Anna Ellinor Hasselborg (born 5 May 1989) is a Swedish curler who is the 2018 Olympic Champion in women's curling and a former World Junior Champion skip . In November 2019, she became the first curler in history to reign as the simultaneous holder of the European Curling Championship gold medal, the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship gold medal, and the Olympic gold medal.
162-536: Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curler and the reigning women's world champion in 2024. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion , a four-time Canadian national champion , and two-time World Champion, all as a skip . She was also the skip of the Canadian women's curling team at the 2018 Winter Olympics . During her junior career, Homan competed in two Canadian Junior Curling Championships , placing second in 2009 and winning
324-478: A 7–1 record, including a win against defending champion Kerri Einarson. She entered the championship pool as the first seed, where she won three games and lost one to Manitoba's Jennifer Jones. Because of their earlier win against Einarson, Homan's team received a bye to the final. There, they lost 9–7 to Einarson after Homan missed a freeze in the last end, resulting in Einarson not needing to throw her last rock. Homan
486-481: A 7–5 record. They then lost to Korea's Gim Eun-ji in the qualification round, eliminating them from medal contention for the first time in Hasselborg's career. The Hasselborg rink ended their season at the 2024 Players' Championship where after a 3–2 round robin record they lost in the quarterfinals to Gim. Hasselborg is married to Mathias Hasselborg (né Eriksson), and has one daughter and one son. She comes from
648-444: 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 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
810-795: A degree in Human Kinetics in 2011. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor's degree in education in 2020. She married Shawn Germain, a former professional hockey player from Edmonton, in September 2016. They live in Beaumont, Alberta , and used to live in St. Paul, Alberta . Homan gave birth to a son, Ryatt Mitch Germain, in June 2019, a daughter, Bowyn, in March 2021, and another son, Briggs in September 2023. She
972-440: A draw to the button by Brad Gushue , breaking a 30–30 tie. The team then played at the 2018 Winter Olympics , where they started with 3 consecutive losses. Losing to the team from Denmark meant that Canada was 0–3 for the first time ever at an Olympics. The game against Denmark was marked with controversy when Denmark burned a rock as it was coming to a rest, when a sweeper touched the rock with their broom. Rather than letting
1134-423: 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
1296-568: 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 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,
1458-443: A men's Grand Slam event. The team won one game in the event against Charley Thomas . The team ended the season losing against Jennifer Jones in the final of the 2016 Humpty's Champions Cup . The Homan rink's success over the course of the season meant the team finished the season ranked first in the world in both the women's money list and order of merit standings. Homan's team began the 2016–17 season by winning their first event,
1620-411: 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
1782-410: A poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers. In their first event of the 2019–20 season , Team Homan made the semi-finals of the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic . They then won the 2019 Colonial Square Ladies Classic . In mid-October, the team made the final of the 2019 Canad Inns Women's Classic , losing to Elena Stern . They missed the playoffs at all four Slams of the season as both
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#17328987605781944-515: A rematch in the final. Homan and her Canadian team thus settled for a silver medal. The Homan rink ended the season with a loss in the final of the 2014 Players' Championship against the Olympic gold medallist Jennifer Jones. The match marked the last game on the team for second Alison Kreviazuk, as she moved to Sweden to be with her boyfriend Fredrik Lindberg , who played for Niklas Edin . Kreviazuk, who had played for Homan since they were bantam-aged,
2106-405: A second straight final at the 2023 Women's Masters Basel before falling short to Silvana Tirinzoni. At the best-of-seven European qualifier against Isabella Wranå, the team lost the series 4–2, meaning they would not represent Sweden for the first time since 2015. Back on tour, the team rebounded immediately by winning the 2023 Players Open , downing Team Wranå in the final. At the first Slam of
2268-455: A semifinal berth where they would face Great Britain's Muirhead rink. In one of the highest-scoring games in curling, Muirhead scored a single point in the extra end to win 12–11, ending Hasselborg's chances of repeating as Olympic gold medallists. They did still earn a medal from the Games, however, as they were able to beat Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni rink 9–7 in the bronze medal game. Next for
2430-580: A single point in the 10th end of the final, following a measurement, beating South Korea's Gim Eun-ji 6–5. It was the first gold medal for Canada on the women's side. The team had gone undefeated in the event. A week after the pan continentals, Homan won her career 16th Grand Slam, when she defeated Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni , 7–5 in the final of the Canadian Open . The team had gone undefeated again, winning all seven of their games. In mixed doubles play, Homan and partner Brendan Bottcher qualified for
2592-430: A spot by mere millimetres, as their final shot in their last game against Italy went too far, thus losing the game. Team Homan had to wait until April 2022 to play in the postponed Ontario Hearts , which they ended up winning, beating Carly Howard in the final. The team wrapped up their season with the two final slams, making it to the semifinals at the 2022 Players' Championship where they lost to Anna Hasselborg , and
2754-591: A successful week, finishing with a 2–6 record. Team Homan's record over the season was not good enough to give them an automatic qualifying spot at the 2022 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts , forcing them to play in an open qualifier. The team did qualify at the Open Qualifier, but the Ontario Scotties were postponed due to new COVID-19 regulations put into place by the province, shutting down sports event. The spread of COVID-19's omicron variant also cancelled
