World Curling Championships
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's and women's versions of junior and senior championships. There is also a world championship for wheelchair curling. The men's championship started in 1959, while the women's started in 1979. The mixed doubles championship was started in 2008. Since 2005, the men's and women's championships have been held in different venues, with Canada hosting one of the two championships every year: the men's championship in odd years, and the women's championship in even years. Canada has dominated both the men's and women's championships since their inception, although Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany (West Germany), Scotland, the United States, Norway and China have all won at least one championship.
Sport | Curling |
---|---|
Founded | 1959 (men) 1979 (women) 2002 (mixed wheelchair) 2008 (mixed doubles) 2016 (mixed) 2022 (mixed doubles wheelchair) |
No. of teams | 14 |
Most recent champion(s) | Sweden (men) Switzerland (women) China (mixed wheelchair) Scotland (mixed doubles) Canada (mixed) Sweden (mixed doubles wheelchair) |
Most titles | Canada (men: 36 titles) Canada (women: 17 titles) |
History
The World Curling Championships began in 1959 as the Scotch Cup. The Scotch Cup was created by Toronto public relations executive and former sports journalist Stanley D. Houston on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association, a client of Houston's agency Public Relations Services Limited, which was looking to generate increased North American exposure for its products.[citation needed] The first three Cups were contested between men's teams from Scotland and Canada. The United States joined the Scotch Cup in 1961, and Sweden also joined the next year. Canada won the first six world titles, of which the legendary rink skipped by Ernie Richardson earned four. The United States was the first country to break Canada's streak, winning their first world title in 1965. By 1967, Norway, Switzerland, France, and Germany were added to the Scotch Cup, and Scotland won their first title, while Canada finished without a medal for the first time. The tournament was renamed the Air Canada Silver Broom the year after that, and Canada strung together five consecutive world titles starting in that year.
In 1973, the competing field was expanded to ten teams, and Italy and Denmark were introduced to the world stage. Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway won their first titles in the following years, and Canada continued to win medals of all colours. In 1979, the first edition of the women's World Curling Championships was held. The championships were held separately from the men's championships for the first ten years. During this time, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany won world titles.
Bronze medals were not awarded until 1985 for the women's tournament and 1986 for the men's tournament. Between 1989 and 1994, the bronze medal was shared by the semifinals losers.
Beginning in 1989, the men's and women's championships were held together. Norway won their first world women's title. In 1995, Ford Canada and the World Curling Federation reached an agreement to make Ford the sponsor of the World Curling Championships. Japan, the first nation from Asia to compete in the worlds, made their debut in 1990 at the women's championship, and later in 2000 at the men's championship. South Korea and China followed suit in the 2000s. Scotland won their first women's title in 2002, and the United States won their first women's title the next year.
In 2005, the men's and women's championships were separated, and an agreement was made between the World Curling Federation and the Canadian Curling Association that Canada would host one of the tournaments annually each year, all of which are title sponsored by Ford of Canada. Canada began a streak of top two finishes in the men's tournament, and China won their first world title in the women's tournament in 2009.
In 2008, a world championship for mixed doubles curling was created. Switzerland won the first world mixed doubles title, and proceeded to win four of the first five titles. Russia and Hungary won their first world curling titles in the mixed doubles championship, and New Zealand, France, Austria, and the Czech Republic won their first world curling medals.
In 2015, a world championship for mixed curling was created, replacing the European Mixed Curling Championship and supplanting the European Mixed and Canadian Mixed curling championships as the highest level of mixed curling in the world.[1]
In 2019, the World Qualification Event was introduced, to qualify the final two teams in the men's and women's championships.[2] A mixed doubles qualification event will also be added in the 2019–20 curling season, qualifying the final four teams of the twenty-team mixed doubles championship.[3]
In 2020, the men's, women's and mixed doubles championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5][6]
Tournament names
The World Curling Championships have been known by a number of different names over the years.
