"Curling? That's the bedpan and house brush sport, right?"
- Stone and broom, if you please. The stones are made from Scottish granite and weigh almost 20kg each. The brooms have synthetic bristles unlike the old style which were made with straw.
"20kg? So the winners are always the strongest?"
- Not necessarily. The idea is to get the stone as close to the centre (tee) of a circle as possible.
A point is awarded for each stone closer to the tee than the opponents' best, provided that the stone is within 1.83m of the tee. This area is the house.
Accuracy and timing are key rather than brawn.
"Like all winter sports, the gold medal favourites will come from the coldest countries?"
- Mostly, but Great Britain men's team won the first curling gold at Chamonix in France in 1924 and are the current world champions.
The sport disappeared off the Olympic radar until 1998 when Switzerland took the men's gold while Canada won the women's event. In 2002, the women's gold went to Britain.
"Doesn't sound like the most gripping of sports. Any storylines I should know?"
- Sandra Schmirler skipped the 1998 Canada gold medal team but died two years later at the age of 36 from cancer.
In Turin in 2006, Denmark's women's team needed extra security following outrage in the Muslim world after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
"What should I watch for in Vancouver?"
- Dumping. Sounds unsavoury but it's when a player lifts his broom to leave debris on the ice, slowing down the stones of an opponent.
Canadian teammates Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert and Richard Hart were recently at loggerheads over the issue in a club game.
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