Do Olympic curlers bring their own stones?

Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations.

r/Curling

Do Olympic curlers bring their own stones?

Do Olympic curlers bring their own stones?

level 1

I am so sorry, this is 100% a welcoming community of people to answer questions, but I wanted to let you know that the idea of people flying to china with multiple 42 lb rocks made me giggle like crazy.

So, yeah, no, they don't use their own stones :)

In fact, they will switch colors depending on what game you're watching. So USA might play red stones in the morning game and yellow in the afternoon.

level 2

To add on, most large organizations who run the tournaments (like the World Curling Federation or Curling Canada) own sets of rocks, and will use those same rocks across various tournaments.

Because each rock has a serial number etched into it, the top-tier teams will track how individual rocks behave to give them an edge!

level 2

“Yes, I’d like to check these eight small bags and one large one. All of them are over weight. Yes.”

level 2

This is being shown on Aussie tv right now and I’ve never seen this sport, nor known about it. So many questions and it looks like awesome fun.

level 2

They used to do this. Teams would have their own stones they would bring with them by train

curling history “In the 'small print' of the advert there is the caution to players that they have the responsibility of looking after their own stones if they change trains at any point!”

level 2

In fact, they will switch colors depending on what game you're watching. So USA might play red stones in the morning game and yellow in the afternoon.

That just means you need to bring both sets

level 2

Thanks you for the answer and you are welcome for the giggle. :-)

I figured at the Olympic level, having your own stones that they were confident in and familiar with would be worth the logistics challenges possible even sending a set of "team stones" for the national team. However, that would turn the event into a science project to inspect the stones everyone brought and look for discrepancies and illegal modifications to gain an advantage. Now I know that they are provided and this eliminates l of those issues.

level 2

I’ve seen an airline’s sporting equipment policy that allows for 2 stones per traveler! Sorry I don’t have a link, but it’s floating around out there somewhere.

level 2

Its not that crazy for a major international sporting event. Think of things like motorsport, they have entire cargo planes flying dedicated routes just to get teams gear to the events for a single race. 8 stones is not that much for a top level national sports team. 160kg? Could send it via FedEx for a few hundred bucks probably.

level 1

Short answer ... No.

Players throw the rocks provided.

Long answer... No, but historically this was the case. Teams would travel with their own stones and use them in competition. This tradition stopped about ~120 years ago, as curling stones became more commercially produced and took on a consistent size and weight.

level 1

Our club found an old set of privately-owned stones in the compressor room when they renovated, they are now on display, and they were really old (the club was founded in the 1840s).

But even if someone did own a set, it's impractical to use them. The rocks have to be cooled to the same temperature as the ice before being put in direct contact with the ice, otherwise the running surfaces will get wet and then re-freeze causing spalling and ruining the rock. At our club at the beginning of the season this is a three day process. First day on the end boards to cool down to room temperature, second day on a sheet of plastic on the ice to cool down to ice temperature and the third day placed directly on the ice.

level 1

This is a great question! As others have stated, curling clubs (where you'd probably play recreationally), and competitions (regional, national, and international events) all provide all of the rocks. If you're a beginner at a club, you don't need any equipment, they've have loaner brooms and sliders for you. The rocks never leave the ice. Once people are more invested in curling, they usually get their own shoes (with built in sliders) and brooms that they'll take to competitions.

Fun fact: American Airlines does not understand how curling works and allows 1 curling rock (even though everyone throws 2...) in your sports equipment allowance for curling. (Edit for link formatting)

level 2

I’ll have to remember that, if I ever fly American to some other city, and stumble on an old curling stone in an antique store!

I always wanted to buy one old curling rock to have as a doorstop, but I’ve never seen them for sale. Considering how there’s probably just a few thousand stones in active use in North America, they cost hundreds (or thousands!) new, and they can last for decades, I doubt I’ll ever have just one of my own.

level 2

That’s funny. It’s probably in response to the bad publicity AA got years back for charging oversized baggage fee for a poor team’s broom bag because curling equipment wasn’t on their sporting goods list. 4 carbon fiber brooms for $200 while people walk through with a ski bag for a normal checked bag fee..

Do curling teams take their own stones?

Most curlers do not buy their own stones rather, they pay a yearly fee, normally around $100 to their local curling club who will provide them with stones to use.

Do Olympic curlers use their own stones?

According to Olympics.com, each stone used in the Olympics is made of a special granite found on the island of Ailsa Craig in Scotland. The Ailsa Craig granite is some of the hardest and purest found in the world and maintains its shape despite the moist, wet conditions of the ice surface curling is played on.

Who provides the stones for Olympic curling?

Since 2006, every stone used in the Olympic Winter Games has come from Kays of Scotland. The company has produced curling stones since 1851. But making these stones isn't easy. For every stone it makes, Kays uses granite from one tiny island off the coast of Scotland called Ailsa Craig.

Who owns the stones in curling?

Kays of Scotland.