2010 Curling - Women's Seating Chart

Curling is a sport unfamiliar to most Americans, but it is extremely popular over in Europe.

It is often described as being similar to bowls or shuffleboard to those that are not familiar with the sport.

It is believed to have been invented in Medieval times in Scotland, however it did not become an Olympic sports until 1998.

Because curling was invented in Europe, European teams tend to dominate the sport in the Olympics. Sweden and Finland are two of the top teams, while Canada and Japan are solid as well.

It consists of two teams releasing a large stone down the ice and trying to get it to come to a stop within a small circle.

As the stone glides down the ice, team members slide alongside of it, sweeping the ice in front of it to keep it moving.

As important as athletic and skating abilities are in this sport, it also takes a lot of teamwork, focus, concentration and intelligence to determine how hard and fast to sweep.

One major note of importance with curling is the high regard of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is much more important in curling than many other sports, as mistakes by an opponent are not to be celebrated.