World Curling Federation

The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. The name was changed in 1990.

World Curling Federation

Formation	1966 (as International Curling Federation)
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom
Membership	68 member associations
Official language	English
President	Beau Welling
Staff	20^[1]
Website	worldcurling.org

The ICF was initially formed in 1966 as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Perth after the success of the Scotch Cup series of world championships held between Canada and Scotland. At the outset, it comprised the associations of Scotland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. In the wake of its formation, it sanctioned the World Curling Championships. The WCF currently sanctions 15 international curling events (see below). The WCF is managed by eight Board Directors, one president, three vice-presidents (one from each WCF regional zone - Americas, Europe, Pacific-Asia) and six Board Directors. The six Board Directors must all come from different member associations. All positions on the Board of Directors are elected by WCF member associations. The Board of Directors are supported by and a permanent staff of 20 employees.

There are 67 member associations, with the most recent addition being Curling Jamaica in 2022.^[2]

In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, in March 2022 the WCF banned the Russian Curling Federation from competing.^[3]

Goals

The WCF mission statement reads: "The World Curling Federation represents curling internationally and facilitates the growth of the sport through a network of Member Associations/Federations."^[4]

The purpose and aims of the WCF are as follows:^[5]

1. To represent curling internationally and to facilitate growth of the sport throughout the world
2. To promote co-operation and mutual understanding amongst Member Associations and to unite curlers throughout the world
3. To Defend and Further the interests of world curling
4. To conduct world curling competitions
5. To formulate rules of the sport of curling for world competitions and all other competitions approved by the WCF

Member associations

 

Members of the World Curling Federation and its regional divisions. Green represents the Americas zone, Blue represents the Europe zone, and Purple represents the Pacific-Asia zone.

Following is a list of member associations of the World Curling Federation:^[6][7]

Regions in March 2022:

1. Pacific-Asia (18): 14 Asian + 2 Ocean + 2 African Country Pacific-Asia Curling Championships
2. Americas (9): Americas Challenge
3. Europe (41): European Curling Championships

Year	Name	Country	WCF zone
2017	Afghanistan Curling Federation^[8]	Afghanistan	Pacific-Asia
1991	Andorra Curling Association	Andorra	Europe
1986	Australian Curling Federation	Australia	Pacific-Asia
1982	Österreichischer Curling Verband^[9]	Austria	Europe
1997	Belarusian Curling Association^[10]	Belarus	Europe
2005	Belgian Curling Association^[11]	Belgium	Europe
2020	Bolivian Curling Federation	Bolivia	Americas
1998	Brazilian Ice Sports Federation	Brazil	Americas
2013	Bulgarian Curling Federation^[12]	Bulgaria	Europe
1966	Curling Canada	Canada	Americas
2002	Chinese Curling Association	China	Pacific-Asia
1998	Chinese Taipei Curling Federation^[13]	Chinese Taipei	Pacific-Asia
2004	Croatian Curling Association^[14]	Croatia	Europe
1990	Czech Curling Association^[15]	Czech Republic	Europe
1971	Danish Curling Association^[16]	Denmark	Europe
2019	Dominican Republic winter sports federation	Dominican Republic	Americas
1971	English Curling Association	England	Europe
2003	Estonian Curling Association^[17]	Estonia	Europe
1979	Finnish Curling Association^[18]	Finland	Europe
1966	French Ice Sports Federation	France	Europe
2013	Georgian Curling Federation	Georgia	Europe
1967	Deutscher Curling-Verband	Germany	Europe
2003	Hellenic Curling Association	Greece	Europe
2016	Guyana Curling Federation	Guyana	Americas
2014	Hong Kong Curling Association	Hong Kong	Pacific-Asia
1989	Hungarian Curling Federation^[19]	Hungary	Europe
1991	Icelandic Sport Federation	Iceland	Europe
2019	Curling Federation of India	India	Pacific-Asia
2003	Irish Curling Association^[20]	Ireland	Europe
2013	Israel Curling Federation	Israel	Europe
1972	Italian Ice Sports Federation	Italy	Europe
2022	Curling Jamaica	Jamaica	Americas
1985	Japan Curling Association^[21]	Japan	Pacific-Asia
2003	Kazakhstan Curling Association	Kazakhstan	Pacific-Asia
2021	Kenya Curling Federation	Kenya	Pacific-Asia
2012	Kosovo Curling Federation	Kosovo	Europe
2019	Kuwait Winter Games Club	Kuwait	Pacific-Asia
2017	Curling Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic^[22]	Kyrgyzstan	Pacific-Asia
2001	Latvian Curling Association^[23]	Latvia	Europe
1991	Liechtenstein Curling Association	Liechtenstein	Europe
2003	Lithuanian Curling Association^[24]	Lithuania	Europe
1976	Luxembourg Curling Association^[25]	Luxembourg	Europe
2016	Federacion Mexicana de Curling	Mexico	Americas
2012	Mongolian Curling Federation	Mongolia	Pacific-Asia
1975	Netherlands Curling Association^[26]	Netherlands	Europe
1991	New Zealand Curling Association^[27]	New Zealand	Pacific-Asia
2018	Nigeria Curling Federation^[28]	Nigeria	Pacific-Asia
1966	Norwegian Curling Association^[29]	Norway	Europe
2017	Winter Sports Federation of Portugal	Portugal	Europe
2014	Qatar Curling Federation	Qatar	Pacific-Asia
2010	Romanian Curling Federation^[30]	Romania	Europe
1992	Russian Curling Federation^[31]	Russia	Europe
2017	Kingdom Curling Association	Saudi Arabia	Pacific-Asia
1966	Royal Caledonian Curling Club	Scotland	Europe
2005	National Curling Association of Serbia^[32]	Serbia	Europe
2003	Slovak Curling Association^[33]	Slovakia	Europe
2010	Slovenian Curling Association^[34]	Slovenia	Europe
1994	Korean Curling Association	South Korea	Pacific-Asia
1999	Spanish Ice Sports Federation	Spain	Europe
1966	Swedish Curling Association^[35]	Sweden	Europe
1966	Swiss Curling Association^[36]	Switzerland	Europe
2009	Turkish Ice Skating Federation	Turkey	Europe
2020	Curling Federation of Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan	Pacific-Asia
2013	Ukrainian Curling Federation^[37]	Ukraine	Europe
1966	United States Curling Association	United States	Americas
1991	US Virgin Islands Curling Association	U.S. Virgin Islands	Americas
1982	Welsh Curling Association^[38]	Wales	Europe

