The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics came to a close last night with the closing ceremony. For the first time in my life I was interested in the different events and learned about the different competitors. Shaun White in the snowboard half-pipe, Gracie Gold in figure skating, and Lo-Lo Jones in two person bobsled were the big name competitors in the most popular sports, but the sport of curling really caught my eye this year.
If I were asked just a few weeks ago about the rules of curling and how to win I would have been dumbfounded, but now after the Olympic Games, I have a greater understanding of the rules, how to win, and even the vocabulary. I now know that there are ten ends, or rounds, in a game. Each team gets eight stones per round. A team has “the Hammer” when they throw the last stone in the round. Scoring is simple; a team is awarded one point for each stone closer to the center ring than the closest stone of the opposing team. Your scores at each end are added up for your total score, the highest being the winner.
There are four different positions in the sport. The first is the skip, or lead. It is the skipper’s job to determine strategy and to hold the broom in the house to show the shooter at the other end where to aim the stone. Also, the skip is responsible for shooting the last pair of stones in each round. Another position is the third, or vice-skip. He/she is responsible for delivering the second-to-last pair of stones in each end. Also, the third is in charge of strategy and delivering the stones when the skip is the shooter. The second delivers the second pair of stones and sweeps when he/she is are not the shooter. The lead delivers the first two stones and sweeps when he/she is are not shooting.
In the Olympics this year, the Canadians showed their mastery of the sport by winning gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Men’s Results:
CAN CHN DEN GBR GER NOR RUS SUI SWE USA
CAN 9 – 8 7 – 6 7 – 5 11 – 8 10 – 4 7 – 4 4 – 5 6 – 7 8 – 6
CHN 8 – 9 7 – 4 6 – 5 11 – 7 7 – 5 9 – 6 5 – 4 5 – 6 9 – 4
DEN 6 – 7 4 – 7 6 – 8 6 – 3 5 – 3 11 – 10 3 – 9 8 – 5
GBR 5 – 7 5 – 6 8 – 6 7 – 6 6 – 7 7 – 4 4 – 2 4 – 8 5 – 3
GER 8 – 11 7 – 11 3 – 6 6 – 7 5 – 8 7 – 8 8 – 7 4 – 8 5 – 8
NOR 4 – 10 5 – 7 3 – 5 7 – 6 8 – 5 9 – 8 5 – 3 4 – 5 7 – 4
RUS 4 – 7 6 – 9 10 – 11 4 – 7 8 – 7 8 – 9 7 – 6 4 – 8
SUI 5 – 4 4 – 5 9 – 3 2 – 4 7 – 8 3 – 5 6 – 7 5 – 7 6 – 3
SWE 7 – 6 6 – 5 5 – 8 8 – 4 8 – 4 5 – 4 8 – 4 7 – 5 6 – 4
USA 6 – 8 4 – 9 9 – 5 3 – 5 8 – 5 4 – 7 6 – 7 3 – 6 4 – 6
Note: Gold- Canada
Silver- Great Britain
Bronze- Sweden
Women’s results:
CAN CHN DEN GBR JPN KOR RUS SUI SWE USA
CAN 9 – 2 8 – 5 9 – 6 8 – 6 9 – 4 5 – 3 8 – 5 9 – 3 7 – 6
CHN 2 – 9 6 – 9 7 – 8 5 – 8 11 – 3 7 – 5 6 – 10 7 – 6 7 – 4
DEN 5 – 8 9 – 6 8 – 7 3 – 8 7 – 4 4 – 7 6 – 7 6 – 7 9 – 2
GBR 6 – 9 8 – 7 7 – 8 12 – 3 10 – 8 9 – 6 6 – 8 4 – 6 12 – 3
JPN 6 – 8 8 – 5 8 – 3 3 – 12 7 – 12 8 – 4 9 – 7 4 – 8 6 – 8
KOR 4 – 9 3 – 11 4 – 7 8 – 10 12 – 7 8 – 4 6 – 8 4 – 7 11 – 2
RUS 3 – 5 5 – 7 7 – 4 6 – 9 4 – 8 4 – 8 6 – 3 4 – 5 9 – 7
SUI 5 – 8 10 – 6 7 – 6 8 – 6 7 – 9 8 – 6 3 – 6 8 – 9 7 – 4
SWE 3 – 9 6 – 7 7 – 6 6 – 4 8 – 4 7 – 4 5 – 4 9 – 8 7 – 6
USA 6 – 7 4 – 7 2 – 9 3 – 12 8 – 6 2 – 11 7 – 9 4 – 7 6 – 7
Note: Gold- Canada
Silver- Sweden
Bronze- Great Britain