2916-401: 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
3078-471: Is a fan of the Ottawa Senators NHL team. 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 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
3240-434: Is 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,
3402-416: 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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#17328987605783564-423: 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
3726-439: 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
3888-435: 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
4050-645: Is home to the international governing body for curling, 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
4212-571: Is most firmly established in Canada , having been taken there by Scottish emigrants . The Royal Montreal Curling Club , 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
4374-407: 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
4536-560: Is played all over Europe and has spread to Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea. The first world championship for curling 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
4698-407: 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
4860-488: The 2010 Canadian Junior Curling Championships . At the 2010 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Homan, with Emma Miskew , Laura Crocker , and Lynn Kreviazuk , won the junior national title with an undefeated record of 13 wins and 0 losses – only the fourth women's team to do so. The team represented Canada at the 2010 World Junior Curling Championships in Flims , Switzerland. The team lost just one round robin game and lost in
5022-475: The 2012 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in November 2011. The team finished with an 8–5 record and out of the playoffs. That same month, Homan's women's team made it to her first career Grand Slam final, when she lost to Jennifer Jones in the final of the 2011 Players' Championship . Later in 2011, she played in her first Canada Cup where her team finished with a 2–4 record. Homan once again qualified for
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5184-449: The 2012 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic , Homan's team lost to Sherry Middaugh in the final. In the second Grand Slam event of the season, the 2012 Manitoba Lotteries Women's Curling Classic , Homan's rink once again lost in the final, this time to Stefanie Lawton . Homan lost in the semi-final of the third Slam of the season, the 2012 Colonial Square Ladies Classic , but followed it up with her first-ever Grand Slam victory at
5346-522: The 2012 Masters of Curling , where she beat Chelsea Carey in the final. Outside of the Grand Slams, Homan won her 2nd Royal LePage OVCA Women's Fall Classic in 2012 . Later in the season, Homan qualified for her second Scotties Tournament of Hearts by going undefeated at the 2013 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts . Homan began the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kingston, Ontario , by winning
5508-519: The 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials . There, the team qualified for playoffs with a 4–3 round robin record, in second place. They lost to Sherry Middaugh in the semi-final, ending the team's 2014 Olympic hopes. As defending Scotties champions from 2013, the Homan rink represented Team Canada at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal . The event was notable for the absence of Jennifer Jones, who
5670-462: The 2014 Canada Cup of Curling against Val Sweeting. As defending champions, the team represented Team Canada at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts . The team finished the round robin in 4th place with a 7–4 record. In the playoffs, they lost to Saskatchewan's Stefanie Lawton in the 3 vs. 4 game, but rebounded in the bronze medal game in a re-match against the Lawton rink, beating them 7–5. That season,
5832-639: The 2015 GSOC Tour Challenge , against Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni . The team then won six World Curling Tour events in a row, the Stockholm Ladies Cup , the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic , the 2015 Masters of Curling , the 2015 National , the 2015 Canada Cup of Curling and the 2015 Canadian Open of Curling , amassing a huge lead in both the World Curling Tour Order of Merit and Money standings in
5994-530: The 2017 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship , losing to Joanne Courtney and Reid Carruthers in the final. Homan began the 2017–18 curling season by winning the 2017 Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic and then the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic the following week. Homan and her team won the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in her hometown of Ottawa, defeating previously unbeaten Chelsea Carey in
6156-505: The 2018 Masters , Hasselborg won her second straight slam, defeating Rachel Homan in the final. The following month, Hasselborg and her team took home the gold medal at the 2018 European Curling Championships , her first gold medal at the Euros, defeating Switzerland's Tirinzoni rink in the final. Hasselborg lost the world final once again at the 2019 World Women's Curling Championship , this time losing to Tirinzoni. She was, however, victorious at
6318-610: The 2018 Winter Olympics , her team finished in sixth place. In 2019, Homan was named the fourth-greatest Canadian female curler in history by The Sports Network (TSN). Homan began curling at the age of five, playing in the Little Rock program at the Rideau Curling Club in Ottawa . While bantam-aged (under 16), she won four straight provincial championships from 2003 to 2006, while no other curler had won even twice. In 2006, she won
6480-407: The 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts , her team finished the round robin at 5–2, moving on to the championship pool, where they finished at 8–3, in third place. The team qualified for the final, beating Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville in the 3 vs. 4 game and Saskatchewan's Robyn Silvernagle in the semi-final. They lost the final to Alberta's Chelsea Carey in an extra end, despite leading 5–1 in
6642-525: The 2019 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with partner Oskar Eriksson . The team secured the number one spot in the playoffs en route to defeating the Canadian pair of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant in the final. Team Hasselborg began the 2019–20 season at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard , where they defeated Anna Sidorova in the final. They missed the playoffs at the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic after going 2–2 in
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6804-576: The 2021 Champions Cup and the 2021 Players' Championship , finishing 0–4 at the Champions Cup and reaching the semifinals of the Players'. The following week, the team represented Sweden at the Worlds. Through the round robin, Hasselborg led her team to a 10–3 record, qualifying them for the playoffs. After defeating Canada's Kerri Einarson 8–3 in the qualification round, they lost a narrow 8–7 semifinal against
6966-480: The 2021 Worlds . Her only defeat came against South Korea (skipped by Gim Eun-ji ) in the last draw, a meaningless game for the team, as they had clinched first place and a bye to the semifinals. Homan and Canada faced-off against the Koreans again in the semifinals, and this time beat them, 9–7. This put her team into the final, where she faced off against the four-time defending World Champion Tirinzoni team. Heading into
7128-524: The 2022 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials which Homan was set to participate in with John Morris . With the postponement of the Ontario Scotties, CurlON announced that they would be selecting Team Hollie Duncan over Team Homan to represent Ontario if Homan was selected to represent Canada in the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Olympics (as the Trials had been cancelled). However, if Homan wasn't selected, then CurlON would select Team Homan to play in
7290-409: The 2022 Players' Championship and the 2022 Champions Cup . At the Players', the team began with two straight losses before rattling off six straight victories to claim the event title, despite Hasselborg and third Sara McManus feeling ill in the final game due to food poisoning. With the victory, Team Hasselborg became the first women's team to win a career Grand Slam (winning all four 'majors'). At
7452-477: The 2022 Tour Challenge . The team won the event, defeating Kerri Einarson 8–4 in the final, to pick up Homan's 12th career Slam, and the first for her new team. In November, the team won their second Tour event of the season at the Red Deer Curling Classic , defeating Casey Scheidegger in the final. In December, the team played in their third Slam of the season, the 2022 Masters . The team made it to
7614-444: The 2023 Champions Cup . After missing the playoffs at the Players', the team made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup where they lost 7–6 to Team Homan. Hasselborg herself did not compete in the Champions Cup as she was on maternity leave expecting her second child. Back together for the 2023–24 season , Team Hasselborg defended their title at the 2023 Oslo Cup , stealing the victory against Marianne Rørvik. They then made
7776-456: The 2023 World Women's Curling Championship , which was held in Sandviken , the team finished fifth through the round robin with a 7–5 record, enough to make the playoffs. After defeating Italy in the qualification game, they once again lost both the semifinal and the bronze medal game to Switzerland and Canada to finish fourth. The team finished their season at the 2023 Players' Championship and
7938-585: The 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials after winning a qualification event in Guelph held at the end of November. Homan was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa to parents Cathy and Craig Homan. She has an older brother, Mark, who is also a curler. Growing up in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans , Homan attended Cairine Wilson Secondary School and graduated from the University of Ottawa with
8100-614: The Canadian Olympic Curling Pre-Trials , where her team finished with a 3–3 record, and therefore did not qualify for the "Roar of the Rings", Canada's Olympic Trials. In 2009, Homan's rink was named the World Curling Tour's "rookie team of the year." In her first year of eligibility, Homan qualified for and won the 2011 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts . At the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts , Homan skipped
8262-520: The Ford Hot Shots skills competition. At the Scotties, the team lost just one game in the round robin, to Manitoba's Jennifer Jones. This gave the rink a 10–1 record, second behind Manitoba, who went undefeated. However, in their first playoff game, the Homan rink defeated Jones 8–5. This put the Homan team in the final, where they faced Jones once again, and won 9–6. With the victory, the Homan rink became
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#17328987605788424-511: 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 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
8586-608: The Players' Championship and the Champions Cup were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Team Homan won the first spot in the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials by defeating Tracy Fleury in the final of the 2019 Canada Cup . The team went undefeated at the 2020 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts , defeating Hollie Duncan in the final. At the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts , they won their second straight silver medal, losing
8748-643: The RCF , skipped by Alina Kovaleva . This put them in the bronze medal game, which they lost 9–5 to the Tabitha Peterson rink of the United States. On 4 June 2021 Hasselborg and her teammates were selected as the Olympic Team for the 2022 Winter Olympics . Team Hasselborg began the 2021–22 season competing in the men's Baden Masters tour event, where they missed the playoffs. At the 2021 Women's Masters Basel ,
8910-570: 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
9072-544: The Selena Sturmay rink in the final, 8–1. The team continued their success in December, winning the 2023 Masters , Homan's 14th career Grand Slam, and first of the season. They defeated Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland in the final, 8–4. A month later, the team won their second slam title in a row, and Homan's 15th in her career when the rink downed Tirinzoni again in the final of the Canadian Open . The team won 5–4, stealing
9234-417: The first Olympic medals in curling , which at 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
9396-416: 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 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
9558-496: 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
9720-418: 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
9882-469: 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
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#173289876057810044-454: The 1 vs. 2 game, then Homan beat Northern Ontario's ( Krista McCarville ) in the semi-final to force the re-match against Englot in the final. At the 2017 world championship in Beijing, Homan's rink became the third team in tournament history to go unbeaten in round-robin play, joining fellow Canadian Colleen Jones from 2003 and Sweden's Anette Norberg from 2005 . She went unbeaten right to
10206-490: The 2016 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic. They then won the 2016 Canad Inns Women's Classic the following month. A week later, the team lost in the final of the 2016 Masters of Curling against the Allison Flaxey rink. A month later, they lost to Jennifer Jones in the final of the 2016 Canada Cup of Curling . The rink lost 2 games in the round robin of the 2017 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts , finishing second in
10368-496: The 2024 Swedish Women's Championship, Team Hasselborg was appointed to represent Sweden at the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship as they had accumulated more points than Team Wranå throughout the first part of the season. Still, the team went on to win the Swedish Championship. At the Worlds, Team Hasselborg started with three consecutive losses before turning things around, finishing the round robin in fifth place with
10530-484: The 3 vs. 4 game, then lost to Scotland (skipped by Eve Muirhead ) in the semi-final, after Homan missed her last shot of the game, jamming a double takeout . After the loss, Homan defeated the Americans again, this time in the bronze medal game. The Homan rink finished the season by losing in the quarter-final of the 2013 Players' Championship . Starting the 2013–14 curling season , Homan's team played in four events on
10692-471: 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
10854-459: The Canadian rink skipped by Rachel Homan in the final by a score of 8–3. Hasselborg skipped Sweden at the 2013 Winter Universiade , leading her country to a 5th-place finish. Hasselborg graduated from the junior level in 2010, beginning to skip a team on the World Curling Tour . In her first season after juniors, her team won the 2011 Glynhill Ladies International . Hasselborg skipped
11016-535: The Champions Cup, they went undefeated up until the semifinal round where they were eliminated by Kerri Einarson . In their first event of the 2022–23 season , Team Hasselborg won the 2022 Oslo Cup . After a 4–1 round robin record, the team knocked off Isabella Wranå in the semifinal and the newly formed Kaitlyn Lawes rink in the championship game. Next for the team was the European Qualifier best-of-seven series between them and Team Wranå. Team Hasselborg won
11178-605: The European Championships, losing in the final of the 2017 European Curling Championships to Eve Muirhead 's team from Scotland. A few months later, at the Olympics, Hasselborg led her team to a 7-2 round robin record, in second place behind the host Korean "garlic girls" team, skipped by Kim Eun-jung . In the playoffs, Hasselborg knocked off the Muirhead-led British rink in the semifinal before beating South Korea in
11340-566: The Ontario team, finishing the round robin in third place and beating Nova Scotia's Heather Smith-Dacey in the 3 vs. 4 game , before losing in the semi-final to Saskatchewan's Amber Holland , thus eliminating her from the final. She then lost in the bronze medal game to Smith-Dacey. In April 2011, Homan played third for her brother Mark , and won the 2012 Ontario Mixed Championship. The team, which also included Brian Fleischhaker and teammate in women's play Alison Kreviazuk , represented Ontario at
11502-567: The Optimist International Under-18 Curling Tournament, beating Casey Scheidegger in the final. Her team qualified for the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon , where Homan skipped Team Ontario to a gold medal . During her first two years at the junior level, Homan did not win a provincial championship. In 2007, her team lost the provincial semifinal to Hollie Nicol 's rink. In 2008, her team lost in
11664-528: The Scotties instead. This plan of action was considered confusion and disappointing to the teams involved. Homan would end up being selected to represent Canada at the Olympics, giving Team Duncan the right to represent Ontario at the 2022 Scotties. However, Team Homan (sans Homan) qualified for the Scotties as Team Wild Card #3. For the Tournament of Hearts, Homan's teammates Emma Miskew , Sarah Wilkes and Joanne Courtney added Allison Flaxey to their lineup. At
11826-489: The Swedish national women's team at the 2014 European Curling Championships , leading her team to a 5th-place finish. This would be her first European Championship appearance. In 2015, Hasselborg's current team of Sara McManus , Agnes Knochenhauer , and Sofia Mabergs came together. The following season, the team won two Tour titles, the 2016 Oakville OCT Fall Classic and the 2016 Stockholm Ladies Curling Cup . That season,
11988-476: The Swedish rink was the 2022 World Women's Curling Championship , where they finished fourth in the round robin with a 9–3 record. They then defeated the United States Cory Christensen in the qualification game before dropping the semifinal and bronze medal games to Switzerland and Canada, respectively, placing fourth. Team Hasselborg wrapped up their season at the final two Slams of the season,
12150-676: 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
12312-470: The World Curling Tour before winning the 2013 Masters , beating Eve Muirhead in the final. They had previously beaten Homan in the semi-finals of the 2013 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic . Homan's team had made the playoffs in every Grand Slam event in the previous season; however, they failed to make the playoffs at the 2013 Colonial Square Ladies Classic . Homan's success over the previous three seasons qualified her team for an automatic entry at
12474-467: 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
12636-444: 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
