The Science of Curling E-Book

Boris Seidl

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: A Ciência do Curling
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 328

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Boris Seidl is a sports teacher and international Curling coach. His book deals with the Science of Curling - technical, physical and practical aspects, with a special focus on youth development. Since summer of 2022, he has been working as a national Curling coach for Brazil, where he has also educated two coaches and ice makers in Sao Paulo. In his new book, he has also included aspects of Wheelchair Curling. The methodology consisted of a literature review, exploratory interviews and an experiment to determine whether pulse rate and accuracy correlate. As a teacher and coach, he focused on youth development. He tried to give an overview of the current situation in Curling. This publication illustrates the potential for improvement, taking into account the sport motor aspects. This book is suitable for coaches, clubs, associations and athletes who want to improve in Curling as a competitive sport.

Leseprobe

Image 2: Gabriela Farias, Isis Regadas, Melissa Sampaio, Leticia Cid - The Brazilian Junior Team participated for the first time in the B Junior Curling World Championship in Lohja, Finland.

Image 3: Our Brazilian Curling family in Sao Paulo, together with 2022 Olympic champion Stefania Constantini. The Olympic Celebration Tour of the World Curling Federation has been around since 2013 and inaugurated the first Curling rink in South America. In addition to the joint training sessions on the ice, the evening was spent dancing in a typical club for samba in Sao Paulo.

Abstract

The following work deals with the topic Science of Curling – technical, physical and practical aspects, with special focus on the development of young athletes. Since summer 2022, I have been working as a head coach for Brazil, while at the same time educating two coaches Tatiani Tamy Garcia and Vinicius Oliveira Fraga in various aspects of Curling. The last few years I lived mainly in Switzerland, where I studied at Rodger Schmidt's Curling Academy and had conversations with several athletes, international Curling federations and experts in Curling technique, wheelchair Curling, youth development and physiology, which flowed into this research. I chose literature review and exploratory interviews as a research methodology. Also, a small experiment was conducted to study a possible correlation between heartbeat and delivery accuracy. As a sports teacher and coach, my focus was on youth development; I have tried to give an overview of the current situation in Curling. There are areas that must need improvement, which I would like to discuss in this book, taking into account the various issues. In addition to the basics of the five technical elements, I have striven to look at the technique of wheelchair Curling. In this work the following questions are posed as an introduction:

• What elements are essential in Curling and how can they be promoted?

• Overview of the technical elements of Curling and how they could be applied to wheelchair Curling?

• What could help a junior coach to take into account the sensitive phases of development when coaching a young player?

• What didactics and methods could be used in Curling to integrate the physiological elements into training, especially for junior players, for example as part of an inter-school Curling subject?

• What could the practical implementation steps look like and which elements should be paid attention to depending on the age?

• What could practical training units in different Curling categories look like?

• Are there any special concentration techniques that could increase attention and accuracy in Curling?

• What could specific physiological performance diagnostics for Curling look like?

• What is the significance of physiological training in today's active Curling scene and what does it look like in practice?

• What about further development, progress in knowledge and self-critical reflection in Curling?

General information: The graphics are generally labelled in English.

Abstrato

O trabalho seguinte trata do tópico A Ciência do Curling - aspectos técnicos, físicos e práticos com foco especial no desenvolvimento da juventude. Desde o verão de 2022, trabalho como técnico para o Brasil, ao mesmo tempo em que instrui os técnicos brasilieros Tatiani Tamy Garcia e Vinicius Oliveira Fraga em vários aspectos do Curling. Nos últimos anos vivi principalmente na Suíça, onde estudei na Rodger Schmidt's Curling Academy e tive conversas com vários atletas, federações internacionais de Curling e especialistas em técnica de Curling, Curling em cadeira de rodas, desenvolvimento juvenil e fisiologia, que fluiram para esta pesquisa. Escolhi a revisão de literatura e entrevistas exploratórias como metodologia de pesquisa. Além disso, foi realizada uma pequena experiência para estudar uma possível correlação entre o batimento cardíaco e a precisão do lançamento da pedra. Como professor e treinador, meu foco foi o desenvolvimento da juventude. Ao fazer isso, tentei dar uma visão geral da situação atual no Curling. Há áreas que precisam ser melhoradas, que eu gostaria de discutir neste livro, levando em conta os vários aspectos. Além do básico dos cinco elementos técnicos, tentei olhar para a técnica do Curling para cadeiras de rodas. Neste trabalho, as seguintes perguntas são apresentadas como introdução:

• Que elementos são essenciais no Curling e como podem ser promovidos?

