The ice stock delivery for beginners: how to grip the stock loosely, aim with your whole body, set the lunge step and meter the distance cleanly.
The ice stock delivery is not a throw but a controlled letting-glide: you grip the stock loosely, swing it calmly back and forth, step into a lunge from a standing start and let the ice stock glide cleanly onto the ice beside your front foot — with no run-up [1][3][8]. It isn't force that carries the stock to the Daube, but direction and metered distance.
And the honest reason your stock runs sideways or shoots far too far at the start: almost everyone wants to throw it. In truth you aim with your whole body — eyes fixed on the target, the handle (Stiel) of the stock swung in a straight line toward the Daube [7]. Whoever takes their eyes off the target while shooting loses the direction. Your body goes where your gaze points.
Quickly the terms, so they stick: the Daube is the 12-centimetre hard-rubber target puck; in the target competition scoring rings worth 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 points lie around it [4]. The ice stock consists of handle, stock body (2.73 to 3.83 kilos) and running sole [5] — and it is precisely the running sole that decides how the stock glides: a rubber sole on ice, a plastic sole on summer asphalt [5].
A word on the distinction, because it often gets muddled here: this is not curling. You sweep nothing, your stock is light and has a handle, and your target is the movable Daube, not a fixed ring.
Take the stock in your hand (right-handers on the right) so that thumb and index finger lie on the disc or hood side and your palm points toward the target [1]. Hold it loosely but securely — don't clench. A clenched grip transfers every tremor straight to the stock.
Line your whole body up toward the target and keep your gaze on the Daube [2]. Swing the stock in a straight line toward the target — the hand moves straight toward it [7]. The most important beginner fix is here: your eyes fix on the target in every phase [7] — the stock follows your gaze.
Stand in the basic stance on the delivery spot and swing the stock calmly back and forth. Then you take one lunge step toward the target, the lunging leg in front — only as big as keeps the ankle behind the knee and the knee behind the shoulder when seen from the side [7]. A run-up is off limits: running ahead with the stock in your hand invalidates the attempt [8]. Your body weight rests on the front leg, the upper body moves upright forward with it. From this stable, low position comes the calm for a clean stock.
Now the arm swings fluidly down and forward — as a beginner it is mostly gravity that accelerates the stock [7] — and you let the stock glide onto the ice beside your front foot [3]. No jerk, no fling: the stock leaves your hand low and flat and then runs on its own.
You steer the distance through the swing, not through an extra shove at the end [4]. More swing = further, less = shorter; as a beginner you also regulate distance through your choice of running sole [7]. Note a feel for each lane: after a few tries you know exactly how much swing carries to the Daube.
The delivery is the moment when, as a beginner, something is most likely to happen — and it is rarely dramatic: usually a slip on the ice or a mild strain, almost always from a missing or wrong warm-up [6]. Two things protect you reliably: firm, grippy footwear and a short dynamic warm-up for legs, hips, back and the throwing shoulder before you shoot your first stock.
And as always: this guide explains the technique and motivates — it never replaces the supervised club or course in which an experienced player corrects your lunge and timing in real time and secures you on slippery ice.
Practise the movement sequence first entirely without shooting [1]: grip, gaze on the target, swing, lunge step — several times dry, until it runs smoothly. Whoever internalises the movement without stone-stress first and then adds the stock saves themselves weeks of sideways runners. Because the stock forgives only what your body already can do.
Don't throw it, let it glide. You grip the stock loosely with the palm toward the target [1], line up your whole body and gaze on the Daube [7], swing calmly and step from a standing start — with no run-up [8] — into a lunge step with the weight on the front leg [3]. Then you let the stock glide onto the ice beside your front foot [3].
Loosely but securely — never clenched. Thumb and index finger lie on the disc or hood side, the little finger points to the open end of the stock, and your palm points in the direction you want to shoot [1]. A loose grip transfers less tremor to the stock and lets it glide more cleanly.
With your whole body, not just your arm. Line your body and gaze firmly on the Daube and swing the stock in a straight line toward the target [7]. The decisive fix: keep your eyes on the target in every phase [7]. The stock follows your gaze.
Through swing and running sole, not through a jerk at the end [4][7]. More swing carries further, less shorter. Play yourself in on each lane with a few tries until you have the feel for the distance to the Daube. And remember the running sole: on asphalt the stock runs differently than on ice [5].
Find a Rink or Club (Summer and Winter): How to Play Ice Stock for the First Time and What You Need