The ABCs of Curling - C

is for, well, Curling. It's what the rock does as it travels the length of the ice when you impart a spin, or turn to it upon release. The curl allows running stones to "bend" around stationary stones in order to hide behind them. Curlers use their brooms to sweep the running path of a stone in order to control how far it travels, and how much it curls. It also seems obvious that the curling motion of the rocks gives the sport its name, but that may not necessarily be the case.

The origins of curling are unclear, with both Scotland, and the Low Countries claiming genesis. References to a game played by sliding heavy objects on ice are found in both Scots and Dutch arts and literature during the fifteen hundreds. As there was much trade and cultural relations between the two areas during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the game may have originated in either locale and been transplanted to the other. The Dutch played a game on ice involving pushing large blocks of wood or clumps of frozen earth with a stick, called "kuting." In fact, many early Scottish curling stones were called "kuting" stones, and that word may have eventually evolved into the common name used today.

There is no question that it was the Scots who embraced the game, brought it to the rest of the world, and made it what it is today.


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