I have watched many winter Olympics, and I have to admit that I have never watched Curling. I know nothing about it. So, this post is dedicated to those of you, who like me, are behind the Curling times. I will give you a little history, catch you up on the correct terms to use and tell you how the sport is played. So, next time the topic of Curling comes up, you might have a little something to add to the conversation!

It all began around the 16th century in Scotland. Odd-shaped rocks called “loafies” were slid across frozen marshes and lochs by brawny Scots. The oldest known curling stone was found in Scotland and bears the date 1511. Scottish immigrants organized the Royal Montreal Curling Club in 1807 and when Scottish Soldiers and settlers brought the sport to Michigan, the Orchard Lake, Michigan Club was formed in 1832. Soon, the Scottish city of Perth became home to the World Curling Federation. The first Canadian national championship was held in 1927.

After World War II, the sport grew and the U.S. Women’s Curling Association was founded in 1947, and the first world championship tournament was held in 1958. Canadian teams have dominated the event, which is now conducted by the International Curling Federation (ICF), founded in 1966 and based in Edinburgh. There are more than 30 nations in the ICF, which estimates that about 2 million people worldwide regularly participate in curling. It became a full-fledged Olympic sport at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

There are specific terms that must be used when talking about Curling in order to show your comprehension of the sport. Here are just a few:

• Bonspiel – A curling tournament.

• Button -The one-foot diameter circular area at the centre of the house.

• Curl – The curve the rock makes as it travels down the ice.

• Hack – The footholds mounted onto the ice at each end of the sheet. Used to push off from when the stone is delivered.

• House – The rings or bull’s-eye toward which play is directed and points are scored. The outside ring is 3.66 metres in diameter, the next ring is 8 feet in diameter, the next ring is 4 feet in diameter, and the inside ring (button) is 1 foot in diameter.

• Lead – The player on a curling team who throws the first two stones of an end.

• Port – An opening between two stones in play

• Skip – The player who determines the strategy, reads the ice, and plays and directs play for the team. Generally the skip delivers the last pair of stones for his team in each end

• Splitting the House – A play where two stones belonging to the same team are placed at opposite sides of the house.

• Third – Also known as the vice, vice skip or mate, this is the player who delivers the fifth and sixth stones in each end. When the skip delivers, the third holds the broom as the target.

• Whoa – The command given to the sweepers to stop sweeping.

How is the Game Played?

At the Olympic Winter Games, curling consists of two events: a women’s tournament and a men’s tournament. Each tournament starts with 10 curling teams. Two teams play against each other at a time. The game is played on ice, and the two teams take turns pushing 42 pound stones towards a series of concentric rings or circles. The object is to get the stones as close to thecenter of the rings as possible.

One game consists of 10 “ends” (similar to innings in baseball). During each end, each four-person team “throws” (in fact, slides along the ice) eight stones — two stones per person and 16 altogether. Team members sweep the ice clean in front of each stone to control the stone’s direction, known as its “curl,” and the stone’s speed. The team with the most points — more stones closer to the center of the rings — at the conclusion of 10 ends, is the winner.

Now that you know a little more about the sport of Curling, I hope you will enjoy it more often and take part in cheering on your favorite team during this 2010 Olympics!

Out of retirement and into the gold! After eighteen years, the husband and wife duo from China finally realized their Olympic gold dream and won China’s first title in figure skating. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo broke Russia’s 46-year stronghold on the Olympics figure skating pairs event on Monday night with a mesmerizing performance.  Their romantic free skate performance was full of many difficult moves, including the triple toe and double Axel-double Axel sequence. It was truly a beautiful performance.

You could see that the couple is truly connected when they skate. They are husband and wife and their chemistry on the ice is amazing.  “When I hold her in my arms, I don’t have to pretend I love her,” said Mr. Zhao, in an interview session in Beijing before leaving for Vancouver. “I do.”

For twelve successive Olympics, stretching back to the 1964, the Russian or Soviet figure skaters have dominated the pairs event. The gold medal also made the Chinese pair the first-ever non-European couple to be crowned in Olympic figure skating history.

Zhao is the oldest athlete among the whole Chinese delegation to the Vancouver Games.  He is 36 years old. He is also the second oldest Olympic champion in the event’s history. He was preceded by Walter Jakobsson of Finland, who won the event in 1920 at 37.

The silver medal also went to China. Pang Qing and Tong Jian actually earned the highest marks of the evening’s free skate.  Their perfectly synchronized spins and leg angles were outstanding, but they were five points behind Shen and  Zhao after Sunday’s short program. After their silver-medal winning performance, Mr. Tong bent down and kissed the ice.

It looks like great things are on the horizon for Shen and Zhao, but they may not include skating. After their Vancouver win, Mr. Zhao said he would now move on. “I think it is hard to continue skating, so maybe it is time to have a baby,” he told reporters on Monday night.

Tonight, Friday, Feb. 12, with seven years of planning in the rear view mirror, the lights will dim inside Vancouver’s BC Place. Nearly 55,000 people in attendance, and hundreds of millions more watching on televisions around the world, will wait eagerly in anticipation. What can we expect from the first Opening Ceremony to be held indoors? That is any one’s guess! Despite 4,000 volunteers, the Ceremony is still a secret.

“Officials promise that the performance will unite passionate Canadians, thrill the world’s best winter athletes and bring hope to the world over,” said John Furlong, the head of Vancouver’s organizing committee in an NBC interview.  “The Opening Ceremony is our biggest chance to speak to a global audience and tell the story of a contemporary Canada that will inspire the world.”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will join the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, and Furlong. Each will have an opportunity to speak, thus beginning the Opening Ceremony.

Traditionally, the world’s best winter athletes will then enter to greet a roaring crowd during the parade of nations. Many veteran Olympians say that nothing replaces this feeling. Then,one athlete from each country will be honored as the flag bearer. Each delegation will  enter in alphabetical order, with two exceptions. Greece, by tradition, always enters first and the host country, Canada, will enter last.

Each contingent will be dressed in its official uniform. Only those athletes participating in the Games, and no more than six officials, are permitted to march.

Another important aspect of the Opening Ceremony is the Olympic Oath, which will be taken by one athlete and one official.

To the strains of the Olympic hymn, the Olympic flag will be brought into the stadium and raised. Anticipation will be building once again for a tradition that first started in 1936 during the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany – the lighting of the Olympic flame.

2010 Olympic Torch

Who will light the flame? After more than 100 days of criss-crossing Canada, the Olympic torch will arrive inside the stadium. Typically the torch will then pass to several people in a relay before it’s taken to the cauldron. Only three people are thought to know who will perform the honorable task of lighting the flame.

As you see, we are in for an amazing night of entertainment and awe. Tune in tonight as the world comes together in the 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremonies.