Curling with a delivery stick

Curling with a delivery stick

Your reading of the ice, shot selection and feel for the game all come with you. A stick gives you a different way to deliver the stone. The work is to make that connection comfortable and repeatable.

This guide focuses on an upright walking delivery, with room for an instructor to adapt the setup and movement to you. Sliding and seated deliveries need their own coaching. The rules section distinguishes regular four-person play, Canadian two-person stick curling and wheelchair curling.

Start with a steady foundation

• For walking delivery, use secure, clean grippers on both feet. Check their condition and fit before stepping onto the ice. Discuss appropriate head protection with your club and follow its safety policy. [4, 14]
• Keep the route clear of stones, spare sticks and other equipment. Walk forward, look where you are going and go around stones. [4]
• Have an instructor check your stick, its fit and a comfortable movement pattern. A longer approach or a faster walk is useful only if it stays controlled.

Choose one focus

Before a practice set, choose line, weight, rotation or release. Keep the other parts as familiar as possible. A few observed throws give you more to work with than a long session of changing everything.

The practice ideas in the printable guide are original HouseCall exercises. Use fewer throws, more rest or a wider target whenever that makes the session more useful. Stop the drill if your footing or control becomes uncertain.

Know the stick in your hands

A delivery stick transfers your movement to the stone through its handle. The grip is where you hold it; the shaft or tube connects to the delivery head; the head engages and then releases the stone handle. A separate stabilizer supports a conventional sliding delivery and serves a different purpose. [2, 5]

Different heads work differently

• Slotted and ring-shaped heads are among the designs described in CSCA teaching material. Sticks may have a fixed or adjustable length; a broom can be separate or combined with the stick. [5]
• An articulated head has a moving joint. Techno, for example, seats its connector at the base of the stone handle. Its instructions specify the label at the back and a joint that moves smoothly without play. Those directions are specific to that model. [7]
• An offset head can help create the turn through where it pushes. GTX explains that its GTX 5 uses an offset contact point; head angle and screw setting affect rotation. The familiar wrist-turn cue may therefore need adapting to that device. [8]
• A broom-mounted adapter is another option. Goldline describes its Cutlas as attaching to a curling broom handle. Check the exact shaft, adapter and stone-handle fit before use; a product description is not an installation guide. [9]

Ask for a hands-on fitting

Bring the actual stick and the stones you will use. Ask the instructor to check your reach, head seating, comfortable hand position and clean release. If the shaft adjusts, learn that model’s locking procedure and check that it stays fixed during the delivery. Do not assume every stick adjusts or every head fits every handle. [7]

Care before and after play

Follow the maker’s cleaning, storage and adjustment instructions. Have looseness, cracks, a slipping shaft or a catching head checked before further play. Ask before adding tape, lubricant or home-made modifications. Confirm equipment eligibility with the event organizer; a product being sold does not establish its approval for every competition. [10]

Build a repeatable delivery

These are coaching cues for an upright walking delivery with a conventional head. Agree on an allowed starting position and release limit first. Ask an instructor to adapt the cues to your equipment and movement.

Before you move

• 1. Confirm the shot, turn and target with the skip. Picture a straight delivery line through the centre of the stone toward the target broom. A nearby visual reference on that line can help. [1]
• 2. In a hack-based setup, use the hack appropriate to your throwing hand. Settle the foot securely, face the intended line and place the stone on that line. The rules section explains why alternative starts need checking. [1, 11]
• 3. Seat the head as the maker intends. Start with a relaxed, slightly bent elbow and the grip near the middle of your body. Check that the stick is aimed along the line rather than angled across it. [3]

Move and release

• 4. Move forward on the chosen line at a controlled pace. Keep the setup quiet and your eyes on the target. [3]
• 5. With a conventional head, retain the starting handle angle until the release. Extend smoothly toward the target as you apply the turn and let the head disengage. Avoid a last-moment jab or sideways sweep. [1]
• 6. Allow a balanced forward follow-through instead of stopping abruptly. Stay aware of nearby people and stones while watching the result. [3, 4]

A useful check on the turn

Conventional-head instruction often uses a handle starting near 10 or 2 o’clock and returning toward 12 at release. Have the instructor show the requested rotation with your throwing hand and your head design. These clock positions are coaching references, not a universal rule for all sticks. [2, 8]

Leave a clear release margin. The stone, not merely your hand, must separate from the head before the applicable limit. Do not stretch the delivery to the last possible instant. [11–13]

Build a weight reference you can repeat

For a walking delivery, pace is an important source of stone speed. Work toward a smooth, continuous movement and a familiar release place. Adjust pace within your comfortable control rather than trying to rescue the shot with a forceful final push. A coach can help you adapt a shorter approach. [2]

Use the same turn and line for a short set. Observe where the stones finish, then make one small change. Repeat on the other turn separately. If you use hog-to-hog timing, record your own results on that ice; the useful reference is the relationship between your delivery and the finish, not a universal number. [5]

Missing the line

Ask a partner whether the stone started toward the broom. Recheck the initial stone position, the direction of the stick and your walking path. Watch for an elbow moving outward or a final push across the target line. [6]

Finishing heavy or light

Check whether your pace or release place changed. Look for a pause, a pull back or a jab. Repeat a small set with the same release place before making another change. [6]

Rotation varies from throw to throw

With a conventional head, repeat the same starting angle and smooth finish while a partner watches the handle. Test one adjustment at a time. Ask the coach what rotation suits the shot, ice and device; a single count does not fit every situation. [6, 8]

The head catches or the shaft slips

Stop and inspect the equipment with the instructor. Check the maker’s fit and adjustment instructions before changing your technique to compensate. Never solve a slipping joint by gripping harder and hoping it holds.

