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Sweeping Rules

  1. Who can sweep our own rock? Rule 11(1) says Between the tee lines, all members of the delivering team may sweep any of their team's stones in motion.
  2. How about the other team's rock? Rule 11(5) Behind the tee line . . . Only the skip or vice-skip of the non-delivering team is allowed to sweep the other team's rock.
  3. Can anyone on the team sweep a FGZ (Free Guard Zone) stone that has been ticked by the other team? Rule 11(4) says During the delivery of the first four stones of any end, only the person in charge of play for the non-delivering team may sweep their stone when set in motion. (My team is always thrilled to know that I'm the only one allowed to sweep........apparently skips are not particularly good sweepers)
  4. Is snow-plowing allowed? 12(8) covers this one. Part (a) says Given that the intent of sweeping is to keep the path of the stone clean and to take a stone farther, there must be brush head movement in the sweeping motion. Rule 12 (8)(b) then says the sweeping motion shall not leave any debris in front of a running stone, and rule 11 (8)(c) says the final sweeping motion shall finish outside the path of the stone. What that all means is any sweeping style is acceptable as long as it has some sort of motion in any direction. It does not have to be side to side and does not need to cover the entire running surface. The second and third parts of the rule are there to make clear that "dumping" is not allowed. This is where the individual sweeping simply raises his or her broom straight up dumping any debris that may have been picked up.
  5. When can a player start sweeping the other team's rock? Rule 11(7) says An opponent's moving stone shall not be swept until the front end of the stone reaches the farther tee line and sweeping shall only take place behind the tee line. 6) I see a lot of curlers on TV warming the ice. Is that allowed? No. it's not allowed (see rule 11(7) above). But yes, we do see a lot of this on TV.
  6. If more than one rock is moving behind the tee-line, can more than one player sweep? Rule 11(5) says Behind the tee line at the playing end, only one player from each team may sweep at any one time. There you have it - everything you wanted to know about sweeping but were afraid to ask. A complete PDF version of all rules can be found at CCA Rules of Curling for General Play