Curlers who have difficulty getting in and out of the hack might want to give stick curling a try! It's a fun, quick paced game that allows curlers to remain active in a sport they enjoy.
Chester Curling Club's Stick Curling League is held every Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00pm and Friday morning 9.30am to 12.30pm. Sign up at the Club as an individual or bring along a friend and form your own team.
Not familiar with stick curling...here's how the game is played:
- Each team is comprised of two curlers which makes it easier to form and co-ordinate teams.
- Each stone must be delivered by a curling stick from a standing or seated (wheelchair) position.
- All games are 6 ends. In the event of a tie, an extra end is played with each player delivering 3 stones (skips and throwers exchange ends at the midpoint of an extra end).
- One member of each team stays at each end of the ice; one acting as skip and the other as thrower. This speeds up the game as there is less movement up and down the ice and responsibilities are equally shared by the two team members.
- The two throwing curlers alternately deliver six stones per end, while their team mates skip. The roles are reversed in the next end.
- Sweeping is not allowed between the hog lines. This allows curlers with physical limitations that would prevent them from brushing to continue in the sport.
- The first three stones thrown in an end may not be removed from play before delivery of the fourth stone. If that occurs, the fourth stone is removed and all other stones are returned to their original position.
Looking for tips on how to use a delivery stick ?
Download this article from the Canadian Stick Curling Association here.