How does curling work?

At the last Winter Olympics in Beijing four years ago, Team GB won a total of two medals. Both came in the sport of curling.

And as the 2026 event in Milan-Cortina gets going, the 10 Scots in the team will again be among the favourites to return home with ribbons around their necks.

So, best get an idea of how curling works…

Some people will have a rough grasp. Two teams take turns to slide granite stones down a 45m-plus sheet of ice towards a target, with those 20kg stones accompanied on their journey by two players brushing furiously. More on that later.

The tactical mastery required has led it to be called “chess on ice”, but it might also be considered as “bowls on ice”.

At Olympic level, the rinks – as players are also known – compete in the men’s, women’s and mixed competitions.

Ultimately, by getting more of your stones closer to the centre of the house – the ‘button’ – than the other team over the course of a contest lasting about two hours.

In curling, there are three types of shot:

Men’s and women’s matches at the Olympics will be played over 10 rounds – which are called ‘ends’ – and only one team can score points in any given end – the team whose stone is closest to the button after each of the eight players throws twice.

If you’ve got more than one closer than your opponent, you get more than one point. But if no stones are left in the house – a blank end – neither team scores.

Each rink has a lead, second, third and fourth player and they will throw their two stones in that order, alternating with their opposing number in the other team.

Whoever has ‘the hammer’ gets to throw the final – usually decisive – stone. That is decided by a last-stone draw before the match begins, during which each rink slides two stones to the house, with whoever is nearest taking the hammer.

When a team scores, the hammer passes to the other team for the next end, which can lead to rinks tactically blanking an end rather than just taking one point so they retain the hammer.

That decision will be taken by the skip, who captains the team and directs the play. Usually skips play fourth, but in the GB women’s rink, Sophie Jackson plays lead.

Each team also has a designated alternate, who can replace an injured player and plays a key role in the preparations.

Cleans it, essentially.

Players release the stone down the pebbled ice sheet in such a way that it curls either clockwise or anti-clockwise so they have more control over it.

Sweeping the ice warms the surface and smooths out imperfections, allowing the stone to either glide further – up to two or three metres if done well – or curl less, to straighten its path towards the house.

The top teams will have two or three elite sweepers, whose physical profile can be significantly different to that of the skip, who won’t sweep.

There are a few different reasons.

For one, generation after generation of people in certain pockets of Scotland have played the sport, with some even having it as part of their school curriculum.

The south west of the country is a particular hotbed, with six of the 10 Team GB curlers having links to the area. And the number of links and social connections in the sport can build a sprawling curling family tree.

Access is another obvious factor. Scotland has more ice rinks than anywhere else in the United Kingdom – 22 at the last count – with the jewel being the National Curling Academy in Stirling.