What are the curling rules at the Winter Olympics? Here's what you need to know before you watch.
Curling is one of the oldest team sports on the planet.
It first began in the 16th century in Scotland and was played at the time on frozen lakes.
Men's curling made its debut in the Winter Olympics in 1924 but was removed from the Games as a medal sport until 1998. Women's curling debuted that year in Nagano, Japan, and mixed doubles was introduced in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Canada has won the most Olympic medals in the sport (11), followed by Sweden (eight). The defending champions are the USA (men's), Sweden (women's) and Canada (mixed doubles).
MEDAL COUNT: Which country is in the lead and where does Team USA stand?
TV SCHEDULE: When is curling on? Here's the TV lineup for the Olympics
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Here is everything you need to know about the curling competition in Beijing:
When and where will curling take place at the Beijing Games?
The Beijing National Aquatics Center, also known as The Water Cube, will be the home of curling. The mixed doubles events will take place Feb. 2-8 while women's and men's curling will begin Feb. 9 and continue through Feb. 20.
What is the format in the Olympics?
Each team plays in a round-robin tournament against the other nine teams, and the top four teams advance to the semifinals. The semifinal losers play for bronze and the winners play for gold.
How many athletes are on each curling team?
The men's and women's teams have four athletes each. The mixed doubles team is made up of one man and one woman. Countries alternate turns.
In team curling, each athlete releases two stones toward a bull's-eye-shaped target known as the house. Two athletes sweep the ice to control the speed and direction of the stone. A skip directs the sweepers, then takes a turn sliding. In mixed doubles, five stones are released.
How is curling scored?
According to worldcurling.org, "A team scores one point for each of its own stones located in or touching the house that are closer to the center than any stone of the opposite team. Only one team can score in an end. If no team’s stones are touching the house at the conclusion of an end, no points are scored."
What is some curling terminology?
DETAILS: Hog line? Hammer? Decoding the 'H'-heavy lingo of curling
Which countries have qualified for the Beijing Games?
Men: China, Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland, RCF (Russian Curling Federation), Canada, United States, Norway, Italy, Denmark
Women: China, Switzerland, RCF, United States, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Republic of Korea
Mixed doubles: China, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Australia, United States
Contact Analis Bailey at aabailey@usatoday.com or on Twitter @analisbailey.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Curling rules at Winter Olympics: Scoring rules, terminology