12798-408: 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
12960-421: 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
13122-402: 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
13284-715: The championship in 2010. She also won a silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Curling Championships . Throughout her women's career, Homan has medalled at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championships, eight times, winning gold four times ( 2013 , 2014 , and 2017 , 2024 ), silver three times ( 2019 , 2020 , and 2021 ), and bronze once ( 2015 ). She has competed in four World Women's Curling Championships , winning gold in 2017 and 2024 silver in 2014 , and bronze in 2013 . She has also competed in two Canadian Olympic Curling Trials , finishing in third place in 2013 and winning in 2017 . At
13446-404: The championship, the team finished with a 4–4 record, not advancing to the playoff round. At the mixed doubles event at the Olympics , Homan and Morris struggled, finishing with a 5–4 record. Their record was tied for fourth with Sweden's Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson , however, due to their head-to-head loss against the Swedish pair, they missed the playoffs. The pair missed their chance at
13608-453: 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
13770-415: The end, the first team to do so, winning the gold medal by beating Anna Sidorova (for the 3rd consecutive time, with wins in the round robin, 1 vs. 2 playoff game, and final) 8–3 for the gold medal, her first world title and completing her medal set at worlds. The Homan rink finished the season by winning the 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup . In mixed doubles , Homan and partner John Morris were runners-up at
13932-441: The event, as it was announced she was pregnant. At the beginning of the 2023–24 curling season , it was announced that Homan would take over as skip of the team, with Fleury taking on regular third duties. The team also brought in former World Men's Champion and Olympic silver medallist Don Bartlett as their coach. It was also announced that the team would be sponsored by Ottawa-based nail polish company Holo Taco . The team began
14094-476: The event, the highest of any skip in the tournament. Homan's 2014 Scotties win earned her team a berth at the 2014 World Women's Curling Championship in Saint John, New Brunswick . The team had a better event than the previous year, as they only lost one round robin game to finish first place heading into the playoffs. The team defeated Switzerland's Binia Feltscher in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game, but lost in
14256-481: The eventual winners of Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing in the playoffs. In April, Team Homan played in the 2023 Players' Championship , missing the playoffs, but rebounded to win the 2023 Champions Cup to cap off the season. The team beat their rivals in the Kerri Einarson rink in the final, coming back from a 4–0 deficit to win the championship 6–5, giving Homan her 13th Grand Slam title. Homan took over as skip at
14418-585: 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
14580-440: 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
14742-510: The final against Team Einarson again, but this time Einarson had the best of her, beating Homan 6–5 in an extra end. In January, the team played in the 2023 Canadian Open , making it as far as the quarterfinals this time before matching up against Einarson. Team Homan couldn't get past Einarson again, and were eliminated after a 7–2 decision. Later in the month, the team won the 2023 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts , Homan's seventh career provincial championship. They defeated Hollie Duncan in
14904-462: The final of the 2018 Masters . Homan won the next Grand Slam event, the 2018 Tour Challenge , defeating Tracy Fleury in the final. At the 2018 Canada Cup , the Homan rink went 5–2 in the round robin and lost in the semifinal to Jennifer Jones. A week later, the team won the 2018 National , beating Kerri Einarson in the final. The next month, Homan won her third Grand Slam of the season, the 2019 Meridian Canadian Open , defeating Silvana Tirinzoni in
15066-516: The final to Danielle Inglis . These losses were allayed by a provincial junior championship in 2009, earning her team a berth at the 2009 Canadian Junior Curling Championships . At the Canadian Juniors, she skipped the Ontario team to a 10–2 record after the round robin , giving her rink a bye to the final, where she lost to the defending champion, Kaitlyn Lawes from Manitoba . Homan won the 2010 provincial championship and represented Ontario at
15228-425: The final to Manitoba's Kerri Einarson. Team Homan announced on March 12, 2020, that the team was parting ways with longtime lead Lisa Weagle . On March 17, 2020, the team announced they would be adding Sarah Wilkes as their new second, with Joanne Courtney moving to lead. The 2021 Ontario provincial playdowns were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario . As the 2020 provincial champions, Homan's team
15390-509: The final to Sweden's team, skipped by Anna Hasselborg . Prior to graduating from juniors in 2010, Homan's junior team was too young to participate in Scotties Tournament of Hearts playdowns (as juniors were ineligible to enter provincial playdowns until 2016), but this did not stop her from participating in Women's World Curling Tour events. Homan's top accomplishments on the tour while she
15552-484: The final to win the gold medal. A month later, Hasselborg skipped the Swedish national women's team at the 2018 World Women's Curling Championship , falling to the Canadian team in an extra end in the final to take home the silver medal. Hasselborg won her first Grand Slam in the lone women's Elite 10 in 2018, going undefeated through the tournament and defeating Silvana Tirinzoni in the final. A few weeks later, she won her second career Stockholm Ladies Cup. Then, at
15714-415: The final, 8–3. The following week, Team Homan played in the first Grand Slam event of the season, the 2024 Tour Challenge . The rink made it to the final, where costly mistakes by Homan in the sixth end resulted in a 5–4 loss to Team Kerri Einarson . A month later, Homan and her rink represented Canada at the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships . There, the team took home the gold medal after stealing
