How to Get the Last Rock in Curling

Curling involves two teams sliding stones along an ice sheet to see which team can get their stones closest to the target. The team that throws the last rock in each end, or round of play in curling, has the advantage. There are eight ends in a game. Team members can clear their opponents' stones or slide their stone closest to the target without the chance of it being removed by the other team. Getting the last rock takes some luck and some strategy.

Things You'll Need

  • Coin
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Instructions

    • 1

      Ask one curler from each team to toss a coin. Call heads or tails when the coin is in the air. The team that wins the coin toss chooses whether to have the last rock, called the hammer, in the first end of the game.

    • 2

      Lose the end. The loser automatically gets the hammer in the next end.

    • 3

      Blank the end. If you have last rock, you can try to keep it in the next end by intentionally leaving no stones in the scoring area. Remove all of your opponent's stones from the scoring area, and make sure your team's stones are not touching the scoring area.