Club, regional body, national federation, world federation: the levels of competitive stock sport, the three events and what a team needs to enter.
The route into competition runs across four levels: club, regional association, national federation and the international governing body IFI, whose rulebook is binding [1][3]. Anyone who wants to play in registered competition does not need a squad place — they need a club affiliated to a regional association and a team willing to commit to a format.
Because that is the second point many underestimate: there is not "the" competition, but three independent events — team game, target competition and distance competition [3][4]. The target competition is additionally contested as an individual and a team ranking [6]. A team's first strategic decision is not tactics, it is discipline choice.
Honest about the scope of this guide: it describes levels, formats and requirements. Specific league tiers, entry deadlines or fees deliberately do not appear — they differ by regional association and change annually. For those, your regional association is the only reliable source.
At the top stands the IFI as international governing body with the binding rulebook [3]. Below it the national federations: in Germany the DESV, based in Munich with its office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, organised across twelve regional ice sports associations [1]; in Austria the national stock sport federation [7].
Below those the regional associations — in Bavaria the Bavarian Ice Sports Association, in which stock sport forms its own section alongside ice hockey, figure skating, curling and speed skating [2]. And at the bottom, where everything starts: the club.
So you know what we are talking about: in Austria the federation reported 73,122 members in 1,457 clubs as of the end of 2023 — the seventh largest sports federation in the country, with the third highest club density after football and tennis, and over 1,100 year-round playable halls [7]. In Germany the figure is, depending on the count, 22,078 to 23,000 members in just under 1,300 clubs [8], in Switzerland 23 clubs [8].
Straight talk: this is a dense but manageable world. The path from your first registered game to people playing at a high level is shorter than in the big ball sports.
Team game: a match regularly has six ends, and each of the four players plays one shot per end [5]. At the start the Moar lays a measure the others orient themselves by [5]. Scoring follows position: the team with the stock in best position receives three stock points, and every further own stock lying closer than the opponent's best-placed stock counts two [5].
Target competition: four rounds of six attempts each, a maximum of 60 points per round [6]. Contested as an individual and a team competition; in the team ranking a different player plays each round and the individual results are added [6].
Distance competition: pure distance, a discipline of its own with its own lane and its own demands [4].
Three things change immediately. First, team size: the international rulebook knows the team of four players [3]. That recreational rounds also play with four to six is practice — in registered play the rule figure applies.
Second, practice time: in the target competition you get exactly eight minutes of training time at the start, after which trial attempts are strictly forbidden [10]. Anyone who has not practised that loses the first round to the lane rather than to the opponent.
Third, the binding force of the rules: in the recreational world, simplified and adapted rulebooks with differing scoring circulate. For registered competition only your federation's rulebook and, above it, the international rulebook apply [3].
Four players, one Moar. The Moar gives the calls, has the final word, sets the tactics and must be tactically experienced enough to deploy the players correctly; with an odd number of players he shoots twice [5].
In practice that means for your line-up: you do not need four equally strong players, you need four different profiles — someone who reliably lays a measure, someone who places, someone who shoots away. The four classic tasks around the best position are laying, placing, bringing and shooting away [5].
Parallel to the playing career there is a formal route: the federations train coaches in stock sport, with modules on general sports biology, training theory and technique instruction, explicitly on shooting, measure and wobble techniques; the coach qualification is a prerequisite for the instructor training [9].
Honestly though: that documents the structure of the training, not the demonstrated effectiveness of the taught methods — effectiveness studies are entirely absent in this sport [9]. For a team the licence is nevertheless often the fastest route to structured practice.
In competition, frequency and concentration rise — and with them the typical loads: throwing shoulder and back in the lunge step across many consecutive attempts, plus long periods standing in the cold. Plan warm-up and staying warm between rounds firmly into your day, not just before the first shot.
At the venue the usual still applies: firm, grippy footwear, neighbouring lanes cleanly separated, and nobody steps onto the running lane while a stock is in motion. At tournaments with several parallel lanes that is not a formality but the difference between a long competition day and a trip to the emergency room.
This guide explains structures and motivates — it never replaces a supervised club or course, and certainly not your federation's rulebook, which always prevails in case of doubt.
As a team, deliberately enter your first season in a single event — the one in which you get measurably better. The target competition is the most honest entry point, because its four rounds of six attempts give you a hard number [6] you can track across the season. Team game results depend on your opponent, target competition points only on you.
Through a club affiliated to a regional association [1][2]. Above those stand the national federation and the IFI, whose rulebook is binding [3]. Specific league tiers, entry deadlines and fees are set by each regional association — ask there instead of guessing online.
Three: team game, target competition and distance competition [3][4]. The target competition is additionally contested as an individual and a team ranking; in the team ranking a different player plays each round and the individual results are added [6].
Four — that is what the international rulebook prescribes for the Moarschaft [3], led by the Moar. Recreational rounds are also played with four to six people; that is practice, not rule. With an odd number of players the Moar shoots twice [5].
A match regularly has six ends, each player plays one shot per end [5]. The team with the stock in best position gets three stock points, and every further own stock lying closer than the opponent's best counts two [5]. Differing simplified counts circulate recreationally — in registered play your federation's rulebook applies [3].
Austria reported 73,122 members in 1,457 clubs and over 1,100 year-round playable halls as of the end of 2023 [7], Germany, depending on the count, 22,078 to 23,000 members in just under 1,300 clubs [8], Switzerland 23 clubs [8]. Densely organised, but heavily concentrated in the Alpine region.
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