Men
- 1959–1967: Scotch Cup
- 1968–1985: Air Canada Silver Broom
- 1986–1988: IOC President's Cup (Hexagon)
- 1989–1990: WCF Championships
- 1991–1992: Canada Safeway World Curling Championship
- 1993–1994: WCF Championships
- 1995–2004: Ford World Curling Championship
- 2005–2017: Ford World Men's Curling Championship (odd years)
- 2006–2018: World Men's Curling Championship (even years)
- 2019: Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men's Curling Championship
- 2020: LGT World Men's Curling Championship
- 2021: BKT Tires & OK Tire World Men's Curling Championship
Women
- 1979–1981: Royal Bank of Scotland World Curling Championships
- 1982: World Curling Championships
- 1983: Pioneer Life World Curling Championships
- 1984: World Curling Championships
- 1985: H&M World Curling Championships
- 1986–1990: World Curling Championships
- 1991–1992: Canada Safeway World Curling Championships
- 1993–1994: World Curling Championships
- 1995–2004: Ford World Curling Championships
- 2005–2017: World Women's Curling Championship (odd years)
- 2006–2018: Ford World Women's Curling Championship (even years)
- 2019: LGT World Women's Curling Championship
Competition format
The first two world championships, held as competitions between Scotland and Canada, were held as five-game series between the two nations. Upon the addition of the United States in 1961, the format was changed to a double round robin preliminary round with a three-team knockout round at the conclusion of the round robin. The knockout round was removed for the next two championships. With the addition of more teams, a single round robin preliminary round with a four-team knockout round was implemented in 1971. The championships occurring from 1968 to 1970 included three-team knockout rounds instead of four-team knockout rounds. The knockout round format was adjusted from single-elimination to the Page playoff system in 2005.
In the championships held from 1971 to 1985, third place was awarded to either the team that lost in the semifinal of a three-team knockout round or the higher-seeded team among the losing teams of a four-team knockout round. A bronze medal game was added to the knockout round in 1986, but bronze medal games were not held from 1989 to 1994, during which bronze medals were awarded to the teams that lost in the semifinals.
Until 2017 format of the world championships used a twelve team round-robin preliminary round, after which the top four teams advance to a knockout round held using the Page playoff system.
Starting in 2018 there are 13 teams playing round-robin preliminary round with top six advancing to a single-elimination knockout with top two receiving bye to the semifinals.[7] This includes two teams from the Americas zone, eight from the European zone (via the European Curling Championships) and three from the Asia-Pacific zone (via the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships). For 2019, the number of teams from the Asia-Pacific zone will be reduced by one, and there will also be one less team from the zone of the bottom-placed team at the 2018 championships.[8] The two slots will be allocated to teams from the new World Qualification Event. The qualification event will have eight teams: the host country, one team from the Americas, two from Pacific-Asia, and four from Europe.
Championships
Men
Women
Mixed
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Bern | Norway | Sweden | China | Russia |
2016 | Kazan[34] | Russia | Sweden | Scotland | South Korea |
2017 | Champéry[35] | Scotland | Canada | Czech Republic | Norway |
2018 | Kelowna | Canada | Spain | Russia | Norway |
2019 | Aberdeen | Canada (2) | Germany | Norway | South Korea |
2020 | Aberdeen | Cancelled[36] | |||
2021 | Aberdeen | Cancelled[37] | |||
2022 | Aberdeen[38] | Canada (3) | Scotland | Switzerland | Sweden |
Mixed doubles
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Vierumäki | Switzerland | Finland | Sweden | Norway |
2009 | Cortina d'Ampezzo | Switzerland (2) | Hungary | Canada | China |
2010 | Chelyabinsk | Russia | New Zealand | China | Spain |
2011 | Saint Paul | Switzerland (3) | Russia | France | Sweden |
2012 | Erzurum[39] | Switzerland (4) | Sweden | Austria | world, curling, championships, annual, world, championships, curling, organized, world, curling, federation, contested, national, championship, teams, there, women, mixed, doubles, championships, well, women, versions, junior, senior, championships, there, als. The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams There are men s women s and mixed doubles championships as well as men s and women s versions of junior and senior championships There is also a world championship for wheelchair curling The men s championship started in 1959 while the women s started in 1979 The mixed doubles championship was started in 2008 Since 2005 the men s and women s championships have been held in different venues with Canada hosting