{"id":7159,"date":"2026-03-03T12:25:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T01:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/?p=7159"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T05:00:34","slug":"curling-double-touch-scandal-rocks-the-rink-at-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/fea\/curling-double-touch-scandal-rocks-the-rink-at-winter-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Curling \u2018Double-Touch\u2019 scandal rocks the rink at Winter Olympics: Simulation with LS-DYNA proves the difference of one deft touch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7159\" class=\"elementor elementor-7159\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dcecdfa e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"dcecdfa\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d4a6251 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d4a6251\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Australia may have secured a record medal haul at Milano Cortina 2026, but one of the biggest talking points from these games revolved around accusations of teams &#8220;double-touching&#8221; the curling stone after its initial release. Both the Canadian men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s team, and the British men&#8217;s team, were accused of the controversial practice during these Olympics.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fbd0462 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"fbd0462\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1398\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/curling-action-shot.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-7167\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/curling-action-shot.jpg 1398w, https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/curling-action-shot-300x133.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/curling-action-shot-1024x453.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/curling-action-shot-768x340.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1398px) 100vw, 1398px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d81802 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d81802\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When an Olympic medal is up for grabs, you can understand that officials must take it seriously when teams are accused by opponents of making imperceptible contact with the curling stone after release, grazing the stone beyond the hog line. World Curling deploys on-ice umpires and relies on electronic handles to review each delivery and ultimately found no infractions, yet video clips circulating on social media continued to fuel the debate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2137c44 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2137c44\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-730e071 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"730e071\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-866a21b elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"866a21b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;hosted&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;play_on_mobile&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;mute&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-hosted-video elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<video class=\"elementor-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bASELINE.mp4\" autoplay=\"\" loop=\"\" muted=\"muted\" playsinline=\"\" controlsList=\"nodownload\"><\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2df8c1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e2df8c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72725da elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"72725da\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;hosted&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;play_on_mobile&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;mute&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-hosted-video elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<video class=\"elementor-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Double-Touch-1.mp4\" autoplay=\"\" loop=\"\" muted=\"muted\" playsinline=\"\" controlsList=\"nodownload\"><\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3b8c3d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b3b8c3d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d5e28d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6d5e28d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>After the uproar, World Curling has since clarified that double-tapping is not allowed.<\/p><p>The rules state that when delivering a stone, players can retouch the handle as many times as they wish before the hog line, the point at which they must let go. Touching the handle after the hog line is a violation and will result in the stone being removed from play.<\/p><p>During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is also not allowed and will result in it being removed from play.\u00a0 The rules state: &#8220;The curling stone must be delivered using the handle of the stone.&#8221;<\/p><p>This gap between official regulation and a growing social media outcry can be explained by noting that the sensors only register touches on the handle, not the granite stone itself.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What\u2019s the big deal anyway?<\/strong> <strong>Let\u2019s check out the difference that one deft touch can make with Ansys LS-DYNA!<\/strong><\/p><p>To quantify how even the slightest touch might alter the outcome of a match, we conducted two Ansys LS-Dyna simulations: one representing a perfectly clean release and the other including a minimal post-release force.<\/p><p>We built a standard curling-stone model complete with handle and ice surface and set the initial velocity to 2 m\/s (just over 7 km\/h) and the angular velocity to 1 rad\/s. Stone-ice and stone-stone frictional contacts were defined, and a fine mesh was used for the handle and body of the stone. Both runs were simulated for just over 7 seconds to capture the stone\u2019s full trajectory and any resulting collisions.\u00a0<\/p><p>In the first (baseline) run, no external forces were applied after release. In the second run, we introduced a 5 Newton lateral force on the stone over the first half-second, representing a light finger graze beyond the hog line. All other parameters, such as release speed, spin rate and ice friction, remained identical.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a5bd4e elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"5a5bd4e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;hosted&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;play_on_mobile&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;mute&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-hosted-video elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<video class=\"elementor-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bASELINE-2.mp4\" autoplay=\"\" loop=\"\" muted=\"muted\" playsinline=\"\" controlsList=\"nodownload\"><\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c314eda elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c314eda\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The baseline simulation showed the launched stone contacting 2 opposing stones and displacing them, yet it came to rest inside the second ring. Despite a strong performance, the stone failed to score and the end was lost. In the double-touch scenario, the brief five-newton force altered the stone\u2019s trajectory. After colliding with opponent stones, the stone settled closest to the button, earned the point and secured the end. This dramatic swing in result highlights curling\u2019s extreme sensitivity to minute forces: <u>what appears to be an imperceptible graze can indeed decide a match<\/u>!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6222dfe elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"6222dfe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;hosted&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;play_on_mobile&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;mute&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-hosted-video elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<video class=\"elementor-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Double-Touch-2.mp4\" autoplay=\"\" loop=\"\" muted=\"muted\" playsinline=\"\" controlsList=\"nodownload\"><\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ac67f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3ac67f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our Ansys LS-Dyna study confirms that even the most minimal unintended contact can deliver decisive effects on gameplay in a sport such as curling. While World Curling\u2019s electronic handles are designed to register only deliberate pushes past the hog line, an undetected finger graze on the granite could be enough to swing a high-stakes competition. As the sport\u2019s detection technology evolves, integrating higher-resolution sensors or automated video-referee systems may become essential to preserve fair play for all competitors.<br \/><br \/>At LEAP, our engineers specialise in the application of digital engineering and simulation to complex technical problems, so our role is simply to provide an objective assessment and (hopefully) offer clarity through scientific analysis of potential outcomes.<\/p><p>Find out more about the simulation tools we\u2019ve used in today\u2019s blog at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/ls-dyna\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/ls-dyna\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most talked about controversies from the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic  games revolved around accusations of teams \u201cdouble-touching\u201d the curling stone after its initial release. To quantify how even the slightest touch might alter the outcome of a curling match, we conducted two Ansys LS-Dyna simulations: one representing a perfectly clean release and the other including a minimal post-release force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[171,220,241],"class_list":["post-7159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fea","tag-ansys","tag-finite-element-analysis","tag-ls-dyna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7159"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7185,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7159\/revisions\/7185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leapaust.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}