• Visão geral dos elementos técnicos do Curling e como eles podem ser aplicados ao Curling em cadeira de rodas?

• O que poderia ajudar um treinador júnior a levar em conta as fases sensíveis do desvelo ao treinar um jovem jogador?

• Que didática e métodos poderiam ser usados no Curling para integrar os elementos físico-técnicos no treinamento, especialmente para jogadores juniores, por exemplo, como parte de uma disciplina interescolar de Curling?

• Como poderiam ser as etapas práticas de implementação e quais elementos se deve prestar atenção, dependendo da idade?

• Como poderiam ser as unidades práticas de treinamento em diferentes categorias de Curling?

• Existem técnicas de concentração que poderiam aumentar a atenção e a precisão no Curling?

• Como poderiam ser os diagnósticos específicos de desempenho fisiológico para o Curling?

• Qual é o significado do treinamento fisiológico no atual cenário ativo de Curling e como ele se apresenta na prática?

• E quanto ao desenvolvimento posterior, progresso no conhecimento e reflexão autocrítica no Curling?

Informações gerais: Os gráficos são geralmente etiquetados em inglês.

Abstrakt

Die folgende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema Wissenschaft des Curlings - technische, physische und praktische Aspekte, mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die Jugendförderung. Seit Sommer 2022 bin ich als Headcoach für Brasilien tätig, wobei ich parallel die Studenten Tatiani Tamy Garcia und Vinicius Oliveira Fraga in verschiedenen Bereichen des Curlings ausbilde. Die letzten Jahre lebte ich vorwiegend in der Schweiz, wo ich an der Curling Academy von Rodger Schmidt studierte und mit verschiedenen Athleten, internationalen Curlingverbänden und Experten aus den Bereichen Curlingtechnik, Rollstuhlcurling, Jugendförderung und Physiologie, Gespräche führte, die in diese Forschung eingeflossen sind. Als Methodik diente eine Literaturrecherche, explorative Interviews und ein Experiment, ob Pulsfrequenz und Zielgenauigkeit korrelieren. Als Lehrer und Coach, habe ich meinen Schwerpunkt auf die Jugendförderung gelegt. Dabei versuchte ich einen Überblick über die aktuelle Situation im Curlingsport zu geben. Es gibt verbesserungswürdige Bereiche, die ich anhand dieser Abhandlung unter Berücksichtigung verschiedener Aspekte erörtern möchte. Neben den Grundlagen der fünf technischen Elemente, habe ich versucht, mich im Bereich der Technik des Rollstuhl Curlings auseinanderzusetzen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden einleitend folgende Fragen gestellt:

• Welche Elemente sind im Curling essentiell und wie kann man diese fördern?

• Überblick der technischen Elemente des Curlings und wie könnte man diese auf das Rollstuhl Curling anwenden?

• Was könnte einem Nachwuchstrainer bei der Begleitung eines jungen Spielers helfen, die sensiblen Entwicklungsphasen zu berücksichtigen?

• Welche Didaktik und welche Methoden könnten im Curling angewandt werden, um die physiologischen Elemente in das Training zu integrieren, insbesondere für Nachwuchsspieler, zum Beispiel im Rahmen eines schulübergreifenden Curlingfachs?

• Wie können die praktischen Umsetzungsschritte aussehen und auf welche Elemente sollte je nach Alter geachtet werden?

• Wie könnten praktische Trainingseinheiten in verschieden Kategorien im Curling aussehen?

• Gibt es Konzentrationstechniken, welche die Aufmerksamkeit und die Zielgenauigkeit beim Curling steigern könnten?

• Wie könnte eine spezifische, physiologische Leistungsdiagnostik für Curling aussehen?

• Welchen Stellenwert hat das physiologische Training in der heutigen aktiven Curlingszene und wie sieht es in der Praxis aus?

