Olympic Qualification Event to begin in Kelowna, Canada

The international curling spotlight now turns to Kelowna, British Columbia, for the Olympic Qualification Event (OQE), taking place from 5–18 December 2025 at Kelowna Curling Club.

The event will feature three competitions — Women’s, Men’s and Mixed Doubles. In each competition, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to secure the final two places available at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will be decided.

Kelowna Curling Club © World Curling / Rebecca Villagracia

Teams

Eight teams will compete in the women’s and men’s competitions, while 16 teams, divided into two Groups, will contest the mixed doubles.

In each of the three disciplines, the top seven NOCs ranked through the qualification process have already secured direct qualification for the Games, along with hosts Italy.

Women’s competition

In the women’s event, the teams that have already qualified are (in qualification order): Italy (as hosts), Canada, Switzerland, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain (earned by Scotland) and People’s Republic of China.

The eight women’s teams participating in the OQE are:

Australia: skipped by Helen Williams, this team qualified by finishing third at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
Czechia: skipped by Hana Synackova, this team qualified by finishing first at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
Estonia: skipped by Kerli Laidsalu, this team ranked thirteenth in Olympic qualification
Germany: skipped by Sara Messenzehl, who plays third stones, this team qualified by finishing second at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
Japan: skipped by Yoshimura Sayaka, this team ranked eleventh in Olympic qualification
Norway: skipped by Marianne Roervik, who plays third stones, this team ranked ninth in Olympic qualification
Türkiye: skipped by Dilsat Yildiz, this team ranked twelfth in Olympic qualification
United States: skipped by Tabitha Peterson, this team ranked tenth in Olympic qualification

Helen Williams, Australia at the US Steel Pan Continental Curling Championships 2025 © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

Men’s competition

In the men’s event, those directly qualified already are (in qualification order): Italy (as hosts), Great Britain (earned by Scotland), Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Czechia.

The eight men’s teams in the OQE are:

China: skipped by Xu Xiaoming, this team ranked tenth in Olympic qualification
Japan: skipped by Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi, this team ranked eleventh in Olympic qualification
Korea: skipped by Kim Soo-Hyuk, this team ranked thirteenth in Olympic qualification
Netherlands: skipped by Wouter Goesgens, this team ranked twelfth in Olympic qualification
New Zealand: skipped by Anton Hood, this team qualified by finishing third at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
Philippines: skipped by Marc Pfister, this team qualified by finishing first at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
Poland: skipped by Konrad Stych, this team qualified by finishing second at the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event
United States: skipped by Daniel Casper, this team ranked ninth in Olympic qualification.

Konrad Stych, Poland at the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2025 © World Curling / Alessio Bergadano

Mixed Doubles competition

This event is for any National Olympic Committee’s mixed doubles team that qualified for the 2024 and 2025 world championship, but did not yet qualify for the Olympic Winter Games through points earned at these championships or by hosting the Olympic Winter Games.

If this results in fewer than 16 teams, then the next highest ranked National Olympic Committee from the ranking list (as of 1 May 2025) has been invited until all 16 places are filled.

In mixed doubles, the direct qualifiers are (in qualification order): Italy (as hosts), Estonia, Sweden, Great Britain (earned by Scotland), Norway, Canada, Switzerland and United States of America.

The sixteen mixed doubles teams in the OQE are:

Group A

Austria: qualified as they are one of the next highest ranked National Olympic Committee from the ranking list
Czechia: ranked seventeenth in Olympic qualification
Finland: ranked sixteenth in Olympic qualification
Germany: ranked twelfth in Olympic qualification
Japan: ranked eleventh in Olympic qualification
Korea: ranked tenth in Olympic qualification
Latvia: qualified as they are one of the next highest ranked National Olympic Committee from the ranking list
Türkiye: ranked nineteenth in Olympic qualification

Group B

Australia: ranked ninth in Olympic qualification
China: ranked fifteenth in Olympic qualification
Denmark: ranked fourteenth in Olympic qualification
France: ranked twentieth in Olympic qualification
Hungary: qualified as they are one of the next highest ranked National Olympic Committee from the ranking list
Netherlands: ranked eighteenth in Olympic qualification
New Zealand: ranked thirteenth in Olympic qualification
Spain: ranked twenty-first in Olympic qualification

Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2025 © World Curling / Anastasia Karekla

Playing format

The women’s and men’s competitions will be staged first, with round-robin play starting on Friday 5 December and concluding on Wednesday 10 December.

The crucial play-off games will happen on Wednesday 10 December and Thursday 11 December.

Qualification games format: the team ranked first after the round robin will play the second ranked team in Qualification Game #1. The winner secures their NOC the first spot in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The loser of the Qualification Game #1 plays against the third-ranked team. The winner of that game also qualifies their NOC for the Games.

The mixed doubles group games will start on Saturday 13 December and finish on Wednesday 17 December, with play-offs on Thursday 18 December.

Qualification games format: the teams ranked first in each group after the group games will play each other in Qualification Game #1. The winner qualifies their NOC for the Olympic Winter Games.

The teams ranked second in each group will also play each other. The winner advances to Qualification Game #2 and will play the loser of the Qualification Game #1. The winner of that game also qualifies their NOC for the Games.

Find the full playing schedule here.