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It starts with a Tuesday league at the local club: four friends, a sheet of ice and a drink in the warm room after. Then someone signs the team up for a bonspiel two states away. A few years later, maybe, it’s regional playdowns, a national championship, or a college team traveling to Schenectady. Curling has a surprisingly clear ladder from the club to the Olympics. This page explains the curling leagues and associations that run it: World Curling, USA Curling and its clubs, college curling, the pro tours and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as of the 2026 season.
World Curling
World Curling is the sport’s international federation, based in Perth, Scotland. It began in 1966, when six countries (Scotland, Canada, the United States, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland) agreed to form an international committee, and it was later known as the World Curling Federation. It writes the Rules of Curling that national bodies build on, reviews them every year, and runs the world championships for men, women, mixed doubles, mixed, seniors, juniors and wheelchair curling. Its stated mission is to be the world’s favorite Olympic and Paralympic winter team sport.
USA Curling and its clubs
USA Curling, founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is the national governing body for Olympic curling and Paralympic wheelchair curling in the United States. It works with nearly 200 member clubs from coast to coast, supports them with insurance and resources, runs SafeSport and athlete safety training, and organizes the national championships.
- Clubs: your club is where you play. Most require a membership to join a league, but anyone can join. USA Curling says dues range from under $100 a year (with league fees on top) to more than $1,000 with unlimited leagues included.
- Leagues: most weekly league games are 8 ends and about 2 hours; some are 6 ends in 90 minutes. New curlers can often “spare,” filling in for teams that are short a player.
- Bonspiels: weekend tournaments, usually with a three- or four-game guarantee and up to six or seven games. Some teams travel across the country for them. USA Curling keeps a bonspiel calendar.
- Membership: two types, Basic and Youth, with upgrades for competing and coaching; benefits include participant accident insurance. Some clubs include it in club dues.
- Regions and nationals: USA Curling holds more than a dozen national championships a year: men’s, women’s and mixed doubles, plus events for curlers with five or fewer years of experience, club curlers, wheelchair fours and mixed doubles, and under-18s. Many start with playdowns run by its 10 Recognized Regional Associations.
Bonspiel season means hauling gear. A padded broom bag, your shoes and a stash of hand warmers make the weekend easier:
VPRO Curling Broom Bag
- Made for curling brooms
- Carry it to the club or the airport
- About $50
Asham Club Ultra Lite Curling Shoe
- Slider and gripper disks included
- Right- or left-handed setup
- About $205
HotHands Hand Warmers, 40 Pairs
- Up to 10 hours of heat
- Air-activated
- About $25 for 40 pairs
College curling
College curling in the US isn’t an NCAA sport. It’s run by College Curling USA, affiliated with USA Curling, and its goal is to grow on-campus curling clubs. Teams play for their schools, usually as a recognized campus club, and most curl at a nearby community club or on ice their school provides. All players must be full-time undergraduate or graduate students in good academic standing.
Through the season, teams play regional college bonspiels and earn points; 16 teams, of any gender mix, qualify for the national championship by winning the East, Midwest or Western regionals or on points. In March 2026, at the Schenectady Curling Club in New York, the University of Wisconsin-Madison beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point 8-6 in an extra end, and Penn State took bronze over Bowdoin. The 2027 championship is set for March 11 to 14 at the Portage Curling Club in Wisconsin. USA Curling’s CEO noted that most college competitors try curling for the first time at school, so it’s a real entry point, not just a pipeline for juniors.
Juniors
USA Curling runs a National Junior Development Program for curlers aged 12 to 21: an off-ice virtual program with access to top athletes, coaches and experts. Junior teams play U18 and U21 national championships; the U21 champions represent the US at the World Junior Championships. Club junior programs are covered in our youth curling guide.
The Grand Slam of Curling and pro curling
The Grand Slam of Curling is an elite series of men’s and women’s events featuring the best teams from Canada and around the world, with equal purses for men and women since 2015. The 2026-27 season is a compressed, all-Canadian schedule of five events:
| Event | Dates (2026) | City |
|---|---|---|
| GSOC Invitational | Oct. 13–18 | Victoria, BC |
| GSOC Masters | Nov. 3–8 | Medicine Hat, AB |
| GSOC National | Nov. 17–22 | Sydney, NS |
| GSOC Open | Dec. 1–6 | Thunder Bay, ON |
| GSOC Players’ Cup | Dec. 15–20 | Kingston, ON |
The Players’ Cup finale takes the top 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams on Grand Slam and satellite-event results. A junior event, the Jr. GSOC U21, runs alongside the Masters. Pro curling also has a newcomer: the Rock League, six franchises of five men and five women each playing men’s, women’s, mixed team games and mixed doubles. Its first season was April 6 to 12, 2026, in Toronto, and its 2027 season includes a week in Utica, New York.
Curling at the Olympics
Curling was a medal event at the first Winter Games, Chamonix 1924. The IOC made men’s and women’s curling official medal sports in 1992, and they joined the program at Nagano 1998. Mixed doubles was added at PyeongChang 2018, the same Games where John Shuster’s team beat Sweden 10-7 for the first US Olympic curling gold.
At Milan Cortina 2026, Canada won the men’s gold ahead of Great Britain and Switzerland, and Sweden won the women’s ahead of Switzerland and Canada. In mixed doubles, Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranå took gold, the US pair of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin won silver, and Italy bronze; Thiesse became the first American woman to win an Olympic curling medal. The US women reached the semifinals for the first time since 2002 and finished fourth; the US men were fifth.
Paralympic wheelchair curling
Wheelchair curling was introduced at the 2000 World Handi Ski Championships in Switzerland, gained Paralympic medal status in 2002 and debuted at Torino 2006. It’s played from stationary chairs, often with a delivery stick, with no sweeping; World Curling’s rules require four players with both genders on the ice. At Milan Cortina 2026, played at the Cortina Olympic Stadium in March, Canada won the team event over China, with Sweden taking bronze. The new wheelchair mixed doubles event made its Paralympic debut: China beat Korea 9-7 for gold, and Latvia edged the US pair of Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt 11-10 in an extra end for bronze. Team USA, in the sport since 2006, is still looking for its first Paralympic wheelchair curling medal; its best team finish was fourth at Vancouver 2010. USA Curling’s wheelchair program runs national championships for wheelchair fours and mixed doubles.
Want to know what you’re watching? See our curling rules page. Getting serious about competing? Our curling training and bonspiel day pages help, and the gear page covers shoes and brooms. Back to the curling hub.
Curling leagues questions
How do I join a curling league?
Take a Learn to Curl at a club near you (USA Curling has a club map), then ask about their beginner path. Some clubs run lesson series or an introductory league; others put new curlers straight into leagues or on the spare list.
What is a bonspiel?
A curling tournament, usually over a weekend, with a guarantee of three or four games and up to six or seven. They’re social as much as competitive and a great way for new curlers to get more games in.
Is college curling an NCAA sport?
No. It’s a club sport organized by College Curling USA with USA Curling. Full-time students play for their school’s curling club and can qualify for the national championship through regional events or points.
Has the US won Olympic gold in curling?
Yes, once: John Shuster’s men’s team at PyeongChang 2018. At Milan Cortina 2026 the US won mixed doubles silver, the first Olympic curling medal for an American woman.
How do I get to a national championship?
Most USA Curling championships start with regional playdowns run by the 10 Recognized Regional Associations; regional winners meet at nationals. There are events for newer curlers too, including one for curlers with five or fewer years of experience.