tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/curling-8913/articlesCurling – The Conversation2022-02-14T18:45:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1764632022-02-14T18:45:15Z2022-02-14T18:45:15ZThe slippery science of Olympic curling: we still don’t know how it works<p>Australia’s first ever Olympic curling team <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/curlers-forced-into-heartbreaking-olympics-withdrawal-20220206-p59u6k.html">scored an historic win but missed the medal podium</a> at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. It was a remarkable performance for a team <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/one-man-s-ridiculous-push-to-turn-australia-into-a-curling-nation-20220205-p59u2x.html">lacking any dedicated curling facilities</a> at home. </p>
<p>And that’s important, because it is the special properties of curling ice that allow the heavy curling stones to glide and curve in ways that seem to defy physics. In fact, scientists are still not sure what puts the “curl” in curling. </p>
<h2>Chess on ice</h2>
<p>Curling’s origins date back to 16th-century Scotland, making it <a href="https://worldcurling.org/about/history/">one of the world’s oldest team sports</a>. Like golf – invented around the same time in the same part of the world – curling seems both amusingly pointless and deceptively simple to the untrained eye. </p>
<p>It has been called “chess on ice”, although to many Australians it most resembles frozen lawn bowls. Athletes take turns sliding circular 20-kilogram granite stones along the ice toward the centre of a horizontal target 28 metres away. Teams are awarded points for getting their stones closest to the centre of the target, or “house”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-curling-is-so-gripping-to-watch-91857">Why curling is so gripping to watch</a>
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<h2>Slippery science</h2>
<p>The slippery science behind curling starts with the ice itself. Curling ice must be perfectly flat – far flatter than a typical ice hockey rink – and is sprayed with droplets of water before each game to produce a pebbled surface. This minimises the contact area between the ice and the heavy curling stone.</p>
<p>Curling stones also have a concave lower surface – like the bottom of a beer bottle – that further reduces the contact area between the stone and the ice. The effect is to increase the pressure at the base of the stone, partially melting the ice and reducing friction in a similar way to how ice skates work. </p>
<p>Uniquely among Olympic sports, curling players can change the path of the stone after it has been “thrown”. This is achieved by vigorously sweeping the ice in front of the stone with special brooms that warm the ice and reduce friction, allowing the stone to travel farther and straighter along its path. </p>
<p>Deciding when, where, and how hard to sweep has a big influence on the stone’s trajectory; so naturally it is accompanied by a great deal of enthusiastic yelling. </p>
<h2>Give it a spin</h2>
<p>By adding a small amount of spin, skilled players can make their stone “curl” along a curving path to block an opponent’s stone or knock it out of the way. Even a small amount of rotation can deflect the path of the curling stone by as much as a metre and a half. How exactly the curling stone does this is <a href="https://youtu.be/7CUojMQgDpM">something of a puzzle</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s start with a (literal) tabletop experiment. Slide an upturned glass along a table, adding a little spin as it leaves your hand. With a little practice (and perhaps a few replacement glasses) you will be able to make the glass trace a curving path across the table, deflecting to the left when you spin it clockwise or to the right when you spin it anticlockwise. </p>
<p>The reason for this is explained by a branch of science called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribology">tribology</a>, which studies the effect of friction on moving and sliding objects. </p>
<p>As the glass spins, it rubs against the table top, generating friction that tries to slow down the rotation of the glass. The friction forces are directed <em>opposite</em> to the direction of motion: for a clockwise-rotating glass, friction will be directed to the left at the front of the glass and to the right at the back of the glass. </p>
<p>When the spinning glass slides across the table, it leans forward slightly in the direction of travel, pushing the front lip of the glass down a little harder on the table than the trailing lip. The extra pressure generates extra friction at the front compared to the back. The resulting imbalance of friction forces causes the glass to deflect in the direction of stronger friction – to the left in the case of a clockwise-rotating glass. </p>
<h2>A twist in the tale</h2>
<p>But curling stones behave in exactly the opposite way: a clockwise rotation causes the stone to deflect to the right, not the left. For a long time, scientists assumed this was because of an effect called <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/p96-095?casa_token=I-BZPmap9awAAAAA:-s9g73B59PpwUroGYk8Fbv46XwmGASvq9KNqyEtJItlIx67tUAjLNWkezzM74Wfn3EjxUJwexw8">asymmetrical friction</a>. </p>
