OLYMPICS: Curling-Electronic handles are a hit at Milano Cortina Games

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Curlers are welcoming the introduction of electronic handles on stones at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which automatically detect and flag hog line violations, making the sport fairer than ever.

The handles light up blue when ready, flash green for legal throws, and turn red when players release too late past the hog line – the point where curlers must let go of the stone during delivery. Each handle has a touch sensor that interacts with a magnetic strip embedded in the ice.

Italy’s mixed doubles champion Stefania Constantini said, “We have used them sometimes at important competitions, so yes, we are used to them. It’s good to have them so everybody is the same. Everyone has to be aware of what they are doing, because it’s a curling rule.”

American curler Korey Dropkin, 2023 world mixed doubles champion with partner Cory Thiesse, added, “I think it’s great that they’ve fine-tuned the technology. It’s definitely part of the sport. We needed to lock in that hog line.”

Previous Attempts

The Milano Cortina Games are the first to feature the handles. Previous attempts to detect violations failed, including at the 2022 Beijing Games, where battery issues forced a return to curling’s traditional honor system, with players calling their own fouls.

In preparation for 2026, World Curling partnered with engineers from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Czech company InoSens CZ to develop the technology. It was tested during last year’s European Championships and Olympic Qualification Event.

David Sik, chair of World Curling’s Technical Commission, said, “We had to merge our knowledge. The engineers knew their job, but they didn’t know anything about curling. We discussed a lot to make it work.”

Maintaining Curling Culture

Curling has long been an honor-based sport, where players call their own fouls. Sik emphasized that the technology is meant to make the sport fairer at the highest level, not change its culture.

“The top athletes play for results and medals, but 99% of players play for fun and love the sport,” he said. “Usually, we don’t need umpires much because there’s always an agreement between skips and teams on how to play and behave. For split-second violations that human eyes struggle to catch, the flashing lights provide crucial clarity.”

Sik added, “Sometimes it’s difficult to recognize if a player is still touching the handle. These are situations that can be hard to resolve between players. We want to use technology to help and avoid uncomfortable situations.”

-Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Clare Fallon/Reuters