MEDIA GUIDE
Curling World Cup Third leg, Jonkoping 2019
Jonkoping Curling Club, Jonkoping, Sweden 30 January – 3 February 2019
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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?
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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.
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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: [email protected]
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
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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.
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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.
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• 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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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10. Schedule of Play
Status: 10-01-2019 Ey SUI (m) SUI JPN (m) RUS (w) RUS (w) RUS USA (w) USA KOR (w) KOR USA (m) USA CAN (m) CAN (m) SWE (w) SWE SWE (m) SWE KOR (md) KOR CHN (md) CHN SWE(md) NOR (md) E vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs Er Opening Ceremony SUI (m) SUI JPN (m) SCO (w) SCO SCO (m) SCO CHN (w) (w) KOR CAN (w) USA (m) USA CHN (m) (w) SWE SWE (m) SWE KOR (md) KOR (md) CAN CHN (md) CHN NOR (md) # #4 #8 #12 #17 #22 #27 #32 #37 #42 #47 #52 #57 #62 #67 #72 Dy JPN (w) JPN (m) SCO (w) SCO SCO (m) SCO CAN (w) (w) KOR CHN (w) USA (m) USA SWE (w) SWE NOR (m) M2 (1st) W2 W2 (1st) RUS(md) RUS(md) USA (md) USA CAN (md) CAN (md) KOR MD2 (1st) D vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs Dr Opening Ceremony JPN (w) RUS (w) RUS USA (w) USA KOR (w) KOR CAN (w) USA (m) USA CAN (m) SWE (w) SWE CHN (m) SWE (m) SWE SUI (md) SUI M1 (1st) W1 W1 (1st) RUS(md) USA (md) USA SWE(md) NOR (md) MD1 (1st) # #3 #7 #11 #16 #21 #26 #31 #36 #41 #46 #51 #56 #61 #66 #71 #73 #74 #75 Cy SUI (m) SUI JPN (w) JPN (m) RUS (w) RUS USA (w) USA (m) SCO (w) USA CAN (w) CHN (m) SWE (m) SWE SUI (md) SUI RUS(md) USA (md) USA CHN (md) CHN SWE(md) C vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs Cr Opening Ceremony SUI (m) SUI JPN (w) JPN (m) SCO (w) SCO RUS (w) RUS SCO (m) SCO (w) USA CAN (w) CHN (m) SWE (m) SWE RUS(md) CAN (md) CAN CHN (md) CHN SWE(md) NOR (md) # #2 #6 #10 #15 #20 #25 #30 #35 #40 #45 #50 #55 #60 #65 #70 By SUI (m) SUI JPN (w) SCO (w) SCO KOR (w) KOR CHN (w) CAN (w) USA (m) USA CAN (m) CWC 2018-19 | Draw: Leg 3 Leg | Draw: 2018-19 CWC NOR (m) SUI (md) SUI USA (md) USA KOR (md) KOR (md) CAN CHN (md) CHN NOR (md) B vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs Br Opening Ceremony SUI (m) SUI JPN (w) SCO (w) SCO CHN (w) (w) KOR USA (m) USA CAN (m) SWE (w) SWE NOR (m) SUI (md) SUI USA (md) USA (md) USA CAN (md) CAN CHN (md) CHN SWE(md) # #1 #5 #9 #14 #19 #24 #29 #34 #39 #44 #49 #54 #59 #64 #69 Ay SCO (w) SCO SCO (m) SCO CHN (w) CHN (m) (w) SWE CHN (m) SWE (m) SWE NOR (m) SUI (md) SUI CAN (md) CAN SWE(md) NOR (md) A vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs Ar Opening Ceremony JPN (m) RUS (w) RUS USA (w) USA (m) SCO CHN (w) CAN (m) NOR (m) NOR (m) SUI (md) SUI RUS(md) KOR (md) KOR (md) KOR # #13 #18 #23 #28 #33 #38 #43 #48 #53 #58 #63 #68 14:30 16:15 17:30 20:30 08:30 12:00 16:00 20:00 08:30 12:00 16:00 20:00 08:30 12:00 16:00 20:00 08:30 12:00 16:00 Time Fri Sat Sun Day Thu Wed 30 Jan 31 Jan 01 Feb 02 Feb 03 Feb CWC | Uli Kapp
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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