Curling is a very unique sport with very special equipment —including the stones. At the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, every curling stone was made using stones harvested from a Scottish island known as Ailsa Craig.
In fact, every curling stone used in every Olympics since the 2006 games in Turin, Italy, has been made of stone sourced from Ailsa Craig. Why? Because the granite found on the island is known to be the hardest and purest in the entire world. The World Curling Federationwon’t use stones from anywhere else in its worldwide competitions. The only curling stone company that has the rights to the rocks on Ailsa Craig is Kays of Scotland. They have been supplying the curling stones used in the Olympic Winter Games since the 1924 games in Chamonix, France. Craftsmenat the Kays workshopin Mauchline, Scotland, make five stones per day, or 25 per week. Each one must be carefully checked to make sure that they fall between 38 to 44 pounds in weight, with a width of 291 millimeters and a height of roughly 114 millimeters.