Practice observation: write what happened, the one thing you changed and what happened next. A result tells you more than a verdict about whether the throw was “good.”

Check which rules you are playing

Using a delivery stick describes equipment. It does not, by itself, identify the game format. Ask which rulebook and local modifications govern your league or event.

Regular four-person club curling

A stick may be used as a delivery aid where the league permits it; the normal game and its sweeping rules still apply. Curling Canada’s current rules direct recreational stick use to World Curling’s recommendations. Those recommendations use the appropriate hack, a straight delivery toward the target and release before the stone reaches the delivery-end hog line. Confirm your league’s permitted start rather than assuming all starts are interchangeable. [10, 11]

Curling Canada R11(e) requires a player choosing a stick to use one for every delivery that game. World Curling events and qualifiers exclude sticks except wheelchair events. Club permission does not establish eligibility for every competition. [10]

Canadian two-person stick curling

CSCA’s format has two players per team, six stones per end and six ends. Every stone uses a stick. The rules permit walking, sliding and wheelchair delivery, and one- or two-hand grip. Release before the front of the stone reaches the near hog line. [12]

For a stationary start between the top of the house and near hog line, the whole stone starts between the wheelchair lines, each 18 inches from centre. Between the hack and the outermost edge of the top of the house, part of the stone must touch the centre line, unless using the proper hack position. Maintain the chosen delivery position for the game. [12]

No sweeping is allowed between the hog lines. Sweeping may begin when the stone touches the receiving hog line, subject to the format’s other sweeping rules. This restriction should not be transferred to ordinary four-person play. [12]

Wheelchair curling

World Curling wheelchair rules require delivery from a stationary wheelchair, by hand or compliant stick, with release before the stone reaches the near hog line. The stone starts on the centre line between the hack and the outermost edge of the top of the house, or fully within the wheelchair lines when starting between the house and hog line. Sweeping is prohibited. World-level wheelchair events have classification requirements; these do not automatically apply to recreational players who use a stick. [13]

Rules checked October 10, 2026. Ask again before a new league or event. This is a short guide, not a replacement for its current rules.

Three useful practice sessions

These original HouseCall exercises use the delivery principles in this guide. Agree on a clear practice lane and stone-return routine. Throw one stone at a time; have the receiving end ready before each delivery. A partner watches from a safe position outside the stone’s path.

1 Repeat the starting line

Choose one turn and a comfortable draw. Deliver three stones toward the same broom. The observer records whether each begins on the intended line, inside it or outside it. Record the initial direction separately from where the stone finishes.

Choose one cue, such as the direction of the stick at setup. Repeat three throws. Compare the second group with the first. Make it easier with two throws per group; make it harder by changing the broom only after you can repeat the first line.

2 Build a small weight ladder

On an open sheet, choose three clear finish zones: a guard, the front of the house and near the tee line. Keep the turn and line the same. Throw one stone to each zone, then repeat in the same order. Draw the chosen zones on the practice sheet before starting.

Record short, in zone or long, plus the pace cue you used. Start with two wide zones if three is too much. Tighten the zones only when you can distinguish the deliveries comfortably. Keep the release place familiar; work on one weight change at a time.

3 Compare the two turns

Play three draws on one turn and three on the other, using a sensible target for each. The partner watches for clean separation and records the observed rotation consistently, plus the finish. Compare repeatability within each turn before comparing the two turns.

Choose one turn for a second small set if it needs attention. Do not force the same broom or expect the same curl on different paths. With an unfamiliar head, begin this exercise with the instructor.

Finish with a game shot

Pick one shot you expect to play in your league. Say the desired finish, choose one delivery cue and play it. Record what you would keep next time. Rest or end the session whenever your movement stops feeling steady.

Your stick delivery practice sheet

Draw your target zone and number each finish on the blank house. Add a guard zone below the house if useful. Mark the intended delivery line separately from the stone’s curved path.

Use a smaller set or wider zone as needed. Count only the throws you can make with steady footing and control.

Use the printable blank house to draw finish zones and number stone positions. Record each throw’s line at release, whether it finished short, in the target zone or long, and a release or rotation observation. The sheet has room for six throws; fewer are fine.

• Name Date Sheet
• Stick or head Turn
• Today’s one focus
• One change I tested
• What I noticed
• What I will repeat next time

Take it to practice

More ways to enjoy curling

Download the printable guide for worked examples and reusable worksheets. Clubs may download, print and share it for noncommercial educational use. Keep the credit to Mary Deuhs and HouseCall. Not for resale.

Plan a practice · Sweeping and communication · Learning path