What happens if a curler touches a moving stone?
A · Advanced · Stones in play · 1 of 5If a team touches its own moving stone before the far hog line, that stone is removed. Inside the hog line, all stones come to rest and the other team chooses: remove the touched stone, leave everything or place the stones where they would have stopped. If an opponent touches a delivered stone, it is redelivered.
How it works
- Zone one: from the tee line at the delivery end to the hog line at the playing end.
- Own touch, zone one: the stone is removed at once.
- Opponent touch, zone one: a delivered stone is redelivered; another is placed where it would have stopped.
- Inside the hog line, own touch: the other team removes the stone, leaves all or places them.
- Inside the hog line, opponent touch: the other team places the stones where they would have stopped.
- External force: stones are placed as they would have been, or the stone is redelivered.
- Double touch: of the handle by the deliverer before the hog line is not a violation.
- Granite: touching it after the tee line counts as a touched stone.
The glossary has the touched moving stone, the stone, the sweeping, the delivery, the hog line and the Spirit of Curling.
Tricky cases
A sweeper's foot touches their own stone halfway down. What happens?
The stone is removed from play at once.
An opponent's brush clips a delivered stone before the hog line. What then?
The stone is redelivered.
A stone bounces off the divider and hits a moving stone. Who decides?
The non-delivering team places the stone where it would have stopped.
An LSD stone is touched by the delivering team. What is recorded?
The maximum distance, 199.6 cm.
Why the rule exists
A touch can change a stone's path, so the side that did not cause it chooses the fix. Removing a team's own touched stone early stops players guiding a stone by hand or brush.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Before the far hog line | Own touched stone removed | WC R9 (a) |
| Inside the far hog line | Non-offending team chooses | WC R9 (b) |
| Last stone draw | Own touch is the maximum distance | WC R9 (c) |
From the rule book
World Curling, The Rules of Curling and Rules of Competition (1 September 2026), rules R5 (d) and R9. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Curling's rules, reviewed every year.