I will use a LibreOffice/Powerpoint document for my presentation with photos and cartoons related to the expl
INTRO
Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman.
The purpose of my presentation is to introduce you to the amazing world of curling, that curious sport you have probably bumped into at some point while hopping around channels. The one with people holding brooms and sweeping the ice in front of a stone.
To start I will describe the basic gameplay of this sport. Then, I will explain what "the spirit of curling" is. Finally, I will get you know the basic equipment needed for its practice.
GAMEPLAY
Curling is a winter sport played on ice rinks in which players slide stones towards a target area called "house" which is segmented into four concentric rings. The purpose of the game is to score points by getting stones closer to the house center than the other team's stones.
Curling is played by two teams of four players A full game consists of a sequence of 8 rounds called ends. In every end, sixteen rocks are thrown alternatively, two by each of the players. Players are named by the order in which they throw stones: First, second, third and skip. As one player throws a stone, two will be ready to sweep and other (usually the skip) will be on the house determining the strategy and directing play for the team.
The ice rink lanes used to play curling are called curling sheets. At each end of the sheet there are foot-holds from which the stone is delivered, called hacks. Ten meters from the line at each side of the ice there is a line called hog line. The one at the hack side marks the limit for players to release the stone when throwing it. That is, if you keep in touch with the stone after this line, it will be removed from the game. The one at the "house" side marks the limit for stones to stop. For a stone to be kept in play, it must stop in the area spanned between the hog line, the back line located at the end of the house and the side lines.
As far as scoring is concerned, it takes place at the end of each end. Only rocks inside the house count and only one team can score per end. So whoever is closest to the very center of the house will automatically score one. If that same team has the second closest stone they would score a second point and so on until you find a rock from the other team, then it's the end of the scoring.
Take a look at this examples... In this scenario red team would score three. And in these one, yellow team would score one. Which team would score, and how many points in the last scenario?
THE SPIRIT OF CURLING
The spirit of curling is a commonly used term in this sport. It refers to the respect and good sportmanship curlers show to one another and to the sport itself. It is encapsulated by the saying that a curler would rather lose that win unfairly.
More so than in many other team sports, this is an integral part of curling and you won't be looked upon in case you don't respect it. This includes shaking hands before the matches, congratulating opponents for making a good shot, calling your own faults before any other person and, whats is more important, buying drinks for the losing team after the game if you win the game.
BASIC EQUIPMENT
Now let's take a look at the basic equipment needed to play curling.
First of all, we have the brooms. May years ago they used to use corn brooms. Now most of curlers use what we call synthetic brush like this: just a piece of special fabric, really rough and a pretty light handle as well. The brooms are used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone, as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
The curling sheet is the playing surface for this sport. It is a rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible. This surface is 45 meters in length by 4,5 meters in width.
The curling stone is a rock made of very dense granite as specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 17 and 20 kg and only accepts granite coming from two quarries located in Scotland and Wales. Each stone costs about 800 Euros.
To play curling special footwear is needed as you need to grip the ice when walking and smoothly slide one foot when throwing the stone. To get this done some curlers buy special shoes called grippers that really grip the ice hard but have a built-in covered slippery surface. Others, prefer to use the slider, a special sole made of a really slippery material like teflon. This sole is adjusted to standard sport shoes by an elastic strap.
Other types of recommended equipment include curling pants, made to be stretchy; a stopwatch to time the stones while sweeping and curling gloves to keep the hands warm and improve grip on the broom.
CONCLUSION
So.. that's all. I hope to have been able to show a whole view of curling after exploring the basics of its gameplay, spirit and the equipment needed for its practice. If this presentation has put a bug on your ear and want to know more, you are invited to join the Leon Curling Club: local team need players!
May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience. If there are any questions please feel free to ask.
INTRO
Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman.
The purpose of my presentation is to introduce you to the amazing world of curling, that curious sport you have probably bumped into at some point while hopping around channels. The one with people holding brooms and sweeping the ice in front of a stone.
To start I will describe the basic gameplay of this sport. Then, I will explain what "the spirit of curling" is. Finally, I will get you know the basic equipment needed for its practice.
GAMEPLAY
Curling is a winter sport played on ice rinks in which players slide stones towards a target area called "house" which is segmented into four concentric rings. The purpose of the game is to score points by getting stones closer to the house center than the other team's stones.
Curling is played by two teams of four players A full game consists of a sequence of 8 rounds called ends. In every end, sixteen rocks are thrown alternatively, two by each of the players. Players are named by the order in which they throw stones: First, second, third and skip. As one player throws a stone, two will be ready to sweep and other (usually the skip) will be on the house determining the strategy and directing play for the team.
The ice rink lanes used to play curling are called curling sheets. At each end of the sheet there are foot-holds from which the stone is delivered, called hacks. Ten meters from the line at each side of the ice there is a line called hog line. The one at the hack side marks the limit for players to release the stone when throwing it. That is, if you keep in touch with the stone after this line, it will be removed from the game. The one at the "house" side marks the limit for stones to stop. For a stone to be kept in play, it must stop in the area spanned between the hog line, the back line located at the end of the house and the side lines.
As far as scoring is concerned, it takes place at the end of each end. Only rocks inside the house count and only one team can score per end. So whoever is closest to the very center of the house will automatically score one. If that same team has the second closest stone they would score a second point and so on until you find a rock from the other team, then it's the end of the scoring.
Take a look at this examples... In this scenario red team would score three. And in these one, yellow team would score one. Which team would score, and how many points in the last scenario?
THE SPIRIT OF CURLING
The spirit of curling is a commonly used term in this sport. It refers to the respect and good sportmanship curlers show to one another and to the sport itself. It is encapsulated by the saying that a curler would rather lose that win unfairly.
More so than in many other team sports, this is an integral part of curling and you won't be looked upon in case you don't respect it. This includes shaking hands before the matches, congratulating opponents for making a good shot, calling your own faults before any other person and, whats is more important, buying drinks for the losing team after the game if you win the game.
BASIC EQUIPMENT
Now let's take a look at the basic equipment needed to play curling.
First of all, we have the brooms. May years ago they used to use corn brooms. Now most of curlers use what we call synthetic brush like this: just a piece of special fabric, really rough and a pretty light handle as well. The brooms are used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone, as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
The curling sheet is the playing surface for this sport. It is a rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible. This surface is 45 meters in length by 4,5 meters in width.
The curling stone is a rock made of very dense granite as specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 17 and 20 kg and only accepts granite coming from two quarries located in Scotland and Wales. Each stone costs about 800 Euros.
To play curling special footwear is needed as you need to grip the ice when walking and smoothly slide one foot when throwing the stone. To get this done some curlers buy special shoes called grippers that really grip the ice hard but have a built-in covered slippery surface. Others, prefer to use the slider, a special sole made of a really slippery material like teflon. This sole is adjusted to standard sport shoes by an elastic strap.
Other types of recommended equipment include curling pants, made to be stretchy; a stopwatch to time the stones while sweeping and curling gloves to keep the hands warm and improve grip on the broom.
CONCLUSION
So.. that's all. I hope to have been able to show a whole view of curling after exploring the basics of its gameplay, spirit and the equipment needed for its practice. If this presentation has put a bug on your ear and want to know more, you are invited to join the Leon Curling Club: local team need players!
May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience. If there are any questions please feel free to ask.