MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk

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MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
MEDIA GUIDE
            Curling World Cup
         Third leg, Jonkoping 2019

Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden
       30 January – 3 February 2019

               www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
Contents

  1. About the Curling World Cup

  2. Links and contacts

  3. Officials

  4. Accreditation information

  5. About the venue

  6. Mixed doubles curling

  7. Team curling

  8. Rules and system of play

  9. Qualification process

  10. Schedules

  11. About the host Member Association

     Appendix I      What is curling?
     Appendix II     What is mixed doubles curling?

                             www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
1. About the Curling World Cup

The Curling World Cup is run in partnership between the World Curling
Federation and Kingdomway Sports.

The Curling World Cup has three legs and a Grand Final. The event dates for
2018-2019 are:

   •   Leg one: Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, Suzhou, China: 12-16
       September
   •   Leg two: Ralston Arena, Omaha, United States: 5-9 December
   •   Leg three: Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden: 30 January-3
       February
   •   Grand Final: Beijing, China: 8-12 May

About the World Curling Federation

The World Curling Federation is the international sport federation governing
the Olympic winter sport of curling and the Paralympic winter sport of
wheelchair curling. The World Curling Federation is one of seven International
Federations currently part of the Olympic Winter Games programme. It
represents 61 Member Associations and is generally acknowledged to direct
one of the fastest-growing international winter sports.

About Kingdomway Sports

Kingdomway Sports is a subsidiary under Kingdomway Group which was
established in November 2016 focusing on the promotion, operation and
development of sports and lifestyle industry. Resources under Kingdomway
Sports revolve around four major themes – operation rights for long-term
sporting events and sport teams; brand sponsorship and sports marketing;
media broadcast and distribution rights; and sports training for teenagers.

Kingdomway Sports plays an important role in China’s strategy for national
sports. Focusing on the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Chinese Sport Union,
they will bring strength, professionalism and resources across all surrounding
sectors to promote the development of Chinese sports.

Kingdomway Sports is also a leading strategic partner of Chinese sports media
such as CCTV sports channels, CCTV event channels, Sina, Tencent and many
other major media outlets.

                              www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
2. Links and contacts

Event Website:          http://curlingworldcup.com

Facebook:               https://facebook.com/CurlingWorldCup
Twitter & Instagram:    @curlingworldcup Hashtags: #CurlingWorldCup
                        #curling

Photography:            http://photos.worldcurling.org
Historical results:     http://results.worldcurling.org

           Emergency contact phone number: 112
              Venue contact: Mässvägen 8, 554 54 Jönköping, Sweden

Media

World Curling Federation

Media Officer:                               p: +44 (0)7937 027522
Emily Dwyer                                  e: media@curlingworldcup.com

Photographer:
Céline Stucki

Photographs from the event are available to media rights free at
photos.worldcurling.org

Wherever pictures are used from this library please credit:
© WCF / Céline Stucki

                               www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
3. Competition Officials

Officials

Chief Umpire                                        Eeva Roethlisberger (SUI)
Deputy Chief Umpire                                 Joaquim Reimertz (SWE)
Game Umpires                                        Johann Fahlström (SWE)
                                                    Ki Gennemark (SWE)
                                                    Ingmar Ericsson (SWE)
                                                    Simon Olofsson (SWE)
                                                    Anton Porotikov (RUS)
                                                    Stehen Lauridsen (DEN)

Chief Timer                                         Paul Beebe (USA)
Deputy Chief Timer                                  Emma Sjodin (SWE)

Chief Ice Technician                                Leif Ohmann (SWE)
Deputy Chief Ice Technician                         Anders Rodin (SWE)
Statisticians                                       Christian Saager (SUI)
                                                    Nadine Saager (SUI)

4. Accreditation Information

Accreditation Location: Mässvägen 8, 554 54 Jönköping, Sweden.

The accreditation centre at the venue will be open from 30 January.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 14:00.

                              www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
5. About the Jonkoping Curling Club

The Jonkoping Curling Club was founded in 1961. After some years of
moonshine curling, the first indoor arena with four sheets was completed in
1981, wall to wall with the local ice hockey arena. With the success and
expansion of the hockey club (HV71) the curling arena was demolished to give
room for two new hockey rinks. Instead a new solitary curling arena was
inaugurated in 2012 in a nearby location.

