Curling Through Time: Vintage Photos of Curling Teams from the Early 20th Century

The story of curling begins in medieval Scotland, where the game was born on frozen lakes using stones and brooms. Over time, the rules were formalized, turning a casual activity into a structured game.

In 1838, the Grand Caledonian Curling Club established standardized rules, laying the foundation for the modern game we know today.

The word curling first appeared in print in 1620 in Perth, Scotland, in the prologue and stanzas of a poem by Henry Adamson.

In Scottish-inhabited areas such as Scotland and southern New Zealand the game was also called the "roaring game" because of the sound made by stones when passing over pebbles (drops of water on the playing surface). It was also called "game". ,

The verbal noun curling is derived from the Scots (and English) verb curl, which describes the movement of a stone.

The allure of curling lies in its simplicity, which hides the strategic intricacies that make it compelling.

Play is played on a sheet of ice with concentric circles called "houses", with teams taking turns sliding heavy granite stones toward the center. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two stones.

The objective is to accumulate the highest score for a game; At the conclusion of each end points are scored for the stones closest to the center of the house, which is completed when both teams have thrown all their stones once. A game usually has eight or ten ends.

A "skip", or team captain, guides strategic choices, while other players clear the ice to control the speed and direction of the puck. This interplay between skill, teamwork and strategy defines the beauty of curling on ice.

The path of the rock may be further affected by two sweepers with brooms or brushes, who move along the sheet while sliding it down and clearing the snow from the front of the stone.

"Cleaning the rock" reduces friction, allowing the stone to travel a straighter path (with fewer turns) and longer distances.

In the early history of curling, playing stones were flat-bottomed stones obtained from rivers or fields, lacked handles and were of inconsistent size, shape, and smoothness.

Some early stones had holes for fingers and thumbs, similar to ten-pin bowling balls. Unlike today, the thrower had little control over 'curl' or velocity and relied more on luck than accuracy, skill and strategy.

The game was often played on frozen rivers, although purpose-built ponds were later built in many Scottish towns.

Outdoor curling was very popular in Scotland between the 16th and 19th centuries because the climate provided good snow conditions every winter.

Scotland is home to the World Curling Federation in Perth, the international governing body for curling, which originated as a committee of curling's mother club, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

In the 19th century, several private railway stations in the United Kingdom were built to serve curlers attending bonspiels, such as those at Aboyne, Carsbrake and Drummuir.

Today, the game is most firmly established in Canada, having been taken there by Scottish immigrants.

The Royal Montreal Curling Club is the oldest established sports club still active in North America, founded in 1807.

The first curling club in the United States was founded in 1830, and the sport was introduced to Switzerland and Sweden by the Scots before the end of the 19th century.

Curling has been a medal sport at the Winter Olympic Games since the 1998 Winter Olympics.

It currently consists of men's, women's and mixed doubles tournaments (the mixed doubles competition was first held in 2018).