one of the two championships every year the men s championship in odd years and the women s championship in even years Canada has dominated both the men s and women s championships since their inception although Switzerland Sweden Denmark Germany West Germany Scotland the United States Norway and China have all won at least one championship World Curling ChampionshipsSportCurlingFounded1959 men 1979 women 2002 mixed wheelchair 2008 mixed doubles 2016 mixed 2022 mixed doubles wheelchair No of teams14Most recentchampion s Sweden men Switzerland women China mixed wheelchair Scotland mixed doubles Canada mixed Sweden mixed doubles wheelchair Most titles Canada men 36 titles Canada women 17 titles Contents 1 History 1 1 Tournament names 2 Competition format 3 Championships 3 1 Men 3 2 Women 3 3 Mixed 3 4 Mixed doubles 3 5 Wheelchair mixed team 3 6 Wheelchair mixed doubles 4 National championships 4 1 Men 4 2 Women 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe World Curling Championships began in 1959 as the Scotch Cup The Scotch Cup was created by Toronto public relations executive and former sports journalist Stanley D Houston on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association a client of Houston s agency Public Relations Services Limited which was looking to generate increased North American exposure for its products citation needed The first three Cups were contested between men s teams from Scotland and Canada The United States joined the Scotch Cup in 1961 and Sweden also joined the next year Canada won the first six world titles of which the legendary rink skipped by Ernie Richardson earned four The United States was the first country to break Canada s streak winning their first world title in 1965 By 1967 Norway Switzerland France and Germany were added to the Scotch Cup and Scotland won their first title while Canada finished without a medal for the first time The tournament was renamed the Air Canada Silver Broom the year after that and Canada strung together five consecutive world titles starting in that year In 1973 the competing field was expanded to ten teams and Italy and Denmark were introduced to the world stage Sweden Switzerland and Norway won their first titles in the following years and Canada continued to win medals of all colours In 1979 the first edition of the women s World Curling Championships was held The championships were held separately from the men s championships for the first ten years During this time Switzerland Canada Sweden Denmark and Germany won world titles Bronze medals were not awarded until 1985 for the women s tournament and 1986 for the men s tournament Between 1989 and 1994 the bronze medal was shared by the semifinals losers Beginning in 1989 the men s and women s championships were held together Norway won their first world women s title In 1995 Ford Canada and the World Curling Federation reached an agreement to make Ford the sponsor of the World Curling Championships Japan the first nation from Asia to compete in the worlds made their debut in 1990 at the women s championship and later in 2000 at the men s championship South Korea and China followed suit in the 2000s Scotland won their first women s title in 2002 and the United States won their first women s title the next year In 2005 the men s and women s championships were separated and an agreement was made between the World Curling Federation and the Canadian Curling Association that Canada would host one of the tournaments annually each year all of which are title sponsored by Ford of Canada Canada began a streak of top two finishes in the men s tournament and China won their first world title in the women s tournament in 2009 In 2008 a world championship for mixed doubles curling was created Switzerland won the first world mixed doubles title and proceeded to win four of the first five titles Russia and Hungary won their first world curling titles in the mixed doubles championship and New Zealand France Austria and the Czech Republic won their first world curling medals In 2015 a world championship for mixed curling was created replacing the European Mixed Curling Championship and supplanting the European Mixed and Canadian Mixed curling championships as the highest level of mixed curling in the world 1 In 2019 the World Qualification Event was introduced to qualify the final two teams in the men s and women s championships 2 A mixed doubles qualification event will also be added in the 2019 20 curling season qualifying the final four teams of the twenty team mixed doubles championship 3 In 2020 the men s women s and mixed doubles championships were cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic 4 5 6 Tournament names Edit The World Curling Championships have been known by a number of different names over the years Men 1959 1967 Scotch Cup 1968 1985 Air Canada Silver Broom 1986 1988 IOC President s Cup Hexagon 1989 1990 WCF Championships 1991 1992 