When and Where did Curling Become an Official Sport of the Olympics?

When and where did curling become an official sport of the Olympics? Curling has a long, honored, and unique history, in both the Olympics and the sports world in general. The game is Scottish in origin and dates to the Middle Ages. The first reference to such a sport as curling was found  in the records of a Scottish abbey from 1541.

So, when and where did curling become an official sport of the olympics? Although it’s been around for hundreds of years, it was only recently that curling was considered to be an official Olympic sport. That recognition for the game of curling was finally received in the 1998 Winter Olympics, held in Nagano, Japan.

Curling had actually been an official Olympic event decades earlier. The 1924 Winter Olympics, which took place in Chamonix, France, curling teams competed, but they were not considered to be a true Olympic sports event.

The Sport of Curling

The game itself appears to be a simple game with its own unique vocabulary. Two teams of four players each propel a piece stone of polished granite across a sheet of ice, hoping to land it as close to the “house” (a target marked in the ice) as possible.

Each team has eight stones, and points are awarded for how close each stone lands to the target. After each team has disposed of their eight stones, that’s considered to be an “end,” or a session of the game. Each game of curling consists of 8 or 10 “ends,” upon which it is concluded. The team with highest number of points in manipulating their stones closest to the targets is the winner.

Curling as an Official Sport of the Olympics

Curling at the 1924 Olympics was a “demonstration” match. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in the 1924 curling event, but they weren’t official medals, but rather demonstration medals.

When curling was returned to its status as an official Olympic sport in 1998, the Scots remembered the 1924 Olympics and wondered if, indeed, the “demonstration” medals won in that event could be upgraded to official status, even in retrospect.

Lawsuit Brings Gold

The Glasgow Herald, a Scottish newspaper, filed a claim with the International Olympic Committee that, in light of the restoration of the sport of curling as a true Olympic event, the 1924 medals should also be switched from mere “demonstration” event medals to true Olympic gold, silver, and bronze.

The newspaper had filed the suit on behalf of the family members from the curling teams from 1924.

The Scottish team had been comprised of Willie and Laurence Jackson (a father and son), Robin Welsh, and Tom Murray. The Scottish curlers had routed their competition decidedly in face-offs against teams from Sweden and France, beating them 38 to 7 and 46 to 4, respectively.

Because the International Olympic Committee had removed curling as a true Olympic event in 1924, the Scottish team never returned to defend their gold medal.

There was one more effort at curling after 1924, at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The Scottish team did not compete. Four Canadian teams competed against four American teams, the Canadians winning 12 games to 4. However, as before, the 1932 curling events were mere demonstration games.

Gold in 2006

The original Olympic curlers were long gone by the time the Olympic Committee restored the sport to the Olympics, but the Scottish newspaper’s suit to bring the gold back officially was rewarded.

In time for the 2006 Winter Olympics, where once again curling was a respectable and honored sport, the IOC decided to replace the 1924 demonstration medals with true Olympic medals.

It might have been late, but finally the Scottish curling team from 1924 received the honor for which they were long overdue. On behalf of the Scottish team and the 1924 Winter Olympics, Britain received a gold medal for the long ago curling event. What’s particularly interesting is that Britain received the medal before any actual Olympic events began with the 2006 Winter Olympics!

Also retroactively, the Swedish and French teams were awarded with silver and bronze medals for their 1924 efforts in curling.