15876-439: The final. A week later, she participated in the 2019 Continental Cup on Team North America, losing to Team World. She won one game in the event, in the mixed team scramble. Homan and her rink played in the 2019 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts , having missed the previous year's event due to the Olympics and having won the 2017 Scotties. At the event, the team lost just one game and won their fourth provincial title. The event
16038-399: The final. The Homan rink lost just one game in the tournament, against Carey in the round robin. In her first event since winning the trials, Homan curled just 64% at the 2018 Continental Cup of Curling as a member of Team North America. Her team's record at the event was 0–3–1, and she also lost in her mixed doubles match with Brett Gallant . Despite this, Team North America won the event on
16200-474: The final. The team represented Ontario at the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts , going 6–2 in pool play. This put the team into the Championship round, where they were eliminated after a loss to Nova Scotia, skipped by Christina Black . In March, Homan paired up with British Columbia's Tyler Tardi at the 2023 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship . The pair went 6–1 in pool play, but were eliminated by
16362-559: The first Canadian Olympic curlers to not play for or win a medal. The team went winless at the 2018 Players' Championship in April, but they won the final event of the year, the 2018 Humpty's Champions Cup , defeating Kerri Einarson in the final. Team Homan began the 2018–19 curling season by winning the first leg of the Curling World Cup , defeating Sweden's Anna Hasselborg in the final. The following month, Hasselborg defeated Homan in
16524-497: The first Ottawa-based team to win the Canadian women's curling championship. The win earned Homan and her team the right to represent Canada at the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship in Riga , Latvia . At the World championships, the Homan rink led Canada to an 8–3 round robin finish, which put them in third place. In the playoffs, they beat the United States (skipped by Erika Brown ) in
16686-556: The first event of the abbreviated 2020–21 season , defeating Raphaela Keiser in the final of the 2020 Women's Masters Basel . Next, they played Team Wranå in the Sweden National Challenge in December 2020, where they lost 17–12. A "curling bubble" was set up in Calgary , Canada in the spring, which hosted several events, including the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship and two slams. Team Hasselborg competed in both
16848-413: 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
17010-425: The fourth end. At the 2019 Players' Championship , the team missed the playoffs after posting a 2–3 round robin record and losing a tie-breaker to Satsuki Fujisawa . They finished the season with a semi-final finish at the 2019 Champions Cup . In 2019, Homan was named the fourth-greatest Canadian female curler in history by The Sports Network (TSN), the main television broadcaster of major curling events, following
17172-505: 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
17334-472: The game in an extra end, after trailing 4–2 after the seventh end. New qualifying rules for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts allowed Team Homan a pre-qualifying spot at the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts without having to play in the 2024 playdowns. At the Hearts, the team went undefeated, winning all 11 of their games, including the final, where they beat Jennifer Jones , another pre-qualifier team, 5–4. It
17496-442: 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,
17658-451: The heavy stone weights from the looms' warp beams , fitted with a detachable handle for 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
17820-479: 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 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
17982-560: The next three Slams, the Tour Challenge , National and the Canadian Open . The team was set to represent Sweden at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship before the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The Canadian Open would be their last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were also cancelled due to the pandemic. Hasselborg and her team won
18144-465: The ninth end of the game, the team was down 5–4 to the Swiss, but Homan made a split of a rock in the 12-foot on her last to score three, giving her team a 7–5 lead. Switzerland conceded the game in the 10th after deciding they didn't have a shot to tie the game, giving Homan her second World Championship title. Team Homan ended the 2023–24 season at the 2024 Players' Championship . The rink went undefeated in
18306-399: The other stone, but traveling too far, or hitting the stone. Anna Hasselborg Hasselborg made her international debut at the 2008 European Mixed Curling Championship , playing third for Niklas Edin , winning a bronze medal. In 2009, Hasselborg played in her first World Juniors , skipping Sweden to a 6th-place finish. At the 2010 World Junior Curling Championships , Hasselborg upset
18468-462: 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
18630-467: The process. After this impressive run, they were upset in the finals of the 2016 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts against their club mates, the Jenn Hanna team, meaning the World number one-ranked Homan team would not be able to play in the national championships that year. The team was invited to play in the 2016 Elite 10 men's Grand Slam event, making history as the first women's team to compete in
18792-413: The provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2012 . Her team went undefeated throughout the round robin. However, they lost in the final to Tracy Horgan 's rink from Sudbury . Homan, who was up by one point with the hammer , missed a draw to the button to clinch the victory on her final rock. Instead, she gave up three points and lost. In her first Grand Slam event of the 2012–13 curling season ,
18954-642: The quarterfinals of the 2022 Masters . They also lost in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Canadian Open , 8–7 to Satsuki Fujisawa . In February, the team won the Swedish Women's Curling Championship and the Swedish World Qualifier over Team Wranå, qualifying for the World Championship. In their final event before the Worlds, the team lost in the final of the Sun City Cup to Marianne Rørvik . At
