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Throughout the curling world, Scotland is recognised as the home of the game, despite claims from the Nederlands that
it originated in the Low Countries. These claims are based on paintings by the great Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel (c.1525-9), whose landscapes The Hunters in the Snow and Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird Trap
show a primitive game resembling curling being played on frozen ponds. In the 16th century, Flemish merchants traded extensively with Scotland and it is natural to assume that the interchange of ideas between the two
countries included discussions on sport and recreation. An important point in favour of Scottish origin, however, is that over hundreds of years a wide variety of ancient curling stones have been salvaged from drained
areas and unearthed in diggings throughout the country. No such relics have ever been found in the Nederlands, a possible explanation being that the Dutch game was played with frozen lumps of earth and the Scots claim
that a game played with clods of earth cannot reasonably be called curling! In the early days, curling was played predominantly by the agricultural community, farmers taking to the ice when the plough was
frozen in the furrow. Curling stones cost nothing, except the effort to lift suitable slabs from river beds. The oldest type was known as a 'kuting' (or 'quoiting') stone, and had grooves for fingers and thumb; it is
assumed that it was thrown on the ice with a quoiting action. The common name for the stone is a 'loofie', loof being the old Scots word for the palm of the hand. Channel stones, taken from the channels of rivers and
thus worn smooth, represent the next stage of curling stone development. Local blacksmiths inserted rough handles and Scottish clubs vied with each other in providing bigger and bigger stones for the annual bonspiels
against neighbouring parishes, the object being to hurl a massive block into the 'house' (circles cut in the ice) and then challenge the opposition to dislodge it. The Jubilee Stone, which is on display at the Royal
Caledonian Curling Club in Edinburgh, weighs 117 lb and is the supreme example of the strength for strength's sake era of the game. Towards the end of the 18th century, the rough boulder changed to a
rounded stone, which introduced science to the sport. When the handle of the stone was turned, imparting the in hand or out hand motion, similar to, the bias in bowls, the stone drew from left or right in a
predetermined path. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was universally recognised that there was an urgent need for regulations, playing rules and the standardisation of stones for challenge matches. Thus, the
Grand Caledonian Curling Club was instituted in 1838. The national club, which has always been based in Edinburgh, soon became international, as curling was introduced by Scottish emigrants to many overseas countries.
In 1842, it was honoured by royal patronage after the president, the earl of Mansfield, demonstrated the game to Queen Victoria and the prince consort on the ballroom floor at Scone Palace. The Grand Caledonian became
the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, recognised worldwide as the mother club of the game. The most spectacular Royal Club event is the Grand Match between the north and south of Scotland, with 2400
curlers in play at one of four possible sites, Loch Leven, the Lake of Menteith, Lindores Loch or Stormont Loch. Detailed preparations for the match are made each year, but the hard work of many committees is often a
labour of love, as all depends on the vagaries of Jack Frost. Prolonged hard spells are needed to provide the 7in of black ice necessary to take the weight of the curlers, stones and equipment, including the picnic
baskets and refreshments that add to the excitement and camaraderie of the occasion. Almost every page of the history of Scottish curling contains references to scheduled bonspiels being ruined by sudden thaws. All this
changed with the advent of indoor ice rinks 80 years ago. The rinks not only provide continuous play throughout the winter, but also well prepared ice surfaces, which have improved the quality of play. It
was only a step to overseas exchange tours, with Canada, easily the largest curling nation, the United States and countries in Scandinavia, and continental Europe, and a further step to international competitions,
culminating in the world championships for men, ladies and juniors. The 1988 European championships for men and women at Perth attracted teams from 14 countries. In the highly competitive curling world, the top players
have become younger and younger and the delivery of the curling stone has changed dramatically, from a standing to a long sliding delivery with non stick material on the soles of the curling shoes. Sweeping, with
brushes or corn brooms, has become more powerful and efficient in younger hands, and a match win feature. Top class sweeping in front of a stone can bring it yards further on keen ice. The game is booming everywhere
from the furthest curling outpost in New Zealand to the unlikely equatorial setting of Abidjan on the Ivory Coast. In Scotland new rinks are springing up all over the country. There were eight rinks in 1964; over 50 in
1998. The modern game is a far cry from the days when curlers rose at dawn and crossed the neighbouring hill to the bonspiel. But one thing remains constant, the fellowship of curling that is the hallmark of the game. |