The new arena with six sheets is built with modern and sustainable
technology, including a carbon dioxide-based cooling system. Moreover,
spectator presentations, water, ventilation and control systems are based on
an extensive experience from international competitions and ice making. With
panoramic windows overlooking Vaettern, Sweden’s second and Europe’s
sixth largest lake, players can also enjoy a natural scenery unequalled by few
curling arenas. Sport enthusiasts can also enjoy proximity to other sports
facilities such as tennis, badminton, squash and bowling. A sports hotel with
bars and a restaurant lies nearby with indoor access from the arena.

Jonkoping Curling Club has approximately 150 permanent members and is
regularly represented in the highest Swedish curling league. Recently the
club’s wheelchair players have reached international standard. Every year the
club organises tournaments for the curling elite, as well as for club players. In
1985 the European Ladies Championship was held in Jonkoping. The last event
organised in the curling arena was the Swedish Championships, from 2-6
January 2019.

6. Mixed doubles curling

Instead of playing in teams of four, mixed doubles curling is for teams of two
players – one female and one male, and there is no alternate player:

   • The game is played on the same sheets of ice as traditional curling.
   • Teams have only six stones each (instead of eight) and one of those
     stones, from each team, is prepositioned on the centre line – or in a
     Power Play position – before each end of play starts.
   • Player one delivers the first and last stones and player two plays the
     second, third and fourth stones. If they choose to, the two players may
     swap positions from one end to the next.
   • Sweeping can be done by both team members.
   • From ends one to four, teams will have three minutes thinking time and
     then three minutes and fifteen seconds from ends five to eight.

                               www.curlingworldcup.com
MEDIA GUIDE Curling World Cup Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden - Third leg, Jonkoping 2019 - Mynewsdesk
• Games are scheduled for eight ends and can be decided in six ends. Tied
     games are decided by a one stone shoot-out for each team, with the
     closest team to the button winning the game.
   • For more information on mixed doubles see Appendix II.

7. Team curling

A team is composed of five athletes. The athlete throwing the first two stones
is called the lead, the athlete throwing the third and fourth stones is called the
second, the athlete throwing the fifth and sixth stones is called the third and
the athlete throwing the seventh and eighth stones is called the fourth. The
replacement athlete (or substitute) is called the alternate.

The skip (team captain) directs play and is supported by a vice-skip (who
directs play when the skip is delivering).

Traditionally the skip plays fourth position, delivering the last two stones.
However, the skip can be found playing in any of the four positions:

   • Each team has eight stones. Each player delivers two stones, in
     consecutive order in each end, while alternating with an opponent:
          o For example, Team A player 1 delivers first stone then Team B
             play 1 delivers their first stone, then Team A player 1 delivers their
             second stone followed by Team B player 1 delivering their second
             stone. This continues throughout the positions in the team.
   • Games are scheduled for eight ends. For women’s and men’s games,
     from ends one to four, teams will have four minutes thinking time and
     four minutes 15 seconds from ends five to eight.
   • At the completion of an end (when all stones have been played), a team
     scores one point for each of its stones located in or touching the house
     that are closer to the tee (centre of the house) than any stone of the
     opposition.
   • If neither team can decide which stone is closer to the centre to determine
     a counting stone then an umpire can determine it using a measure.
   • For more information on curling see Appendix I.

8. Rules and system of play

FOUR COMPETITIONS

CWC – Leg 1                  In each competition there are three disciplines:
CWC – Leg 2                      § Men (M)
CWC – Leg 3                      § Women (W)

                                www.curlingworldcup.com
CWC – Leg 4 (=Grand Final)       §   Mixed Doubles (MD)

TWO GROUPS OF FOUR

                                     The groups for CWC – Leg 1 are set
                                     according to current World Ranking (Group
                                     1: 1-3-6-8; Group 2: 2-4-5-7)
                                     The groups for CWC – Leg 2 are set in
                                     principle according to the current Curling
                                     World Cup ranking. Each of the eight MAs,
                                     in the three disciplines, are split into four
                                     tiers (two in each tier). Each group then has
                                     one team from each tier:

                                     Top tier: ranked first and second
Each event with two groups of        Second tier: ranked third and fourth
four teams                           Third tier: ranked fifth and sixth
                                     Fourth tier: ranked seventh and eighth

