The Mayflower Curling Club is a curling club in Halifax, Nova Scotia . It was established in 1905. Since 1962, the club has been located at 3000 Monaghan Drive.
100-528: The club is one of the premier curling rinks in Nova Scotia, being home to teams headed by Colleen Jones , Mark Dacey , Shawn Adams , and Heather Smith-Dacey . The club was host for the curling events during the 2011 Canada Winter Games . In 1912 the club's then-premises on Agricola Street was used as a temporary morgue for the bodies of Titanic disaster victims recovered from the North Atlantic by
200-423: A foreign object is called a pick-up or pick . The thrower starts from the hack . The thrower's gripper shoe (with the non-slippery sole) is positioned against one of the hacks; for a right-handed curler the right foot is placed against the left hack and vice versa for a left-hander. The thrower, now in the hack , lines the body up with shoulders square to the skip's broom at the far end for line . The stone
300-570: A lecture and concert programme. The speakers and musicians were accommodated on a platform at the back of the large gallery. It was at these concerts that the work of the young Muir Mathieson was premiered. Many of the concerts in the 1930s were organised by Adam R. Lennox , musical director of the Stirling Operatic Society and organist of Chalmers' Church . The Constitution of the Stirling Fine Art Association allowed
400-411: A player is not throwing, the player's slider shoe can be temporarily rendered non-slippery by using a slip-on gripper. Ordinary athletic shoes may be converted to sliders by using a step-on or slip-on Teflon slider or by applying electrical or gaffer tape directly to the sole or over a piece of cardboard. This arrangement often suits casual or beginning players. The gripper is worn by the thrower on
500-623: A quarry at Dunmore. The frontage to Dumbarton Road has a tetra style (four pillared) Doric portico. The tympanum carries two relief carvings of the Stirling seal, the wolf on the left side and the Castle on the right. In the centre is a coat of arms purporting to be that of Thomas Stuart Smith , but the heraldic arrangement is unknown and has never been entered at the Court of the Lord Lyon . The inscription on
600-431: A rectangular area of ice, carefully prepared to be as flat and level as possible, 146 to 150 feet (45 to 46 m) in length by 14.5 to 16.5 feet (4.4 to 5.0 m) in width. The shorter borders of the sheet are called the backboards. A target, the house , is centred on the intersection of the centre line , drawn lengthwise down the centre of the sheet and the tee line , drawn 16 feet (4.9 m) from, and parallel to,
700-401: A violation by lights at the base of the handle (see delivery below). The eye on the hog eliminates human error and the need for hog line officials. It is mandatory in high-level national and international competition, but its cost, around US$ 650 each, currently puts it beyond the reach of most curling clubs. The curling broom , or brush , is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of
800-509: A wall only two bricks wide but forty feet high. The main roof beams were able to support the roof and had in fact been holding the wall in place for 110 years. The entire wall had to be demolished and a new wall six bricks wide with a five-foot foundation rebuilt in its place. From 1996 to 1999, John Scott was Chair of the Friends. During this time, the Smith won one of the first Woodmansterne Awards for
900-564: A young man, Croall had trained himself in botany through his frequent field trips. In 1855, Sir William Hooker commissioned Croall to prepare a herbarium of the plants of Braemar for Queen Victoria. Croall is remembered for his standard four volume work British Sea Weeds: Nature Printed published in 1860 and illustrated by W. G. Johnston . Such was his passion for sea weed that he had the nickname ‘Roosty Tangle.’ Working with Stirling High School art master Leonard Baker , Croall mounted an exhibition of contemporary art in 1878. Out of this grew
1000-490: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a sports venue in Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a building or structure in Nova Scotia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It
1100-416: Is closer to the button. Two hog lines are drawn 37 feet (11 m) from, and parallel to, the backboard. The hacks , which give the thrower something to push against when making the throw, are fixed 12 feet (3.7 m) behind each button. On indoor rinks, there are usually two fixed hacks, rubber-lined holes, one on each side of the centre line, with the inside edge no more than 3 inches (76 mm) from
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#17329384928241200-423: Is commonly used to enforce this rule. The sensor is in the handle of the stone and will indicate whether the stone was released before the near hog line. The lights on the stone handle will either light up green, indicating that the stone has been legally thrown, or red, in which case the illegally thrown stone will be immediately pulled from play instead of waiting for the stone to come to rest. The stone must clear
1300-439: Is designed for the sliding foot and the "gripper shoe" (usually known as a gripper ) for the foot that kicks off from the hack. The slider is designed to slide and typically has a Teflon sole. It is worn by the thrower during delivery from the hack and by sweepers or the skip to glide down the ice when sweeping or otherwise traveling down the sheet quickly. Stainless steel and "red brick" sliders with lateral blocks of PVC on
