Curling Game Scoring Rules

There are various ice-based games all over the world. To name a few, we have ice hockey, ice skating/figure skating, and skiing. One recent addition to this list is curling. To be specific, curling, as we know it now, is a recent version, but this game was played a long time ago.

Curling is a sport where a stone is slid over and across a sheet of ice toward a specific target. The target is a circular house marked on the ice. Further, the scoring is pretty easy in this sport.

The basic system in curling is that the team which has gathered the highest number of points on finishing ten ends. Once each team has consumed its stipulated 8 stones, the team which has its stone closest to the button (the center of the circular house―the target), is the winner.

A point is then awarded to the winning team for each of its stones which are closer to the button as compared to that of the opponents. The important thing to remember here is that, only the positions of the stones close to the target of the opponent is what matters the most, with regards to the opponent's stones.

When the scoring is done, the stones which have been pushed into the house are considered. If a stone lies within the 12-foot zone, it is considered as being in the house. Likewise, if a part of the stone's edge is over the edge of the ring, it is counted as being in the house.

The score is displayed on a scoreboard akin to a universal practice. However, there are two types of scoreboards.

The baseball type scorecard is simpler to decipher and read. It was basically made for games being telecast. The ends are marked with the help of columns 1 to 10, and one more column for the total score. Below that, there are a couple of rows, one per team, which have a team's score for that end, The total score is on the right hand column.

This is a more traditional scoreboard employed by the maximum number of curling clubs. The scoring system needs just 11-digit cards. There is a center row which is numbered, and represents whatever points have been accumulated by a team.

Likewise, the numbers in the team rows is a representation of the end where that team attained the cumulative score. Only a single team can get points in an end. That is why, this scoreboard is preferred and works better.

The highest score a team can achieve is 8, with all the rocks thrown by one team counting. This is known as an eight-ender. As opposed to this, a blank end is scored when not even a single stone has been pushed into the house by a team.

Say Team X has the stone closest to the house. Team Y's stone is close on its heels. To follow that, team X scores a point, and team Y does not unsettle the scoreboard. Now, at the next end, the closest stone is that of team Y's.

Moreover, the second-best stone for team Y is in the house, nearer to the button, as compared to team X's best stone. Here, team Y will get a couple of points, while team X gets nothing.

In curling, the team which wins last, gets a chance to go first in the next round. Getting a chance to play the last stone matters a lot when it is an international or any other big clash.