                                     The groups for CWC – Leg 4 (Grand Final)
                                     are set according to current CWC Ranking
                                     (above). With the following extra
                                     specifications: an MA sending more than
                                     one team (up to three winning teams), each
                                     of these teams are ranked according to
                                     their own record; in addition the current
                                     World Champions and the ‘special invites’
                                     are not set within the same group

DOUBLE ROUND ROBIN

Teams will play a double round        Teams finishing top of their groups will
robin                                 qualify for the final of each event

CWC POINTS

    10 points Teams winning the event final
     5 points Teams losing the event final
     3 points Teams winning a round robin-game within eight ends
     2 points Teams winning a round robin-game after ‘single-stone shoot-
              out’
      1 point Teams losing a round-robin game after ‘single-stone shoot-out’
     0 points Teams losing within eight ends

GROUP STANDINGS

More CWC Points       Teams are ranked higher
                         1) Teams with more points out of the direct games
Same CWC Points
                            are ranked higher

                                 www.curlingworldcup.com
2) teams with same points out of direct games will
                              play an ‘single-stone shoot-out’ after the last
                              round-robin game; extra specification: every
                              team more sitting in the same position, will join
                              this ‘single-stone shoot-out’

CWC STANDINGS

More CWC Points        Teams are ranked higher
                          1) Teams with more three points wins are ranked
                             higher
                          2) Teams with same amount of three points wins,
                             the teams with more wins in general are ranked
Same CWC Points
                             higher
                       Only relevant after CWC – Leg three to determine
                       the two spots for MA not qualified for Grand Final
                       yet.

EIGHT ENDS

                                               1) Games tied after eight ends will be
                                                  decided with a ‘single-stone
Games in all events will be eight
                                                  shoot-out’
Ends – no extra end!
                                               2) A minimum of six ends has to be
                                                  played

SINGLE-STONE SHOOT-OUT

                         After the end of the game teams appoint one player to
                         throw a single stone within one minute from away end
                         to home end; team with hammer in last end throws
To decide tied games
                         first; turn is up to the team; in the event of same,
                         measurable distance, each team has to appoint
                         another player to throw a single stone
                         If, nevertheless, teams can’t be ranked clearly the
                         ‘Team Shoot-Out Result’ will decide the ranking for
To determine group       1st place within the group; teams that most likely could
standings                be involved will be informed by Chief Umpire (CU)
                         immediately after their last Round Robin game and
                         asked to play a ‘Team Shoot-Out’

LAST STONE FIRST END

                       First named team plays red stones, has last stone and
Round-Robin Games
                       first practice (four minutes)
                       Team with more CWC Points after round-robin has
Finals                 choice of last stone or color of stones; if two teams are
                       tied it will go to a team shoot-out

                                    www.curlingworldcup.com
THINKING TIME

                          Ends 1-4: 4 minutes per end
Women and Men
                          Ends 5-8: 4 minutes and 15 seconds per end
                          Ends 1-4: 2 minutes and 50 seconds per end
Mixed Doubles
                          Ends 5-8: 3 minutes per end

TEAMS

Women and Men             Four players and one coach
Mixed Doubles             Two players and one coach

COACHES

Positioned at ice level   Able to interact with the athletes between ends

RULES

                     In all other matters current World Curling Federation Rules
WCF RULES
                     such as five stone rule but not limited to will apply

                                 www.curlingworldcup.com
9. Curling World Cup 2018 - 2019 qualification

For the first three legs of the Curling World Cup, the host Member Association
for each event will receive places. Then, the world rankings will be used to
qualify the highest ranked Member Associations from each of the Americas,
European and Pacific-Asia zones.

Another two teams, for each discipline, will be selected by the World Curling
Federation Board, based on broadcast interest, marketing potential and/or
promotional opportunities.

This process decides the teams for all three legs and Member Associations can
choose to send the same athletes to each event, or have different athletes
compete.