• Wie sieht es mit der Weiterentwicklung, dem Erkenntnisfortschritt und einer selbstkritischen Reflexion im Curlingsport aus?

Allgemeine Information: Die Grafiken wurden in englischer Sprache beschriftet.

Image 5: This book was discerned with the support of Brazilian Ice Sports Federation.

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Table of Contents

0. Introduction/Foreword

0.1. First technical element: COBW

0.2. Second technical element: Control of energy

0.3. Third technical element: Stone position

0.4. Fourth technical element: Release and finish

0.5. Fifth technical element: Curling intellect

1. First physical element: Health

1.1. Mind, body, health

1.2. Health diagnostics

1.3. Healthy nutrition

1.4. Nutritional protocol

1.5. Basic health-promoting exercises

1.6. Fitness app

1.7. Fitness protocol

1.8. Sleep and regeneration

1.9. Meditation

2. Second physical element: Muscles

2.1. Etymology

2.2. Function of the muscles

2.3. Constitution and type

2.4. Relevant muscles for Curling

2.5. Example fitness session

3. Third physical element: Coordination

3.1. Coordinative skills

3.2. Balance

3.3. Orientation ability

3.4. Rhythm ability

3.5. Anticipation and adaptability

3.6. Bilateral skills

3.7. Sensory perception and sensitivity

4. Fourth physical element: Flexibility and mobility

4.1. Flexibility, mobility, agility

4.2. Mobilisation and warm up

4.3. Flexibility and sliding

4.4. Flexibility, sliding and visualisation

4.5. Static and dynamic stretching

4.6. Positive effects of stretching

5. Fifth physical element: Endurance and cardiovascular training

5.1. Positive factors of cardiovascular training

5.2. Pulse

5.3. Heart rate of a Curling player

5.4. Sweeping interval training scale

5.5. Aiming accuracy and pulse rate

5.6. Experiment

5.7. The principle of overcompensation

6. Performance diagnostics

7. Implementation and practical realisation

8. Planning a Curling lesson

8.1. Introduction: Communication and understanding

8.2. Warm-up: Activity level and injury prevention

8.3. Mainpart: The five elements of Curling

8.4. Funpart: Creativity and fun

8.5. Stretching: Flexibility of body and mind

9. Interviews

9.1. Silvana Tirinzoni

9.2. Rainer Kobler

9.3. Anna Sidorowa

9.4. Felix Eberhard

9.5. Tina Rickenbacher

9.6. Curdin Albertini

9.7. Beat Heer

9.8. Bruno Schmidbauer

9.9. Brian Chick

9.10. Tiago Gorgatti

9.11. Ruedi Graf

10. Coaching - an epistemological approach

11. Conclusion and special thanks

12. Afterword by Rodger Schmidt

13. Articles for training sessions

14. Sources: Writings and images

0. Introduction

For the sake of better readability, corresponding terms apply in principle to all genders. In Curling in particular, but also in the English language, there is hardly any gender-specific difference. In Curling it can be seen in mixed teams that the different genders should not be divisive but can complement one another well.

Curling is a sport that is evolving. It is one of the fastest growing winter sports. This is generally seen as beneficial for Curling. The worldwide development is enormous, as small nations want to participate in the Olympics and so the teams become more and more professional every year. It is no longer enough to train a few times on the ice and just play a couple of tournaments. As a team or coach, you have to keep up with the rising level and continue to set new standards to stay competitive internationally. If you want to win, you should be one or more steps ahead. But which steps are essential for this?

To be successful in Curling competitions, you have to work multidimensionally and must take a holistic approach to the sport. In other words, a good technique and a sense of direction and length are not enough.

Image 6: Olympic gold medalist Stefania Constantini - I was able to launch my published book in Sao Paulo and coincidentally having chosen a photo of Stefania at the beginning before her great Olympic success.

