what does the hammer symbol mean in curling

In curling, the hammer symbol on a scoreboard shows which team has the last stone advantage in that end.

Quick Scoop: What the hammer means

• The hammer = the team that throws the final rock of the end.

• It’s considered a big strategic edge because you get to react after all other stones are in place.

• On TV graphics or arena scoreboards, a small hammer icon appears beside the team that currently has this advantage.

Think of it like having the last shot in a tie game: you get the final say on how the scoring plays out.

Why the hammer matters

• Teams with the hammer usually aim to score at least two points in that end, not just one.

• Teams without the hammer try to:
  • “Steal” a point (score even though they don’t have last rock).

* Or force the hammer team to just one point, limiting damage.

A common strategy is that a team will sometimes prefer to keep the hammer for a future end rather than take a small, low‑value score immediately.

How a team gets the hammer

• To start the game, top events use a Last Stone Draw (LSD) : players slide stones toward the button, and the team closest to the center wins the hammer for the first end.

• After that:
  • The team that does not score in an end gets the hammer in the next one.

* If an end is blank (no points scored), the hammer stays with the same team.

So when you see that little hammer symbol next to a team’s name, it’s telling you: “This team throws last this end—and has the built‑in edge on the scoreboard chess match.”

TL;DR: The hammer symbol in curling means that team gets to throw the last stone of the end, giving them a key scoring and strategic advantage.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.