Editing Curling (section)

== History ==
[[File:Pieter Brueghel de Jonge - Winterlandschap met vogelval (Brukenthal Museum) (curling crop).jpg|thumb|Detail from a reproduction of ''Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap'' (Bruegel, 1565)]]

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|Dunblane, Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/002022.asp |title=Wooden Curling Stone |publisher=[[Wisconsin Historical Society]] |date=23 February 2006 |access-date=14 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105084908/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/002022.asp |archive-date=5 November 2010}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The world's oldest curling stone |url=http://www.smithartgalleryandmuseum.co.uk/about/the-collection/ |website=The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum |access-date=15 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303110344/http://www.smithartgalleryandmuseum.co.uk/about/the-collection/ |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first written reference to a contest using stones on ice coming from the records of [[Paisley Abbey]], [[Renfrewshire]], in February 1541.<ref name="Scottish Curling">{{cite web |title=History of the Game |url=http://www.scottishcurling.org/curling-history/history-of-the-game/ |website=Scottish Curling |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083915/http://www.scottishcurling.org/curling-history/history-of-the-game/ |archive-date=15 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Two paintings, "[[Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap]]" and "[[The Hunters in the Snow]]" (both dated 1565) by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]], depict [[Flanders|Flemish]] [[peasant]]s 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]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Eberlin |first=Amy |title=The Flemish and the game of 'curling' |url=http://flemish.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2016/02/15/613/ |website=Scotland and the Flemish People |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=16 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224021615/http://flemish.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2016/02/15/613/ |archive-date=24 December 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Curling at Eglinton castle, Ayrshire, Scotland.jpg|thumb|A curling match at [[Eglinton Castle]], Ayrshire, Scotland in 1860. The [[curling house]] is located to the left of the picture.]]

The word ''curling'' first appears in print in 1620 in [[Perth, Scotland]], in the [[preface]] and the verses of a poem by [[Henry Adamson]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kerr |first=John |title=The History of Curling: And Fifty Years of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club |date=1890 |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |page=79 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofcurling00kerruoft#page/78/mode/2up |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Adamson |first=Henry |title=The muses threnodie, or, mirthfull mournings, on the death of Master Gall Containing varietie of pleasant poëticall descriptions, morall instructions, historiall narrations, and divine observations, with the most remarkable antiquities of Scotland, especially at Perth By Mr. H. Adamson. |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A03379.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415151222/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A03379.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> The sport was (and still is, in Scotland and Scottish-settled regions like southern New Zealand, as well as in Canada) also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while travelling over the ''pebble'' (droplets of water applied to the playing surface).<ref name="Olympics">{{cite web |title=Curling |url=https://www.olympic.org/curling |website=Olympic Games |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-date=8 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208193406/https://www.olympic.org/curling |url-status=live }}</ref> The verbal noun ''curling'' is formed from the [[Scots language|Scots]] (and English) verb ''curl'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=curl&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both |title=SND |publisher=Dsl.ac.uk |access-date=4 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307095133/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=curl&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both |archive-date=7 March 2012}}</ref> which describes the motion of the stone.

[[File:Curling on a lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, ca. 1897.jpg|thumb|Group of people curling on a lake in [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]], Canada, {{circa|1897}}]]

[[Kilsyth Curling Club]] claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716;<ref>{{cite book |last=Kerr |first=John |title=History of curling, Scotland's ain game, and fifty years of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club |date=1890 |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |page=115 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofcurling00kerruoft#page/n139/mode/2up/search/kilsyth |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> it is still in existence today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paperclip.org.uk/kilsythweb/Communityresources/Curlinghistory.htm |title=Kilsyth Curling History |publisher=Paperclip.org.uk |access-date=4 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002421/http://www.paperclip.org.uk/kilsythweb/Communityresources/Curlinghistory.htm |archive-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> 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 {{convert|100|by|250|m}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympic.org/curling-equipment-and-history |title=Curling: History |series=Olympic Sport History |publisher=International Olympic Committee |date=4 February 2018 |access-date=7 May 2018 |archive-date=7 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507153538/https://www.olympic.org/curling-equipment-and-history |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>Curling: An illustrated History, by David B Smith ISBN 0 85976 074 X</ref>

[[File:Men curling - 1909 - Ontario Canada.jpg|thumb|Men curling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1909]]

