Winter Olympics 2026: How does curling work?

At the last Winter Olympics in Beijing four years ago, Team GB won a total of two medals. Both came in the sport of curling.

And as the 2026 event in Milan-Cortina gets going, the 10 Scots in the team will again be among the favourites to return home with ribbons around their necks.

So, best get an idea of how curling works…

Some people will have a rough grasp. Two teams take turns to slide granite stones down a 45m-plus sheet of ice towards a target, with those 20kg stones accompanied on their journey by two players brushing furiously. More on that later.

The tactical mastery required has led it to be called “chess on ice”, but it might also be considered as “bowls on ice”.

At Olympic level, the rinks – as players are also known – compete in the men’s, women’s and mixed competitions.

The first two involve teams of four, and the latter teams of two, with slightly modified rules. We’ll explain that in a bit, too…