<p>The theory goes like this: like a glass pushed across a table, a curling stone leans forward slightly. The extra pressure at the front of the stone partially melts the ice at the leading edge, creating a thin film of water that <em>reduces</em> the friction at the front of stone compared with the back. </p>
<p>The curling stone will still deflect in the direction of stronger friction. But in this case, it is the <em>trailing edge</em> that wins, resulting in a deflection to the <em>right</em> rather than the left, for a clockwise-rotating stone. </p>
<h2>Scratch that</h2>
<p>Like many theories, this explanation was widely accepted until someone got around to actually testing it. In 2012, a team at Uppsala University in Sweden <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11249-013-0135-9">made detailed calculations</a> of the friction forces acting on a sliding stone. </p>
<p>The problem they found is that curling stones rotate quite slowly, only completing a couple of turns before coming to a stop. This spin is far too small to cause a sideways deflection of a metre or more. Even odder, more rotation does not lead to more curl – in fact, spin a stone too hard and it won’t curl at all. Asymmetrical friction cannot explain such behaviour. </p>
<p>The researchers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043164813000732">used an electron microscope</a> to look more closely at the ice under a curling stone. They discovered that the front edge of the stone leaves behind miniscule scratches on the ice in the direction of rotation. These scratches act as a guide for the back edge of the stone, causing the stone to deflect in the direction of rotation. </p>
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<span class="caption">Curling stones make microscopic scratches in the pebbled surface of the ice - and according to one theory, these scratches deflect the stone’s path to the left or right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043164813000732?via%3Dihub"> H. Nyberg, et al., Wear (2013)</a></span>
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<p>The Swedish team then showed that, using this “scratch-guide” mechanism, they could “steer” the sliding stones by adding artificial scratches to the ice in different directions. In one experiment, a stone was made to travel along a zigzag path by laying down scratches in alternating directions. </p>
<p>Their findings ignited a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/physicists-still-dont-know-what-puts-the-curl-in-curling">minor controversy</a> in the admittedly niche world of curling physics. </p>
<p>Competing theories have been proposed, including the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/cjp-2016-0466">pivot-slide model</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5331/bgr.28.1">evaporation-abrasion model</a>, and the <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/p02-072?casa_token=lhb8AAtp71QAAAAA:gUi_J0hlhR3AVyukR2--uTYTH77ZGQ0n4mbD1i5IrGxPsEyLuxNIge4R6j_YZnqW1pkw8G9fEVw">snowplow model</a>. </p>
<p>In 2020, a Japanese team attempted to clear things up by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76660-8">systematically testing each theory</a> in a curling hall using sophisticated motion-tracking equipment, a laser scanning microscope, and some sheets of sandpaper to modify the surface of the curling stone.</p>
<p>However, no clear winner emerged. When it comes to the science of curling, it appears we are just scratching the surface.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shane Keating does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The game of curling is centuries old, but exactly what makes the stones curl as they slide over the ice is still a mystery.Shane Keating, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Oceanography, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/921032018-02-21T01:37:24Z2018-02-21T01:37:24ZExplainer: the doping case against Russian curler Aleksandr Krushelnitckii<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207029/original/file-20180219-116327-n173bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Russian curler Aleksandr Krushelnitckii faces being stripped of his bronze medal from Pyeongchang.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Javier Etxezarreta</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thus far at this year’s Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has brought disciplinary proceedings against <a href="http://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html">three athletes</a> suspected of doping. One of them is <a href="http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Release_ADD_p2018__English__2.pdf">Aleksandr Krushelnitckii</a>, who won bronze in the mixed curling event. He has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/18/winter-olympics-russian-athlete-reportedly-fails-drugs-test">tested positive for meldonium</a>.</p>