Canada Safeway World Curling Championship 1993 1994 WCF Championships 1995 2004 Ford World Curling Championship 2005 2017 Ford World Men s Curling Championship odd years 2006 2018 World Men s Curling Championship even years 2019 Pioneer Hi Bred World Men s Curling Championship 2020 LGT World Men s Curling Championship 2021 BKT Tires amp OK Tire World Men s Curling ChampionshipWomen 1979 1981 Royal Bank of Scotland World Curling Championships 1982 World Curling Championships 1983 Pioneer Life World Curling Championships 1984 World Curling Championships 1985 H amp M World Curling Championships 1986 1990 World Curling Championships 1991 1992 Canada Safeway World Curling Championships 1993 1994 World Curling Championships 1995 2004 Ford World Curling Championships 2005 2017 World Women s Curling Championship odd years 2006 2018 Ford World Women s Curling Championship even years 2019 LGT World Women s Curling ChampionshipCompetition format EditThe first two world championships held as competitions between Scotland and Canada were held as five game series between the two nations Upon the addition of the United States in 1961 the format was changed to a double round robin preliminary round with a three team knockout round at the conclusion of the round robin The knockout round was removed for the next two championships With the addition of more teams a single round robin preliminary round with a four team knockout round was implemented in 1971 The championships occurring from 1968 to 1970 included three team knockout rounds instead of four team knockout rounds The knockout round format was adjusted from single elimination to the Page playoff system in 2005 In the championships held from 1971 to 1985 third place was awarded to either the team that lost in the semifinal of a three team knockout round or the higher seeded team among the losing teams of a four team knockout round A bronze medal game was added to the knockout round in 1986 but bronze medal games were not held from 1989 to 1994 during which bronze medals were awarded to the teams that lost in the semifinals Until 2017 format of the world championships used a twelve team round robin preliminary round after which the top four teams advance to a knockout round held using the Page playoff system Starting in 2018 there are 13 teams playing round robin preliminary round with top six advancing to a single elimination knockout with top two receiving bye to the semifinals 7 This includes two teams from the Americas zone eight from the European zone via the European Curling Championships and three from the Asia Pacific zone via the Pacific Asia Curling Championships For 2019 the number of teams from the Asia Pacific zone will be reduced by one and there will also be one less team from the zone of the bottom placed team at the 2018 championships 8 The two slots will be allocated to teams from the new World Qualification Event The qualification event will have eight teams the host country one team from the Americas two from Pacific Asia and four from Europe Championships EditMen Edit See also List of World Men s Curling Champions Scotsman David Murdoch is a two time world champion Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 4th place1959 Edinburgh Falkirk Perth Canada Scotland no other competitors1960 Ayr Edinburgh Glasgow Canada 2 Scotland no other competitors1961 Ayr Edinburgh Kirkcaldy Perth Canada 3 Scotland United States no other competitors1962 Edinburgh Falkirk Canada 4 United States Scotland Sweden1963 Perth Canada 5 Scotland United States Sweden1964 Calgary Canada 6 Scotland United States Sweden1965 Perth United States Canada Sweden Scotland1966 Vancouver Canada 7 Scotland United States Sweden1967 Perth Scotland Sweden United States Canada1968 Pointe Claire Canada 8 Scotland United States Sweden1969 Perth Canada 9 United States Scotland Sweden1970 Utica Canada 10 Scotland Sweden United States1971 Megeve Canada 11 Scotland United States Switzerland1972 Garmisch Partenkirchen Canada 12 United States West Germany Scotland1973 Regina Sweden Canada France Scotland1974 Bern United States 2 Sweden Switzerland Canada1975 Perth Switzerland United States Canada Sweden1976 Duluth United States 3 Scotland Switzerland Sweden1977 Karlstad Sweden 2 Canada Scotland United States1978 Winnipeg United States 4 Norway Canada Sweden1979 Bern Norway Switzerland Canada West Germany1980 Moncton Canada 13 Norway Switzerland Sweden1981 London Switzerland 2 United States Canada Norway1982 Garmisch Partenkirchen Canada 14 Switzerland West Germany Sweden1983 Regina Canada 15 West Germany Norway Sweden1984 Duluth Norway 2 Switzerland Sweden Canada1985 Glasgow Canada 16 Sweden Denmark United States1986 Toronto Canada 17 Scotland United States Sweden1987 Vancouver Canada 18 West Germany Norway Denmark1988 Lausanne Norway 3 Canada Scotland Switzerland1989 Milwaukee Canada 19 Switzerland Norway Sweden1990 Vasteras Canada 20 Scotland Denmark Sweden1991 Winnipeg