Curling

Curling is a precision sport played on ice with granite stones, cut and polished to an international standard. The goal is to place the stones as close as possible to a circular target drawn on the ice, called the house. Curling was an official Olympic sport in 1924 and again from 1998. The curling rink consists of an ice surface 42.07 m long and 4.3 m to 4.75 m wide, prepared with great care to be as flat as possible to allow the stones to slide with as little friction as possible. One of the keys to preparing this surface is to sprinkle the ice with fine droplets of water, which gives the ice a pearl finish. Playing conditions tend to change during the course of the game. Curling is a team game, played between two teams of 4 players each.