19116-416: The quarterfinals of their first slam of the 2021–22 season , the 2021 Masters , where they were beaten by Alina Kovaleva . Two weeks later, they played in the 2021 National , where they were eliminated in the quarters again, this time by Anna Hasselborg . Next for Team Homan was the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials where they attempted to qualify for the Olympics again. The team, however, did not have
19278-451: The quarterfinals, where they lost to Team Scheidegger, which was skipped by Kristie Moore in a draw-to-the button to break a 6–6 tie. The next month in October, the team played in the first Slam of the season, the 2022 National . There, the team made it to the quarterfinals before losing out to another new-look team skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes . Later that month, the team played in the next Slam,
19440-482: The quarters of the 2022 Champions Cup , where they lost to Kerri Einarson . In March 2022, after Joanne Courtney announced she would be stepping back from competitive curling, it was announced that Tracy Fleury would be joining the team for the 2022–23 season . They did not announce whether Homan or Fleury would skip the new lineup. In August 2022, it was announced that Tracy Fleury would be skipping Team Homan, with Homan herself continuing to throw last rocks on
19602-453: The rock be adjusted, Homan removed the stone. Joan McCusker , commentating for CBC at the Olympics, said of Homan's move that "I think that was a rash move to take it off. They should have left it in play. It doesn't look good on you." Homan and team won their next three games to stay in playoff contention but lost their next two, with their fifth loss against Eve Muirhead officially eliminating them from medal contention. This made Homan's team
19764-447: The round robin behind Jacqueline Harrison . They won both their playoff matches, including defeating Harrison in the final, qualifying the team to represent Ontario at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts . In the final, Team Homan defeated Manitoba's Michelle Englot to win the Scotties, her third Scotties title in four years. Both teams went 10–1 in the round robin, with Homan's lone loss against Englot. Englot beat Homan once again in
19926-399: The round robin with a 7–2 record. They then defeated Russia's Alina Kovaleva in the semifinal before dropping the final to Scotland's Eve Muirhead , settling for silver. The next event for Team Hasselborg was the 2022 Winter Olympics , where they attempted to defend their gold medal from 2018. The team placed second after the round robin preliminary stage with a 7–2 record. This earned them
20088-474: The round robin. They defended their title at the 2019 European Curling Championships . Down 4–3 in the tenth end of the final to Scotland 's Eve Muirhead, Hasselborg made a runback on her final stone to score two and win. In Grand Slam play, Team Hasselborg was the most dominant team on the women's side, winning them the 2019–20 Pinty's Cup . They lost in the semifinal of the Masters to Tracy Fleury before winning
20250-402: The season without Homan, who had just given birth to her third child. With Heather Nedohin in her place, the team went on to win the 2023 Saville Shootout . Homan returned to her team for the 2023 PointsBet Invitational , where they made it to the final, beating Kerri Einarson there 9–7 to claim the title, and $ 50,000 in the process. Three weeks later, Team Homan played in their first Slam of
20412-432: The season, the 2023 Tour Challenge , the team went unbeaten until the semifinals where they were stopped by Jennifer Jones . They also reached the semifinals of the 2023 National before losing to Rachel Homan. After missing the playoffs at the 2023 Western Showdown , the team had back-to-back quarterfinal finishes at the 2023 Masters and the 2024 Canadian Open , losing out to Team Jones on both occasions. Days before
20574-492: The season, the 2023 Tour Challenge . There, the team went 2–2, being eliminated from playoff contention due to a poor tournament draw to the button shootout score. The team made it to the final in the next Slam, the 2023 National . There, they went undefeated until they faced the equally undefeated Gim Eun-ji Korean rink in that game, which they lost 7–6. A week later, the team played in the Red Deer Curling Classic again, winning their second straight title after easily defeating
20736-422: 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
20898-425: The series 4–1, becoming the Swedish team for the 2022 European Curling Championships . In their first Slam of the season, the 2022 National , the team missed the playoffs with a 1–3 record, meaning they would not have the chance to repeat as champions for a third year in a row. They were able to qualify at the next Slam, the 2022 Tour Challenge , where they fell in the quarterfinals to Kerri Einarson. Back at home,
21060-717: 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 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,
21222-433: 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
21384-438: 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 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
21546-502: The sport's official addition in 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
21708-499: 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
21870-443: 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
22032-457: 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
22194-430: 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
22356-413: 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
22518-522: 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
22680-439: The team also represented Sweden at the 2016 European Curling Championships , where they won a silver medal, losing to Russia's Victoria Moiseeva in the final. Later in the season, they represented Sweden at the 2017 World Women's Curling Championship , where they placed fourth. Hasselborg's rink was selected to represent Sweden at the 2018 Winter Olympics . In the lead-up to the games, the team took home another silver medal at
22842-603: The team claimed their second event title of the season after going undefeated to win the Sundbyberg Open. They played with three players, with Sara McManus out on maternity leave. At the European Championship, the team's alternate Johanna Heldin stepped in at lead. The team went 5–4 through the round robin, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Back on the Slam tour, Team Hasselborg lost 5–2 to Rachel Homan in