Scotland 2 Canada Norway United States1992 Garmisch Partenkirchen Switzerland 3 Scotland Canada United States1993 Geneva Canada 21 Scotland Switzerland United States1994 Oberstdorf Canada 22 Sweden Germany Switzerland1995 Brandon Canada 23 Scotland Germany United States1996 Hamilton Canada 24 Scotland Switzerland Norway1997 Bern Sweden 3 Germany Scotland Canada1998 Kamloops Canada 25 Sweden Finland Scotland1999 Saint John Scotland 3 Canada Switzerland United States2000 Glasgow Canada 26 Sweden Finland United States2001 Lausanne Sweden 4 Switzerland Norway Canada2002 Bismarck Canada 27 Norway Scotland United States2003 Winnipeg Canada 28 Switzerland Norway Finland2004 Gavle Sweden 5 Germany Canada Norway2005 Victoria Canada 29 Scotland Germany Norway2006 Lowell Scotland 4 Canada Norway United States2007 Edmonton Canada 30 Germany United States Switzerland2008 Grand Forks Canada 31 Scotland Norway China2009 Moncton Scotland 5 Canada Norway Switzerland2010 Cortina d Ampezzo Canada 32 Norway Scotland United States2011 Regina Canada 33 Scotland Norway Sweden2012 Basel Canada 34 Scotland Sweden Norway2013 Victoria 9 10 Sweden 6 Canada Scotland Denmark2014 Beijing Norway 4 Sweden Switzerland Canada2015 Halifax Sweden 7 Norway Canada Finland2016 Basel 11 Canada 35 Denmark United States Japan2017 Edmonton 12 Canada 36 Sweden Switzerland United States2018 Paradise 13 Sweden 8 Canada Scotland South Korea2019 Lethbridge 14 Sweden 9 Canada Switzerland Japan2020 Glasgow 15 Cancelled 16 17 2021 Calgary 18 Sweden 10 Scotland Switzerland RCF2022 Las Vegas 19 Sweden 11 Canada Italy United States2023 Ottawa 20 Future event2024 Schaffhausen Future eventWomen Edit See also List of World Women s Curling Champions Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 4th place1979 Perth Switzerland Sweden Canada Scotland1980 Perth Canada Sweden Scotland United States1981 Perth Sweden Canada Norway Switzerland1982 Geneva Denmark Sweden Scotland Norway1983 Moose Jaw Switzerland 2 Norway Canada Sweden1984 Perth Canada 2 Switzerland West Germany Norway1985 Jonkoping Canada 3 Scotland Switzerland Sweden1986 Kelowna Canada 4 West Germany Sweden Scotland1987 Chicago Canada 5 West Germany Switzerland Norway1988 Glasgow West Germany Canada Sweden Norway1989 Milwaukee Canada 6 Norway Sweden West Germany1990 Vasteras Norway Scotland Canada Denmark1991 Winnipeg Norway 2 Canada Scotland Sweden1992 Garmisch Partenkirchen Sweden 2 United States Canada Switzerland1993 Geneva Canada 7 Germany Norway Sweden1994 Oberstdorf Canada 8 Scotland Germany Sweden1995 Brandon Sweden 3 Canada Norway Germany1996 Hamilton Canada 9 United States Norway Germany1997 Bern Canada 10 Norway Denmark Japan1998 Kamloops Sweden 4 Denmark Canada Norway1999 Saint John Sweden 5 United States Denmark Norway2000 Glasgow Canada 11 Switzerland Norway Scotland2001 Lausanne Canada 12 Sweden Denmark Scotland2002 Bismarck Scotland Sweden Norway Canada2003 Winnipeg United States Canada Sweden Norway2004 Gavle Canada 13 Norway Switzerland United States2005 Paisley Sweden 6 United States Norway Canada2006 Grande Prairie Sweden 7 United States Canada Germany2007 Aomori Canada 14 Denmark Scotland United States2008 Vernon Canada 15 China Switzerland Japan2009 Gangneung China Sweden Denmark Canada2010 Swift Current Germany 2 Scotland Canada Sweden2011 Esbjerg Sweden 8 Canada China Denmark2012 Lethbridge 21 Switzerland 3 Sweden Canada South Korea2013 Riga 22 Scotland 2 Sweden Canada United States2014 Saint John Switzerland 4 Canada Russia South Korea2015 Sapporo 23 Switzerland 5 Canada Russia Scotland2016 Swift Current 24 Switzerland 6 Japan Russia Canada2017 Beijing 25 Canada 16 Russia Scotland Sweden2018 North Bay 26 Canada 17 Sweden Russia United States2019 Silkeborg 27 Switzerland 7 Sweden South Korea Japan2020 Prince George 28 Cancelled 29 30 2021 Calgary Switzerland 8 RCF United States Sweden2022 Prince George 31 Switzerland 9 South Korea Canada Sweden2023 Sandviken 32 Future event2024 Sydney 33 Future eventMixed Edit Main article World Mixed Curling Championship Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 4th place2015 Bern Norway Sweden China Russia2016 Kazan 34 Russia Sweden Scotland South Korea2017 Champery 35 Scotland Canada Czech Republic Norway2018 Kelowna Canada Spain Russia Norway2019 Aberdeen Canada 2 Germany Norway South Korea2020 Aberdeen Cancelled 36 2021 Aberdeen Cancelled 37 2022 Aberdeen 38 Canada 3 Scotland Switzerland SwedenMixed doubles Edit Main article World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship See also List of World Mixed Doubles Curling Champions Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 4th place2008 Vierumaki Switzerland Finland Sweden Norway2009 Cortina d Ampezzo Switzerland 2 Hungary Canada China2010 Chelyabinsk Russia New Zealand China Spain2011 Saint Paul Switzerland 3 Russia France Sweden2012 Erzurum 39 Switzerland 4 Sweden Austria span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |