Experience Ice-Free Curling

What is Ice-Free Curling?

Ice-free curling is curling played on a specially made synthetic surface rather than a frozen sheet. The stones glide across it, you aim at the same target, and the tactics are the ones you saw at the Olympics. For the background on the traditional sport, here’s how curling works on ice.

Taking the ice away changes who can play. Nobody needs to dress for a rink. It’s quicker to pick up than the ice game, so a group of complete beginners can be playing a proper match after a short tutorial, and that’s when the rivalries start.

How It Works at The Curling Club

Arrive and settle in

Check in with the team, get a drink and head to your space. Groups on The House or Curls of Wisdom have a reserved area for the whole booking. The DJ is on, the lights are up and the street food is ready.

Learn the basics

One of our team runs a quick tutorial on how to hold, aim and release the stone, and how the scoring works.

Play

Pay and Play sessions run for 30 minutes for two to four players or 60 minutes for six to ten. The House and Curls of Wisdom each include an hour of curling. Everyone off the sheet is eating, drinking or heckling.

Crown the champions

When the last stone stops, grab a team photo, settle the bragging rights and get back to the food and drinks.

How is it different from curling on ice?

The stones, the target and the scoring stay the same. What changes is the surface.
On ice, players push off from a foothold called the hack and slide out with the stone in a long, low lunge, usually wearing one gripping shoe and one sliding shoe. It takes practice and decent balance.

You don’t need to master any of that here: there’s nothing to slip on, and our tutorial covers a delivery that works for everyone in your group, including seated players.

On television you’ll also see teammates sweeping hard in front of the stone, which changes how far and how straight it travels on ice. If you’ve ever wondered why, this is the physics behind the sweeping.

No ice also means no cold hands. Leave the gloves and thermals at home.

How does a game work?

Two teams take turns sliding stones down the sheet towards the target at the far end, called the house. Once every stone has been thrown, that’s one end. Whoever has the stone closest to the centre scores a point for every stone of theirs sitting nearer than the other team’s best.

The last stone of each end is the hammer, and holding it is a genuine advantage, which is why teams work so hard to keep the hammer.

The fun sits in between: knocking a rival stone out of the house, guarding your own, and the collective groan when a great shot drifts a few centimetres too far.

Want an advantage? Read our beginner’s guide to get a head start.