<p>Some have delighted in noting that the strange “broom and stone” sport of curling had been “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/sports/olympics/olympic-curling-doping-reaction.html">rocked</a>” by the doping allegation. It has also raised memories of Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, <a href="https://theconversation.com/centre-court-and-15-love-cas-reduces-sharapova-ban-66747">who was banned</a> for 15 months after testing positive to meldonium in 2016.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/centre-court-and-15-love-cas-reduces-sharapova-ban-66747">Centre court and 15-love: CAS reduces Sharapova ban</a>
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<p>Krushelnitckii is also Russian, though technically competing in Pyeongchang as an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR). This is the term the IOC has given to the 160 or so Russian athletes deemed eligible to compete despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/russias-humiliating-ban-from-the-winter-olympics-is-the-right-move-to-protect-integrity-in-sport-88689">the continuing suspension</a> of the Russian Olympic Committee over doping allegations at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/russias-humiliating-ban-from-the-winter-olympics-is-the-right-move-to-protect-integrity-in-sport-88689">Russia's humiliating ban from the Winter Olympics is the right move to protect integrity in sport</a>
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<h2>Krushelnitckii and the ‘sabotage’ defence</h2>
<p>The construction of the case against Krushelnitckii seems straightforward; his routine doping sample has come back positive for meldonium.</p>
<p>Although he left the Olympic Village <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-19/russian-curler-leaves-olympic-village-amid-doping-probe/9461116">without comment</a>, it seems his defence will be that a fellow competitor – disgruntled at having not been selected to go to the Olympics – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/19/russian-curler-banished-from-winter-olympics-after-failed-drug-test">spiked or sabotaged his drink</a> with the prohibited substance.</p>
<p>The burden of proof with this defence will be on Krushelnitckii. The “someone spiked my drink” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2018/feb/20/facts-fiction-drug-tests-japanese-kayakers-winter-games-krushelnitsky">defence</a> is rarely credibly argued in doping cases and even more seldom successful.</p>
<p>In the build-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed a decision by India’s National Anti-Doping Agency that annulled a doping infraction against wrestler <a href="http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Award_16-25_FINAL.pdf">Narsingh Yadav</a>. The Indian body had accepted Yadav’s plea of “sabotage by another”, and the annulment permitted him to be selected to compete in Rio.</p>
<p>But, days before his first bout, WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).</p>
<p>CAS imposed a four-year ban on Yadav. It argued any contention that seeks to undermine the scientific integrity of a positive test needs more than vague, circumstantial assertions by the athlete that persons unknown and at a time unknown had the motive and opportunity to conspire to sabotage the athlete’s sample.</p>
<p>Also, in the Yadav case, the expert scientific witness noted that the prohibited substance in question – a steroid – would not have dissolved fully, and Yadav would likely have noticed sediment in his drink bottle.</p>
<p>Although the Yadav case gives an insight into the difficulties Krushelnitckii’s defence will face, athletes have, on occasion, mounted successful sabotage defences.</p>
<p>The most-celebrated example at CAS was that of Belgian judoka <a href="http://www.espn.com.au/skiing/judo/story/_/id/11175506/charline-van-snick-wins-doping-appeal-loses-medal">Charline Van Snick</a>. She tested positive for cocaine at the 2013 World Championships and faced a two-year ban, but claimed that someone must have sabotaged her drink bottle with the substance.</p>
<p>At CAS, she provided detailed toxicology reports showing she was not a habitual user of the drug. This evidence, combined with the spiked bottle’s testing results, was enough to <a href="http://wadc-commentary.com/vansnick/">clear her of wrongdoing</a>.</p>
<p>The only other example of the “spiking” defence being successful is where the athlete has specific evidence against another person – usually a rival or disaffected member of that athlete’s entourage – who had the motive and access to carry out the act.</p>
<p>A very recent example of this occurred last month. One of Japan’s top sprint canoeists, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/japanese-kayaker-yasuhiro-suzuki-banned-for-eight-years-for-spiking-rivals-drink-20180109-h0g01f.html">32-year-old Yasuhiro Suzuki</a>, was banned for eight years for spiking a younger rival’s drink with an anabolic steroid. The rivalry between the two had, by all accounts, intensified as their preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics began in earnest.</p>
<h2>The wider context</h2>
