How To Watch Curling In The Olympics

While not the most popular sport of the winter games, learning how to watch curling in the Olympics will make the event quite enjoyable.  Before you find an Olympic curling event to watch, be sure to know how the game is played, the tournament format and the teams to keep an eye out for.  Once you have that basic information, you can find a game to watch live on television or online, or a historical game from past games.

1. Understand the object of the game.  In each game of curling, teams take turns sliding specialized curling stones, also known as rocks, down a sheet of ice towards a target.  Teams score points based on which rocks land nearest the center of the target.   
2. Know the gameplay.  During each of the ten ends, or portions of each game, two teams throw eight stones each.  After each stone is thrown, two team members use specialized brooms to sweep the ice, allowing the stone's movement to change, or curl.  Teams alternate throwing first during the game, with the team scoring the most points after ten ends winning the game.
3. Learn the tournament format.  In Olympic curling, ten teams compete in each of the men's and women's events.  Teams qualify for a place in the tournament by their performance in the World Curling Championships.  Each team then competes in a nine-game preliminary round, playing each of the other teams once.  Based on the standings from the preliminary round, the top five teams move on to the bracket-style medal round.  The winner of the gold-medal game wins gold, with the runner up taking silver.  The next two teams in the bracket compete for the bronze medal.
4. Get familiar with the teams.  Since curling was reintroduced to the Winter Olympics in 1998, a handful of teams have dominated the podiums.  In the men's competition, Canada, Switzerland and Norway have won all but two of the medals each year.  On the women's side, Sweden, Switzerland and Canada have dominated, medaling in each of the competitions.
5. Watch live Olympic curling on television.  Every four years during the month of February, the Winter Olympics are held, with the events televised on certain networks.  During that time, you can tune in to watch curling in the Olympics by finding the correct television station, NBC in the United States and CTV in Canada, and checking the listing to find out when curling is televised.
6. Find Olympic curling online.  For those unable to be near a television during the Winter Olympics, many websites offer live streaming and videos of Olympic curling.  Check the official site for the Olympic Games as well as network websites, such as NBCOlympics.com, to find Olympic curling.
7. View older Olympic curling games.  Unless you are tuning in during a current Winter Olympics, it's likely you will not find live Olympic curling on television.  This does not mean you cannot watch curling in the Olympics as games are archived, then sold on DVD and available to watch online for enjoyment around the year.