Login
Curling scoring, explained: A guide to understanding the rules, terms and Olympic points system
Curling scoring, explained: A guide to understanding the rules, terms and Olympic points system originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the best parts of the Olympics is that every couple of years, you end up watching a sport you aren’t very familiar with -- one that isn’t typically televised.
Every four years, when the Winter Olympics return, viewers are reintroduced to curling. This fan-favorite event takes elements of ice hockey, bowling and shuffleboard and combines them into a game that mixes strategy and skill with some downright silliness if you aren’t used to it.
A person sliding the stone down the ice is easy enough to comprehend, but when the sweepers begin vigorously brushing the ice in front of it to help guide the stone without touching it, that’s when most of the excitement -- and confusion -- begins.
Here is everything you need to know about curling at the Olympics.
MORE: Day-to-day TV schedule for 2026 Olympics
How does curling scoring work?
While the curling scoreboard can look confusing, it’s actually easy to understand. Think of it like a baseball scoreboard: only one team can score in an inning, but in curling, an inning is called an “end.” Points are awarded based on how many stones a team gets closer to the center of the target than their opponents. The minimum score for an end is zero, while the maximum is four, though both of those scores are rare.
How to score points in curling?
Points are scored in curling by the stones landing the closest to the center of the target on the opposite end of the ice called the house and the tee. Only one team can score a point in each end, and there are up to 10 ends in a match unless overtime is needed. The team whose stone is the closest to the center of the target, a.k.a the tee, will earn a point. The winning team will get an additional point for each of their stones that are closer to the tee than their opponents. Only stones inside the house, the blue circle of the house and inward, are counted toward the scoring.
Curling scoring chart
Curling scoring charts can vary depending on the level of competition, but in the Olympics, it looks like a baseball scoreboard. Across the top, you will see "end," and then numbers 1-10, and then "total." The two teams will be stacked on the far left, and then their scores at each end will be tallied.
Scoring the match
Each curling match will be made up of 10 ends. In each end, each team will throw eight stones. The caveat is that only one team is eligible to score in each end. The object of the game is to slide a stone down the ice and to land at the center of the target. The interior of the red circle is called a "tee."
The team whose stone gets closest to the tee wins that end. Next, that team can accrue one point per each of their other stones that are closest to the tee than the opponent's closest stone. Only stones within the "house" are counted, and that is the area from the outside of the blue ring to the tee.
Part of the game's etiquette includes conceding early. A team may concede a match if they are losing and feel they are too far behind to come back. You'll know this happens when the scoreboard looks like it does in the image below. The USA beat the ROC 9-3 after seven ends were played, and the ROC felt that they wouldn't be able to make up the distance over the final three ends, so they conceded.
MORE: Latest updates on Lindsey Vonn after Olympic tune up crash
Curling rules for beginners
Below, we answer some of the most common questions for those new to curling.
What does sweeping do in curling?
Curling gets its name from the direction that the stone can take. When the stone is delivered, it can be curled so that it curves one direction or another. Sweeping in curling helps to slow the curl and will help the stone's distance.
Sweeping can be done by either team. The team delivering the stone will sweep it toward the house and tee to try to score points. Once it has connected with another stone, the opposing team can then sweep the stone to try to get it to slide out of the house, or further away from the tee so that points can't be scored.
😱 When you have Yumi Suzuki, sometimes you only need one sweeper.
— Grand Slam of Curling (@grandslamcurl) April 23, 2021
📺: @Sportsnet | #curling#GSOC 🥌 pic.twitter.com/0PJlj0l31E
Who gets the hammer in curling?
"The hammer" refers to the team that will be throwing the last shot in an end.
To determine which team will have the hammer in the first end, a process known as Last Stone Draw (LSD) takes place. "Before each match, two players from each team deliver two stones to the target (house). Teams with the shortest average distance to the centre of the target win the hammer in the first end," per the Olympics rules.
From then on, the hammer’s possession alternates until the end of the match. Teams that lose an end receive the hammer in the next end.
Positions on a curling team
A curling team is typically made up of four people: the Lead, the Second, the Vice and the Skip.
The Lead is the person who delivers the team's first two stones. They will also sweep the remaining stones in the end. The Second delivers the team's third and fourth stones, and will sweep for the lead's stones, and any stones after the fourth.
The Vice, a.k.a the Vice Skip, delivers the team's fifth and sixth stones. The Vice will be a sweeper for the first four stones, and then holds the broom for the Skip's stones.
The Skip delivers the team's last two stones. They are considered the captain of the team and call the shots for the game. Generally, the Skip does not sweep.
MORE: Lindsey Vonn injury timeline
Curling terms and what they mean
Here is a list of common curling terms that you may hear while watching the sport.
Back line: The line at the back of the house. Stones completely beyond the line are out of play. When looking down the ice, you'll see that the side of the house furthest from the thrower has a line after it.
Biter: A stone just touching the outer edge of the house. Any stone touching the edge of the house is eligible for scoring.
Blank end: An end in which no points are scored. This is a rare outcome as all eight stones will have had to miss the house.