<p>Returning to Krushelnitckii, many will probably roll their eyes at his purported defence and dismiss it as just another Russian excuse.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leeigel/2018/02/20/russian-doping-case-in-olympic-curling-isnt-what-it-appears-to-be/#2a5ccbc7423b">something odd</a> about the circumstances. All those on the OAR team would have known they would be subject to enhanced testing in the immediate weeks prior to, and during, the Olympics. </p>
<p>And Krushelnitckii was, it seems, independently tested at the end of January <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1061644/russian-mixed-doubles-curling-bronze-medallist-reportedly-fails-drugs-test">at a training camp in Japan</a> before his departure to Pyeongchang. The results were negative.</p>
<p>OAR participants would also have been acutely aware that they were part of a <a href="https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/oar-doping-violation-may-prevent-country-from-reinstatement-before-closing-ceremony.html">sophisticated political choreography</a> between Russia and the IOC, which it is claimed may even have resulted in athletes <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-21/russian-curler-b-sample-tests-positive-meldonium/9468402?section=sport">entering the closing ceremony</a> under the Russian flag and in the national uniform. Krushelnitckii’s positive test now puts <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/19/ioc-should-not-even-think-reinstating-russia-curling-doping/350404002/">pressure on the IOC</a> not to allow this. </p>
<p>And the closing ceremony in Pyeongchang was an opportunity for Russia to draw a line under the past four years of doping allegations, in a year when it hosts another big sporting event – the FIFA World Cup.</p>
<p>A more immediate question is why an athlete might take a substance such as meldonium. It is widely used for treating different heart and vascular diseases and helps improve circulation, particularly in the brain. In terms of its <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/14/482010754/what-does-it-take-to-get-a-drug-banned-for-enhancing-athletes-performance">performance-enhancing qualities</a>, it appears it could have a positive effect on an athlete’s stamina and concentration.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/maria-sharapovas-positive-drug-test-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-her-55927">Maria Sharapova's positive drug test: what is it and what does it mean for her?</a>
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<p>Although the immediate reaction of many was to <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/winter-olympics-the-big-question-over-curler-s-doping-why">treat doping in curling as a joke</a>, the pressurised nature of an Olympics and the demands it makes on athletes – both physically and mentally – could, presumably, tempt someone to use meldonium.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Anderson is a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.</span></em></p>Athletes have, on occasion, mounted successful defences of sabotage in doping cases.Jack Anderson, Professor of Sports Law, Melbourne Law School, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/918572018-02-15T09:17:04Z2018-02-15T09:17:04ZWhy curling is so gripping to watch<p>Curling has been described as <a href="https://www.chess.com/article/view/why-is-this-olympic-sport-called-chess-on-ice">chess on ice</a>. It is a game of great strategy and skill. A steely nerve is required to deliver the stone when the pressure is on and there is no room for error. The cultural theorist Raymond Williams <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Raymond-Williams-on-Television-Routledge-Revivals-Selected-Writings/Williams/p/book/9780415509299">once remarked</a> that he would keep his television set for the sport alone. The former wrestler and A-Team actor Mr T also recently revealed that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43057789">he’s a fan</a>. </p>
<p>At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, almost <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/hi/english/curling/newsid_1836000/1836528.stm">six million people</a> across the UK stayed up late into the evening to watch a team of Scottish women secure a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoJzmmsOeW8">gold medal</a> for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the curling. Once only covered in Scottish local newspapers, the sport suddenly adorned the front pages of Britain’s most popular media. Rhona Martin and her team captured the attention of the nation and briefly became <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/feb/08/curling-women-olympics-gold-fame">celebrities</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/winter-olympics-2022-the-event-that-almost-nobody-wants-to-host-32583">Winter Olympics</a> may not have the same hype or glamour as the Summer Olympics but for two weeks, viewers can temporarily become winter sport enthusiasts – armchair ones at least. </p>
<p>Sporting events frequently feature among the list of biggest television audiences. Sport is a particularly powerful tool for bringing together an imagined community of millions through the performances of <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/01443330710741084">national teams</a>. South Africa’s victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wh4MPGp68A">is a powerful example</a> of this.</p>