1400-435: Is extremely important. Large events, such as national/international championships, are typically held in an arena that presents a challenge to the ice maker, who must constantly monitor and adjust the ice and air temperatures as well as air humidity levels to ensure a consistent playing surface. It is common for each sheet of ice to have multiple sensors embedded in order to monitor surface temperature, as well as probes set up in
1500-407: Is placed in front of the foot now in the hack. Rising slightly from the hack, the thrower pulls the stone back (some older curlers may actually raise the stone in this backward movement) then lunges smoothly out from the hack pushing the stone ahead while the slider foot is moved in front of the gripper foot, which trails behind. The thrust from this lunge determines the weight , and hence the distance
1600-407: Is rare now to see a curler using a corn broom on a regular basis. Curling brushes may have fabric, hog hair, or horsehair heads. Modern curling brush handles are usually hollow tubes made of fibreglass or carbon fibre instead of a solid length of wooden dowel . These hollow tube handles are lighter and stronger than wooden handles, allowing faster sweeping and more downward force to be applied to
1700-422: Is related to bowls , boules , and shuffleboard . Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks , across the ice curling sheet toward the house , a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game ; points are scored for the stones resting closest to
1800-570: The Rink Rat , also became common later during this time period. Prior to the late sixties, Scottish curling brushes were used primarily by some of the Scots , as well as by recreational and elderly curlers, as a substitute for corn brooms, since the technique was easier to learn. In the late sixties, competitive curlers from Calgary , Alberta, such as John Mayer, Bruce Stewart, and, later, the world junior championship teams skipped by Paul Gowsell , proved that
1900-671: The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (founded as the Grand Caledonian Curling Club in 1838) as developing the first official rules for the sport. However, although not written as a "rule book", this is preceded by Rev James Ramsay of Gladsmuir , a member of the Duddingston Curling Club, who wrote An Account of the Game of Curling in 1811, which speculates on its origin and explains the method of play. In
2000-699: The Stirling Fine Art Association . Croall also established the Stirling Field Club whose members helped build up the collections of the Smith Institute . In the early years, the Field Club met in the Smith and the successes of the museum are recorded in the printed transactions of the society 1878-1938. When Croall died, the Trustees appointed his son-in-law James Sword , who had been working in
2100-760: The World Curling Federation in Perth , which originated as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the mother club of curling. In the 19th century, several private railway stations in the United Kingdom were built to serve curlers attending bonspiels , such as those at Aboyne , Carsbreck , and Drummuir . Today, the sport is most firmly established in Canada , having been taken there by Scottish emigrants . The Royal Montreal Curling Club ,
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#17329384928242200-496: The lead ) throws, the players not delivering (the second and third ) sweep (see Sweeping , below). When the skip throws, the vice-skip takes their role. The skip , or the captain of the team, determines the desired stone placement and the required weight , turn , and line that will allow the stone to stop there. The placement will be influenced by the tactics at this point in the game, which may involve taking out, blocking, or tapping another stone. The skip may communicate
2300-462: The preface and the verses of a poem by Henry Adamson . The sport was (and still is, in Scotland and Scottish-settled regions like southern New Zealand) also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while traveling over the pebble (droplets of water applied to the playing surface). The verbal noun curling is formed from the Scots (and English) verb curl , which describes
2400-418: The weight , turn , line, and other tactics by calling or tapping a broom on the ice. In the case of a takeout, guard, or a tap, the skip will indicate the stones involved. Before delivery, the running surface of the stone is wiped clean and the path across the ice swept with the broom if necessary, since any dirt on the bottom of a stone or in its path can alter the trajectory and ruin the shot. Intrusion by
2500-420: The "thinking time" system, in which the delivering team's game timer stops as soon as the shooter's rock crosses the t-line during the delivery, is becoming more popular, especially in Canada. This system allows each team 38 minutes per 10 ends, or 30 minutes per 8 ends, to make strategic and tactical decisions, with 4 minutes and 30 seconds an end for extra ends. The "thinking time" system was implemented after it
2600-472: The 1998 Olympics, Canada has dominated the sport with their men's teams winning gold in 2006 , 2010 , and 2014 , and silver in 1998 and 2002 . The women's team won gold in 1998 and 2014 , a silver in 2010 , and a bronze in 2002 and 2006. The mixed doubles team won gold in 2018 . The playing surface or curling sheet is defined by the World Curling Federation Rules of Curling. It is
