PRINCE GEORGE – “Well the objective of curling is to deliver the rocks down to the other end of the ice and score the most points by getting [the rocks] into the house.”
That’s a simple explanation of the sport of curling from Don McDermid, General Manager of the Prince George George and Curling Club.
Sounds simple, right?
Anything but.
The “house” is where it all begins. There are two of them. “House” is just one of several idioms using in curling. Here are few others, explained by McDermid.
“You’ll hear the ‘hack,’ which is where you put your feet. The ‘house’ is the target, the objective to get the rocks in. Terms you hear, like ‘draw.’ That means curl the rock into the button area. You’ll hear ‘take out’ when they want to remove the stones and then the teams will have unique terms for their own team.”
And then there’s the “hammer.”
“The ‘hammer’ is a common term. The last shot is the hammer. Then you have control. You can move stones, you draw in for the point. So you have the final shot at the end of play and you have more control.”
Who gets the hammer is determined through a coin toss at the beginning of the game.
In the case of the World Women’s Curling Championships, which is coming here in March, that with be determined by the “draw to the button.”
For tickets, click here.
