Curling Strategy

Curling Strategy York Curling Club November 14, 2010 Jack Inouye ** Click your mouse to move through the slides ** Credit to John Falkingham for providing the starting PowerPoint slides.

Basic Concepts Getting Started Playing the End Other Factors to Consider Strengths and Weaknesses It’s a Team Game – A role for everybody Missing on the “pro-side” Strategies for Beating the Clock Outline

Free Guard Zone Area from which you cannot remove an opposition rock from play prior to your team’s 3rd rock of the end Hammer Last rock of the end Steal Win the end without the hammer Force Force the opponent to take one point Definitions

With the hammer, Objective to score two points Anything more is a bonus Without the hammer, Try to steal one point At least force your opponent to only one point Be patient Don’t get greedy Big ends happen by themselves Basic Concepts

With the hammer, Play to the wings Play in the rings Basic Concepts

Hammer 1 4 8 8 7 Leave Yourself A Shot At The 4 Foot With Last Rock 6 5 3 2

With the hammer, Play to the wings Play in the rings Without the hammer, Play to the centre Control the front of the house Basic Concepts

Hammer 4 ? 5 8 1 6 2 8 3 7 If you control the front of the house, how does the opposition get to the 4 foot with last rock?

Lead stones determine how the rest of the end will play out Without the hammer: 1st stone should be in front of the house straddling the centre line Getting Started

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Hammer Center Guard 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer Could Change Strategy For Play This End 1 1 Rock is Heavy Ends Up In the House 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Lead stones determine how the rest of the end will play out Without the hammer: 1st stone should be in front of the house straddling the centre line With the hammer: If you get the chance, corner guard Getting Started

8 7 6 5 4 3 Hammer 1 2 2 1 Corner Guard Opposition Now Has To Execute A More Difficult Shot 8 7 6 5 4 3

Lead stones determine how the rest of the end will play out Without the hammer: 1st stone should be in front of the house straddling the centre line With the hammer: If you get the chance, corner guard Another option is to go top of the 4 foot Getting Started

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer Offensive Play 1 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

After the first two stones, the possibilities are limitless Remember your basic strategy With the hammer, Play to the wings, Play in the rings Without the hammer, Play to the centre, Control the front … but don’t be a slave to it Take advantages of your opponent’s miscues Know when to switch gears! Playing the End

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer Or Throw Up Another Corner Guard 1 1 1 Come Around The Corner Guard Corner Guard Instead Of Center Guard 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

With the hammer Get rid of the centre guards as soon as you can those are the stones that will permit your opponent to steal the end Without the hammer Keep putting up centre guards Control the front Don’t go for the house too early Playing the End

8 7 6 5 4 3 Hammer 2 1 1 2 8 7 6 5 4 3

8 7 6 5 4 3 Hammer 3 1 1 2 2 8 7 6 5 4

8 7 6 5 4 Hammer 3 1 1 2 2 3 8 7 6 5 4

Opponents rocks behind the T-line are your friends Don’t be too eager to take them out – especially if you don’t have the hammer Use the “freeze” to make it more difficult to remove your rock from play Playing the End

8 7 6 5 4 Hammer 1 1 3 3 4 2 2 3 8 7 6 5

What End is being played? What is the Score? Play the score board! Ice Conditions How good are you? How good are they? Other Factors To Consider

Early ends - play more conservative, defensive. Fewer rocks in play Team gets acclimatized to ice conditions Low risk of giving up big end early in game Without hammer, play into top 4 foot Hammer – play hit Change broom location and turn so you can get a read on different parts of the ice. What End Is Being Played

Middle and late ends - play more aggressive, offensive. More rocks in play Good shot execution required Improves chances of scoring multiple points Without hammer, play center guard, freezes Hammer – come around or corner guard There are other factors to consider on how you call your end. What End Is Being Played

Down by considerable margin late in game Aggressive or Offensive Corner guards with hammer Center guards without hammer, multiple guards desired Get lot of rocks in play Opposition rocks are your friends don’t take them out Lose by 1 or lose by 10 Freeze or bump them back behind the T-Line They become “catchers” Score–Play the score board!

Sizable lead late in game Conservative or Defensive On rings to the wings or through with hammer Top 4 foot without hammer, keep play in the house in front of T-Line Minimize number of rocks in play Clear guards as soon as possible Remove any opposition stones on the rings Don’t always have to go for shot rock Be aware of angles when clearing guards Score–Play the score board!

Skip must get a read on the ice Learn from every rock – even if broom is missed Watch how the rock is released Watch opposition stones as well Straight Ice Come around – difficult to execute Play tight guards and tap-up Ice Conditions

Know your team – play to their strengths If you don’t know your team, draws are generally better than take-outs Takeouts require skip and shooter to be in sync – there are many ways to miss If a take-out misses, that’s all there is Draws require shooter to find the right weight and skip to find the right broom – but separately A missed draw can often still be useful Strengths and Weaknesses

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer Draw provides more options Ideal Result 1 1 2 Heavy 2 2 Light 8 7 6 5 4 3

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer Missed hit is a lost shot 1 1 2 8 7 6 5 4 3

If you are going to play a draw game, commit to it Don’t go after the FLOB Last 3 words of the acronym “Little Outside Biter” Use your imagination for the first word. It takes nerves and patience – and occasionally you’ll lose a big end and a big game Strengths and Weaknesses

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Hammer FLOB 1 1 2 2 2 8 7 6 5 4 3

Lead is key position on the team Positioning of lead rocks will dictate the strategy for the end. Lead should have a strong draw game Second and third need to be able to throw takeouts and make finesse draw shots. All three should be strong sweepers It’s A Team Game

The Skip needs to: be able manage the skills on his team and adopts the strategy that best suits the team be able to make the last shot, draw, tap or hit, under pressure be able to read ice, releases and adjust strategy and shot selection to suit. Skips do not need to know how to sweep! It’s A Team Game

Nobody’s perfect Missing on the “pro” side means erring in a way that does the least damage Depending on the situation: Light is better than heavy Through is better than behind the T-Line Always be aware of plan B and C shots If shooter is inside, outside, light or heavy Everyone on the team should be aware and communicating weight and watching release Pro-Side Misses

Plan ahead, knowing some basics of strategy Plan your next shot based on anticipating what your opposition will call Assume that your opponents will make the shot you anticipate This will reduce the time taken thinking about what shot to call Strategies For Beating the Clock

Bank time early in the game Takeouts take less time than draws You may want to consider playing a couple of ends up and down (in the house and lot of takeouts) Fewer rocks in play, less to consider Team must be in position and ready to shoot when the skip puts the broom down At the end of the end, leads grab #1 rock and go to the hack, let others clear rocks Strategies For Beating the Clock

With Hammer – Play to wings Score 2 points Make sure skip has a shot to the 4 foot with last rock Without Hammer – Play to the middle Steal or Force 1 Make it difficult for opposition skip to get to the 4 foot with his last rock Summary

These are some basics, however, Curling Strategy is not cut and dry! Use what works for you! Summary

GOOGLE – “Basic Curling Strategy” CurlTech – a number of articles Curling Strategy: An unsanctioned, unofficial, un-censored collection of half-baked concepts by a confirmed curling amateur John Falkingham GOOGLE – “Curling Strategy With Numbers” References

Curling Strategy