The groups for Curling World Cup leg three are set in principle according to the
current Curling World Cup ranking. Each of the eight Member Associations, in
the three disciplines, are split into four tiers (two in each tier). Each group then
has one team from each tier:

Top tier: ranked first and second | Second tier: ranked third and fourth
Third tier: ranked fifth and sixth | Fourth tier: ranked seventh and eighth

The groups for Jonkoping are:

          Women                       Men                   Mixed Doubles
          Group A                   Group A                    Group A

          Sweden                    Sweden                   Switzerland

          Canada                 United States                 Canada

           China                  Switzerland                   Korea

           Russia                    Japan                     Sweden

          Group B                   Group B                    Group B

           Japan                    Norway                  United States

           Korea                     Canada                    Norway

          Scotland                 Scotland                     Russia

       United States                 China                      China

                                www.curlingworldcup.com
10.
                          CWC | Uli Kapp                                                                                                                                                                            Status: 10-01-2019
                                                                                                          CWC 2018-19 | Draw: Leg 3
                                                                    A                                B                               C                                D                              E
                             Day       Time        #       Ar       vs     Ay       #       Br       vs     By       #       Cr      vs     Cy       #        Dr      vs     Dy      #       Er      vs     Ey

                                           14:30                  vs                #1    USA (md) vs NOR (md)       #2    RUS (md) vs CHN (md)      #3    SUI (md) vs CAN (md)      #4    KOR (md) vs SWE (md)
                             Wed           16:15           Opening Ceremony                Opening Ceremony                  Opening Ceremony                Opening Ceremony                Opening Ceremony
                            30 Jan         17:30                  vs                #5    NOR (m) vs CAN (m)         #6    SCO (m) vs CHN (m)        #7    SWE (m) vs USA (m)        #8    SUI (m)  vs JPN (m)

                                           20:30                    vs              #9    JPN (w)    vs   KOR (w)    #10   SCO (w)   vs   USA (w)    #11   SWE (w)    vs   CAN (w)   #12   CHN (w)   vs   RUS (w)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Schedule of Play

                                           08:30   #13   NOR (m)    vs   SCO (m)    #14   SUI (md)   vs KOR (md)     #15   CAN (md) vs SWE (md)      #16   USA (md) vs RUS (md)      #17   NOR (md) vs CHN (md)

                                           12:00   #18   CAN (m)    vs   CHN (m)    #19   SWE (w)    vs   CHN (w)    #20   CAN (w)   vs   RUS (w)    #21    JPN (w)   vs   SCO (w)   #22   KOR (w)   vs   USA (w)
                             Thu
                            31 Jan
                                           16:00   #23   RUS (md) vs NOR (md)       #24   CHN (md) vs USA (md)       #25   SWE (md) vs    SUI (md)   #26    USA (m)   vs   JPN (m)   #27   SWE (m)   vs   SUI (m)

                                           20:00   #28   KOR (md) vs CAN (md)       #29   CHN (w)    vs   CAN (w)    #30   USA (w)   vs   JPN (w)    #31    RUS (w)   vs   SWE (w)   #32   SCO (w)   vs   KOR (w)

                                           08:30   #33   JPN (m)    vs   SWE (m)    #34   SUI (m)    vs   USA (m)    #35   CHN (md) vs RUS (md)      #36   CHN (m)    vs   NOR (m)   #37   SCO (m)   vs   CAN (m)

                                           12:00   #38   RUS (w)    vs   CHN (w)    #39   CAN (md) vs     SUI (md)   #40   NOR (md) vs USA (md)      #41   SWE (md) vs KOR (md)      #42   CAN (w)   vs   SWE (w)
                              Fri
                            01 Feb
                                           16:00   #43   USA (w)    vs   SCO (w)    #44   CAN (m)    vs   NOR (m)    #45   CHN (m)   vs   SCO (m)    #46    KOR (w)   vs   JPN (w)   #47   USA (m)   vs   SWE (m)

                                           20:00   #48   KOR (md) vs     SUI (md)   #49   SWE (md) vs CAN (md)       #50   JPN (m)   vs   SUI (m)    #51   RUS (md) vs USA (md)      #52   CHN (md) vs NOR (md)

                                           08:30   #53   CHN (w)    vs   SWE (w)    #54   SCO (w)    vs   JPN (w)    #55   RUS (w)   vs   CAN (w)    #56    USA (w)   vs   KOR (w)   #57   CHN (m)   vs   CAN (m)

www.curlingworldcup.com
                                           12:00   #58   SCO (m)    vs   NOR (m)    #59   USA (md) vs CHN (md)       #60   SUI (m)   vs   SWE (m)    #61   NOR (md) vs RUS (md)      #62   JPN (m)   vs   USA (m)
                             Sat
                            02 Feb
                                           16:00   #63   SUI (md)   vs SWE (md)     #64   KOR (w)    vs   SCO (w)    #65   JPN (w)   vs   USA (w)    #66    CAN (w)   vs   CHN (w)   #67   CAN (md) vs KOR (md)