2700-469: The Back Walk is 218 feet (66 m) in length and is broken by two gables having three-light Venetian windows which are surmounted by pediments. The pediments are inscribed with bronze lettering: "Erected 1873. Trustees George Christie, Provost of Stirling, J. W. Barty Dunblane, A. W. Cox Nottingham and John Lessels Edinburgh Architect." The west side of the building has a blank wall with no windows-this being
2800-471: The Canada Curling Stone Company, which has been producing stones since 1992 and supplied the stones for the 2002 Winter Olympics . A handle is attached by a bolt running vertically through a hole in the centre of the stone. The handle allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release; on properly prepared ice the rotation will bend ( curl ) the path of the stone in the direction in which
2900-578: The Corn Exchange in 1904, this became the natural history room. The plaster ceiling (by John Craigie of Stirling who had the contract for all the Smith plasterwork) was lost in the dry rot outbreak and removed in 1974. This room, renamed the Ballengeich Room or Gallery 1 was the first area of the Smith to be refurbished (1977). The room is at present used for temporary exhibitions and the Smith Café. To
3000-484: The County Council Office, as curator. During Sword's curatorship (1885–1921), the specialist history and antiquities collections were built up through small but significant purchases and donations. Sword was a keen natural historian and sportsman with skills in taxidermy. Sword created the large collection of stuffed birds and animals and put together the collection of communion tokens . He also did much to improve
3100-500: The Gallery 3, the largest exhibition space, with museum display is a temporary measure until new storage can be found and the splendour of this huge picture gallery restored to its original purpose. The work of building the Smith was undertaken mainly by local contractors with a couple of exceptions. Sinclair of Edinburgh had the contract for the mason work and the decoration was undertaken by Bonnar and Carfrae, also of Edinburgh and one of
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3200-715: The Halifax-based ship the CS Mackay-Bennett , as it was the only site in the city that was both sufficiently large and cold enough for the task. Following the 1917 Halifax Explosion , the devastated Agricola Street rinks were rebuilt. In 2006, the Mayflower began hosting the Loose Ends Curling League, an LGBT league that is a member of the Canadian Pride Curling Association. In 2010, the league
3300-564: The Stirling Heads, alternated with casts of the Arms of Stirling, the monogram of Thomas Stuart Smith and the date of the building. The woodwork was stained to look like oak whilst the groundwork of each panel was in turquoise blue, the whole being enclosed in bands of soft red. The Library walls were in "drab Etruscan" to harmonise with the ceiling. When the Library moved to the new Carnegie building at
3400-531: The Stirling Highland Hotel) was created as a main access route to the Smith only after the Institute was opened to the public. The issue of breaching the medieval wall was one which was traditionally opposed by the people of Stirling. The autocratic way in which the site was selected and the extinction of the hope for a museum facility in the old town was deeply resented. The Smith Institute first opened to
3500-727: The Winter Olympics since Chamonix in 1924 and has been the exclusive manufacturer of curling stones for the Olympics since the 2006 Winter Olympics . Trefor granite comes from the Yr Eifl or Trefor Granite Quarry in the village of Trefor on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd , Wales and has produced granite since 1850. Trefor granite comes in shades of pink, blue, and grey. The quarry supplies curling stone granite exclusively to
3600-467: The action of repeatedly freezing water from eroding the stone. Ailsa Craig Common Green is a lesser quality granite than Blue Hone . In the past, most curling stones were made from Blue Hone , but the island is now a wildlife reserve, and the quarry is restricted by environmental conditions that exclude blasting. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones in Mauchline, Ayrshire, since 1851 and has
3700-513: The architectural interpretation of the Trust Deed of having "space on either side for contingent additions." The back or north wall has three access doors added in 1985-7 during the refurbishment of the building. The Smith had residential accommodation for the curator and this was occupied by a succession of staff until 1959. When the building was requisitioned by the army in 1914, the curator and his family remained in residence. A separate entrance to
3800-444: The backboard. These lines divide the house into quarters. The house consists of a centre circle (the button ) and three concentric rings, of diameters 4, 8, and 12 feet, formed by painting or laying a coloured vinyl sheet under the ice and are usually distinguished by colour. A stone must at least touch the outer ring in order to score (see Scoring below); otherwise, the rings are merely a visual aid for aiming and judging which stone
