CURLING TERMINOLOGIES: A concise list of terminologies of curling. You will find 100s of curling terms and definitions used by archers and officials, all listed from A to Z.
Curlers and competition referees can use this vocabulary of curling terminology.
The titles and common match rulings will also help spectators and sports fans.
The official curling rules and regulations is a good place to start if you are learning to play.
These curling key words cover the advanced lingo and sports terms related to the game.
Slide through to the most common terminology in curling by clicking the alphabetic facility below. Or, take a timeout and sharpen your knowledge and understanding of the game.
This comprehensive list of curling terms and definitions continues to grow. Check in often for more information associated to curling playing techniques and match-winning strategies.
CURLING TERMS: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
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A – Accuracy Rate
A curler’s accuracy rate depends on the shot made.
The skip calls a shot for the curler to make and depending on how well the curler executes that shot, they are generally scored out of 4.
If they make the shot exactly as called, they will score a 4. If they are close, and still leave something that can be used, they may score a 3.
The calculations are conducted over the course of a game and that is how accuracy is measured.
The higher the percentage, the more shots the curler has made. Accuracy rating is not always about how often a curler hits the button.
B – Blank End
In the game of curling the term ‘blank end’ means no points were scored by the team.
Bonspiel
A curling bonspiel is a tournament in which curlers play competitively.
Burning a Rock
Burning a rock refers to a curling rules infraction. The phrase describes a ruling that does not allow a player to touch a stone as it travels down the ice sheet.
Button
The button in curling is the very center ring of the target house and similar to the bull’s eye in darts.
C – Cashpiel
A cashpiel is a curling tournament where curlers compete for a monetary prize.
D – Delivery
Delivery is the motion of throwing a stone from one end to the other end of the playing surface.
E – Eight-ender
Eight-ender in curling is a perfect end where every all eight stones score a point.
End
An end is the term for the method that curling games are divided and typically with either eight or ten ends.
F – Freeze
The word freeze is part of terminology in curling referring to the conditions of the ice. It means the ice condition would require very little momentum to produce the optimum weight.
G – Gripper
The gripper is the name for one sole on a curler’s a shoe which helps your foot to grip the ice.
H – Hammer
The hammer is the word used for the last rock which is thrown in that end.
Hack
The hack refers to the foothold in the ice that curlers use to push off from when they deliver a stone.
The house is an expression used to describe the rings or the giant bull’s eye target. There is a house at each end of the ice sheet consisting of a set of concentric and coloured circles. The rings are called the 12-foot, the 8-foot, the 4-foot, and the button.
In curling phraseology hurry hard is an instruction given to sweepers to start sweeping and mostly directed by the skip or third.
I – Ice
Curlers (the players) slide stones on a large sheet of ice towards the target area (segmented into 4 concentric circles). As a rule, curling ice will be three (3) centimetres thick. It is not a smooth surface at all. Instead, it has tiny bumps of ice or ‘pebbles’ on its surface.
J – Junk
In curling terminology the word ‘junk’ refers to a style of play where there are many stones in play at the same time.
K – Keen Ice
The curling phrase ‘keen ice’ (or fast ice) relates to the ice conditions. It means the players need less than the normal amount of momentum to produce the desired weight.
L – Lead Player
The ‘lead’ is part of curling glossary. It refers to the first player who delivers a pair of stones for their team in each end.
M – Missed the Broom
The curling phrase refers to a stone delivered off the intended line of delivery (determined by the skip’s broom).
N – Narrow
The word ‘narrow’ also refers to a stone delivered off the intended line of delivery (as determined by the skip’s broom).
O – Over the Hog Line
A stone released from the hand of the curler after reaching the hogline at the end of the delivery.
P – Pebble
In curling terms ‘pebble’ refers to a fine spray of water applied to a sheet of curling ice before play commences.
Q – Quotes
When everyone is yelling at you to sweep… and you’re like… what does it look like I’m doing!
R – Rink
Rink has a double meaning in curling. It refers to the team of curlers and it describes a curling facility which is a flat strip of smooth ice measuring 45 meters long and 5 meters wide.
Rock
A comprehensive curling glossary of terminology must include the term rock. Rocks are also called stones which are granite utensils similar to bowls. A standard sized rock weighs around twenty kilograms.
S – Sheet
A curling wordbook describes a sheet as the frozen surface which the game of curling is played upon.
Slider
Similar to the gripper, a slider is also the sole of one of the shoes helping you to move or slide along the ice.
T – Tee Line
The tee line is simply a mark on the playing surface running through the middle of the house.
U – UK
British Curling manages and develops elite curling in Britain. They deliver an elite performance programme for the sport. It helps to ensure British curlers can achieve their potential and go for medals in Olympic and Paralympic competitions.
Umpire
The umpire has the responsibility to conduct the game in accordance with kurling rules and regulations.
V – Vice-Skip
The vice-skip (or acting mate) is the player who directs play for the team when the Skip delivers his or her stones.
W – Weight
In terms of curling the weight describes the amount of force which is used to deliver a rock or stone to an end.
X – Xbox One
A selection of digital curling games sold online by many retailers.
Y – Yelling (hard)
As a rule, the team captain (also called skip in the curling world) yells to his teammates to call the shots by yelling the commands.
Z – Zero Points
It can happen where only one team scores points in each end. Thus, in this situation the other team would receive zero points.
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