In the summer of 2022, I was appointed Brazilian head coach with the main task of professionally educating two Brazilian coaches, Tatiani Tamy Garcia and Vinicius Oliveira Fraga, in coaching, techniques, physiology and ice making. The President of the Brazilian Ice Sports Federation, Matheus Bacelo de Figueiredo asked me to write a Curling book on the procedures in Portuguese. Since I wanted to develop my book The Five Physiological Elements of Curling, which was only published in German in the year 2022 and to translate it into several languages. The technique of Curling should therefore be published in Portuguese. The techniques were to be explained in a short and simple way. However a serious language barrier occurred, as I do not speak Portuguese and by chance I met the university professor for linguistics Dr. Anthony Kozlowski during my stay in Sao Paulo and told him about my Curling book project. When I told him about my linguistic barrier and my plans for various translations, he kindly assured me of his support. This book deals with Rodger Schmidt's technical elements of Curling. I have tried to capture the most essential aspects so that future, new coaches can work with the technical elements. I also give inputs on wheelchair Curling.

The Rodger Schmidt Curling Academy has been working for many years to discover what determines excellent Curling technique and training. This book features the unique experience of five-time Olympic coach Rodger Schmidt. He has been a major force in the development of the sport of Curling. With decades of experience, he is considered by many to be the best Curling coach in the world. There is currently no Curling coach who has experienced more games on the coaching bench and no one who has participated in more Olympic Games than he has.

My goal in autumn of 2018 as junior national coach was to learn from Rodger – for me the world's best Curling coach. I wanted to learn what professional Curling training looks like. I also learned a lot about dealing with athletes, psychological and mental support (coaching), as well as planning and organisation in detail. Now, fives years later, I find myself in the position of passing on the knowledge I have acquired to future Curling coaches in Sao Paulo. Five years ago, I would not have thought that I would ever be in this position myself. I am happy that I can pass on my knowledge to such a unique and rather exotic country as is Brazil. Brazil is known for football and summer sports, so I am glad that this nation has become passionate about winter sports.

Brazil is primarily associated with the Amazon, the rainforest, beautiful girls and the world famous Copacabana beach. The fifth largest country in the world is divided into different climate zones. In the south of the country, temperatures can be very wintry. Even in the largest city in the southern hemisphere, Sao Paulo, where South America's only Curling rink is located, it can get quite chilly. Until recently, it was hard for me to imagine creating optimal ice conditions in such a country as Brazil. This is still one of the biggest challenges of the Brazilian Ice Sports Federation. Winter sports nations such asCanada and nothern countries, have always had natural ice surfaces where they have gained years of experience in terms of ice quality.

I was particularly privileged to benefit from the nomination of the world-famous Canadian Curling coach Rodger Schmidt as Austria's national coach. At that time, parallel to our team, he also coached the US team Shuster, which became Olympic champions a few years later. It was no coincidence that we got such a treasured Curling coach. It was thanks to Günther Hummelt who also made a significant contribution to Curling becoming an Olympic discipline. He had the best international contacts as World Curling President and at the same time as our federation head at the time. Günther Hummelt hired Rodger, one of the most experienced and professional coaches, who built up the team I was playing in at the time and promoted us to an international level. In 2007 I qualified for the national team and participated in the European Championships in Füssen, Germany. There was a real euphoria in my team and in our Curling club Traun (cc-traun.at). I was very happy to take part in a European Curling Championship and to have the opportunity to learn from Rodgers' know-how as an athlete. In addition, the Traun Curling Club received a lot of support from our neighbours in Switzerland. Some members of the Curling Club St. Gallen, especially Heidy Wallner, supported us to grow as a team to become more successful. They helped us train and provided ice, equipment and qualified coaches. I should also like to mention the help of the Canadian Federation in our early years, who assisted us with a very good coach, Brian Chick, who organised special training sessions for our team over many days in the state of Ontario. After my studies, I started as a sports teacher at the St. Johann Gymnasium and at the Kitzbühel Commercial Academy. In addition to my work as a sports teacher, I was commissioned as a junior national coach. Together with my brother Manuel, who already had some experience in the field of junior sports, we set up a nationwide project for our Curling federation. My main focus was on the connection between a school's participation in the Curling sport. My father, who is also a sports teacher and cycling coach, helped me get more involved with this topic. He asked me the same question over several years, why does Curling lack professionalism and why was there no targeted youth training in our national federation. He underlined the importance of a special coaching education and wanted to know how it could look like in terms of physiological training for Curling.