3900-408: The basic technical aspects of curling is knowing when to sweep. When the ice in front of the stone is swept, a stone will usually travel both further and straighter, and in some situations one of those is not desirable. For example, a stone may be traveling too fast (said to have too much weight), but require sweeping to prevent curling into another stone. The team must decide which is better: getting by
4000-503: The billeting of troops and other military purposes. The Smith building experienced significant damage during these periods. The damage list of 1919 included damaged front steps, broken and bent railings; choked valley gutters leading to dampness, water ingress and damage to the collections stacked high in the side rooms; broken windows, plaster, flooring, lamps, ventilation grating; eleven sheets of roof glass broken; flooring stained with oil and urine; doors and door furniture removed; damage to
4100-404: The boiler. The public were banned from coming near the building. Paintings had to be crammed into the museum spaces to leave the two large galleries free for troop accommodation. There were no washing facilities, even for the eating utensils of the troops. Food was served through hatches burst in the west wall from a field kitchen erected in the grounds. The wrought iron railings were removed from
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4200-421: The broom head with reduced shaft flex. In 2014, new "directional fabric" brooms were introduced, which could influence the path of a curling stone better than the existing brooms. Concerns arose that these brooms would alter the fundamentals of the sport by reducing the level of skill required and giving players an unfair advantage; at least thirty-four elite teams signed a statement pledging not to use them. This
4300-402: The centre line and the front edge on the hack line. A single moveable hack may also be used. The ice may be natural, but is usually frozen by a refrigeration plant pumping a brine solution through numerous pipes fixed lengthwise at the bottom of a shallow pan of water. Most curling clubs have an ice maker whose main job is to care for the ice. At the major curling championships, ice maintenance
4400-403: The centre of the house at the conclusion of each end , which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones once. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends. Players induce a curved path, described as curl , by causing the stone to slowly rotate as it slides. The path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms or brushes, who accompany it as it slides down
4500-644: The conservation of the Hugh Howard portrait of composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713). Scott was also involved as part of the team constructing the William Wallace exhibition of 1997, the Victorian Stirling exhibition in 1998, and the Stirling Story exhibition in 2000. Margaret Gray's time as Chairperson was distinguished with the production and delivery of Ailie's Garden, the biodiversity and play area at
4600-532: The construction of the museum building personally. Many corners were cut in the construction, and it is evident from the idiosyncratic structure of the roof that the architect, John Lessels (1808–1883) of Edinburgh , had little direct input. Most of the building material came from the Raploch Quarry on the northern side of the Castle escarpment, now the site of the Fire Station. Additional sandstone came from
4700-477: The coves in green. The final area was the General Museum. On the east side of the building with its face to Stirling, it was lit by eight large windows and housed the museum collection. After the difficulties with the building encountered in the 1970s, this area became the storage area and is no longer accessible to the public. When the Smith first opened to the public, almost equal amounts space were devoted to
4800-513: The curator's house was created by the army through enlarging a window. This is now the staff entrance and the former domestic premises are now offices. There were five public areas to the Smith in 1874. On the left of the entrance was the Reading Room and Library. This was a substantial room measuring 50 by 28 feet (8.5 m), with an elaborate plasterwork scheme on the ceiling. The ceiling had three sections, each with 15 panels containing casts of
4900-453: The curling brush could be just as (or more) effective without all the blisters common to corn broom use. During that time period, there was much debate in competitive curling circles as to which sweeping device was more effective: brush or broom. Eventually, the brush won out with the majority of curlers making the switch to the less costly and more efficient brush. Today, brushes have replaced traditional corn brooms at every level of curling; it
5000-530: The early 16th century includes a curling stone inscribed with the date 1511 found (along with another bearing the date 1551) when an old pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland . The world's oldest curling stone and the world's oldest football are now kept in the same museum (the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum ) in Stirling . The first written reference to a contest using stones on ice coming from
5100-419: The early history of curling, the playing stones were simply flat-bottomed stones from rivers or fields, which lacked a handle and were of inconsistent size, shape, and smoothness. Some early stones had holes for a finger and the thumb, akin to ten-pin bowling balls . Unlike today, the thrower had little control over the 'curl' or velocity and relied more on luck than on precision, skill, and strategy. The sport
