Curling

an ancient Scottish game played on the ice. A strip of smooth ice is chosen for a rink. Two marks called tees are located about forty yards apart. The game is played with smooth hemispherical stones, weighing from thirty-five to fifty pounds, fitted with stone or wooden handles. Each player has a pair of these stones, which he holds something like a flatiron. The opposing players stand at one tee and slide their stones with great force along the ice toward the other tee. As in bowls, quoits, and pitching horseshoes, the stone which lies nearest the tee counts. No small part of the player's skill lies in his ability to drive his opponent's stone away from the tee and leave his own in position. The game is a popular one, not only in North Britain, but in Canada and in some parts of the United States. International games, or bonspiels, are not infrequently played, as between St. Paul and Winnipeg.

Curling is attended with a great deal of jollity and merrymaking. The game may be played by any even number of players from two up to sixteen. In Scotland, especially, contests between parishes are a regular winter event looked forward to by young and old; while crack teams from different parts of the country meet each other for final games. A code of rules has grown up to fit every conceivable emergency, as in the case of football, baseball, and golf. If a player's stone split, the location of the larger piece is considered. If a handle breaks out, the player loses his shot unless he retains the handle in his hand. If a stone stops midway down the rink, it is removed as an obstruction. Other rules govern such points as the place where the player must stand, the extent to which the ice may be swept, etc. One rule in particular must be adhered to. No one may jeer or even speak to a player on the opposing side when about to cast his stone.

The teams of curlers usually dress in Highland costume, at least in Highland caps, and as a sign of fellowship they carry the brooms with which they are wont to sweep the ice when it seems that a stone is not likely to go quite far enough.

See Skating; Toboggan