Be prepared to step on the ice on time.
Greet each member of the opposing team with a handshake, a self-introduction and a wish for good curling. Likewise, at the conclusion of the game, you should shake hands and thank your opposition for the game.
Dirt and debris on the ice is the game’s worst enemy! Clean your broom and shoes before stepping onto the ice. Change into indoor shoes. Do not wear sweaters, fleece or hats that shed.
Be ready to play when your turn comes. As soon as your opponent has delivered (released) his or her rock, step into the hack and get your own rock ready (tilt it up, brush frost and loose dirt off the bottom and brush any resulting debris off the ice). Be ready and waiting for your skip’s instructions by the time your opponent’s rock comes to rest. Every end should take a maximum of 15 minutes – do your part to make sure your team stays on time.
Skips do return to the house after their 1st rock to discuss strategy and the next shot with their vice. They are ultimately in charge of deciding the shot/ice (with input from their vice).
At the conclusion of the end, the lead of the team that scored should get into the hack and prepare to throw the 1st rock right away. Let everyone else clear the rocks. Do not spend time ordering the rocks.
Front end players (lead or second) can place the skip’s rock in front of the hack to help speed up the game.
After shooting, if you tend to drag your knee or put your hands on the ice, please get up quickly as the heat from your body could melt the ice and leave a dent.
Do not disturb a curler in the hack. If you are waiting to play, stand quietly well behind the curler and out of reach of the broom. If you are an opposing sweeper, stand still at the side of the sheet beyond the hog line.
Always walk down the sidelines in single file. Stop walking while your opponent is throwing. Once they have released the rock you may start walking again.
Sweep from side to side, and when you stop, don’t lift your broom straight up. Instead, make sure your last sweep finishes off to either side of the moving rock.
Behind the tee line, only one member of each team can sweep at one time. If you decide not to sweep your own rock, make way for the other team.
As soon as the delivered rock comes to rest, leads and seconds leave the house and return to the side of the sheet between the hog lines. Only the skips and vice-skips should be in the house.
When a team is preparing to deliver, the opposing skip stands still and holds his/her broom off of the ice to avoid disturbing the concentration of the player in the hack.
At the conclusion of the end, only the vice-skips are in the house to determine the score of the end. No rocks are moved until the vice-skips agree. The vice-skips are responsible for measuring if necessary, for posting the score on the scoreboard and, at the conclusion of the game, for posting the points on the draw sheet.
Scoreboard etiquette – While spectators enjoy having the score posted quickly after the completion of an end, curling etiquette does exist in certain situations where delaying or even not posting the score would be considered a sportsmanlike gesture. For example, if after 3 or 4 ends, a team is leading by 7 or more (for example), then further scoring should be postponed until the trailing rink counts an end – please use your judgment. In these situations, it can be considered unsportsmanlike to rush and immediately post the results of an end especially when the score is lopsided.
The etiquette of conceding a game: At any time, a team may concede a game by the conceding skip offering to shake hands with the skip of the winning team. After a team has conceded, they may still play for fun if time allows (no score). If time is short, good etiquette is to concede a game when all chances of winning the game are gone.
Be a good sport. Compliment a good shot by either side. Never comment negatively on a teammates’ or opponent’s poor shot or bad luck. Control your own frustration when you make a poor shot.
If you “burn” (touch) a moving rock with your broom while sweeping before it reaches the far hog line, it should be immediately stopped and removed from the ice. If you burn a rock after reaching the far hog line, all stones are allowed to come to rest after which the non-offending team has 3 choices:
- remove the touched stone and replace all stones that were displace after the infraction to their original positions, or
- leave all stones where they came to rest, or
- place all stones where they reasonably consider the stones would have come to rest had the moving stone not been touched
If you move a stationary rock, and if that move did not affect a running rock, then the non-offending team replaces the rock to its original position (if there is any question about whether the touched rock or another rock is closer to the button, the touched rock is replaced in favor of the non-offending team). If the move would have affected the course of another rock in motion, then the non-offending team has 3 choices:
- all the play to stand, or
- remove the rock in motion and replace all the affected rocks to their original positions, or
- place the rock in motion and all rocks it would have affected where they would have come to rest if the violation had not occurred