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#17329384928245200-699: The end of that decade, Smith's work was accepted by both the Salon des Beaux Arts in Paris and the Royal Academy in London. In 1849, Alexander Smith died and eventually Smith's new inheritance enabled him to create an art collection at a studio in Fitzroy Square that included his own work. Smith decided to create an institute in Stirling to house his new collection. He drew up plans for a library, museum, and reading room. He signed
5300-439: The entablature below reads: "The Smith Institute, erected and endowed with funds bequeathed by Thomas Stuart Smith of Glassingall Perthshire." There are six steps to the front door. The wrought metal handrail by Phil Johnston of Ratho Byres Forge was added in 2000. At either side of the steps are two plinths for sculpture and there is an empty sculpture niche on the right side of the building. The frontage to Victoria Road and
5400-585: The exclusive rights to the Ailsa Craig granite, granted by the Marquess of Ailsa , whose family has owned the island since 1560. According to the 1881 Census , Andrew Kay employed 30 people in his curling stone factory in Mauchline. The last harvest of Ailsa Craig granite by Kays took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years; 2,000 tons were harvested, sufficient to fill anticipated orders through at least 2020. Kays have been involved in providing curling stones for
5500-440: The far hog line or else be removed from play ( hogged ); an exception is made if a stone fails to come to rest beyond the far hog line after rebounding from a stone in play just past the hog line. After the stone is delivered, its trajectory is influenced by the two sweepers under instruction from the skip. Sweeping is done for several reasons: to make the stone travel further, to decrease the amount of curl, and to clean debris from
5600-413: The foot that kicks off from the hack during delivery and is designed to grip the ice. It may have a normal athletic shoe sole or a special layer of rubbery material applied to the sole of a thickness to match the sliding shoe. The toe of the hack foot shoe may also have a rubberised coating on the top surface or a flap that hangs over the toe to reduce wear on the top of the shoe as it drags on the ice behind
5700-505: The front edge of the stone is turning, especially as the stone slows. Handles are coloured to identify each team, two popular colours in major tournaments being red and yellow. In competition, an electronic handle known as the Eye on the Hog may be fitted to detect hog line violations. This electronically detects whether the thrower's hand is in contact with the handle as it passes the hog line and indicates
5800-463: The front of the building to aid the war effort in the 1940s. The Smith's third curator, Joseph McNaughton served from 1921 to the derequisitioning of the Smith in 1947. With the aid of his nephew Duncan, he managed to publish a catalogue of the collections in 1934. Gallery Three in particular was used during both wars to billet troops especially when they were training on the King's Park. It must have been
5900-512: The gallery and museum. There was no provision for workshop or storage space and the anticipated expansion on the 2-acre (8,100 m ) site did not happen. The pressing need for storage and workshop space has resulted in the loss of a third of the public area for that purpose and most of the fine art collection is at present confined to storage. The pressure for temporary exhibition space keeps Galleries 1 and 2 filled with constantly changing exhibitions, mainly by contemporary artists. The occupation of
6000-442: The games only eight ends. Most tournaments on that tour are eight ends, as are the vast majority of recreational games. In international competition, each side is given 73 minutes to complete all of its throws. Each team is also allowed two minute-long timeouts per 10-end game. If extra ends are required, each team is allowed 10 minutes of playing time to complete its throws and one added 60-second timeout for each extra end. However,
6100-977: The grounds, making pavements, concrete kerbings, and bases for the iron railings. A regular feature of the Smith's programme between 1881 and 1938 was the three yearly Stirling Fine Art Association Exhibitions. There were eighteen of these exhibitions in all, usually running from January to March. Many of the best known names in the Scottish art world exhibited at the Smith, including Cadell, McTaggart, Bessie MacNicol , Robert Gemmell Hutchison and Anne Redpath . The local artistic community included William Kennedy , Joseph Denovan Adam , Nellie Harvey , D. Y. Cameron , Henry and Isobel Morley , and stained glass designer Isobel Goudie . In 1910, Stirling architects Crawford and Fraser exhibited their drawings for Henry Morley 's new house "The Gables." Other architectural plans and cartoons for stained glass windows were exhibited from time to time. The triennial exhibitions were accompanied by
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#17329384928246200-401: The motion of the stone. Kilsyth Curling Club claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716; it is still in existence today. Kilsyth also claims the oldest purpose-built curling pond in the world at Colzium , in the form of a low dam creating a shallow pool some 100 by 250 metres (330 by 820 ft) in size. The International Olympic Committee recognises