After a few intense but successful years, I wanted to develop further as a youth coach. In 2017, I completed a training course in youth and sport at the Swiss Curling Federationbefore deciding to complete a professional internship as a coach and ice maker at the Rodger Schmidt Curling Academy in Central Switzerland in 2018. It was a very special and educational time and I was able to learn a lot from Rodger. I realized that apart from the basics of Curling training, it takes a lot more to become an optimal Curling coach.

Image 7: Changchun University

One day Rodger came to me and asked me if I wanted to travel to China. Of course, I gladly accepted the offer. Rodger had received an invitation to present his concept of the five elements of Curling at Changchun University at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Conference. He was too busy at the time to make the long journey and asked me if I could on his behalf to give the presentation in the name of the first international Curling Academy. I felt deeply honoured and agreed. So there was nothing left for me to do but to deal intensively with Rodger's concept of the five elements of Curling. The preparation time was short, but I still tried to understand all the contents as well as possible so that I would transfer the knowledge as correctly as possible. Of course, I already had experience in training theory, anatomy or biomechanics through my studies as a sports teacher. To present a subject a specific presentation on the elements of Curling was a huge challenge. Primarily, it was important to understand Rodger's learning concept in general. For this purpose, he explained me in detail the five elements he used in the academy. From here I started my sports science research.

I consider this book as the final work of several years of Curling experience, my studies at various universities and the first international Curling academy. When Rodger saw my PowerPoint presentation for my lecture in China, he was impressed. When I arrived in China, I was greeted and welcomed most warmly. I went from Beijing to Changchun, the capital of Jilin province. There I got to know the university and had many interes-ting conversations with the professors. At the beginning of my lecture, I was assisted by a translator who had studied my subject in detail beforehand.

This ensured that the content was well understood by the audience. The congress was well organised and the atmosphere was unique and very impressive. I was able to have many conversations with top athletes from other sports. It was a great opportunity and as such I was looking forward to the upcoming 2022 Winter Games in China.

Image 8: Skip of the Chinese women's team and World Curling Champion Bingyu Wang | Richard Gray - WCF

I should like to allude that there is a special focus on youth development in this book. I think that the foundation of a sporting future of a federation is based on professional youth work. Günther Hummelt has always been concerned with promoting young talented, motivating children and young people for sport, especially for Curling. He also made a significant contribution as the sport became Olympic, it is thanks to him that numerous Curling players can call themselves Olympians. Most of the members of our Curling club in Traun were still very young at that time and some of them were still at school. Therefore, the generous support of Günther Hummelt, who was the World Curling President from 1990 to 2000, was of great value to us. My Curling team Traun have benefited a lot from Günther and I should like to thank him posthumously for his unique support.

After twenty years of my experience with Curling, I am proud to present the complete work The Science of Curling and a continuation of the five elements. I am grateful for the invitation of Changchun University and the Chinese Olympic Committee at that time. I did not want to leave my speech and my experiences as a Curling coach unused, rather I wanted to contribute to the promotion of the sport of Curling with this book. Special thanks to Richard Gray and the World Curling Federation to having provided me with professional Curling photographs of the international Curling scene. Also I have to thank the Canadian Curling coach Rodger Schmidt and the U.S. Curling Federation for the use of graphics from his book The Five Technical Elements of Curling. Finally, I have to thank the Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports, who have taken an interest in the advancement of Curling. Although it is difficult to compare the ice conditions in Brazil with those of Nordic nations, the motivation of the federation, all involved and the athletes, is very high.

Image 9: Floor Curling - Youth development is the most important area to achieve long-term success in Curling. This photo is from a school event in Sao Paulo.

My first experience in the Sao Paulo ice rink reminded me of the founding period of my regular club in the city of Traun. At that time, we wanted to reach an international level fast as a motivated Curling team, but we had to struggle with the ice. To this day, there is only one Curling rink in Austria and therefore my home club Traun still has the same problem as back then. It is therefore very difficult to develop further. Since I was named Curling head coach Brazil in the summer of 2022, a new and interesting task came up for me. Brazil is pursuing the goal of building a wheelchair Curling team. My task is now to train wheelchair curlers in addition to the performance training of athletes and juniors. All trainings took place together with my former students, who are now coaches, Tatiani and Vinicius.

