MANUEL ÁLVAREZ MÁRQUEZ
ALEJANDRO ROMÁN LÓPEZ
2º ESO C
CURLING
By Alejandro and Manuel
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard.
Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding, granite stones across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score.
The curling sheet
The playing surface is an area of ice. A target, the house, is marked at each end of the sheet. The house consists of three concentric rings formed by painting or laying coloured vinyl sheet under the ice and are usually distinguished by colour.
Curling stone
The curling stone, as defined by the World Curling Federation is a thick stone disc weighing between 38 and 44 pounds (17 and 20 kg) with a handle attached to the top.
Curling broom
The curling broom, is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone, and is also often used as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
Shoes
Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic shoes except that they have dissimilar soles; the slider shoe is designed for the off foot, and the non-sliding shoe for the hack foot
Gameplay
International competitive game are ten ends, so the World Championships or Olympics also play ten ends. An end consists of each player from both teams throwing two stones down the sheet with the players on each side alternating shots, for a total of sixteen stones. If the teams are tied play continues for as many ends as may be required to break the tie. The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed. If extra ends are required, each team is allowed 10 minutes of playing time to complete its throws and one added 60-second timeout for each extra end.
Delivery
The process of sliding a stone down the sheet is known as the delivery.
The skip will usually determine the required weight, turn and line of the stone. These will be influenced by the tactics at this point in the game, which may involve taking-out, blocking or tapping another stone. The weight of the stone is its velocity. The turn is the rotation of the stone. The line is the direction of the throw ignoring the effect of the turn
Sweeping
After the stone is delivered its trajectory is still influenced by the two sweepers under instruction from the skip. Sweeping is done for two reasons: to reduce friction underneath the stone, and to decrease the amount of curl. The stones curl more as they slow down, so sweeping early in travel tends to increase distance as well as straighten the path, and sweeping after sideways motion is established can increase the sideways distance.
Curiosities
In the "Boy Meets Curl" episode of The Simpsons, first aired in 2010, Homer and Marge Simpson form a mixed-doubles curling team that qualifies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Completion
We think the curling should be more popular because it’s a very interesting sport and fun. As well, it is an Olympic sport played in the last Olympic Games in Vancouver. But if you want play this sport, you must be in good form, because the granite stones weigh around 20 kg. You can see some Curling videos on the Internet.