23004-453: The team made it all the way to the final, where they lost to Denmark's Madeleine Dupont . Next, they played in the 2021 Masters Grand Slam event, where they again missed the playoffs. They were able to rebound at the 2021 National , however, claiming the title with a 9–6 victory over Tracy Fleury in the final game. In November, Team Hasselborg again represented Sweden at the 2021 European Curling Championships where they finished third in
23166-453: The team won one World Curling Tour event, the Pomeroy Inn & Suites Prairie Showdown held in March. The team also won the inaugural 2015 Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game , earning them $ 52,000. The team found more success at the start of the 2015–16 curling season . They began the season with a win in the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard , followed by a loss in the final of the first Slam,
23328-434: The team. With the addition of Fleury, Emma Miskew was moved to the second position for the first time since joining forces with Homan as a teenager. The new lineup made their debut at the 2022 Saville Shoot-Out , making it to the final before losing to Jennifer Jones and her new team. Later on in the month, Team Homan played in the inaugural PointsBet Invitational tournament organized by Curling Canada . The team made it to
23490-551: The thrower had little control over the 'curl' or velocity and relied more on luck than on precision, skill, and strategy. The sport 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
23652-456: 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
23814-479: 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
23976-419: The tournament until the semifinal, where they lost to the same Tirinzoni rink they had beaten in the World Championship final. Team Homan would finish the season with an "unprecedented" 67–7 win-loss record. During the 2024 off season, it was announced that Brendan Bottcher would be added as the team's coach, as well as Homan's mixed doubles partner. Bottcher would only coach the team until October 2024 when it
24138-562: 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 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 ,
24300-732: 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 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
24462-464: Was Jones' last Hearts, as she decided to retire prior to the event. The win would be Homan's fourth career Hearts title. With the Scotties win, the team went on to represent Canada at the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship . At the Worlds, Homan led Canada to an 11–1 round robin record, including ending Switzerland and Silvana Tirinzoni's 42 game winning streak at the Women's Worlds, which dated back to
24624-666: Was announced he was joining the Brad Gushue rink as their second. On June 21, 2024, Team Homan was awarded the Key to the City of Ottawa . To begin the 2024–25 season , it was announced that AMJ Campbell would be the team's title sponsor. The team won their first event of the season, the AMJ Campbell sponsored 2024 Shorty Jenkins Classic . Two weeks later, the team won their second straight PointsBet Invitational, defeating Kayla Skrlik 's rink in
24786-515: Was chosen to represent Ontario at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary . Up to that point, Homan had only played in one tour game the entire season in the Okotoks Ladies Classic in November, before that event was cancelled due to a province-wide shutdown in Alberta. Three months later, Homan entered the 2021 Scotties at eight months pregnant. She had a successful round robin, with
24948-502: Was competing at the Olympics. The Homan team went through the entire tournament undefeated without ever having to throw their last rock and defeated Alberta's Val Sweeting in the final. Homan became the youngest skip ever to win back-to-back Scotties. Homan was awarded the Sandra Schmirler Most Valuable Player Award , and ended the event with a 90% shooting percentage based on overall shot successes throughout
25110-406: 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")
25272-594: Was junior-aged included winning two straight Southwestern Ontario Women's Charity Cashspiels . In 2007, she defeated then-World Champion Jennifer Jones in the semifinal and Ève Bélisle in the final, and in 2008 she won in the final against the Chinese national team, skipped by Wang Bingyu . Her team earned $ 11,000 for each win. In 2009, she won the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic , winning $ 5,500 for her team. Later that year, her team participated in
25434-479: Was marked by an incident of bullying aimed at Homan. A "number of curlers" at the event voted for her to win the tournament's sportsmanship award to protest the fact that the team had two members (Homan and Courtney) living in Alberta. Teams were only allowed one out-of-province "import" player; however, Homan maintained a residence in Ontario and was exempted from requirements as she was a full-time student in Edmonton. At
25596-420: Was named Second Team All-Star skip for the tournament. A month after the Scotties, Homan gave birth to her second child, Bowyn of March 25, and missed the 2021 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in the process (she had qualified with John Morris). Having just given birth three weeks prior, she had originally planned on not playing in the two Slams scheduled for the end of the season, but later decided she
25758-430: Was physically able to do so. At the first of Slam, the 2021 Champions Cup , she had no problem claiming her 11th career Slam title, defeating Silvana Tirinzoni in the final. A week later she played in the 2021 Players' Championship , the last event for Team Homan of the season. At the Players', she led her team all the way to the final, before losing to Einarson in a re-match of the Scotties final. Team Homan made it to
25920-414: 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.,
26082-411: Was replaced by Joanne Courtney from Edmonton . The Homan rink found less success in the 2014–15 curling season after adding new second Joanne Courtney to the team. The team did not win any Slam events, losing in the finals of the 2014 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic (against Jennifer Jones) and the 2014 Canadian Open of Curling (against Eve Muirhead). The team also lost in the final of
26244-633: 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
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