At the beginning of my coaching career, I hardly had any practical experience in dealing with disabled sports (wheelchair Curling), although I already had completed the WCF wheelchair coaching course in 2004. In Sao Paulo I gained further knowledge in Curling. I soon realized that wheelchair Curling is a great feature for physically disadvantaged people. It gave me a new approach to Curling. For the disabled, sport is an elixir of life. The individual life stories made me think a lot. Sometimes it was a short moment that completely changed the lives of those affected. Disabled people are still on the margins of society. It is therefore particularly gratifying that this opportunity is offered in Brazil. A special highlight was the World Curling Federation's Olympic celebration tour in Sao Paulo in August 2022. The Italian Olympic champion Stefania Constantini took part in this event. For me it was nice to see that especially the new wheelchair curlers were integrated in this special event. The handicapped wheelchair athletes need a lot of mental strength to be able to live with their dire situation. Often they have to find a new perspective in life, whereby the financial component plays a major role. For most, the journey to the Curling rink is already a challenge, so today I consider the disabled athletes and their supporters, including their families, as the true heroes of the sport. I think that sport should perhaps play a completely different function in our society. Therefore the social factor is more valuable than is the sporting success. In my research for this book, I have tried to find specific training suggestions for wheelchair Curling. Unfortunately, there is no specific training book that you can buy, so I had the idea to adapt the five technical elements of Curling for wheelchair curlers. I asked some international Curling federations if they could give me any reading or information about wheelchair Curling. I received quick help from Sara Carlsson from Sweden, Isla McLennan from the Scottish Curling Federation, Jiří Snítil from the Czech Republic, Yan Tremblay and Germain Tremblay from Canada. They answered many of my questions and provided me with special training materials and graphics, as presented in this book. So I try to give short inputs for wheelchair Curling in the technical area. It is a small step, maybe a beginning, to start training lessons in wheelchair Curling. This book focuses on the general principles of Curling (technical, physiological and practical). There is a special method of analysis for Curling, which I will not publish in this book. However, I will present this idea one day when I have more time and sufficient financial resources. My Curling journey has now taken me to Brazil. I never imagined that I would ever pursue this professional activity in this beautiful country. This step was not easy, as it requires a lot of flexibility and bureaucratic effort. But at this stage in my sporting life is already a plus for me. The Brazilian government, especially the Ministry of Sports and the CBDG deserve special thanks.

Image 10: Olympic champion Stefania Constantini, the Brazilian federation was able to get a star guest for the Curling promotion event in Sao Paulo.

Boris Seidl

International Curling coach | Diploma sports teacher | MA Psychology, Philosophy | Book author

Foreword

Image 11: President of Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports Matheus Bacelo de Figueiredo

As President of Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports, I am very proud that we have managed to launch the first Curling rink in South America. This particular realisation of this structure involved immense effort. Unfortunately, the ice rink was opened at the very beginning of the Corona virus outbreak, which meant that the Curling project in Brazil was delayed right from the start. But we looked positively into the future and are now happy where our project is today. A special highlight of the reopening was the World Curling celebration tour here in Sao Paulo, together with Olympic Curling champion Stefania Constantini. Beside that, we are extremly proud to say that we held the first Curling championship for athletes and for the wheelchair handicapped here in our country Brazil.

Also the Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports (CBDG) is honoured to announce a major reinforcement for Curling in Sao Paulo Brazil. The Austrian Boris Seidl is the new head coach of the sport in the country.

With an extensive curriculum in the sport, Boris is a Curling specialist and a few years ago published the book The Five Physical Elements of Curling. He also has worked with top athletes and clubs in the sport, including a junior and wheelchair program.

Boris Seidl has supported Brazil Curling since summer 2022 and he is responsible for implementing the development program for juniors and wheelchair players in Arena Ice Brazil, as well as, in the near future, he is head coach in the Brazilian missions for international competitions.