6300-420: The noise and bustle and free from the dirt, dust and smoke, so that the students of art, science and literature could pursue their studies there unmolested and free from annoyance." The first Smith curator was Alexander Croall (1804–1885), a native of Angus who acquired a national reputation as a natural historian and who was also the first curator of Derby City Museum before his appointment to Stirling. As
6400-523: The north side of the Dumbarton Road, in the King's Park, which was under development as an up-market residential area. The King's Park was cut off from the old town by the medieval wall. It remained unconnected until a new vehicular road was driven through at the Corn Exchange when a Carnegie Library was built in 1904. There was no direct road to the Smith. The pathway from the High School of Stirling (now
6500-544: The oldest established sports club still active in North America , was established in 1807. The first curling club in the United States was established in 1830, and the sport was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden before the end of the 19th century, also by Scots. Today, curling is played all over Europe and has spread to Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea. The first world championship for curling
6600-554: The original plasters by Albert Hemstock Hodge (1876–1918) for the Stirling Burns Monument. The centre gallery, Gallery 2, was conceived as the watercolour gallery and was top lit. It is now used for temporary exhibitions. The large gallery, Gallery 3 ,was the gallery for the oil paintings of the foundation collection and remained so until 1970. It was also top lit. At present, it houses the Stirling Story exhibition. In 1874, both of these galleries were painted dark maroon with
6700-505: The other stone, but traveling too far, or hitting the stone. Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum , formerly The Smith Institute, is an art and local history museum in Stirling, Scotland . The museum was founded in 1874 at the bequest of artist Thomas Stuart Smith . Thomas Stuart Smith 's uncle, Alexander Smith, supplied funding so that Smith could travel and paint in Italy starting in 1840. By
6800-462: The pebbled ice. The pebble, along with the concave bottom of the stone, decreases the friction between the stone and the ice, allowing the stone to travel further. As the stone moves over the pebble, any rotation of the stone causes it to curl , or travel along a curved path. The amount of curl (commonly referred to as the feet of curl ) can change during a game as the pebble wears; the ice maker must monitor this and be prepared to scrape and re-pebble
6900-410: The practice to clean weapons and ammunition while there as live rounds of Lee–Enfield and 707 bullets had been found over the years. When Gallery 3 was about to be reconditioned, the central heating duct in the middle of the room had to be carefully searched to remove any remaining ammunition. The workmen reported having found some more ammunition as a result of this search and subsequent works. During
7000-527: The public on 11 August 1874. It was an occasion for great celebration in Stirling: the shops in the town closed at noon to allow people to attend the opening. At the opening ceremony, Provost Christie refuted criticism of the location by pointing out that a "five or ten minutes walk would bring any one to the Institute from the most distant part of the Burgh" and that the site was chosen on environmental grounds, "free from
7100-411: The purchase of works of art to be added to the Smith collections from any surplus funds after all expenses incurred by the exhibition had been defrayed. This rarely occurred. The work of the museum was halted in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I and the requisitioning of the building for military purposes. From 1914-1921 and 1939-1948, the Smith ceased to operate as a museum and was instead used for
7200-418: The purpose. Central Canadian curlers often used 'irons' rather than stones until the early 1900s; Canada is the only country known to have done so, while others experimented with wood or ice-filled tins. Outdoor curling was very popular in Scotland between the 16th and 19th centuries because the climate provided good ice conditions every winter. Scotland is home to the international governing body for curling,
7300-454: The rear of the Smith in 2002. A membership drive, assisted with the first colour-printed Friends leaflet, took the membership to over 900, a significant achievement for a small museum. Moira Lawson, who became Chair in 2004 ,was heavily involved in the fundraising and project management for Ailie's Garden and the fundraising for the purchase of the Wallace painting. Smith had intended to supervise
7400-678: The records of Paisley Abbey , Renfrewshire , in February 1541. Two paintings, " Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap " and " The Hunters in the Snow " (both dated 1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder , depict Flemish peasants curling, albeit without brooms; Scotland and the Low Countries had strong trading and cultural links during this period, which is also evident in the history of golf . The word curling first appears in print in 1620 in Perth, Scotland , in
7500-481: The responsibility of the district councils. In Stirling, the situation with the Smith was so serious, that the regional council was persuaded to enter into the partnership, providing half of the public funding package. The Joint Committee of Stirling District Council and Central Regional Council was the Smith's governing body from 1975 until the disappearance of the Regional Council in 1996. During those years, it