*The Armenia Curling Federation was suspended for failure to pay subscriptions,^[39] and later expelled.^[40]

*The Polish Curling Association was suspended for not resolving disputes within Poland's ministry of sport and the Polish Curling Association governance structures.^[41]

Executive board

The current executive board as of September 2022 is as follows:^[42]

 

Kate Caithness, former president of the World Curling Federation

President: Beau Welling (United States)
Vice Presidents:

Europe: Bent Ånund Ramsfjell (Norway)

Americas: Graham Prouse (Canada)

Pacific-Asia: Hugh Millikin (Australia)

Board of Directors:

Helena Lingham (Sweden)

Sergio Mitsuo Vilela (Brazil)

Robin Niven (Scotland)

Toyo Ogawa (Japan)

Athlete Commission Chair: Jill Officer (Canada)

Former presidents

Former presidents of the WCF and ICF are listed below:^[43]

President	Member association	Years in office
Presidents of the ICF
Major Allan Cameron	Scotland	1966–1969
Brigadier Colin A. Campbell	Canada	1969–1979
Sven A. Eklund	Sweden	1979–1982
G. Clifton Thompson	Canada	1982–1985
Philip Dawson	Scotland	1985–1988
Dr. Donald F. Barcome	United States	1988–1990
Presidents of the WCF
Günther Hummelt	Austria	1990–2000
Roy Sinclair	Scotland	2000–2006
Les Harrison	Canada	2006–2010
Kate Caithness	Scotland	2010–2022

Competitions and championships

The WCF manages many events around the world.^[44]

