World Curling announces 2026 Hall of Fame inductees

Induction into the World Curling Hall of Fame is the highest ‘non-playing’ honour that World Curling can bestow on someone, and it recognises outstanding contribution to the sport of curling whether through on-ice achievements or off-ice endeavours.

There are two classes of honour:

Curler: awarded to athletes who have achieved extraordinary distinction and outstanding results, and have demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship and character, in the sport of curling.

Builder: awarded to individuals who have accomplished distinguished service and have made major contributions to the development and advancement of international curling.

World Curling’s Hall of Fame Induction Committee considers nominations for the World Curling Hall of Fame, and makes recommendations to World Curling’s Board.

This year, three new recipients have been accepted.

Two of these inductees were in the “Curler” category – individual player Glenn Howard and Team Randy Ferbey, both from Canada.

The third inductee, György Nagy from Hungary, was inducted in the “Builder” category.

Glenn Howard

Glenn Howard’s record of success representing Canada is particularly notable because of his longevity.

In total, Glenn played in four World Men’s Curling Championships, and left all four of them with a gold medal. His first was won in 1987 playing third for his older brother Russ (who was inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame in 2015) in Vancouver.

Glenn and Russ would win another gold medal six years later in Geneva, Switzerland.

Glenn then skipped his own team, to a long-awaited third World Championship gold, in Edmonton in 2007.

Five years later — a remarkable 25 years after his first title — Glenn skipped Canada to the 2012 World Men’s Championship in Basel, Switzerland. This is, by far, the longest gap between first and final World Championship victories in the history of the event.

Team Randy Ferbey

Randy Ferbey is already a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame, and now his longtime teammates join him in acknowledgement of their achievements together.

Formed in 1999, the so-called Ferbey Four — including vice-skip David Nedohin (who threw last rocks), second Scott Pfeifer and lead Marcel Rocque — put together a stunning run of success over a six-year span that included four Canadian championships in five years, along with three gold-medal performances at the World Men’s Curling championship.

The Edmonton-based team became one of the most popular in the world and played a significant role in changing the way people play the sport at a competitive level today. They designed the “numbered-zone” system, whereby sweepers called out a number that corresponded with the area in the house where they estimated the rock would reach.

Prior to the arrival of the Ferbey foursome, most curling teams were defined by their skips, with their teammates considered as the supporting cast. Ferbey, Nedohin, Pfeifer and Rocque were four large personalities who meshed completely, on and off the ice. All four players had a voice in the decision-making process. That “team” concept was strengthened and sent a power message to the curling world that all four players on the ice are crucial to the success of a curling team.

They are the sixth complete team to be inducted.

György Nagy

György Nagy has been involved in almost every aspect of curling in Hungary throughout his career.

Nagy skipped the first Hungarian National Men’s Champions and represented Hungary almost 200 times at 24 different World Curling events.

He established a curling club in Budapest in 2005, which is the only dedicated curling facility in Hungary. He supports the operation of this curling centre to this day.

He was also a key figure in the development of Mixed Doubles, and organised the first international Mixed Doubles Cup in Budapest — now a popular annual tournament among top mixed doubles teams from all over the world.

He is a member of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, and was a member of World Curling’s ‘Get Mixed Doubles into the Olympics’ Committee”. He was also a member of World Curling’s Technical Committee and has now become a member of World Curling’s Finance Commission.

As a pioneer in a small nation, he has not only been instrumental in establishing curling but has also created a world-class infrastructure. His dedication is truly commendable.

More details about World Curling’s Hall of Fame can be found at: https://worldcurling.org/awards/freytag

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