Curling is always one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics for UK viewers.
And this year will be no different, with the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles teams all tipped for medals at the Milano Cortina Games.
Great Britain have a rich history in curling at the Winter Olympics with six medals – three of them golds – collected over the years.
That tally includes the gold medal won by the women’s team four years ago in Beijing with skipper Eve Muirhead guiding the side to victory over Japan in the final.
But those tuning in to see if Team GB can repeat their success from China may well have several questions about how the sport works, from how many ends there are and why they sweep the ice, to what the hammer and power play rules do.
Not entirely sure how curling works? Let us explain.
How many ends are there?
Men’s and women’s matches are contested over ten ends.
Each team has eight stones, with two stones thrown by each of the four team members.
In mixed doubles – where teams consist of just one male and female player – matches consist of eight ends.
Five stones are thrown by each team, with one stone placed on the ice sheet by each side before the end begins.
How does the scoring work?
A point is awarded to the team which has a stone closest to the centre of the house once all of the stones have been thrown.
If a team has two stones closest to the middle of the house they will score two points – and so on.
The team with the most points at the end of the match wins.
What happens if the scores are level at the end?
If the scores are tied, an extra round is played to determine the winner.
How does the competition work?
Ten teams take part in each of the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles competitions.
Each nation plays one another in the Round Robin stage, with only the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the final, whilst the losers will head to the bronze medal match instead.
What are the different roles?
Men’s and women’s teams consist of four roles; Lead, Second, Third and Skip.
The Lead throws the first two stones and is usually responsible for sweeping their teammate’s stones.
The Second is tasked with throwing the third and fourth stones, as well as joining the Lead with sweeping the ice.
The Third throws the fifth and sixth stones and serves as the deputy.
The Skip is the team’s captain and the responsibility of throwing the final two stones lies with them.
Why do they sweep the ice?
Curling players sweep the ice in order to control the speed and direction of the stones as they slide their way down to the house.
The brushing of the ice creates heat which produces a thin layer of water, which reduces friction and consequently allows the stone to travel further.
Frantic brushing of the ice may be an indication the team are not happy with the force by which the stone was thrown.
Brushing essentially gives curlers greater precision as to where their stones finally end up on the ice sheet.
What is the hammer and how do you get to keep it?
The team with the hammer throws the final stone of each end.
This makes it easier for a team to score points as they are able to react to all of the stones which are in play before them.
If the team with the hammer scores at least a point at that end, the hammer is then passed to the opposing team, and so on.
However, if a team with the hammer fails to score a point at their end, they retain the hammer for the next end.
This sometimes results in the team with the hammer turning down the option of scoring a single point when they have it, instead opting to retain the hammer for the next end in the hope of scoring more than one point.
If an extra end is required in men’s and women’s matches, the team that did not score points in the final round has the hammer.
If the final round is blanked, with no score for either team, then the hammer is retained by the same team.
In mixed doubles, if the end is blanked, the hammer is given to the other team.
What is the power play rule?
The rule only applies in mixed doubles where one stone from each team is placed on the ice before the end begins.
The team with the power play can position their ‘in-house’ stone on the tee line.
The opponent’s guard stone is then placed to the side of the sheet in line with the ‘in-house’ stone, which opens up the scoring opportunities for the team with the power play.
Only the team with the hammer can use the power play and it cannot be used in extra ends. One power play is available to each team per match.
What is a ‘time out’ and how many are each team allowed?
Each team is allocated one 60-second ‘time out’ in a match.
This pauses the game and allows the players to confer with each other over strategy.
In some instances, the coach will also come down to the playing area to discuss tactics with the players.
If the game goes to an extra end, each team is awarded an additional time out.