7600-513: The right of the entrance was the Small Museum, used for displaying the collection of original Stirling Heads and other Scottish antiquities. It was later used for ethnographical displays and in 1984 was fitted out as the Lecture Room. It is used extensively by community groups. The large stained glass window from Springbank House was resited here in 2000, together with other stained glass panels and
7700-422: The seating area (to monitor humidity) and in the compressor room (to monitor brine supply and return temperatures). The surface of the ice is maintained at a temperature of around 23 °F (−5 °C). A key part of the preparation of the playing surface is the spraying of water droplets onto the ice, which form pebble on freezing. The pebbled ice surface resembles an orange peel, and the stone moves on top of
7800-496: The sheet and sweep the ice in front of the stone. "Sweeping a rock" decreases the friction, which makes the stone travel a straighter path (with less curl) and a longer distance. A great deal of strategy and teamwork go into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine the degree to which the stone will achieve the desired result. Evidence that curling existed in Scotland in
7900-433: The sole are also available as alternatives to Teflon. Most shoes have a full-sole sliding surface, but some shoes have a sliding surface covering only the outline of the shoe and other enhancements with the full-sole slider. Some shoes have small disc sliders covering the front and heel portions or only the front portion of the foot, which allow more flexibility in the sliding foot for curlers playing with tuck deliveries. When
8000-499: The stone (see sweeping ) and is also often used as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone. Prior to the 1950s, most curling brooms were made of corn strands and were similar to household brooms of the day. In 1958, Fern Marchessault of Montreal inverted the corn straw in the centre of the broom. This style of corn broom was referred to as the Blackjack . Artificial brooms made from human-made fabrics rather than corn, such as
8100-443: The stone in contact with the ice is the running surface , a narrow, flat annulus or ring, 6.4 to 12.7 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 4 to 1 ⁄ 2 in) wide and about 130 millimetres (5 in) in diameter; the sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring, with the inside of the ring hollowed concave to clear the ice. This concave bottom was first proposed by J. S. Russell of Toronto, Ontario, Canada sometime after 1870, and
8200-457: The stone will travel. Balance may be assisted by a broom held in the free hand with the back of the broom down so that it slides. One older writer suggests the player keep "a basilisk glance" at the mark. There are two common types of delivery currently, the typical flat-foot delivery and the Manitoba tuck delivery where the curler slides on the front ball of their foot. When the player releases
8300-430: The stone's path. Sweeping is able to make the stone travel further and straighter by slightly melting the ice under the brooms, thus decreasing the friction as the stone travels across that part of the ice. The stones curl more as they slow down, so sweeping early in travel tends to increase distance as well as straighten the path, and sweeping after sideways motion is established can increase the sideways distance. One of
8400-413: The stone, a rotation (called the turn) is imparted by a slight clockwise or counter-clockwise twist of the handle from around the two or ten o'clock position to the twelve o'clock on release. A typical rate of turn is about 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 rotations before coming to a rest. The stone must be released before its front edge crosses the near hog line. In major tournaments, the " Eye on the Hog " sensor
8500-522: The surface prior to each game. The curling stone (also sometimes called a rock in North America) is made of granite and is specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 19.96 and 17.24 kilograms (44 and 38 lb), a maximum circumference of 914 millimetres (36 in), and a minimum height of 114 millimetres ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 in). The only part of
8600-456: The thrower. Other types of equipment include: The purpose of a game is to score points by getting stones closer to the house centre, or the "button", than the other team's stones. Players from either team alternate in taking shots from the far side of the sheet. An end is complete when all eight rocks from each team have been delivered, a total of sixteen stones. If the teams are tied at the end of regulation, often extra ends are played to break
8700-539: The tie. The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed (see Scoring below). A game may be conceded if winning the game is infeasible. International competitive games are generally ten ends, so most of the national championships that send a representative to the World Championships or Olympics also play ten ends. However, there is a movement on the World Curling Tour to make
