The Maß is your most important shot: flat set-down, controlled force, eyes on the Daube. Here is how to place your stock in best position, step by step.
A Maß attempt is the shot in which you place your stock as close as possible to the Daube – without knocking another stock out of the target area [1]. You may touch the Daube and other stocks, but knocking them out is not the aim. That is why the Maß is the shot you start with: the target is bigger than for any other attempt [1].
The honest answer to "Isn't that the easy shot?": it is the easier one, but not the easy one. It takes a flat set-down and a feel for force, and both only grow through repetition. The Austrian federation's textbook puts it dryly: a good set-down takes time and patience [1].
A word on the evidence: there is hardly any research on ice stock sport itself. The technique here comes from the federation textbook, the IFI rulebook and the German Ice Stock Federation [1][2][3]. Only one point is explicitly marked as carried over: the quiet look at the target (TRANSFER from other target sports [4]).
Your partner stands on the lane and sets the target. You play the stock in front of their feet, not further. Only when the set-down works there do you extend the distance [1]. You play the first attempts of a session without effort, the target area is not yet the aim during the warm-up, and you always begin with Maß attempts [1].
Practice rule of thumb (ours, not a federation value): eight of ten stocks land flat and run without wobbling, then you extend.
A good stock player stands out through a constant set-down: the stock lands flat on the running sole, does not wobble and does not rotate excessively [1]. You set it down beside the lunge leg. Too far forward or too far back is wrong either way [1].
Anyone who misses the set-down usually leans forward to shorten the distance. That is a gross error, and you go back to the basics [1].
As a beginner you do not accelerate the stock downward additionally – gravity does that [1]. You regulate distance through the running sole: it should fit so that you only have to change force minimally for different attempts. The goal is a sole with which you reach every point in the target area without too much (but also not too little) effort [1].
A rule of thumb from the textbook: it is harder to reduce force a little than to increase it a little – like a cup on the edge of a table [1].
From the preparation phase on, your eyes fix only the target [1]. That fits what sport psychology finds in other target sports: in experts the last look at the target is quiet for longer than in beginners, and in the same person successful attempts on average come with a longer quiet period than failed ones (TRANSFER from a meta-analysis across sport in general, not from ice stock sport) [4].
Then you make the target smaller: two obstacles in front of the target area, only a Maß between them counts. Once you are secure, you play into the rings. As a practice scoring the textbook gives, for example: Maß into the rings 3 points, without touching the rings 1 point [1].
In the team game, at the end of the end (Kehre) every stock that lies closer to the Daube than the opponent's best counts one point – at most 4 points per end [2][3]. Equal distance brings no points, and the shortest distance is measured [2].
The Ansteller is a Maß attempt in which you place your stock as close as possible to a stock behind the Daube to cover yourself [1]. For the youth classes the textbook advises, on the lead-off (first stock of an end), to cover the Daube and get as close as possible – that forces the opponent into the harder stock attempt [1].
In the target competition, rounds 1 and 3 are Maß attempts at rings worth 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 points (at most 60 per round) [2]. During the warm-up: first about ten attempts into the middle, then onto the back rings. Your first attempt aims at the 6 or 8 ring in front of the Daube [1].
During an attempt nobody may be in or in front of the target area [2]. The team leader stands behind the target area and does not move [1][2]. Never play against each other from both directions at the same time: that can lead to serious injuries and broken equipment [1].
A complete stock weighs roughly 5 kilograms [2], and on ice you slip with every step. Wear sturdy shoes, warm up and stay alert while measuring and walking back. Leaning forward is also a risk for your back: the federation calls leaning forward too early harmful in the long run [1].
This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training at a club.
In the target competition, play your first attempt deliberately short: at the 6 or 8 ring in front of the Daube [1]. The reason is in the textbook: short is easier to correct than too far, because it is harder to reduce force than to increase it [1]. If you warm up like this, you save yourself the first overlong stocks.
A Maß attempt aims to place your own stock as close as possible to the Daube. You may touch the Daube or other stocks, but you do not want to knock any out of the target area [1].
With the Maß you place your stock in best position to the Daube. With the stock attempt you aim at an opponent's stock and want to move it out of the target area. The stock attempt is the harder of the two [1].
Every stock that lies closer to the Daube after the end than the opponent's best stock counts one point. That makes at most 4 points per end. With equal distance there are no points [2][3].
Through the running sole instead of extra swing. As a beginner only gravity accelerates the stock downward, and you choose the sole so that you only have to change force a little. Play the first attempt rather short [1].
An Ansteller is a Maß attempt in which at least one stock lies behind the Daube and you play your stock as close as possible to it. That covers your stock from behind and reaches best position at the same time [1].
Shooting Out in Ice Stock Sport: How to Play the Stock Attempt Accurately