<p>All sorts of sports have captured the attention of television audiences. In the UK, the huge popularity of darts and snooker during the 1980s saw some unlikely sportsmen prominent in television schedules. But this is not to suggest that curling is just like darts or snooker. The modern-day curler, funded in the UK by UK Sport, is an athlete with a rigid strength and conditioning programme and a battery of sport scientists behind every facet of their schedule. If you don’t consider it to be physically challenging, try to play it and then see if you still have functioning hamstrings the next day.</p>
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<p>Curling works well for television because the slow pace of the game and the close-up camera shots of the players allow us to share in the emotions of the event. There is the drama of victory and defeat. There is the teamship and camaraderie that so clearly comes across on the screen.</p>
<h2>Nothing wrong with ordinary</h2>
<p>One of the main reasons that the 2002 gold medal winners were so readily embraced by the British media was that they appeared to be so ordinary. In an age of hyperbole and overstated claims, the word ordinary is often now used as a derogatory term. But we really need to reclaim it. </p>
<p>In some ways, to be an ordinary Olympian is something of an oxymoron, as Olympic athletes have extraordinary talents. In an age where “celebrity” athletes are ever more distant and dislocated from the communities that originally nurtured and supported them, there is something reassuring about sportspeople on the television who are in many ways more like us than multi-millionaire super athletes. For example, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/43033902">Muirhead siblings</a> are a big part of Team GB’s 2018 curling teams, but still require support back in Scotland to keep things in order. </p>
<p>Curling does not have the high-risk thrills and spills of ski jumping or skeleton where athletes career at <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-freestyle-skiers-and-snowboarders-learn-to-pace-their-fear-90735">great speed</a> with seemingly little regard for personal safety. And curling has had some quite negative press in the past, with the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-curlers-sweep-the-ice-2014-2?IR=T">sweeping action</a> – used to warm up the ice and reduce friction – likened to “cleaning a house” in comments that fail to recognise the great skill involved. </p>
<p>At a time when there are more and more television channels available, but often with seemingly nothing at all worth watching on them, the Winter Olympics offers a temporary reprieve from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Of course, sport comes with its own <a href="https://theconversation.com/north-and-south-korea-extend-hands-of-peace-after-symbolic-olympic-opening-ceremony-90569">politics and diplomacy</a>, particularly when the Olympics are held in South Korea. And the battle for supremacy at the top of the medal table speaks to a wider jockeying for position in the world order.</p>
<p>Marge and Homer Simpson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUP8lFwpN7E">took to the ice</a> in The Simpsons in 2010 ahead of the Olympic Games in Vancouver and helped take curling to a wider audience. Four years earlier, the website of US Curling crashed as so many people attempted to access the site after watching Team USA on television. <a href="http://www.scottishcurling.org/development/junior-curling/curlings-cool/">Curling is cool</a>, and those who govern the sport will hope that more people will give the sport a try now it’s back on the world’s TV screens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s slow, precise, emotional – and made for television.John Harris, Associate Dean Research, Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/229892014-02-10T15:10:43Z2014-02-10T15:10:43ZCurling: how the Scots keep Team GB medal hopes on ice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41155/original/pwbgzchh-1392030859.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Team GB's gold medal hopes are pinned on the Scottish curling team.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benson Kua</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jenny Jones’ bronze medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle has rekindled excitement in Britain for the Sochi games following much controversy over the cost and human rights and security fears in Russia. Jones’ success is Britain’s first ever medal on snow. Ice has been the traditional field of triumph with our last two golds coming from the skeleton in 2006 and curling in 2002.</p>
<p>Curling continues to be a key constituent of Britain’s medals hopes. Both the men’s and women’s curling teams are strong contenders for a spot on the podium. After investing £14m, more than double spent on preparations for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Liz Nicholl, UK Sports chief executive, has said: “If we achieve three that is hugely significant.” The official target is three to seven medals. But curling represents more than just Britain’s medal hopes, it has an important function in society – something that’s worth remembering in the politics surrounding the games.</p>
<h2>Sporting politics</h2>
<p>All major sporting events convey political messages as they have from Vancouver to Sochi, South Africa to Brazil where the FIFA World Cup will take place this summer. On Friday David Cameron and Alex Salmond contested the politics of London 2012 and the upcoming 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Speaking from the Olympic Park, Cameron <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/07/david-cameron-scottish-independence-referendum-olympic-park">made a plea</a> to keep the red, white and blue of Team GB together.</p>
<p>Politics should not crowd out other stories about the way in which sport works for society. Similarly, a narrow focus on the economic cost and return of sport is unfortunate – because stories about how sport can make a difference to communities sometimes get lost. With around 30% of team GB in Sochi being Scottish, there is a smaller yet significant story to tell about Scottish curling and its place in society.</p>
<p>Scottish curlers have played a significant part in Team GB over the years which makes the sport unique – and they have contributed disproportionately to our haul of Winter Olympic gold medals. Meanwhile in an era when the legacies from major sporting events are contested, softer legacies from sports such as curling are not insignificant.</p>
<p>Both the men’s and the women’s curling teams competing in Sochi are composed entirely of Scots. The 2014 Sochi “chef de mission” to Team GB is Mike Hay, a medal-winning former curler who was coach to the GB women’s curling team skippered by Rhona Martin (a Scot) that won the 2002 gold in Salt Lake City – the first gold for Team GB since Torvil and Dean’s Sarajevo triumph in 1984.</p>
<h2>Scotland’s roarin’ game</h2>
<p>The importance of curling past and present to Scotland should not be underestimated. In an era when the legacies attached to major sporting events are often questioned, curling’s legacy is as a hub of activity for communities north and south, both men and women, rural and urban. The associational bonds of friendship and community forged through curling can be more important than the economic return. These bonds cross generations as expertise and knowledge is passed on from generation to generation or community to community. </p>
<p>As Daniel Tarschys, former secretary-general of the Council of Europe, points out: “The hidden face of sport is the tens of thousands of enthusiasts who find in sport a place for meeting and exchange.” He viewed sport as “training ground for community life or the ideal school for the making of democracy”. This is perhaps something that is only realised when small rinks are threatened with closure to make way for bigger more commercial city-based rinks.</p>
<p>Curling’s pedigree in Scotland pre-dates the first ever Winter Olympic Games. Known as the “Roarin’ Game” because of the sound the stones make on the ice, the origins of curling are debated but it is one of at least four sports that Scotland has a cultural right to fight over. Stirling’s Smith Art Gallery and Museum claim to have the world’s oldest curling stone, which dates back to 1511.</p>
<p>At one time, curling was the most popular sport in Scotland – more popular even than football. The Royal Caledonian Curling Club, given the royal charter in 1843, grew from 28 affiliated clubs and 893 members in 1838 to 465 affiliated clubs and more than 18,000 members in 1888. Today there are still <a href="http://royalcaledoniancurlingclub.org/clubs-members/club-websites">more than 150 curling clubs</a> in Scotland.</p>
<p>The game has produced a host of songs that add further testament to its place in Scottish communities. As weather permitted a comprehensive system of curling ponds or “bonspiels” existed prior to the development of indoor links. Grand matches of curlers started in 1847 with the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jan/08/bonspiel-scotland-curling-match-cancelled">last recorded match</a> consisting of more than 2,500 curlers taking place in February 1979.</p>
<p>Legacies from Scotland to Sochi should not just be measured in medals. Success is not just cost per medal but also the social networks, friends and associations the sports like curling spawn. This is where our focus should be in lending our support to Team GB on its Olympic endeavour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Jarvie receives funding from UK research councils and both Scottish and UK governments. He is affiliated with Sportscotland. He is fully employed by the University of Edinburgh. This article is written in his capacity as Chair of Sport at the University of Edinburgh where he leads Edinburgh Sports Research. </span></em></p>Jenny Jones’ bronze medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle has rekindled excitement in Britain for the Sochi games following much controversy over the cost and human rights and security fears in Russia…Grant Jarvie, Chair of Sport, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.