8800-458: The time was played outdoors, were retroactively awarded for the 1924 Winter Games, with the gold medal won by Great Britain, two silver medals by Sweden, and the bronze by France. A demonstration tournament was also held during the 1932 Winter Olympic Games between four teams from Canada and four from the United States, with Canada winning 12 games to 4. Since the sport's official addition in
8900-563: The trust into existence in November 1869 along with trustees James Barty , the Provost of Stirling, and A. W. Cox , a fellow artist. Smith was prevented however from seeing his plans fulfilled as he died the next month in Avignon . When the Smith site was selected, it was not in an advantageous part of the burgh. 1,400 people signed a petition pointing this out. The building was the second to be built on
9000-461: The use of the history collections for exhibitions in various historic buildings in the upper town. At one point, the building was in such poor condition that the only viable option seemed to be demolition. In 1973, the Friends of the Smith, a body of concerned citizens, was formed to save the building and its collections. Working in partnership with the local authority, they effected a rescue package. Elsewhere in Scotland , museums and galleries were
9100-720: The years of the Great Depression , the money left by Smith failed to return much in interest. The building began to develop problems, made worse by the Second World War. By the 1960s, the underfunding and lack of development was serious. In 1970, the Trustees, on the advice of the Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities , signed over the original Stirling Heads to the Department of Ancient Monuments (now Historic Scotland ). It
9200-406: Was dubbed the broomgate controversy . The new brooms were temporarily banned by the World Curling Federation and Curling Canada for the 2015–2016 season. Since 2016, only one standardized brush head is approved by the World Curling Federation for competitive play. Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic shoes except for special soles; the slider shoe (usually known as a "slider")
9300-403: Was feared that these important early portraits were in danger because of the condition of the Smith and that they should be returned to their original home, Stirling Castle . The National Museum trustees have not elected to return the three Stirling heads in their collection to Stirling Castle . Additional proposals sought from other experts recommended the dispersal of the art collection, and
9400-488: Was held for the first time in 2018 ). In February 2002, the International Olympic Committee retroactively decided that the curling competition from the 1924 Winter Olympics (originally called Semaine des Sports d'Hiver , or International Winter Sports Week) would be considered official Olympic events and no longer be considered demonstration events. Thus, the first Olympic medals in curling , which at
9500-720: Was hosting its Bluenose Bonspiel when Hurricane Earl hit the city—then- MP Justin Trudeau , whose regular events were cancelled, joined the bonspiel. Loose Ends and the Mayflower have twice hosted the Canadian Pride Curling Championships , most recently in 2023. In 2022, members of the club voted to sell the property and build a new ice facility in Timberlea, Nova Scotia . 44°39′25.7″N 63°36′12.4″W / 44.657139°N 63.603444°W / 44.657139; -63.603444 This curling -related article
9600-692: Was limited to men and was known as the Scotch Cup , held in Falkirk and Edinburgh , Scotland , in 1959. The first world title was won by the Canadian team from Regina, Saskatchewan , skipped by Ernie Richardson . (The skip is the team member who calls the shots; see below.) Curling has been a medal sport in the Winter Olympic Games since the 1998 Winter Olympics . It currently includes men's, women's, and mixed doubles tournaments (the mixed doubles event
9700-457: Was often played on frozen rivers although purpose-built ponds were later created in many Scottish towns. For example, the Scottish poet David Gray describes whisky-drinking curlers on the Luggie Water at Kirkintilloch . In Darvel , East Ayrshire , the weavers relaxed by playing curling matches using the heavy stone weights from the looms' warp beams , fitted with a detachable handle for
9800-414: Was recognized that using shots which take more time for the stones to come to rest was being penalized in terms of the time the teams had available compared to teams which primarily use hits which require far less time per shot. The process of sliding a stone down the sheet is known as the delivery or throw . Players, with the exception of the skip, take turns throwing and sweeping; when one player (e.g.,
9900-633: Was subsequently adopted by Scottish stone manufacturer Andrew Kay. The granite for the stones comes from two sources: Ailsa Craig , an island off the Ayrshire coast of Scotland, and the Trefor Granite Quarry, North of the Llŷn Peninsula , Gwynedd in Wales . These locations provide four variations in colour known as Ailsa Craig Common Green , Ailsa Craig Blue Hone , Blue Trefor and Red Trefor . Blue Hone has very low water absorption, which prevents
10000-472: Was the sole Regional Council in Scotland to invest money in a local museum and gallery. A major programme of refurbishment was undertaken in the mid-1980s and the collections were moved out to various stores during the contract period. Some of the cost-cutting measures undertaken by the original builders came to light. In 1984, during renovation of Gallery 2, it was discovered that the Victorian builders had built
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