Curling....what do you guys think of it?
370915
I love watching curling on TV - I even taped it during the Olympics so I could watch the US in their bronze medal match.  I've never played it, the nearest place to play is like 200 miles away, but I find the game really interesting in a quirky way.  It seems like bowling on ice - the kind of game that you could still play even after a couple of beers!!!
106796
I think because anything classified as a sporting event it requires a certain degree of athleticism, skill, practice, dedication, and (in the case of team sports) team-work; add in an opportunity to test your levels against others to find out who is best and you have a sporting event(you mentioned NASCAR in your question details... driving a car in a big circle for a couple of hours doesn't require much athleticism either, but it is still considered a sport, right?)\n\nNow why it is considered an Olympic event... well, it is a sport with growing popularity in many countries that participate in the Olympics (Canada, many of the northern European countries, and a growing fan-base in the northern United States), and the Olympics have been a fairground for countries to show off new and/or unusual sporting events from around the world (Ice Dancing... the poor-man's figure skating OR "I'm just doing this until Disney-on-Ice calls me in for an interview!").  Some of the events catch on and become world-wide phenomenons, others fizzle and die.\n\n<Added>I added athleticism to the list of skills needed because there is a degree of athleticism to curling that you don't find in other strategy games (chess, for example). I mean, watch the curlers in the Olympics. They are running around on ICE for Pete's sake! Any time I step on ice I fall on my... personality... but these guys are running up and down the ice as if they were walking in the grass! And it isn't just the shoes they wear. I saw a documentary on the U.S. Olympic curling team and they showed people trying to do it and they were falling all over the place.
580753
Did you ever watch curling?
335801
What does this have to do with curling?
364052
I started playing a little bit around fifth grade, but this year I'm taking the class in high school and I'm on the school team. It's really fun and rewarding... Ever since I started playing more this year, I've gotten a lot more excercise and made a lot more friends! I especially like how it's not a contact sport. And you can play singles or doubles. I like doubles, but only if I like my doubles partner :)
334296
It's like chess. Easy to learn, but not so easy to master. Getting used to sliding on the ice and learning to sweep are the hardest parts. Just finished my first year. Very addicting once you try it. If you are interested in finding a place to curl next season, try the USA Curling website. If you're not in the US, there's a link on the website to the International Curling Federation that may be able to help you find your national association.
166488
The game originated in Scotland and was brought to Canada probably in the 1500's.\n\nIt is probably called curling because the rocks curl when you deliver them by putting either an in turn or out turn on the rocks handle as you release it from your hand. They are made of granite form Scotland and weigh 40 pounds.\n\nIt's all very weight and ice sensitive  as to the amount the rock will curl.\n\nGenerally speaking the softer you release(throw) the rock the more it will curl and the faster you release it the less it will curl.\n\nYou are pushing forward with your back leg from the hack and sliding on your front foot(opposite leg) which has a slider on the sole.\n\nIt's all too complicated to answer properly in a short amount of time but it is a fun game and can be played by most people at varying degrees of skill.
758231
Is curling really a sport?  I thought you had to sweat in the matches to be a sport.
19160
I play sports and like sports in general so I find it to be a fun extra outlet for competition. \n\nThere are those that don't like it at all and it is not for everyone.\n\nLike some things, you should try it to see if you like it and not just base your decision totally off of the opinions of others.
160927
I think tennis and golf are the most boring.  Maybe that's just because I've never heard of curling.  What's curling?
1030254
it is. it's a mentally and physically exhausting ordeal. trust me if curling can be considered a sport than hands down motorsports are grueling and are definitely a sport.
416490
Curling is amusing in small does.
646177
Cannot say I love it, but find it relaxing and helps me think. Only roll it around on fingers to make it more flingable if someone is around to hit with nice hard one. Prefer hard one to juicy. Could never get the hang of flinging the juicy ones. Seem some who are real good at it. Just talking about is has got me picking. Maybe I do love it amd am in denial, like most people. Have a great picking day.
762872
Never have run one but played in many (amateur)....only recommendation is that if it gets down to a "hill to hill" match in say 9 ball....I recommend that this last game should be "9 ball last ball in".....if it goes in prior to that it gets "spotted" and the shooter that made it keeps shooting from where ever the cue ball finished...this takes the "snapper" and the "lucky roll" out of the equation on a hill game.......how would you feel coming all the way back and your opponent "snaps" it or gets a 2-9 combination to win it!!!
206285
Curling is a precision team sport similar to bowls or bocce, played on a rectangular sheet of prepared ice by two teams of four players each, using heavy polished granite stones which they slide down the ice towards a target area called the house. Points are scored for the number of stones that a team has closer to the center of the target than the closest of the other team's stones. The level of precision and complex nature of the strategic thinking required to win has led curling to be referred to as "chess on ice."\n\nCurling is played on a rectangular sheet of prepared ice into which two round, painted, archery-like targets (called the house) have been embedded. The game involves two teams of four players. These teams are called rinks and named for the team’s captain, who is known as the “skip”. Each team has eight polished granite stones, called stones or rocks, with which they try to score.\n\nDuring each round of play, called an end, each player slides two stones along the surface of the ice. Play alternates between teams, each throwing one stone on their turn. The person throwing the stone influences where the stone stops by the amount of force used, called the weight, the spin (turn), and the direction of the throw. Additionally, the final position of the stone is changed by sweeping or brushing the path in front of the stone to reduce curl and increase distance. Once all the stones have been thrown during an end, the score is determined and the play reverses direction back to the other house.\n\nThe players are known as the lead, second, third and skip, and traditionally throw stones in that order . The skip acts as the team’s captain, determining the position played by each player, strategy during the game, holding the broom in the house as a target for the shooters, and representing the rink. However, there is nothing in the rules to say where in the order the skip plays and in recent years the skip has thrown second or third stones on some teams.\n\nThe basic goal of each end is to have your curling stones nearer to the center of the target once all the stones from both teams have been thrown for that end. Therefore, the maximum number of points a team can earn per end is eight, though this is extremely rare because only the closest stones belonging to one of the two teams are counted. Strategies used during play, such as blocking (guard) and hitting rocks to reposition them (bump) or remove them from play (take-out) lead to lower scores. The term draw is used to describe a shot that comes to rest in the house without making contact with another stone. To peel means to remove both the target stone and the shooter's stone from play. For more information, see Types of shots below.\n\nTo help ensure the stone lands where intended, the skip stands in the house and indicates to the player throwing where to aim given the desired effect of the shot. The other two players sweep in front of the rock. Once thrown, players may not touch a stone while it is moving, so sweeping is the only way to influence the stone once thrown. Games, called matches, usually last eight ends, though in competitive curling there are usually ten ends and some recreational games last six ends.\n\nA competitive game usually consists of ten ends. Recreational games are more commonly only eight or even six ends. An end consists of each player from both teams throwing two rocks with the players on each side alternating shots, for a total of sixteen rocks. If the teams are tied at the completion of ten ends an extra end is played to break the tie. If the match is still tied after the extra end, play continues for as many ends as may be required to break the tie. The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed.\n\nIt is not uncommon at any level for a losing team to terminate the match before all ends are completed if it believes it no longer has a realistic chance of winning. Most competitive
80188
No it isnt.\n\nBut we do play Lawn Bowls wich is about as close as you can get to Curling without having ice or sweepers.  \n\nTo see Lawn Bowels played try to catch it on broadcasts of the upcoming Commonwealth games mid MARCH from Melbourne.
307045
I love curling and im only 16 i love it.