| World Curling Federation | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1965 (as International Curling Federation) |
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Perth, Scotland |
| Membership | 48 member associations |
| Official languages | English |
| President | Kate Caithness |
| Staff | 10 |
| Website | worldcurling.org |
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 1991.
The ICF was initially formed in 1965 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 fifteen international curling events (see below). The WCF is managed by an executive board of seven, each from a different country and elected by WCF member associations, and a permanent staff of ten employees. There are currently 48 member associations.[1]
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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."[2]
The purpose and aims of the WCF are as follows:[3]
Following is a list of member associations of the World Curling Federation:[4]
| Year | Name | Country | President | WCF Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Andorra Curling Association | Andorra | Josep Duró | Europe |
| 2010 | Armenia Curling Federation | Armenia | Hayk Jaghatspanyan | Europe |
| 1986 | Australian Curling Federation | Australia | John Anderson | The Pacific |
| 1982 | Österreichischer Curling Verband | Austria | Marcus Schmitt | Europe |
| 1997 | Belarusian Curling Association | Belarus | Dmitry Kirillov | Europe |
| 2005 | Belgium Curling Association | Belgium | Peter Suter | Europe |
| 1998 | Brazilian Ice Sports Federation | Brazil | Eric Leme Walther Maleson | The Americas |
| 1990 | Bulgarian Curling Association | Bulgaria | Ognian Marinov Sapunov | Europe |
| 1966 | Canadian Curling Association | Canada | Laura Lochanski | The Americas |
| 2002 | Chinese Curling Association | China | Ni Huizhong | The Pacific |
| 2004 | Croatian Curling Association | Croatia | Alen Cadez | Europe |
| 1990 | Czech Curling Association | Czech Republic | Karel Kubeška | Europe |
| 1971 | Danish Curling Association | Denmark | Niels Larsen | Europe |
| 1971 | English Curling Association | England | Alison Arthur | Europe |
| 2003 | Estonian Curling Association | Estonia | Indrek Schwede | Europe |
| 1979 | Finnish Curling Association | Finland | Olli Rissanen | Europe |
| 1966 | French Curling Association | France | Alain Contat | Europe |
| 1967 | Deutscher Curling-Verband | Germany | Dieter Kolb | Europe |
| 2003 | Hellenic Curling Association | Greece | Ioannis Kanelopoulos | Europe |
| 1989 | Hungarian Curling Association | Hungary | András Rókusfalvy | Europe |
| 1991 | Icelandic Curling Association | Iceland | Líney Rut Halldórsdóttir | Europe |
| 2003 | Irish Curling Association | Ireland | John Jo Kenny | Europe |
| 1972 | Italian Curling Association | Italy | Giancarlo Bolognini | Europe |
| 1985 | Japan Curling Association | Japan | Hiroaki Doi | The Pacific |
| 2003 | Kazakhstan Curling Association | Kazakhstan | Viktor G. Kim | Europe |
| 1994 | Korean Curling Association | South Korea | Byeong Rae Kim | The Pacific |
| 2001 | Latvian Curling Association | Latvia | Janis Rudzitis | Europe |
| 1991 | Liechtenstein Curling Association | Liechtenstein | Heinz Hasler | Europe |
| 2003 | Lithuanian Curling Association | Lithuania | Vytautas Vimantas Zimnickas | Europe |
| 1976 | Luxembourg Curling Association | Luxembourg | Marco Etienne | Europe |
| 1975 | Netherlands Curling Association | Netherlands | Jerry Van Zundert | Europe |
| 1991 | New Zealand Curling Association | New Zealand | James Armstrong | The Pacific |
| 1966 | Norwegian Curling Association | Norway | Bent Ånund Ramsfjell | Europe |
| 2003 | Polish Curling Association | Poland | Marek Jóźwik | Europe |
| 2010 | Romanian Curling Federation | Romania | Allen Coliban | Europe |
| 1992 | Russian Curling Federation | Russia | Dimitry Svischev | Europe |
| 2005 | National Curling Association of Serbia | Serbia | Marko Stojanović | Europe |
| 2003 | Slovak Curling Association | Slovakia | Juraj Kapolka | Europe |
| 2010 | Slovenian Curling Association | Slovenia | David Stonič | Europe |
| 1999 | Spanish Ice Sports Federation | Spain | Maria Teresa Samaranch | Europe |
| 1966 | Royal Caledonian Curling Club | Scotland | Robbie Scott | Europe |
| 1966 | Swedish Curling Association | Sweden | Björn Rudström | Europe |
| 1966 | Swiss Curling Association | Switzerland | Louis Moser | Europe |
| 2009 | Turkish Curling Association | Turkey | Fahrettin Kandemir | Europe |
| 1998 | Chinese Taipei Curling Federation | Chinese Taipei | Rich K.H. Lee | The Pacific |
| 1966 | United States Curling Association | United States | Chris Sjue | The Americas |
| 1991 | US Virgin Islands Curling Association | United States Virgin Islands | Jackson Roberts | The Americas |
| 1982 | Welsh Curling Association | Wales | Andrew Tanner | Europe |
The current executive board is as follows:[5]
President: Kate Caithness (Scotland)
Vice President: Patrick Hürlimann (Switzerland)
Director of Finance: Andy Anderson (United States)
Secretary-General: Colin Grahamslaw
Members at large:
The WCF has a group of permanent staff, listed as follows:[5]
Development Officer: Richard Harding
Media Relations Officer: Joanna Kelly
Development Officer: Eeva Röthlisberger
Development Officer/Director of Competitions: Keith Wendorf
Former presidents of the WCF and ICF are listed below:[6]
| 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 |
The WCF currently manages or is involved in 15 events around the world. Following is a list of those events:[7]
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| International Events | |
| World Women's Curling Championship (WWCC) | For twelve women’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
| World Men's Curling Championship (WMCC) | For twelve men’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
| World Junior Curling Championships (WJCC) | For ten junior men’s and ten junior women’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
| World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship (WMDCC) | Open Entry: one team may enter from each Member Association. One male and one female player on each team. |
| 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. |
| World Wheelchair Curling Championship (WWhCC) | The world championships for wheelchair curling; for ten mixed gender teams. |
| World Wheelchair Curling Championship Qualification | Open to mixed gender wheelchair curling teams from associations that have not already qualified for the next WWhCC. |
| Winter Olympic Games | Ten men’s and ten women's teams in format similar to WCC; an IOC event. |
| Winter Paralympic Games | Ten mixed gender wheelchair curling teams in format similar to WWhCC; an IPC event. |
| Continental Cup of Curling | Team North America (United States and Canada) vs. Team World. Twelve teams in total: three men’s and three women’s teams each for both teams. Features team games, mixed doubles games, singles shot-making round, mixed skins and skins games. |
| Regional Events | |
| Pacific Curling Championships (PCC) | For men’s and women’s teams from the Pacific zone; acts as qualification to the World Curling Championships (WCC). |
| Pacific Junior Curling Championships (PJCC) | For junior men’s and women’s teams from the Pacific Zone; acts as qualification to the WJCC. |
| European Curling Championships (ECC) | For men’s and women’s teams from the European Zone; acts as qualification to the WCC. |
| European Junior Curling Challenge (EJCC) | For junior men's and women's teams from the European zone that have not already qualified for WJCC. |
| Americas Challenge | For qualification to the WCC and WJCC, only if the second-ranked member association from the Americas zone is challenged. (ex. 2010 USA-Brazil Challenge) |
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