what happens if you touch a rock in curling

If you touch a rock in curling while it’s in play, it’s called “burning a rock” , and there are specific rules for what happens next, depending on when and how it was touched.

What happens if you touch a rock in curling?

1. The basic idea: “burning a rock”

In curling lingo, touching a moving stone with your broom, body, or any equipment is called burning a rock.

It’s considered an infraction, but the penalty isn’t always automatic removal; it depends on the location and who touched it.

2. If you touch a moving rock early (before the far hog line)

When a stone is moving between the tee line at the delivering end and the hog line at the playing end , and a member of the delivering team or their equipment touches it:

• The stone is removed from play immediately.

• Any other stones that were hit after that touch are put back as close as possible to where they were before.

The same basic idea appears in official rule sets: a burned stone during this phase is taken off the sheet if touched by its own team.

One key exception: if the thrower briefly double-touches the handle before the hog line at the delivering end , many rule codes do not treat that as a violation.

3. If you touch a moving rock later (inside the far hog line)

Once the stone has crossed the hog line at the playing end (the scoring end), the situation changes.

If the delivering team touches the moving stone here:

• You let all stones come to rest first.

• Then the non‑offending team (the opponents) gets to choose what happens:

1. Remove the touched stone and reset any other displaced stones to their original spots, or
2. Let everything stay exactly where it ended up, or
3. Place stones where they reasonably think they _would_ have ended up if the rock hadn’t been touched.

If the non‑delivering team (the opponents) are the ones who touch the moving stone, the non‑offending team again gets to place the stones where they reasonably would have come to rest.

4. If you touch a stationary rock

Touching a rock that is not moving is treated more like an accident that needs correcting than a big penalty.

• If you bump or slightly move a stationary stone that wouldn’t have affected the path of a moving stone, the non‑offending team simply puts it back where it was (as close as they can judge).

• This fix‑it approach applies whether you touched your own stone or the opponent’s.

Sportsmanship is a big deal in curling, so players are expected to self‑call when they accidentally touch a rock.

5. Real‑world feel: how strict is it?

In casual league or club play, skips will often handle burned rocks with a mix of rules and common sense:

• If the touch clearly didn’t change anything, opponents sometimes just let the shot stand.

• In more serious games (provincials, nationals, Olympics), officials and teams are much stricter about following the formal options.

A typical scenario: a sweeper’s broom lightly clips the running stone near the hog line, the sweeper immediately yells “burned!”, the rocks are allowed to stop, and then the non‑offending team decides whether to remove that rock or place stones where they think they should be.

6. Quick FAQ

Does the rock always get removed if you touch it?
No. It is automatically removed when the delivering team burns it before the far hog line, but inside the playing‑end hog line the non‑offending team decides whether to remove it, keep it, or reposition stones.

What if I brush my own rock with my hand on release?
If it’s before the hog line at the delivering end and just a brief double‑touch on the handle, most codes do not count that as burning the rock.

What if I kick a rock that was just sitting there between shots?
That’s a displaced stationary stone; the non‑offending team puts it back where it was, as close as they can judge.

TL;DR: If you touch a moving rock in curling, you’ve “burned” it, and depending on when and who did it, the stone might be removed or left in place, but the opponents usually have the final say on how the situation is corrected.

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