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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsay |first=John |title=An Account of the Game of Curling, with Songs for the Canon-Mills Curling Club |date=1882 |location=Edinburgh |url=https://archive.org/stream/anaccountgamecu00ramsgoog#page/n29/mode/2up/search/blocks |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Wooden Curling Stone |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2753 |website=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=14 February 2018 |date=23 April 2013 |archive-date=15 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215084252/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2753 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some early stones had holes for a finger and the thumb, akin to ten-pin [[bowling ball]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kerr |first=John |title=History of curling, Scotland's ain game, and fifty years of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club |date=1890 |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofcurling00kerruoft#page/26/mode/2up/search/finger |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> 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 was often played on frozen rivers although purpose-built ponds were later created in many Scottish towns.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cairnie |first=J. |title=Essay on curling, and artificial pond making |date=1833 |publisher=W. R. McPhun |location=Glasgow |url=https://archive.org/details/essayoncurlinga00cairgoog |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> For example, the Scottish poet [[David Gray (poet)|David Gray]] describes whisky-drinking curlers on the [[Luggie Water]] at [[Kirkintilloch]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Watson |first=Thomas |title=Kirkintilloch, town and parish |date=1894 |publisher=J. Smith |location=Glasgow |page=312 |url=https://archive.org/stream/kirkintillochtow00wats#page/312/mode/1up |access-date=13 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bell |first=Henry Glassford |title=The Poetical Works of David Gray |date=1874 |publisher=J. Maclehose |url=https://archive.org/stream/poeticalworksda00bellgoog#page/n34/mode/2up |pages=16–17 |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Curling on Lake of Menteith - geograph.org.uk - 1756810.jpg|thumb|Curling on [[Lake of Menteith]] from 2010. The last official [[Grand Match]] was held here in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schorstein |first=Jon (director) |title=The Grand Match |url=http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3127 |website=Moving Image Archive |publisher=National Library of Scotland |access-date=19 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219210712/http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3127 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]

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 the purpose.<ref name="McLeod8">{{cite book |title=The Book of Old Darvel and Some of its Famous Sons |publisher=Walker & Connell |location=Darvel |pages=12–13 |editor-first=Nate|editor-last=Baker}}</ref> 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.<ref name="x">{{cite book |title=Canada Curls - An Illustrated History of Curling in Canada |publisher=Whitecap Books |author=[[Doug Maxwell]]}}</ref>

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, the [[World Curling Federation]] in [[Perth, Scotland|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 [[bonspiel]]s, such as those at [[Aboyne Curling Pond railway station|Aboyne]], [[Carsbreck railway station|Carsbreck]], and [[Drummuir Curlers' Platform railway station|Drummuir]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Directory of Railway Stations: Details Every Public and Private Passenger Station, Halt, Platform and Stopping Place, Past and Present |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |edition=1st |first=R. V. J. |last=Butt |author-link=Raymond Butt |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-85260-508-7 |oclc=60251199}}</ref>
[[File:Curling at the Huntsville Curling Club (I0005717).tif|left|thumb|Curling at the Huntsville Curling Club, 1960]]
Today, the sport is most firmly established in [[Sports in Canada|Canada]], having been taken there by [[Scottish Canadian|Scottish emigrants]]. The [[Royal Montreal Curling Club]], the oldest established sports club still active in [[North America]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://royalmontrealcurling.ca/the-club/ |publisher=The Royal Montreal Curling Club |title=The Club |access-date=November 18, 2019 |archive-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021104851/http://royalmontrealcurling.ca/the-club/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Rankings |url=http://worldcurling.org/worldrankings/ |publisher=World Curling Federation |access-date=November 18, 2019 |archive-date=1 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101182929/http://worldcurling.org/worldrankings |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 [[Canadians|Canadian]] team from [[Regina, Saskatchewan]], skipped by [[Ernie Richardson (curler)|Ernie Richardson]]. (The ''skip'' is the team member who calls the shots; see below.)

=== Olympics ===
{{Main|Curling at the Winter Olympics}}
[[File:12-01-20-yog-674.jpg|thumb|Curling at the [[Youth Olympic Games]] 2012]]
[[File:Curling pictogram.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|Curling pictogram]]
Curling has been a medal sport in the [[Winter Olympic Games]] since the [[1998 Winter Olympics]]. It currently includes men's, women's, and [[Doubles curling|mixed doubles]] tournaments (the mixed doubles event was held for the first time in [[Curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Mixed doubles tournament|2018]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Mixed Doubles curling confirmed for PyeongChang 2018 Olympics |url=http://www.worldcurling.org/mixed-doubles-curling-confirmed-for-pyeongchang-2018 |website=World Curling Federation |access-date=18 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119001219/http://www.worldcurling.org/mixed-doubles-curling-confirmed-for-pyeongchang-2018 |archive-date=19 January 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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 [[Curling at the 1924 Winter Olympics#Medals|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=III Winter Olympic Games, Lake Placid 1932, Official Report |editor-last=Lattimer |editor-first=George M. |year=1932 |pages=255–258 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1932/1932w.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085042/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1932/1932w.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 April 2008 |access-date=14 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/06/archives/canadians-win-at-curling-beat-united-states-12-games-to-4-in.html |title=Canadians Win At Curling: Beat United States, 12 Games to 3, in Exhibition Series|work=The New York Times |date=6 February 1932 |at=Sports, p. 20 |access-date=13 August 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615060505/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20910F8355B13738DDDAF0894DA405B828FF1D3 |archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

Since the sport's official addition in the 1998 Olympics, Canada has dominated the sport with their men's teams winning gold in [[Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics|2006]], [[Curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2010]], and [[Curling at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2014]], and silver in [[Curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics|1998]] and [[Curling at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002]]. The women's team won gold in 1998 and [[Curling at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|2014]], a silver in [[Curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|2010]], and a bronze in 2002 and 2006. The mixed doubles team won gold in [[Curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Mixed doubles tournament|2018]].