Editing Curling (section)

=== Delivery ===
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2018}}
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., the [[Lead (curling)|lead]]) throws, the players not delivering (the [[Second (curling)|second]] and [[Third (curling)|third]]) sweep (see [[#Sweeping|Sweeping]], below). When the skip throws, the vice-skip takes their role.

The ''[[Skip (curling)|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 ''weight'' of the stone is its velocity, which depends on the leg drive of the delivery rather than the arm.
* The ''turn'' or ''curl'' is the rotation of the stone, which gives it a curved trajectory.
* The ''line'' is the direction of the throw ignoring the effect of the ''turn''.

The skip may communicate 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 a foreign object is called a ''pick-up'' or ''pick''.

[[File:hack.jpg|thumb|Players must push out of the ''hack'' to deliver their stones. 95% of hacks in use around the world are Marco Hacks, which were invented in the 1980s by [[Marco Ferraro]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20100326/285164354536152 |title=Ferraro's hack innovation remains curling standard |work=Ottawa Citizen |via=[[PressReader]] |first=Darren |last=DeSaulniers |page=B5 |date=26 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904020234/https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20100326/285164354536152 |archive-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>]]
[[File:Outdoor curling on Stormont Loch - geograph.org.uk - 1655114.jpg|thumb|right|Outdoor curling on Stormont Loch.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bannerman |first=Gordon |title=Curling: Stormont Loch hosts outdoor bonspiel |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/curling-stormont-loch-hosts-outdoor-2747742 |access-date=20 February 2018 |agency=Daily Record |date=11 November 2013 |archive-date=21 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221035646/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/curling-stormont-loch-hosts-outdoor-2747742 |url-status=live }}</ref> The stone is delivered from an iron crampit<ref>{{cite book |last=Syers |first=Edgar and Madge |title=The book of winter sports |date=1908 |publisher=Edward Arnold |location=London |page=29 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bookofwinterspor00syer#page/28/mode/2up/search/crampit |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> rather than the hack used indoors]]

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 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 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.<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=402 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofcurling00kerruoft#page/n433/mode/2up/search/a+basilisk+glance |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref>

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.<ref name="tuckers">{{cite news |title=Team of 'tuckers' |url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/curling/team-of-tuckers-371331851.html |first=Paul |last=Wiecek |newspaper=[[Winnipeg Free Press]]|date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308115915/http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/curling/team-of-tuckers-371331851.html |archive-date=8 March 2016}}</ref>

When the player releases 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 {{frac|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 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 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.