Respecting your Ice Surface
1. Check your footwear: All shoes worn on the ice must be clean indoor shoes or curling shoes. Clean and replace your grippers regularly to limit the amount of debris that gets transferred onto the ice surface.
2. Check your Broom head: If you use a club broom, scrub it before and after your game. If you have your own broom change your broom head regularly.
3. Watch the Hack: Make every effort to prevent rocks from hitting the hacks. It can do a lot of damage and potentially impact your ability to continue playing your game. Skips and Vices should take this responsibility during games.
Bonus Tip: If you curl once a week change your equipment a minimum of once a year (gripper & broom head) if you curl three times a week change your equipment a minimum of three times a year (gripper and broom head).
Pace of Play
Are you always racing the bell to try and get your eight ends in? Try some of these tips to keep your game moving!
1. Arrival: Don't just be on time, be early and ready to go as soon as your sheet is ready.
2. Leads: Always be ready in the hack. Grab your first rock and get into the hack while your teammates and the other team clean-up the rocks.
3. Rock clean-up: It doesn't need to be perfect. Put your rocks into their respective corners and keep going. As long as the rocks are out of the way (we don't want anyone tripping) that's good enough - trust me it'll save you some precious seconds!
4. Seconds/Front End: Set-up your Vice and Skips rocks in front of the hack to help keep the game moving.
5. Vices: If you have to look at rocks more than twice to see who is shot at the conclusion of the end, measure! Don't waste time humming and hawing - grab the stick!
6. Skips: Be decisive when it's easy. Try and have 1-2 shots in mind based on how the house is looking and what the other team is throwing. Sure sometimes you get a curve ball and are left scratching your head, so save your time for these moments.
How to Move Around on the Ice
On the back board: If you’re the skip or vice, stand on the back board at the playing end while the opposition is throwing. If you’re throwing next, stand on the back board at the throwing end.
Between the Hog Line: If you’re a sweeper and your team is NOT throwing, stand between the Hog Lines as close to the sideline as possible.
Inside the Hog Line: if you’re a sweeper and your team IS throwing, stand inside the Hog Lines ready to sweep.
Post Game Exiting the Arena: Look both ways before you cross a sheet! Is someone in the hack (close or far end)? If so, wait until they throw and then cross the sheet.
*Bonus tip: this etiquette tip also applies to Vices going to get the measuring device during the game - look before you cross a sheet.
Pre-game Etiquette
1. Be ready for your game to start: be in the lounge a minimum of 5 minutes before your game is scheduled to start