                                           20:00   #68   NOR (m)    vs   CHN (m)    #69   USA (m)    vs   SUI (m)    #70   SWE (m)   vs   JPN (m)    #71    CAN (m)   vs   SCO (m)   #72   SWE (w)   vs   RUS (w)

                                           08:30                    vs                               vs                              vs              #73   MD1 (1st) vs MD2 (1st)                    vs
                             Sun
                                           12:00                    vs                               vs                              vs              #74   M1 (1st) vs M2 (1st)                      vs
                            03 Feb
                                           16:00                    vs                               vs                              vs              #75   W1 (1st) vs W2 (1st)                      vs
Member Association

The Swedish Curling Association was formed in 1916 and joined the
International Curling Federation in 1966. It is one of the founding members of
the World Curling Federation.

There are approximately 4,000 curlers in Sweden and they curl in 60 clubs. 35
of the clubs have their own curling ice facilities.

Sweden has won the World Men’s Curling Championship eight times: 2018 –
Las Vegas, United States – Niklas Edin / 2015 - Halifax, Canada - Niklas Edin /
2013 - Victoria, Canada - Niklas Edin / 2004 - Gavle, Sweden - Peja Lindholm /
2001 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Peja Lindholm / 1997 - Berne, Switzerland -
Peja Lindholm / 1977 - Karlstad, Sweden - Ragnar Kamp / 1973 - Regina,
Canada - Kjell Oscarius).

Sweden’s women’s curling teams have been the second most successful in
the history of the World Women’s Curling Championship (after Canada) winning
the title eight times (2011, 2006, 2005, 1999, 1998, 1995, 1992 & 1981).

Sweden’s performance at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games saw
them take Gold in the women’s competition and Silver in the men’s.

Under a new high performance programme there is no a longer an automatic
entry for the team that wins the Swedish Championships or the Super League
to the World Curling Championships/European Championships. The winning
teams from each respective national event qualify to be a part of the National
programme for the following season. There could be a possibility of three
national squad teams for each gender. The first two teams being the winners
of both National events (should they be separate teams that win), and the
possibility of a third team could be selected depending on World Ranking or
Olympic Committee programs. The selection of those qualifying teams for
Europeans and Worlds are based on performance results and World ranking.

Härnösand Curling Academy began in 1989 with seven students – selected
from all over Sweden for their curling talent. The academy offers them the
chance to combine their high school studies with an elite curling training
programme.

Today, the academy counts 18 students between the ages of 16 and 18.

Rinks in Sweden: 35 dedicated rinks | Curlers in Sweden: 4000 members.
http://curling.se . Social media: @svenskcurling

                              www.curlingworldcup.com
Appendix I

What is curling?

Curling is a team sport, played on ice where two teams take it in turns to slide
stones made of granite towards a target. A team scores one point for each of
its own stones located in or touching the target and that are closer to the
centre than any stone of the opposite team.

Ice

Curling is played on a very long
strip of specially prepared ice or
a ‘sheet’ – as the curling playing
surface/Field of Play is known.

A sheet of curling ice is over 45
metres long and a maximum of
five metres wide. At each end of
the sheet there are two circles
that look like targets – known as
the ‘house’. Each house
consists of four rings which
help define which curling
stones are closest to the centre
or ‘tee’ (also known as the
button) and how many points a
team will score.

                               www.curlingworldcup.com
Equipment                       To play curling, you need curling stones. They
                                are made of a special type of granite and
                                weigh almost 20 kilos each. Curlers do not
                                have their own stones – they are normally
                                owned by a curling club or provided for a
                                championship.

                                Each curler has their own brush (or broom) and
                                a pair of special curling shoes with one sole
                                that grips the ice and one slippery sole (slider)
                                to be able to slide with a stone during delivery.
                                A gripper is a removable rubber sole to protect
                                the slider, keep it clean and allow the curler to
                                grip with both feet on the ice.

