16 February 2026
20 teams set to compete for World Junior title in Taarnby, Denmark
It is almost time for the next generation of international curlers to take centre stage as on Tuesday 24 February, the World Junior Curling Championships 2026 get underway in Taarnby, Denmark.
The first men’s World Junior Curling Championship took place in East York, Ontario, Canada in 1975, while the first women’s event was staged in Chamonix, France in 1988.
To be eligible to play in the World Junior Curling Championships, a player must be under the age of 21 by the end of 30th June preceding the event.
The current World Junior champions are Korea (women’s) and Italy (men’s).
Ten women’s and ten men’s teams will take part, and have qualified by either being the host nation, from their performance at last year’s World Junior Curling Championships in Cortina, Italy, or from their performance at the World Junior-B Curling Championship in Lohja, Finland in December.
Women’s teams
The ten women’s teams taking part are:
Hosts: Denmark
Direct qualifiers (in qualification order): Korea, Germany, Canada, Sweden, China, Switzerland
World Junior-B qualifiers (in qualification order): Japan, United States, Turkiye.
Men’s teams
The ten men’s teams taking part are:
Hosts: Denmark
Direct Qualifiers (in qualification order): Italy, Norway, Scotland, Korea, Japan, Canada
World Junior-B qualifiers: United States, Switzerland, Poland.
Playing format
Round-robin play starts on Tuesday 24 February with the first women’s game starting at 09.00, and will conclude on Sunday 1 March at 19.00 with the final men’s game.
The semi-finals will follow, with the women’s starting at 14.00 on Monday 2 March and the men’s to follow later at 19.00. The medal games will take place on Tuesday 3 March at 09.00 (women’s) and 14.00 (men’s).
How to watch
The Curling Channel will be showcasing two feature games per day, while all other games will have static camera coverage.
Find out more information about what Curling Channel passes are available and how to purchase here.
The following games will be featured:
Tuesday 24 February 2026
19:30 – China v United States (women)
Wednesday 25 February 2026
09:00 – Denmark v Canada (men)
14:00 – Korea v Canada (women)
Thursday 26 February 2026
14:00 – Japan v United States (men)
19:00 – Canada v Denmark (women)
Friday 27 February 2026
09:00 – United States v Scotland (men)
14:00 – Sweden v Canada (women)
Saturday 28 February 2026
14:00 – Denmark v Scotland (men)
19:00 – United States v Denmark (women)
Sunday 1 March 2026
14:00 – Sweden v Denmark (women)
19:00 – Canada v United States (men)
Monday 2 March 2026
14:00 – Semi-final (women)
19:00 – Semi-final (men)
Tuesday 3 March 2026
09:00 – Gold medal game (women)
14:00 – Gold medal game (men)
Follow live scores and find the full playing schedules and team lists from the event here.
All times are Central European Time (CET) which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +1.
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