Start with a handshake
Greet the other team and wish them a good game.
Inside the club
The Game Continues After the Last Rock
Curling is competition, but it is also handshakes, honesty, volunteers, shared tables, old stories, new friends, and deep respect for the ice.
The big idea
Compete hard. Treat people well.
Curlers try to outthink, outshoot, and remove one another’s stones. Then they shake hands, sit together, and talk about the game. That balance is the heart of curling culture.
“The goal is not only to play a good game. It is to make sure everyone can enjoy it.”
Curling etiquette
The habits that make a good game
Etiquette is not about being stiff or formal. It keeps the game fair, comfortable, and moving.
Curling etiquette poster
Small habits. A welcoming club. Keep these on-ice essentials handy, or print a copy for your club.
Download printable poster (PDF)10 × 12.5 inches · Choose “Fit to page” for smaller paper. Tap the poster for a larger view.
Be ready
Know when you throw and have your equipment ready.
Give the shooter space
Stay still, quiet, and out of the line of sight during delivery.
Compliment good shots
That includes shots made by the other team.
Do not cheer a miss
Celebrate your play, not another player’s mistake.
Finish with respect
Shake hands again when the game is over.
Curling welcomes you
Good Curling, Good Game
A friendly greeting before play. A compliment for a good shot. A handshake at the end. Granite shows how small gestures help everyone feel welcome.
Watch on YouTubeSweep Learns Curling
The Accidental Target
Sweep discovers why where you stand matters. Give the player delivering room to concentrate, and stay still and quiet during the shot.
Watch on YouTube
Getting around the club
The Shortcut That Isn’t
Sweep learns why crossing another active sheet is no shortcut. Wait for the nearby delivery, then use the club’s proper walkway.
Watch on YouTubeThe Spirit of Curling
A true curler would rather lose than win unfairly
Curling has traditionally depended on players to be honest about their own actions. If you touch a moving stone, move a stationary stone, or break a rule, you call it—even if nobody else noticed.
The Spirit is not about being less competitive. It is about understanding that a fair game matters more than an unfair win.
See the rule explainer
What it looks like
- Calling your own violation
- Helping a beginner understand what happened
- Respecting opponents, officials, volunteers, and icemakers
- Winning without gloating
- Losing without blaming everyone in the building
Real curling stories
Moments worth remembering
The people, teams, and achievements behind the game.
Team Sinclair · 2018
The Streak Stops Here
Jennifer Jones’s team arrived with 27 straight wins. Team Sinclair won the final 7–2 and became the first American team to win a Grand Slam of Curling title.
Read the story
In the 2018 Players’ Championship final in Toronto, Jamie Sinclair, Alex Carlson, Vicky Persinger and Monica Walker stole their way to a 4–0 lead over Jennifer Jones’s team. Jones closed the gap to 4–2. Sinclair scored three in the seventh end to win 7–2, ending the streak and earning a first for American curling.
Club traditions
The parts you do not see on television
Broomstacking
After a game, both teams often sit together for conversation, a drink, or a snack. Traditionally, the winning team buys the first round, though customs vary.
Watch Broomstacking →
Bonspiels
A curling tournament is a bonspiel. Some are fiercely competitive; others include costumes, food, music, and teams focused heavily on Saturday night.
Club life
Leagues, juniors, practice, ice-making, volunteering, meals, maintenance, and long friendships all share the same building.
Watch: Mention Curling Near a Curler →
Watch: Tuesday Night League Is the Olympics →
Tap for Sweep’s favorite part of club life
Sweep: “The snacks.”
Granite: “The people, Sweep.”
Sweep: “Right. The people. And the snacks.”
More curling culture
Life around the curling club
Short HouseCall stories about the people, traditions, and moments that make curling feel like home.
Thank You, Icemakers
Watch the Short →Inside Curling Culture
Watch the Short →Curlers Love to Explain the Game
Watch the Short →Blizzard Protocol
Watch the Short →What Volunteers Mean to Curling
Watch the Short →Respect for the ice
Clean shoes. Clean brooms. Careful steps.
A tiny hair or piece of dirt can make a stone suddenly change direction. Curlers protect the playing surface by wearing clean shoes, keeping equipment clean, avoiding food and drinks on the ice, and repairing damage properly.
The icemaker has spent hours preparing the sheet. Treating the ice well is a way of respecting everyone who will play on it.
Finding community
You do not need to arrive with a team
Clubs can often place new players in instructional leagues, social leagues, open houses, or substitute lists. Many curling friendships begin with four people who had never met.
Things That Only Happen at Curling Clubs
Taking Minutes
Granite asks Sweep to help at a club meeting. Sweep takes the assignment very literally.
Behind the scenes
The Water Has a Job
Clear water is not always the same water. Sweep learns why the ice crew carefully prepares the water used for pebbling, and why helping starts with asking the ice technician.
Watch on YouTubeLooking after the ice
Where the Dirt Goes
Clean a brush over the club’s designated bin, rather than leaving debris on the entrance carpet where it can be carried back onto the ice.
Watch on YouTubeLearning from the ice crew
The Quiet Rhythm
Pebble teaches Piper how steady movement helps produce even pebble coverage. Her supervised practice uses an empty can on dry flooring. Ask the ice crew before helping prepare the ice.
Watch on YouTubeSmall habits, better ice
The Door That Matters
Let the ice-hall door close after you pass through. Keeping warm, damp air out helps the ice crew manage conditions and limit frost.
Watch on YouTubeBehind the scenes
The Ice Diary
Piper discovers the notes behind good ice: checking and recording conditions helps the ice crew understand what is happening today.
Watch on YouTubeThe people behind the ice
The Overnight Watch
A late-night alert brings Pebble back to the club. This fictional story celebrates the care that happens long before the first draw.
Report equipment concerns to the club’s responsible staff. Repairs belong with qualified service professionals.
Watch on YouTubeFree club planning tool
Build your own bonspiel
Turn teams, sheets and available draw times into a draft round-robin schedule and printable score sheets.
Build a round robin →