Game

Each team has eight stones to play – all with the same colour of handle. In a
game of curling, the two teams take it in turn to deliver 16 stones from the
‘hack’ at one end of the sheet to the ‘house’ at the opposite end. Players must
release the stone from their hand by the Hog Line for the stone to be
considered ‘in play’. When an ‘end’ (like an inning) is complete, the next end is
played in the opposite direction. There are between eight and ten ‘ends’ in a
game of curling. Points are awarded after each end for stones closest to the
centre of the house. Only one team can score.

Team

A traditional curling team
consists of four people: a Lead,
Second, Third and Fourth.

The Skip is the captain of the
team and is usually the Fourth
player. The Skip defines strategy
and directs each player in the
team on where to deliver a
stone, how it should curl and
how much weight (strength) to
put behind the delivery. The Skip
is positioned in the house and
directs play until it is his/her
turn to deliver their stones.

                               www.curlingworldcup.com
The Lead is the player who delivers the first two stones. The Second plays the
third and fourth stones. The Third plays the fifth and sixth stones and the Skip
usually plays the last two stones. At this point, one of the players designated
as ‘Vice-skip’ directs the Skip’s shots from the house after consultation with
the Skip.

Curl/Trajectory

Do you know why this game is called curling? The reason is because stones
‘curl’ across the sheet of curling ice when in motion. During delivery, players
will give a turn to the stone handle. For a right-handed person, an ‘in-turn’ will
cause the stone to turn or curl clockwise and ‘out-turn’ will cause the stone to
turn or curl anti-clockwise.

If you do not rotate the stone, it will begin to rotate by itself, in any direction,
when in motion. This makes its direction and speed very unpredictable. By
making the stone curl (applying rotation), players have more control over
where their stone will end up.

Sweeping
                                       ‘What are they doing?’ many people ask –
                                       ‘why are they cleaning the ice?’ It may
                                       seem simple, but sweeping is one of the
                                       most complex parts of the game of
                                       curling. The idea of sweeping is not to
                                       clean the ice, but to gently warm the
                                       surface of the ice where the stone will
                                       glide across. In order to do this, you have
                                       to sweep the ice very fast and very hard.

                                       Sweeping can extend the path of the
                                       stone. Good sweeping can make a stone
                                       move two-three metres further. Sweeping
                                       can also ‘kill the curl’ and make the
                                       trajectory of the stone straighter.

Curling Shots

Basically, there are three types of curling shots – a guard, a draw and a take-
out, but there are many variations of these shots. Guards are thrown to the
front of the house, to the Free Guard Zone to protect stones in the house.
Draws are shots that are delivered to reach the house and keep the stone in
play. Take-outs are shots that remove stones from play.

                                 www.curlingworldcup.com
Why all the noise?

                       One of the strangest things for people who have never
                       seen curling before is the shouting. Often, you may
                       hear them shout “HURRY! HARD!” In curling, everyone
                       seems to shout! For example, Skips often shout at
                       their team-mates to sweep and Sweepers may shout
                       that the stone is going too fast and there is no need to
                       sweep and so on. Because of the length of the sheet
                       of curling ice (over 45 metres), curlers often shout to
                       communicate with other members of their team. But,
                       there are teams that do not shout and use a series of
                       hand signals that have been developed for the game
                       instead.

How do you work out the score?

After all, 16 stones have been delivered to the opposite end of the sheet, the
players themselves calculate the score. To find out who gets the points,
players decide which stone is closest to the centre of the house. A team can
win several points if they have multiple stones closer to the ‘button’ than their
opponent’s nearest stone.

Some finer details…

Before a game of curling begins, teams decide who will have what is called the
‘Hammer’ or ‘Last Stone Advantage’. (Shown by an * on the sample line score
below). This can be done by a coin toss, but in championship curling this is
decided by a ‘draw to the tee/button’ with each team delivering a stone as
close as possible to the centre of the house and the distance from the stone to
the centre being measured – this process is called the ‘Last Stone Draw’ or
‘LSD’. If a team has the hammer/last stone advantage, it means they can
deliver the final stone of an end and have an advantage to score at least one
point and potentially win that end. When a team scores, they lose the
hammer/last stone advantage and it passes to the opposing team for the next
end.

