UPDATES TO 2026-27 CHAMPIONSHIP RULES AND INTRODUCTION OF RECREATION RULES
Photo by: Jalen Marlowe
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, September 17, 2026] — With the recent release of the 2026-2027 World Curling Rules of Curling, USA Curling has opted to make some minor modifications to the 2026-2027 Qualification Procedures. The newly-released World Curling rules (specifically R3 and C2) put a heavy emphasis on the need for teams to register an alternate player for competitions, with forfeit possible if a player is absent for some or all of a game.
While USA Curling events follow World Curling rules, there are exceptions. The organization has decided to adopt the alternate player rule for 2026-27 USA Curling events as follows:
In Men’s, Women’s, Junior Men’s, and Junior Women’s National Championships, teams will adhere to the changes in R3 and C2 of the World Curling Rules. To avoid the potential of a forfeit by a team that does not register and bring an alternate player, USA Curling is considering having two junior players of each gender available for instances when a team is reduced to three players. USA Curling, as in the past, reserves the right to approve a fifth player for teams that represent the United States at world championships.
In Arena, U18, Club, Five-and-Under, Mixed Fours, and Senior National Championships, teams will retain the option to continue with three players in the event of an injury, illness, or other excused absence of one player. USA Curling will not provide spares for these events and teams wishing to do so are responsible for registering an alternate (except for Mixed Fours).
USA Curling believes that imposing the new rule across all events would result in undue financial and logistical burdens for some teams and suppress participation of otherwise interested competitors hoping to play at the national level. With the exception of Mixed Fours, when a registered player is unable to deliver both stones in an end, the team may continue to play the duration of the game(s) with three players OR, if one is available, they may bring in a registered alternate. There are no alternates in Mixed Fours, so if a player is absent the team must continue with three or forfeit.
Other than Mixed Doubles and Wheelchair Mixed Doubles events, all teams are still required to complete registration with four or five players to be eligible to enter a USA Curling competition. The expectation remains that teams will not deliberately play with three players to gain an advantage and that best efforts will be made by teams to field four players at all times. Suspected abuse of this allowance of three players will result in future adherence to World Curling rules R3 and C2 at all levels of USA Curling competition, and possible suspension of the members of the team involved.
The rules for Mixed Doubles curling are unchanged—both players must be capable of delivering all stones in an end or forfeit.
In addition to these updates, USA Curling is pleased to announce the publication of the Recreational Rules of Curling. This document aims to help guide clubs define rules for leagues, bonspiels, and other recreational play where the full World Curling Rules may not be appropriate. Remember that Member Clubs can follow any rules they choose in their events and leagues—USA Curling is providing these as guidelines that may help with structure and disputes. These rules are available in Our House, the USA Curling Content Platform, in both the Officiating and Club Management Groups in the Rule Books session (sign in required—more information about navigating Our House is available in the Member Hub).
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.
