What are the four positions in curling?

Lead, second, third (also called the vice-skip or vice) and skip. They throw in that order, two stones each, alternating with the other team, and the skip calls every shot.

Is the lead the weakest player on a curling team?

No. The lead throws the guards and the opening draws that set up the whole end, on the cleanest ice of the end, with the free guard zone rule in force. A lead who cannot place a guard within a few inches costs the team more than a skip who misses one takeout.

What does the third do in curling?

The third throws fifth and sixth, holds the broom while the skip throws, helps the skip decide shots, and is the player who agrees the score of each end with the opposing third. They are also called the vice-skip or vice.

Does the skip always throw last?

Almost always, but not by rule — the order is chosen by the team and can be anything, and a few teams have the skip throw third stones. What the rules fix is that the order, once declared, does not change during a game.

CurlTi.me/Learn/Positions

The four players, and what each one does

Four players, sixteen stones, and a strict order that never changes. Each position throws a different kind of shot, and each one exists because of where in the end it falls.

Last updated 2026-08-16

The order#

Four players, two stones each, alternating with the other team: sixteen stones make an end. The order is declared before the game and does not change during it.

Position	Throws	Also called	Mostly throwing
Lead	Stones 1 and 2	—	Guards and opening draws
Second	Stones 3 and 4	—	Takeouts, and the first real mess
Third	Stones 5 and 6	Vice-skip, vice, mate	Draws to save the end, or hits to clear it
Skip	Stones 7 and 8	—	Whatever the end has turned into

While one player throws, two of the others sweep and one stands in the house holding the broom. The skip holds it for everybody else's stones; the third holds it for the skip's.

Lead#

The lead throws first, which means throwing on the cleanest ice of the end — nothing in the way, nothing to go around — and it means throwing under the free guard zone rule, where the opposition cannot remove what you put down.

That combination makes the lead's stones enormously valuable and enormously exposed. A guard placed six inches too deep is a guard the other team can draw around; a guard six inches too shallow protects nothing. Two good lead stones can shape the whole end before anyone else has thrown.

Leads also sweep more than anyone else — they sweep six of the team's eight stones — so it is the most physical seat on the team.

The myth about leads#

Beginners are often put at lead because it "matters least". It does not matter least. It is the position where precision converts most directly into advantage, and top teams do not put their weakest player there.

Second#

By the time the second throws there is usually something on the ice to react to, and the free guard zone protection is running out. The second's stones are where an end stops being a plan and becomes a situation: hits, taps, the first come-arounds.

Seconds tend to be the team's best heavy-weight throwers, because this is where the first takeouts happen and where they have to be clean.

Third, or vice-skip#

Three jobs, only one of which is throwing.

Throwing stones five and six, which are the hardest shots of the end — the position is developed, the options are narrowing, and the skip's last two stones depend on what you leave.
Holding the broom for the skip, and being the second opinion on every call before that. A good third argues.
Agreeing the score. When the end finishes, the two thirds — and only the two thirds — decide who counts what, call for a measure if needed, and clear the stones. Everybody else stays out of it.

If the skip has to leave the ice, the third takes over. Hence "vice-skip", which is the older name and still the common one in Scotland.

Skip#

The skip calls every shot of the game — where the broom goes, what weight, which turn — and throws last. It is the most visible position and the most misunderstood: the throwing is the smaller half of the job.

What a skip is actually doing all game:

Reading the ice, continuously, from every stone thrown by either team. Where the broom goes is a claim about how much this sheet curls right now.
Managing the score. What to call at 4–3 down in the eighth is a different question from the same position at 4–3 up in the third. See strategy.
Managing four people, one of whom has just missed.

The word is short for skipper, and the analogy is exact.

Teams that do it differently#

The order is a convention, not a rule. Some teams have the skip throw third stones and the vice throw last, usually because the best shot-caller and the best last-stone thrower are different people. Some teams play with a fifth — an alternate who can be substituted between ends.

Mixed doubles is a different sport in the same building: two players, five stones each, one pre-placed stone at each end of the house, and games of eight ends that take about half the time.

Positions on CurlTi.me#

A game here is one person throwing all eight stones, so there are no seats to fill — you are lead, second, third and skip at once, which is a decent way to learn what each of them is actually for. What does carry over is the order: the stones alternate, the free guard zone applies to the first five, and the last stone of an end is the hammer.

Throw all eight yourself What to call when