why do curlers wear stopwatches

Curlers wear stopwatches so they can precisely measure how fast a stone is traveling, predict where it will stop, and track changing ice conditions throughout a game.

What the stopwatch actually measures

When you see sweepers glancing at their wrists, they’re usually timing specific segments of the stone’s path, not the whole shot.

• Split times : Time from the back line to the near hog line. This tells players how much “energy” or weight is in the throw and helps them predict how far it will slide.

• Long times : Time from near hog line to far hog line (“hog-to-hog”). This gives a clear read on overall stone speed and is a key reference for draw weight (how hard to throw for a stone to stop in the house).

• Shot weight consistency : Teams build internal benchmarks like “normal hit is 9–10 seconds” or “control weight is 10–11 seconds,” then reproduce those times to make the same shot over and over.

An example: if a perfect draw to the button travels hog-to-hog in 14.3 seconds, the team will remember that number and aim to throw another stone with the same time for a similar shot later.

Why it matters strategically

At higher levels, the stopwatch becomes a quiet but powerful strategy tool.

• Predicting where the rock will stop : Sweepers use the time they see to decide whether to sweep hard, sweep lightly, or leave the stone alone, because the timing tells them if the rock is too heavy or too light.

• Copying successful shots : Players often time opponents’ successful shots; if an opponent nails a draw at, say, 3.65 seconds split time, your team now has a template to mimic that shot on the same path.

• Reading changing ice : As a game goes on, the ice “slows down” or “speeds up” as the pebble wears and paths get used. Tracking times across ends shows whether draws are suddenly coming up short or sailing long, and by how much.

So the stopwatch isn’t just about one throw; it’s about building a mental database of “time → result” for that sheet on that day.

Human feel vs. numbers

Among curlers, there’s ongoing debate about relying on stopwatches.

• Experienced players argue the watch should confirm instincts , not replace them: if they feel a rock is light, and the time comes in a touch slower, that backs up their read.

• Many coaches warn newer curlers not to obsess over timing before they’ve developed good balance, delivery, and “feel” for weight.

• Some club players even say that over‑reliance on numbers can hurt, especially if reaction time on the button is slow or inconsistent, which can slightly skew the times.

The general modern view: use the stopwatch as a guide, not a crutch.

A quick “story” example

Imagine a front‑end player in a championship game. Early in the match, their team notes that a good draw to the tee line is 14.3 seconds hog‑to‑hog; by the eighth end, they’re seeing 13.8 for the same result, meaning the ice has slowed.

Now, when the skip calls a crucial draw, the sweepers know: if the watch shows anything faster than 13.8, they’ll need to sweep aggressively, and if it’s noticeably slower, they might back off and hope the stone holds enough weight.

Bottom note

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