If you kick or otherwise touch a stone in curling while it’s in play, it’s treated as a “burned” or “touched” stone, and there are clear rules for what happens next.

Quick answer

  • If you kick a moving stone: it’s a rules infraction, and the non‑offending team decides how to fix it.
  • If you kick a stationary stone: the non‑offending team puts it back where it was (as closely as possible).
  • Intentional kicking can also be seen as poor sportsmanship, even if the same rules apply.

What the official rules say

In the rulebooks, this is covered under “touched” or “burned” stones (kicking is just one way of touching them).

If you kick a moving stone

Inside the hog line at the playing end, when a moving stone is touched by the delivering team (for example, a player’s foot clips it):

The non‑offending team can choose to:

  1. Let all the stones stay where they stopped.
  1. Remove the touched (kicked) stone and put all other affected stones back where they were before the touch.
  1. Place all stones where they reasonably think they would have ended up if the stone hadn’t been touched.

If the opponent kicks your moving stone, you (as the non‑offending team) place the stones where you reasonably think they would have come to rest.

If you kick a stationary stone

If a stone that is not moving is accidentally kicked and it wouldn’t have affected any moving stone, the non‑offending team replaces it to its original position, as closely as they can judge.

Spirit of the game and etiquette

Curling’s Code of Ethics expects players not to knowingly break rules and to admit any breach.

  • Accidentally clipping a stone with your foot happens sometimes; players are expected to call it on themselves so the skips can sort out the placement.
  • Deliberately kicking a stone to gain an advantage would be considered a serious breach of curling etiquette and sportsmanship, even though the same technical options (remove/replace/adjust stones) still apply.

In real‑world play and forum chatter

In club and online discussions, “burned rocks” (touched or kicked stones) are a common hot topic:

  • Some skips like to be generous in social play and just “let it stand” if the touch clearly hurt the offending team and not them.
  • In competitive events, teams are more likely to enforce the full options, especially if the kick significantly changed the result of the end.

So, in practice: if you kick a stone, expect play to pause, the skips to chat, and then either the rock will be removed or the house will be carefully reset to what everyone agrees is the fairest outcome.

TL;DR: Kicking a stone in curling burns it: the other team gets to decide whether to let the shot stand, remove the kicked stone, or reset things to where they should have ended up, and repeated or intentional kicks are a big no‑no under curling’s sportsmanship code.

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