Teams generally try to take more than a single point and will therefore
sometimes ‘blank’ an end (ensure that no stones are lying in the house). They
keep the hammer/last stone advantage for the next end if they do this.

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END       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10                   TOTAL
            Team 1    2 0 3 1 0 0 1 X      *                 7
            Team 2    0 1 0 0 0 2 0 X                        3

In this sample eight-end game: Team 1 had hammer (*) to start and scored
two points in the first end. Team 2 took a single point in the second end. T1
took three points in the third and ‘stole’ a single point from their opponents
who had hammer in the fourth end. T2 ‘blanked’ the fifth end and kept the
hammer to take two points in the sixth end. T1 took one point in the seventh
end. Either the teams ‘shook hands’ to conclude the game at the end of the
seventh end

or they may have continued into the eighth end until T2 had to concede the
game because they did not have enough stones left to play to either tie-up
the score or win. (This explains the Xs on eighth end score).

How long does a game last?

An average game of championship curling consists of ten ends and lasts about
2.5-3 hours. Teams are given 38 minutes of Thinking Time each. If, after ten
ends, the game is tied then an ‘extra-end’ is played and four minutes and 30
seconds of Thinking Time is added.

Is curling really a sport?

During a game of curling, players are constantly moving up and down the
sheet of curling ice. The Lead and Second players can cover over five
kilometres of distance in a ten-end game. It is even more difficult considering
players must keep their balance on a very slippery ice surface. Sweeping
requires a lot of physical energy as well. Studies have shown that curlers can
burn between 800-1800 calories during a game.

To understand just how physically demanding this sport can be, consider that
during a World Curling Championship one team plays up to 12 games in the
round-robin. For competing teams, it means two games of curling totalling up
to seven hours on the ice per day.

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Appendix II

What is mixed doubles curling?

Mixed doubles is a dynamic form of curling, where it is all about stone
positioning, a lot of play to the four-foot circle and a lot about angles. It is a
faster version of curling that only requires two players on each team.

Rules of mixed doubles curling

Mixed Doubles is played by two players. One male and one female on each team.
Both teams play five stones each and start every end with one stone that has
been pre-placed, so the maximum amount of points in each end is six.

 In most ends, the pre-placed stones, will be
 positioned so that the team with last stone
 advantage (hammer) will start the end with one
 stone at the back of the four-foot circle. The
 team without the last stone advantage, will start
 with a centre guard.

 There is also a ’Power Play’. This means that both
 teams have the right to use a ’Power Play’ once in
 every game, in an end where they have last stone
 advantage.

 When a ’Power Play’ is being used, the pre-placed
 stones will be moved out to one of the sides, and
 placed as a corner guard and a stone behind it,
 with the back of the stone against the tee line.

 Important rules to remember in mixed doubles curling:

    • The first take-out is allowed with the fourth stone played in each end.
    • Before that, teams are not allowed to hit either their opponents or their
      own stones out of play.

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• If an end is blanked (neither team scores), the team that delivered the
    first stone in that end shall have the decision on placement in the next
    end.
  • Games are eight ends long, with a single stone shoot-out to determine
    winner.

Playing Positions

There are two positions in mixed doubles:
  • One player plays stones one and five
  • The other player plays stones two, three and four.
  • Both players are allowed to switch playing positions in-between ends.
  • Both players can sweep
  • Having a player holding the broom at the other end is optional.

A new form of curling with new challenges, possibilities and rules

They are:

     1. The pre-placed stone, that used to be placed behind the centre of the
        button, is now moved to the back of the four-foot circle. It is placed
        so that the back of the stone is in line with the back of the four-foot
        circle.

     2. The other big change is the possibility to use ’Power Play’. This means
        that each team, at one time during the game when they have last
        stone advantage, can chose to have the pre-placed stones moved
        out to the side.

        The stone in the house will be placed so the back of the stone is in
        line with the tee line and between the eight foot and the 12-foot
        circle. The guard is placed so the stone in the house is fully buried
        when viewed from the hack.

        The team with last stone advantage will choose if they want to have
        the ’Power Play’ to the left or the right-hand side of the sheet.

     3. Another new rule, is that the skip or player holding the broom, no
        longer needs to stand behind the hog line at the scoring end. Teams
        can now choose to have a sweeper instead of a ’Skip’

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