Curling Equipment

Stones

Curling stones (or rocks) are made from a special type of granite that is rarely found in the world. This granite is very dense so that it can withstand the impact of being knocked around by other stones, by brooms, crashing into walls and other various things found out in the curling shed. Curling stones must meet certain specifications: they must be circular in shape, no more than 44 pounds, have a circumference of less than 36 inches and be at least 4.5 inches tall. The bottom of the stone is not flat. It is actually cupped and a running surface that is about four inches in diameter is the only part of the stone that touches the ice. When the stone is slid along the ice it is spun in one direction or another and the friction between the running surface of the rock and the pebble on the ice causes the stone to curl!

Some common questions about curling stones:

What happens if a stone gets broken?

A replacement stone is placed where the largest fragment came to rest. The rest of the game is played using the replacement stone.

What happens if a stone rolls or flips over?

The stone is removed from play.

What happens if the handle falls off the stone when it's sliding along the ice?

If they choose to, the team that threw the stone can take their turn over again.

Brooms

Brooms have evolved greatly over time as the game itself has changed. When curling was played outdoors on frozen lakes, house brooms were used to brush debris and snow out of the path of the curling stone as it traveled down the ice. Nowadays, we use our brooms to melt the pebble on the curling ice to make our stones go straighter and further.

When curling first moved indoors, corn brooms were still used but they were much narrower and they had leather inserts within them. Sweepers literally beat the pebble on the ice with their brooms to generate heat and melt the pebble.

Many people eventually moved from these corn brooms to wider block brushes. These brooms look more like oversized paint-brushes and have bristles made from horse hair or hogs hair. The biggest complaint about the corn brooms and hair brushes was that they would drop hair or corn in the path of the rock and knock it off course, ironic considering that the brooms were first used to keep those paths clean.

As a result, synthetic brooms and brushes started becoming more and more popular. A synthetic corn broom, known as the "Rink Rat" was used by those who used the corn brooms. For those who had gotten used to the hair brushes, synthetic versions also became available in two styles. Thin, dense brush heads known as "brick style" brushes and thick, soft "pillow style" brush heads.

Footwear

The largest impact on the footwear curlers wear was the development of the curling delivery. When people merely stood at one end of the curling sheet and slid their rocks along the ice, a flat leather soled shoe was enough to get the job done. As the curling delivery evolved and people began to slide farther before releasing the stone, new footwear became necessary and popular. Typically the foot that slides along the ice was covered with a slipper piece of material such as Teflon or plastic.

Today's curling shoe is highly evolved with the molded Teflon in different shapes to help improve a curler's balance. In place of curling shoes some people prefer plastic sliders with an elastic tie on it, which they can remove when they are not delivering the stones. There are even shoes with slider made out of stainless steel and shoes with sliders that can be positioned in different configuration to help the person deliver the stone even better!

Clothing

In the ice shed, people wear clothes that are warm, loose fitting and comfortable. This means different things to different people. For some a sweater and turtleneck are necessary. Others can go and play in just a t-shirt. Some people wear sweat pants while others wear jeans while still others wear nylon running pants. To some people a winter cap is absolutely necessary and so are gloves or mittens. Others see no need for either a cap or gloves. It really boils down to what is comfortable for the curler.