Curling Start: Why do you keep "rubbing" during the game?

On February 2, the first event of the Winter Olympic Games, curling, began. China played against Switzerland in the first round-robin match of the curling mixed doubles.

Why "friction"? The ice surface of the curling court is special, which is an ice surface with "water drop points". Before the competition, the ice maker takes a shower-like tool to spray water droplets evenly on the smooth ice surface, which condense into ice points when the ice surface is cold, so as to increase the friction between the ice surface and the curling. Ice skaters can quickly rub through the ice brush to melt off the ice points on the track, thereby forming a thin film of water, reducing the friction between the Xiaoice pot and the ice lane, so that the curling speed is faster; on the ice track, the curling trajectory thrown by the athletes is an arc, and by melting the ice points by wiping the ice, it can affect the direction of curling travel, and finally make the curling reach the specified position.

On January 26, staff sprinkled water on the curling track at the Ice Cube. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xu photographed

Seemingly simple "friction" can affect the outcome of almost every pot throw, requiring a high degree of concentration on the part of the athlete. With the joint efforts of the commander, the pot thrower, and the ice wiper, the tactical goal can be finally achieved. Therefore, there must be a high degree of tacit understanding between the players.

Curling is the sport with the most matches, the longest schedule and single-day competition time at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. According to the schedule, the mixed doubles competition will determine the gold medal on the 8th, followed by the men's and women's quadruple matches on the 9th and 10th respectively, and the gold medal will be produced on the 19th and 20th respectively.

Source Xinhua News Agency

Edited by Gao Chenchen

Process Editor Wu Yue