Image 12: South America's first Curling rink in Brazil

For several months, he has been dedicating his time to produce a book on Curling in several languages for the public at large. Also, the book is being sponsord by CBDG and the Brazilian Ministery for sports to enhance future athletes in this beautiful sport. Last but not least I am very happy to say that head coach Boris is working with the two upcoming Curling coaches from Brazil, Tatiani Tamy Garcia, Vinicius Oliveira Fraga.

Despite the weather in Sao Paulo can be very hot and humid, CBDG managed to put up this unique sport, which is usually played in cold countries. Notwithstanding the various difficulties and challenges, we are interested to move on, so I, as the President of Ice Brazil to announce that we are moving in the right direction in Curling.

Matheus Bacelo de Figueiredo

President of Brazilian Confederation of Ice Sports

Foreword

In this book you will learn that Curling is not only a great game, but that it is about technique, tactics and psychology and as well about improving physical fitness and competitive ability. When Rodger told me that he had a coach at the Curling Academy writing a paper on the physiological aspects of Curling, I was delighted to learn that there was new literature on the subject for our Curling community.

When I heard that this book would also be published in Russian, I was even more excited to contribute to it, as there are hardly any Curling books in our language to date.

Image 13: Anna Sidorowa

As a teenager I was a figure skater and through figure skating I learned my basic understanding of physiological and coordination skills. We are happy that the sport of Curling has grown so much in Russia, in the last ten years and now has a solid place in our country. In the years when Rodger Schmidt was my coach at Team Russia, I got to know the Curling Academy's five elements concept. We often trained in Switzerland and I think it is commendable that the Curling Academy continues to develop the sport with its knowledge and many years of experience. It is an honor for me to share my experience as one of the best players in the world here in this publication. I am convinced that you will find many helpful tips as you browse through these pages. Have fun!

Image 14: Anna qualified for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver after only having had a few years of Curling experience. She acquired her basic motor skills as a young figure skater.

Anna Wladimirowna Sidorowa

2010, 2014 Olympic participant | 2012, 2015 European Curling champion | National player team Russia

Foreword

Competing at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vacncouver, Canada was a dream come true. Despite our record, I have so many wonderful memories of my experiences as an Olympian. At the time, I was a Curling player myself and supported Team Shuster as the team lead. Rodger Schmidt was our coach, who molded us as young players with the expertise, knowledge and creativity gained over decades of his own career as a player and coach. We trained at the Curling Academy in Lucerne / Küssnacht am Rigi and prepared ourselves optimally for our competitions. Rodger trained me as a coach at the same time.

Image 15: John Benton

Today, I am a successful Curling coach myself and I would not have thought that a few years later, my former teammate, John Shuster would win gold in 2018 at the Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Much of my own success as a coach and the success of the training program in the United Sates comes as a direct result of the unique knowledge shared by Rodger Schmidt and his Curling Academy.

Along with the United States Curling Assosciation, I took part in developing and publishing Rodger’s first training manual, The Five Elements of Curling. I am extremely happy that there is a continuation and expansion.

Image 16: Teammate and 2018 Olympic Champion John Shuster vs Peter De Cruz (Switzerland) at the 2017 World Championship | Richard Gray - WCF

As a Curling coach, I know that physiological factors are becoming more relevant in all sports and they are certainly getting greater attention now in the sport of Curling than they have had in the past. Our sport has many elements, the most important ones being consistent technique and tactics, but technique is still subject to a physiological process. With the mixture of physiology, physics and technique (biomechanics), you can see that there is a lot of scientific overlap in Curling.

Nevertheless, a classification of the individual elements is useful to get a better overview of the interaction between these differing disciplines of science. I am certain this book The Science of Curling will be a great additon to the development of the sport and as well as for many athletes and coaches around the world.

John Benton

2010 Olympian | International Curling coach | Developer of the Release Point Method for Curling

Introduction to the Five Elements Concept

The five elements of Curling are easy to learn and with fun. While it can take a lifetime to perfect a delivery technique, the concepts of the five elements of Curling are easy to understand and can be applied to any athlete, regardless of age, ability, style or playing position. Each element is an important part of what makes a world-class athlete. Our goal is to show how to learn and apply each element. With this book, besides the physiological and technical aspects, inputs for the technique in wheelchair Curling are also given. It also aims to provide a better understanding of the overall concept of the five elements of Curling.

