Blind Curling

Curling is a very popular Canadian sport. Teams of four players alternately deliver two rocks each to the “house” at the other end of a sheet of ice. When all the rocks have been delivered, an “end” has been completed and the team whose rock is closest to the centre of the house scores. One point is awarded for each rock that is closer to the centre than any of the opposition rocks. One can normally play eight ends in a two-hour time period and the team with the highest score wins.

Curling for the Blind and Visually Impaired is essentially the same as the game played by sighted people. The difference is that each team has a sighted guide to assist the players in their delivery. The guide first describes the location of the rocks in the house and the type of shot that the skip has requested e.g. guard, draw or takeout. The guide then assists each player in delivering his/her rock along the line that is necessary to make the shot. Depending on the degree of visual impairment of the player, the guide may hold the broom at a short distance in front of the player, set a flashlight on the line of delivery or communicate with the player to ensure that he/she is lined up correctly in the hack.