2026-27 USA CURLING FIVE-AND-UNDER NATIONALS: QUALIFIER BONSPIEL APPLICATION NOW OPEN
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, March 17, 2026] — USA Curling will select the 23 Five-and-Under Bonspiels (events for curlers over the age of 21 who have been actively participating in the sport for five years or less) that will serve as qualifier events for the 2027 Five-and-Under Nationals.
The field at the Five-and-Under Nationals, an Open format event, features 24 teams—23 berths will be awarded through the bonspiel qualifiers and the host club also receives an entry.
“Five-and-Under Nationals has served our newer curlers extremely well, providing a valuable competitive outlet that creates lifetime participants,” said USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell. “It can be challenging to choose just 23 qualifier events, but that challenge has been driven by the high level of interest in this championship.”
Factors in the final selection of events include: expected field size, format, established history, nationwide geographic distribution of qualifier events. As much as possible, bonspiels on the same dates are also avoided.
In an effort to increase participation among women who are relatively new to curling, preference may be given to women’s events, or events promoting women’s representation on each team.
Gemmell added, “We hope to establish a Women’s Five-and-Under National Championship in future years. To make that happen, we need a larger group of Women’s qualifier bonspiels. In the interim, we will continue to be as supportive as possible of women’s 5U events.”
A host site for the 2027 Five-and-Under Nationals will be announced soon. Competitors should also plan to review the 2026-27 Qualifying Procedures document. It will be updated shortly after the conclusion of the USA Curling championship season.
“While we have been thrilled by the growth of the 5U Nationals, we believe there is room in the curling community for all kinds of bonspiels for newer players. We also encourage the players hoping to reach this national championship to develop their skills in bonspiels that are not exclusively for Five-and-Under players—there is no shortage of events for curlers of all levels across the country.”
In addition to those that are selected, all applications will be considered if any bonspiels chosen as qualifiers cancel their event or cannot reach an acceptable entry threshold.
Applications will be open until May 4th, 2026. Selected bonspiels will be announced after a prompt review.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
