Kent Charles, age 13, of Rutland, Vt., for his question:

HOW IS THE GAME OF CURLING PLAYED?

Curling is a game played on ice in Canada and parts of the United States. It originated in Scotland and the Netherlands more than 300 years ago.

Two four man teams compete in the game, named because of the curling or curving action of markers called stones.

On an ice court 146 feet long and 14 feet wide, players slide the heavy stones toward a round, 12 foot target called "the house."

Players deliver the stones, which weigh 42 1/2 pounds each, from a hack or foothold located 126 feet from the center of the house at the opposite end of the ice. The stones have flat tops and bottoms, with handles on top.

To deliver a stone, a player puts the ball of his right foot in the hack and then crouches with his feet together. The stone rests on the ice to his right and slightly in front of him. He grasps the handle in his right hand, slides the stone straight back and raises it as he does. The stone comes off the ice at the top of the player's backswing.

Then the curling player turns his arm in or out as he swings the stone forward. This twisting action causes the stone to turn as he releases it onto the ice. The stone curls to the right or left as it slides along.

If a player believes his stone will fall short of the target after he has released it, he will yell a command: "Sweep." Players on his team at the other end of the court will then run ahead of the sliding stone, sweeping the ice feverishly with brooms. The sweeping smoothes the ice surface and lessens resistance to the sliding stone.

Curling experts say that sweeping can add six to 10 feet to a stone's delivery. When a player wants his teammates to stop sweeping, he will shout another command: "Brooms up."

A total of 16 stones are used to play the game of curling. When all have been delivered by players from one end of the ice to the other, an "end" has been played. The stones of one team that are closer to the house's center than those of the other team score one point each. The other team receives no points in that end.

The procedure is then repeated with players at the other end of the ice sliding the stones back down the ice.

A team in curling is called a rink. It is made up of a lead, a number 2 player, a number 3 player and the skip or captain. They take turns delivering the stones first because it is simpler to do so when there are no other stones on the ice.

The skip is usually the player who issues the "Sweep" and "Brooms up" commands.