sheet of ice. Its nickname, “The Roaring Game”, originates from the rumbling sound the 44-pound (19.96kg) granite stones make when they travel across the ice.

Scottish origins
One of the world’s oldest team sports, curling originated in the 16th century in Scotland, where games were played during winter on frozen ponds and lochs. The earliest-known curling stones came from the Scottish regions of Stirling and Perth and date from 1511. In the 1600s, stones with handles were introduced.

Key developments
The first curling clubs appeared in Scotland, with the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, formed in 1838, being responsible for formulating the first official rules of the sport. The Club was renamed the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843. The key 20th-century developments in the sport have been the standardisation of the stone, the development of the slide delivery, and the use of indoor, refrigerated ice facilities.

Olympic history
Men’s curling was included in the Olympic programme in 1924 at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. It was then dropped, and later re-introduced as a demonstration sport in 1932 in Lake Placid.

Between 1936 and 1992, curling was staged at the Games as a demonstration sport: in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936 and Innsbruck in 1964, under the German name of “Eisschiessen”; and in 1988 in Calgary and in 1992 in Albertville, with both men’s and women’s events.

It was in Nagano in 1998 that it officially joined the Olympic programme, with both men’s and women’s competitions.

Broom or brush
There are two types of broom. The most common is a brush or “push broom”. The other is a corn/straw/Canadian broom, which, with long bristles, looks much like a normal broom.

Ice
For indoor tournaments the artificially created ice has its surface sprinkled with water droplets which freeze into tiny bumps on the surface. Called “pebbled ice”, this surface helps the stone’s grip and leads to more consistent curling.

Rink
The rink is 42.07m long and 4.28m wide with a target – or house – at either end.

Shoes
Special curling shoes are common; shoes should grip the ice well. While shooting, extremely slippery surfaces such as Teflon are used on the sliding foot. Some are built into the shoes and others are strapped on over the shoes.

Rock
Also known as a stone, a curling rock is made of rare, dense granite that is quarried on Scotland’s Ailsa Craig. Each rock weighs 19.1kg and is polished.

Back house weight
A shot designed to reach the back of the house (scoring area), behind the tee line and near the centreline.

Back line
The line at the back of the house. Rocks that travel beyond the back line are out of play.

Bonspiel
A curling tournament.

Button
The circular area in the centre of the house with a diameter of 0.3m.

Centreline
The line dividing the playing surface down the middle, running from end to end and through both houses.

Come around
A shot that curls around a guard and stops behind it.

Curl
The curve the rock makes as it travels down the ice.

End
Similar to an inning in baseball. One end is complete when all 16 rocks – eight per team, two per person – have been shot. The score is determined at the conclusion of each end. Games are made up of ten ends.

Free guard zone
An area between the hog line and the tee line, but not inside the house. An opponent”s rock may not be removed from this area by an opposing shot until the first four rocks have been played in that end.

Freeze
A form of a draw that stops directly up against another rock.

Front house weight
A shot designed to reach the front of the house, in front of the tee line and near the centreline.

Hammer
The last rock shot in each end. When a team scores, it takes the first shot in the next end and gives its opponent the hammer.

Hit and roll
A shot that takes out an opponent”s rock, then slides to another position.

Hog line
The line behind which a player must release a rock. It is located 6.41m from the tee. If a rock does not travel beyond the far hog line, it is removed from play.

House
The circular scoring area. It is 3.66m in diameter and is made up of four concentric circles. The outside ring is 3.66m in diameter, the next ring is 2.44m in diameter, the next ring is 1.22m in diameter, and the inside ring (button) is 0.3m in diameter.

Hurry
A command shouted by the skip which instructs players to sweep.

Lead
The first player who shoots for a team in each end.

Pebble
Water droplets applied to the ice before a game that reduce the resistance between the surfaces of the ice and stone.

Peel
A shot designed to remove a guard.

Port
An opening through which curlers try to shoot or draw.

Raise
A type of draw that knocks another rock into the house.

Raise takeout
A shot that hits a stationary rock, causing the second rock to knock a third rock out of play.

Scoring
A rink, or team, scores one point for every rock closer to the centre of the house than the opposing rink”s closest rock. Only one rink scores per end.

Sheet
The playing area. It is 44.5m long and allows play in both directions.

Slider
The smooth piece of footwear on the sliding foot that allows for a long, smooth delivery.

Swingy ice
A condition in which the ice causes the rocks to curl a lot.

Takeout
A shot that removes another rock from play.

Third
Also known as the vice-skip, he or she is the player who shoots third in each end. When the skip shoots, the vice-skip holds the broom as the target.

Vice-skip
Also known as the third, he or she is the player who shoots third in each end. When the skip shoots, the vice-skip holds the broom as the target.

Wide
A rock delivered outside the intended line.