Bonspiels (BAHN-shpeel): This is the technical term of a curling tournament.
Brick: A slang term for the last stone of an end. This is also known as the hammer.
Broom: An item used to sweep the ice.
Burned: When a rock is removed from play because of an infraction. It is known as a "burned rock.” Penalties do exist in curling, but they get a little more advanced than the basics of the sport.
Button: The one-foot circle at the center of the house that is typically interchanged with pin and tee.
Center line: The line splitting the length of the ice lane.
Counter: This is just the general term for a stone in the house. It is eligible to be counted for score.
Curl: The curve the stone makes as it travels down the ice.
Delivery: The motion of the person releasing the stone (the curler) as the stone is being shot.
Double takeout: A takeout shot that clears two opposing stones from the house. Part of the strategy in curling is knocking opposing stones out of the scoring area.
Draw: A scoring shot. It is designed to stop inside or in front of the house.
Draw Shot Challenge: The calculation made by taking the average distance of the Last Stone Draws (LSD), excluding the least favorable LSD, and used, if required, to assist in the determination of ranking after a round robin.
End: Similar to an inning of baseball. One end is complete when all 16 rocks – two per person, eight per team – have been shot. The score is determined at the conclusion of each end. Games are made up of 10 ends.
Extra end: An additional end played to break a tie at the end of regulation.
Free guard zone: The area between the hogline and the house. During the first four stones of an end, no stone in this area may be removed from play by the opposition.
Freeze: A form of a draw that stops in front of and next to another stone.
Fourth: The player who shoots fourth for a team in each end. Normally, the person who shoots fourth is the skip. This term is only used if that person is not the skip. Teams technically can vary their shooting order.
Guard: A stone between the hog line and the house used to prevent the opposition from hitting a rock in the house.
Hack: The rubber foothold where curlers begin their delivery. It is located 125 feet from the center of the house.
Hammer: The last stone shot in each end.
Handle: The rotation applied to the stone upon release.
Hit-and-roll: Generally, a shot designed to take out an opponent’s stone and then roll the shot stone to a designated spot. It also is possible to play a hit-and-roll off the team’s own stone.
Hog: A stone that fails to reach the far hog line and is removed from play automatically.
Hog line: The line behind which a player must release a stone. It is located 21 feet from the tee. If a stone does not travel beyond the far hog line, it is removed from play.
House: The circular scoring area that resembles a target.
Last stone draw: A contest conducted before every round-robin game in which each team delivers a single stone to the tee, or “pin,” at the home end. The resulting distance is measured and can be used to determine which team has the choice of delivering the first or second stone in the first end.
Lead: The first player who shoots for a team in each end
Pebble: The droplets of water applied to a sheet of ice before a game. They freeze and reduce friction between the stone and the ice.
Port: The space between two lying stones, large enough for another to pass through.
Power play: A play exclusive to mixed doubles curling that can be used once per game in regulation ends by each team. When a power play is used, the in-house stone, which belongs to the team with the last stone in that end, is placed with the back edge of the stone touching the tee line, at the point where the 8-foot and 12-foot circles meet. The guard stone is positioned to the same side of the sheet, the same distance that was determined for the center guards.
Raise: A type of draw that knocks another rock into the house.
Rings: Another term for the house.
Rink: Another name for a curling team. It is made up of four players: the lead, the second, the third and the skip.
Rock: Also known as a stone. Curling stones are made of a rare, dense granite that is quarried on Scotland’s Ailsa Craig. The stones weigh, on average, 19.1 kg (42 pounds) and are polished.
Second: The player who shoots second for a team in each end.
Sheet: The playing area. It is 44.5 meters (146 feet) long and allows play in both directions.
Shot rock: At any time during an end, the stone that is closest to the tee.
Skip: The leader of a curling team. They direct the team’s strategy and shot selection and typically hold a broom as a target for the other three players to shoot at. They usually shoot last.
Steal: To score in an end when not shooting the last stone (i.e. the hammer).
Takeout: A type of shot that removes another stone from play.
Tee: The center of the house. Scoring is determined by which stone is closest to the tee. Also commonly referred to as the “pin.”
Thinking time: The allotted time each team has for a game. Each team's clock begins after the opposing team's shot is considered complete and stops once the next stone is delivered. Essentially, the clock only runs when your team is thinking about their strategy for their next shot.
Third: The player who shoots third in each end. The third is often known as the Vice or the Vice-skip.
Vice-skip: The person who stands in the house and directs the game when the skip is shooting. When the skip shoots, the vice-skip holds the broom as the target. The vice-skip often is the third.
Wide: A stone delivered outside the intended line.
MORE: Updates on Olympics host Savannah Guthrie's missing mother
When did curling become an Olympic sport
Curling first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1924, in Chamonix, France. Largely curling was used as a demonstration sport, and was only seen in 1932, 1988 and 1992. In 2006, the results from the 1924 Olympics were deemed official, so technically, curling became an Olympic sport in 1924.
After decades of limited appearances as a demonstration event, curling was reinstated as an official Olympic event in 1998. Since 1998, curling has been included in every iteration of the winter Olympics.
