How nets became the installation of choice for the Winter Olympics

It’s like clockwork. Every four years, an entirely new group finds themselves unexpectedly fascinated by curling. It’s easy to see why. There’s an element of pornographic efficiency to watching eager athletes masterfully doing something that to the rest of the world might look like bocce on ice. Accurate stone throwing and precise sweeping. It’s amazing. As the 2026 Winter Olympics begin in Italy, viewers are in awe.

But as audiences settle in to learn all about the modern version of the game and all the gadgets that come with it, attention should be paid to the curlers of the past — and what their gameplay tells us about what Earth’s climate used to be.

The first written record of curling dates back to 1540. A notary in Paisley, Scotland, named John MacQueen, wrote a record in Latin about a challenge between John Sclater, a monk at Paisley Abbey, and Gavin Hamilton, a representative of the abbot. It is said that Sclater threw a stone three times onto the surface of a frozen lake and agreed to the contest. There is no record of whether or not anyone won this challenge, but it was agreed that moving stones along bodies of frozen water was a good time.

Often called “the roaring game” because of the sounds made by stones on ice, curling became popular in northern Europe, specifically Scotland, due to particularly harsh winters more than 400 years ago. The Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicted peasants watching a tackle-like game in two paintings in 1565 and 1566. The word “curling” – which originates from the curl or curved path of stones during play – first appeared in 1620 in the lines of a poem by Henry Adamson.

Founded in 1716, Kilsyth Curling Club, from the Scottish town of the same name, is widely considered to be the first official curling club in the world. (The Royal Curling Club is still active today.) Founded in 1838, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club was the first to formalize the rules of the game, according to the International Olympic Committee. From this club emerged the World Curling Federation, which is based in the Scottish city of Perth and remains active to this day.

Early on, the stones used in the sport were: rocks that had been planed and shaped. There were no requirements for size or handles. Some had holes that looked like a bowling ball. Rough stones meant that archers relied largely on luck rather than skill or technique.

Over the years, the sport has introduced more rules and regulations, some quite complex, when it comes to the weight and shape of the stones. The same applies to the size of the field and the structure of matches. Today, it is the jumper, or team leader, who shouts instructions to the throwers about their curls, power and paths. Skipping does the same thing with sweepers who “sweep” the surface in front of the stone to make it slide.

The Scots are also responsible for the spread of curling around the world. Immigrants from Scotland brought their passion for the sport to North America, especially Canada, where it remains very popular.

Curling made its Olympic debut in 1924 at the Winter Games in Chamonix, France. At that time, it was just an exhibition sport. It did not become an official Olympic sport until 1998, during the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. So far, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway have distinguished themselves as curling contenders at the Games.

While the sport was paving its way to becoming an official Olympic sport, it was also making inroads into popular culture. The Beatles attempt to play in their 1965 film Helps! The game also appeared in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

In the early 2000s, when 24-hour coverage and digital video recorders became commonplace in watching the Olympic Games, the sport gained a large audience. People who can now watch the action at times appropriate to their time zone find that they can listen to the dynamics of this great sport for hours on end and get lost in it. For the 2026 Winter Games, the coverage continues – every stone, every sweep.