The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

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. The ICF was initially formed in 1966 as a committee of the

Royal Caledonian Curling Club The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC was founded on 25 ...

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 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 a ...

. 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 Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

, with the most recent addition being Curling Jamaica in 2022. In reaction to the

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, in March 2022 the WCF banned the Russian Curling Federation from competing.

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." The purpose and aims of the WCF are as follows: # To represent curling internationally and to facilitate growth of the sport throughout the world # To promote co-operation and mutual understanding amongst Member Associations and to unite curlers throughout the world # To Defend and Further the interests of world curling # To conduct world curling competitions # To formulate rules of the sport of curling for world competitions and all other competitions approved by the WCF

Member associations

Following is a list of member associations of the World Curling Federation: Regions in March 2022: # Pacific-Asia (18): 14 Asian + 2 Ocean + 2 African Country

Pacific-Asia Curling Championships The Pacific-Asia Curling Championships (formerly the Pacific Curling Championships) are an annual curling tournament, held every year in November or December. The top team receives a berth to the World Curling Championships, while the second-plac ...

# Americas (9):

Americas Challenge The Americas Challenge is a curling challenge held by the World Curling Federation between teams in its Americas zone. The winner of the challenge qualifies their country for the World Curling Championships, and the runner-up for the World Qualif ...

# Europe (41):

European Curling Championships The European Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments held in Europe between various European nations. The European Curling Championships are usually held in early to mid December. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for the Wor ...

*The

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Curling Federation was suspended for failure to pay subscriptions, and later expelled. *The Polish Curling Association was suspended for not resolving disputes within Poland's ministry of sport and the Polish Curling Association governance structures.

Executive board

The current executive board as of September 2022 is as follows: President:

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(United States)
Vice Presidents: :Europe: Bent Ånund Ramsfjell (Norway) :Americas:

Graham Prouse Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan Gr ...

(Canada) :Pacific-Asia:

Hugh Millikin Hugh Ronald Alexander Millikin (born 4 July 1957 in North Vancouver, British Columbia) is an Australian curler originally from Ottawa, Ontario. Career In 1986, while still residing in the Canadian province of Ontario, Millikin played second p ...

(Australia) Board of Directors: : Helena Lingham (Sweden) : Sergio Mitsuo Vilela (Brazil) : Robin Niven (Scotland) : Toyo Ogawa (Japan) Athlete Commission Chair:

Jill Officer Jill Officer (born June 2, 1975) is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Officer played second for the teams skipped by Jennifer Jones from 2003 to 2018 and while they were juniors. The team won a gold medal while representing Canada at ...

(Canada)

Former presidents

Former presidents of the WCF and ICF are listed below:

Competitions and championships

The WCF manages many events around the world.

Notes

External links

*
European Curling Federation
{{Authority control Curling governing bodies Organisations based in Perth, Scotland Sport in Perth, Scotland

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

Sports organizations established in 1966