What Is Curling—And Why Is There a Dishonest Scandal?

Welcome to your go-to guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics. We’re tracking everything—from real-life heated rivalries (yes, they exist) to under-the-radar sports and surprise standouts—so you can catch up on all of our coverage in one place.

If you’ve come across a curling match during the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, you were probably at least a little intrigued. It may seem like a sleepy activity, devoid of any action or excitement, but think again. Curling is a challenging sport, and that is why there’s an alleged cheating scandal stirring up controversy at the Winter Games.

Curling is often considered more of a “slow” winter event, especially when compared to other ones that involve speed, flips, leaps, tumbles, and catching a whole lot of air. However, what this game lacks in dazzling feats, it makes up for with skill and suspense. Still, to the untrained eye, spotting the action isn’t always obvious. That’s one reason you may hear people poke fun at the sport, joking that the furious ice-sweeping looks more like housecleaning than an athletic event.

But curling deserves respect: After all, with origins in the 16th century, it’s one of the oldest team sports in the world. And once you learn more about it, including why it’s called curling, how it’s won, and what the players are really yelling about, you’ll realize this game can be chock-full of excitement too.

What is curling and when did it become an Olympic sport?

Curling is a team sport—made up of four players on each single-gendered team, or teams of two in mixed doubles—that takes place on ice. Players are equipped with their own brush as well as special dual-soled shoes, which allow them to either slide on the ice or grip the ice.

The goal of curling is to slide 44-pound granite stones toward a target, known as a house, in the center of the ice. To help the granite stones get to their target, players on the team are allowed to start sweeping the ice after it’s thrown. This helps clear away debris that can slow the stone down or mess with its path; sweeping also slightly melts the ice, which makes the stone move faster.

According to the Smithsonian, curling gets its name from how the stone turns (or curls) at the end of its path on the ice.

Curling made its Olympic debut at the first-ever Winter Games in Chamonix, France, in 1924. However, the sport didn’t appear on the Olympic program again until the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The women’s game made its Olympic debut in 1998, and mixed doubles were added to the program at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

How do you win at curling?

Curling is typically played over 10 ends or rounds. In four-person curling, each team takes turns throwing eight stones each round. The teams alternate throws, and 16 stones total are thrown each round. The lead throws the first two rocks, the second throws the second two rocks, the third throws the third two, and the skip, or the captain, throws the last two.