Skip (curling)

Responsibilities

Overall, the skip leads the team and provides strategic direction. The skip calls shots teammates to play, through verbal direction and physical gestures. In many cases, skips communicate the planned trajectory of the shot by tapping their broom on the ice, and motion to other stones in the playing area if those are involved in the planned shot. The skip usually determines the required weight, turn, and line of the stone, and holds the broom for the throwing player to aim at.

As each stone is delivered, the skip calls the line of the shot and communicates with the sweepers as the stone travels down the sheet. The skip gauges the stone's path and calls to the sweepers to sweep to maintain the stone's path. In most cases, the skip, playing the fourth stones, must be able to deliver these last stones comfortably—a difficult task in that the last stones are usually the most crucial to the end. As the person throwing last stones, the skip must also have a good repertoire of shots and the ability to execute many types of shots at will.

As the game progresses, the skip must assess different aspects of the game, such as timing of the rocks and characteristics of the curling sheet—and use these to choose the best shots and tactics. The skip should be able to read the ice and call the game accordingly, taking into consideration the ice conditions. Moreover, the skip must understand the playing style and strengths of each player on their team. As captain of the team, the skip uses knowledge of the teammates to call shots according to their abilities and orients the team's strategy towards its strengths. The skip must also observe the opposition's gameplay and pinpoint their strengths and weakness to shape the team's strategy to put the opposition at the least advantage.

Notable moments

• The winner of the was a serendipitous team of four skips.
• While skips are more commonly fourths, they have also been leads (e.g. Margaretha Sigfridsson), seconds (e.g. Peter de Cruz), and thirds (e.g. Randy Ferbey).
• At the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier, the inaugural Team Canada struggled to a 2-3 start. In a rather unusual switcheroo, they reordered their lineup with a new skip, and ended up winning the championship.
• For the 2018–19 season, Kerri Einarson formed a new team of all former skips. They would end up winning four consecutive championships (, , & ).
• "Absentee skips" have occurred at various level of the sport. Here are some notable examples:
  • Team Roth competed in the 2019–20 season with former vice Tabitha Peterson as skip.
  • At 2019 Champions Cup, Team Hasselborg of Sweden competed with Eve Muirhead of Scotland as skip.
  • At the 2022 Hearing Life Tour Challenge, mate Oskar Eriksson skipped his team to victory after skip Niklas Edin couldn't play due to knee injury.

References

Bibliography

References

1. Ryan Horne. (May 11, 2021). "Inspiring performances mark memorable campaign in Calgary bubble". The Sports Network.
2. "Vancouver 2010 Olympics - Men's Curling Full Gold Medal Match - CAN v NOR". [[Olympic Broadcasting Services]].
3. "PyeongChang 2018 Replays - USA vs. SWE - Men's Curling - Full Gold Medal Match". [[Olympic Channel]].
4. (January 28, 2015). "House Call: Don't Skip Out on Skipping". Curling Canada.
5. {{cite WCF
6. CurlTech. "The Skip". The Curling Manual.
7. Weeks, Bob. "Curling For Dummies Cheat Sheet".
8. [[#Weeks. Weeks 2006]], p. 69
9. (28 April 2011). "House Call: Skipping to Victory". [[Canadian Curling Association]].
10. [[#Weeks. Weeks 2006]], p. 72
11. [[#Weeks. Weeks 2006]], p. 73
12. Weeks, Bob. (2008). "Curling, Etcetera: A Whole Bunch of Stuff About the Roaring Game".
13. [[Don Landry]]. (March 3, 2015). "Switcheroo: Struggling Team Canada flips skip, vice at the Brier". [[Yahoo Sports]].
14. (9 October 2018). "Canadian women's rink proving 4 skips as good — or better — than 1". CBC Sports.
15. Jonathan Brazeau. (November 7, 2019). "Gushue, Roth stay unbeaten to qualify for Tour Challenge playoffs". Sportsnet.
16. Jonathan Brazeau. (April 23, 2019). "Muirhead off to perfect start with Team Hasselborg at Champions Cup". Sportsnet.
17. "Oskar Eriksson skips Team Edin into GSOC Tour Challenge men's final".