Event	Description
International championships
Olympic Winter Games (OWG)	For ten men's, women's, and mixed doubles teams.
Paralympic Winter Games (PWG)	For twelve mixed teams.
Youth Olympic Games (YOG)	For twenty-four mixed teams and forty-eight mixed doubles teams.
World Men's Curling Championship (WMCC)	For thirteen men's teams.
World Women's Curling Championship (WWCC)	For thirteen women's teams.
World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship (WMDCC)	Open entry: one team may enter from each Member Association.
World Wheelchair Curling Championship (WWhCC)	For twelve mixed teams.
World Junior Curling Championships (WJCC)	For ten junior men's and ten junior women's teams.
World Mixed Curling Championship (WMxCC)	Open entry: one team may enter from each Member Association.
World Senior Curling Championships (WSCC)	Open entry: one team from each gender may enter from each Member Association. The players must not be less than 50 years of age.
Qualification events
Olympic Qualification Event (OQE)	For men's and women's teams from National Olympic Committees previously qualified for World Curling Championships but not already qualified for the Olympic Winter Games.
World Mixed Doubles Qualification Event (WMDQE)	For mixed doubles teams from member associations not already qualified for the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship (WWhBCC)	For mixed gender teams from member associations not already qualified for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship.
World Junior-B Curling Championships (WJBCC)	For junior men's and junior women's teams from member associations not already qualified for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship.
Regional championships
European Curling Championships (ECC)	For men's and women's teams from the European zone.
Pan Continental Curling Championships (PCCC)	For men's and women's teams from the Pan Continental Zone. (Starting in 2022-23 season)
Defunct events
Curling World Cup	For eight men's, women's, and mixed doubles teams, consisting of three legs and a Grand Final.
Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships (PJCC)	For junior men's and women's teams from the Pacific Zone; acts as qualification to the WJCC. Replaced by World Junior-B Curling Championships.
European Junior Curling Challenge (EJCC)	For junior men's and women's teams from the European zone that have not already qualified for WJCC. Replaced by World Junior-B Curling Championships.
Americas Challenge	For men's and women's teams from the defunct Americas zone, only if the second-ranked member association from the Americas zone is challenged. Replaced by Pan-Continental Curling Championship.
Pacific-Asia Curling Championships (PACC)	For men's and women's teams from the defunct Pacific-Asia zone. Replaced by the Pan-Continental Curling Championship.
World Qualification Event (WQE)	For eight men's and women's teams from member associations not already qualified for the World Curling Championships.

See also

• World Curling Rankings
• WCF Hall of Fame

Notes

1. "Board". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. "Jamaica joins World Curling Federation". World Curling Federation. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
3. "Krushelnitckii to compete at Russian Championships after doping ban ends". www.insidethegames.biz. 29 March 2022.
4. "About".
5. . Archived from the original on 30 November 2009.
6. . Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
7. . World Curling Federation. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
8. "World Curling Federation Board has accepted Afghanistan into its membership". Afghanistan Curling Federation. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
9. "ÖCV". www.curling-austria.at (in Austrian German). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
10. "ГЛАВНАЯ". www.curlingbelarus.by (in Belarusian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
11. "Belgian Curling Association". www.belgiumcurling.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
12. "Българска Кърлинг Федерация | Българска Кърлинг Федерация". curling.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
13. "中華民國冰石壺協會 Chinese Taipei Curling Federation -". 中華民國冰石壺協會 Chinese Taipei Curling Federation. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
14. "Hrvatski curling savez". Hrvatski curling savez (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
15. "Curling CZ | Oficiální stránky Českého Svazu Curlingu". Curling CZ (in Czech). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
16. "Dansk Curling Forbund" (in Danish). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
17. "Eesti Curlingu Liit". www.curling.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
18. "Suomen Curlingliitto - Finnish Curling Association". www.curling.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
19. "Magyar Curling Szövetség" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
20. "Irish Curling Association". irish-curling.org. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
21. "公益社団法人 日本カーリング協会". www.curling.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
22. "Curling.kg — Сайт федерации кёрлинга Кыргызской Республики" (in Russian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
23. "Curling.Lv". www.curling.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
24. "Lietuvos Kerlingo Asociacija". www.curling.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
25. "Curling Luxembourg – Curling in Luxembourg? Good Idea!". Retrieved 15 May 2019.
26. "Nederlandse Curling Bond". www.curling.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
27. "New Zealand Curling". www.curling.org.nz. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
28. "Home | Nigeria Curling Federation". www.nigeriacurling.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
29. "Norges Curlingforbund". www.curling.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
30. "Federatia Romana de Curling" (in Romanian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
31. "Федерация кёрлинга России". www.curling.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
32. "Национални савез за Карлинг Србије". www.curling.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
33. "curling.sk | Home". www.curling.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
34. "Curling zveza Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
35. "Svenska Curlingförbundet". Svenska Curlingförbundet (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
36. "Home". swisscurling (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
37. "Всеукраїнська федерація кьорлінгу" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
38. "Welsh Curling Association". Welsh Curling Association. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
39. "World Curling Federation Annual General Assembly April 2012". World Curling Federation. 6 April 2012.
40. "Kate Caithness OBE re-elected World Curling Federation President". Paralympic.org. 9 September 2014. Armenian National Curling Federation was excluded from membership during the Assembly.
41. "Membership of Polish Curling Association suspended". World Curling Federation. 4 February 2020.
42. "Board Directors and Staff". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
43. World Curling Federation. "Past Presidents of the WCF".
44. World Curling Federation. . Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

External links

• Official website
• European Curling Federation