• Overall concept: 20 elements

• Basic types: 4 basic categories

• Individual areas: 5 elements

Image 17: Rodger Schmidt's overall concept comprises a total of twenty elements.

There are four basic categories of Curling, each with five individual elements.

This book mainly discusses areas one and three of the four basic categories. This scientificbook is intended to support new coaches in their trainings in the future, the contents of the technical elements are explained simply and as clearly as possible. The following illustration shows the four basic categories.

Image 18: This graphic shows the four basic categories.

1. TECHNIQUE (5 single elements)

2. TACTICS (5 single elements)

3. PHYSIO (5 single elements)

4. MENTAL (5 single elements)

Rodger published the five technical elements of Curling with the U.S. Curling Association a few years ago. I presented the five physiological elements of Curling in the spring of 2022. I hope that the two outstanding elements of Curling (tactics and mental) will one day be scientifically elaborated by a Curling federation or a Curling coach. Since I studied psychology, I could imagine to take up the mental elements of Curling as well. But a book and the associated research cost a lot of time and also funding. I underestimated the amount of work involved and in principle I do not intend to write the two outstanding elements on my own. Therefore, with this book I would like to encourage and motivate a future coach to possibly work out one element (tactics or mental) of this concept.

The following pages summarize the five technical elements of Curling, with additional inputs for wheelchair Curling. If you want to delve deeper into the technical elements of Curling, you should read Rodger's book The Five Technical Elements of Curling.

The Five Technical Elements of Curling

Image 19: The five technical elements of Curling

1. Control of Center of Body Weight

2. Control of Energy

3. Control of Stone Position

4. Control of Release and Finish

5. Control of Head: Curling Intellect

With the help of this simplified graphic, it is easy to remember the five technical elements of Curling. Before explaining the technical elements in detail, I should like to raise some basic questions:

• Which technical training makes a curler a top athlete?

• Is there a general, correct technique that is suitable for women, men, juniors, seniors or disabled people?

• How can a long-term technical training look like?

• What influence do age and gender have on the Curling technique?

• Are there advantages or disadvantages for technique due to physique?

• How could the technical elements of Curling be applied to wheelchair Curling?

• What is the main difference between standard Curling and wheelchair Curling?

• How can the sport of Curling for the disabled players develop in the future?

• How can different Curling surfaces influence the result of a game?

• What mental strategies can players use to stay focussed during a game?

• What role does team communication play in determining successful shots?

• How can fitness affect performance on the ice?

• What are the most common mistakes that beginners make in Curling?

• What are the benefits of practising Curling in different environments?

• How can off-ice training improve the performance of Curling athletes on the ice?

• Which physiological aspects are most important for a curler?

• What influence does the choice of footwear have on sliding ability and stability on the ice?

• What are the key factors in determining the optimal release point for a shot?

• What techniques can be used to improve the consistency of stone release?

• What influence does a curler's posture have on the accuracy of their shots?

• What are the main differences in technique between traditional Curling and Wheelchair Curling or Deaf Curling?

• How can coaches give athletes effective feedback to improve their technique?

• How can the players develop a better understanding or feel for the ice conditions?

• Can new ideas or critical views improve performance?

• How can the attractiveness of Curling be increased?

• How will the sport of Curling develop in the coming years?

0.1. Technical Element 1 – Control of Center of Body Weight

Key Principles to Element 1

1. Setting the stone in position on the target/broom line.

2. Setting the center of body weight on the target/broom line.

3. Positioning key parts of the body in relation to the center of body weight.1

Image 20: The Centre of Body Weight (COBW) is an essential term of the five elements concept.

What do physics and sport have in common? A lot! All movements are subject to physical laws. In sports science, biomechanics in particular deal with this scientific field. In competitive sport, biomechanics is increasingly being used for movement analysis. The aim is to improve the movement process.

Image 21: a. Frontal view, b. Sagittal view, c. Transversal view

The first technical element is mainly concerned with controlling the body's central point. The center of body weight (COBW) is considered the reference point for the body parts. This imaginary central point changes with every movement.

Image 22: Symmetry is the technical key to become a professional Curling player.