Concentric Circles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eight

Regular games require four players per team. In competition events, a 5th person is allowed in case of injury or sickness, but that person has to have their coaching certificate as well. In any case, no more than four players per team can be on the ice at the same time. Non-competition/club events will allow you to have as few as three players per team, per game.

Answer: Coin toss

Because curling is considered a "gentlemanly" sport (no offense to ladies teams), it always starts with handshakes all around and then, like several other sports, there is a coin toss. The winner of the coin toss gets to decide whether they throw first or last. Last is considered to be the advantage.

Answer: Sixteen

Normally there are 4 players per team, throwing two stones each (eight stones per team), so with two teams, there are sixteen stones in total that can be thrown.

Answer: Skip

The team leader is called the Skip, even though curling has nothing to do with boats, not even icebreaker ships. The Skip normally throws the last two rocks, but the order of rock throwing is an optional choice. The Skip is always in charge of strategy, however.

Answer: 44 pounds

If you can lift a 44 stone stone (616 pounds), you should probably be in a different event at the Olympics! Rocks used in adult curling weigh between 38 and 44 pounds. For the trivially-interested, this is also the weight of an average human leg or a fifteen-foot canoe.

Answer: Granite

Granite is the correct choice. Traditionally, the granite for curling stones was obtained from the Scottish Isles - the best quality being "Blue Hone" due its resistance to water absorption. However, the quarry is now a wildlife sanctuary and although the Scottish Isles have provided the granite for (and claim to have harvested enough granite for) Olympic stones through to 2020, most of the granite purchased for curling leagues worldwide is from Wales.

It is called "Trefor" and as of 2010, the cost was $600 CDN per rock. Thankfully, you don't have to bring your own rocks to the rink in order to curl!

Answer: Slippery undersole of a shoe

While the bar and the snacks are usually part of the social curling experience, you're unlikely to get burger sliders at any of the venues (but the nachos and wings are usually pretty good.) The winning team normally buys the losing team the first round of drinks (no sliders - curlers are supposed to be polite!). Throwing a breaking ball laterally (and then down) is a baseball term (which you can't accomplish on a flat surface.)

The "slider" in curling is the slippery sole added to the shoe of the foreword (upon throwing) foot. The other shoe has a "gripper" added to the sole to provide traction when sweeping.

Answer: True

The game is played with the same rock sizes as in regular curling, except that the rocks are normally delivered from a stationary wheelchair, often using something called a "delivery stick" to push the rocks down the ice. There is no sweeping in wheelchair curling.

In 2010, the World Curling Federation allowed the use of power chairs - previously banned for disputed reasons. Personally, I never considered the chair itself (motorised or not) to be of any real help in making a particular shot. In 2006, Wheelchair Curling became one of the sports included in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Answer: To prevent the rock from curling

Curling was once nicknamed "The Roaring Game" when corn brooms were used (as they made a lot of noise when slapped very hard back and forth against the ice). Flat "Push-brooms" made of synthetic materials eventually replaced them, but the physics remain the same: If you sweep in front of a fast moving rock you will help to keep it straight; if you sweep in front of a slow moving rock once it has started to curl (as in a "draw shot") it will generally go further and curl more.

Answer: A human voice coach

With blind curlers, there is always a human coach who will describe the location of the rocks in the house and what sort of shot is expected (draw, take-out etc - all based on speed of the rock).

With players who are not totally/legally blind, sometimes (but rarely) a flashlight will be used so the player has something to aim at. And while there are leagues completely devoted to the visually impaired, there are also blind/semi-blind curlers who play on otherwise "normal" social curling teams.

It just goes to show you that curling can be a life-long recreational activity, no matter what your physical status/age might be - and you'll meet lots of nice people too!