Why do they sweep the ice in curling?

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Brett Gallant of Team Canada sweeps the stone during a training session Wednesday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

Curling is one of the Winter Olympics’ most beloved sports, but if we’re being honest, many of us only get into it every four years. So, can you blame us if we have questions about strategy that can only be answered by … physics?

There’s a reason curlers sweep as the stone glides across the ice in search of the house — or, better yet, the button. And it’s not quite as to-clear-a-path obvious as you might think.

Here’s a brief explanation of what sweeping accomplishes and why the game is called curling in the first place:

Feb 7, 2026