World Curling Federation
| |
Formation | 1966 (as International Curling Federation) |
---|---|
Type | Sports federation |
Headquarters | Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Membership | 60 member associations |
Official language | English |
Kate Caithness | |
Staff | 14 |
Website | worldcurling.org |
The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. The name was changed in 1990.
The ICF was initially formed in 1966 as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Perth after the success of the Scotch Cup series of world championships held between Canada and Scotland. At the outset, it comprised the associations of Scotland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. In the wake of its formation, it sanctioned the World Curling Championships. The WCF currently sanctions fifteen international curling events (see below). The WCF is managed by eight Board Directors, one president, three vice-presidents (one from each WCF regional zone - Americas, Europe, Pacific-Asia) and six Board Directors. The six Board Directors must all come from different member associations. All positions on the Board of Directors are elected by WCF member associations. The Board of Directors are supported by and a permanent staff of 14 employees. There are currently 60 member associations. In 2017, the WCF expanded to 60 member associations with the additions of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal and Saudi Arabia.[1]
Goals
The WCF mission statement reads: "The World Curling Federation represents curling internationally and facilitates the growth of the sport through a network of Member Associations/Federations."[2]
The purpose and aims of the WCF are as follows:[3]
- To represent curling internationally and to facilitate growth of the sport throughout the world
- To promote co-operation and mutual understanding amongst Member Associations and to unite curlers throughout the world
- To Defend and Further the interests of world curling
- To conduct world curling competitions
- To formulate rules of the sport of curling for world competitions and all other competitions approved by the WCF
Member Associations
Following is a list of member associations of the World Curling Federation:[4]
*The Armenia Curling Federation was suspended for failure to pay subscriptions.[5]
Executive board
The current executive board as of September 2014 is as follows:[6]
President: Kate Caithness (Scotland)
Vice Presidents:
- Americas: Graham Prouse (Canada)
- Pacific-Asia: Hugh Millikin (Australia)
- Europe: Bent Ånund Ramsfjell (Norway)
Board of Directors:
- Andy Anderson (United States)
- Hew Chalmers (Scotland)
- Laura Lochanski (Canada)
- Toyo Ogawa (Japan)
Former presidents
Former presidents of the WCF and ICF are listed below:[7]
President | Member association | Years in office |
---|---|---|
Presidents of the ICF | ||
Major Allan Cameron | Scotland | 1966–1969 |
Brigadier Colin A. Campbell | Canada | 1969–1979 |
Sven A. Eklund | Sweden | 1979–1982 |
G. Clifton Thompson | Canada | 1982–1985 |
Philip Dawson | Scotland | 1985–1988 |
Dr. Donald F. Barcome | United States | 1988–1990 |
Presidents of the WCF | ||
Günther Hummelt | Austria | 1990–2000 |
Roy Sinclair | Scotland | 2000–2006 |
Les Harrison | Canada | 2006–2010 |
Competitions and Championships
The WCF currently manages or is involved in 154 events around the world. Following is a list of those events:[8]
Event | Description |
---|---|
International Events | |
World Women's Curling Championship (WWCC) | For twelve women’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
World Men's Curling Championship (WMCC) | For twelve men’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
World Junior Curling Championships (WJCC) | For ten junior men’s and ten junior women’s teams from the Americas, European and Pacific Zones. |
World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship (WMDCC) | Open Entry: one team may enter from each Member Association. One male and one female player on each team. |
World Senior Curling Championships (WSCC) | Open Entry: one team from each gender may enter from each Member Association. The players must not be less than 50 years of age. |
World Wheelchair Curling Championship (WWhCC) | The world championships for wheelchair curling; for ten mixed gender teams. |
World Wheelchair Curling Championship Qualification | Open to mixed gender wheelchair curling teams from associations that have not already qualified for the next WWhCC. |
Winter Olympic Games | Ten men’s and ten women's teams in format similar to WCC; an IOC event. |
Winter Paralympic Games | Ten mixed gender wheelchair curling teams in format similar to WWhCC; an IPC event. |
Regional Events | |
Pacific-Asia Curling Championships (PCC) | For men’s and women’s teams from the Pacific zone; acts as qualification to the World Curling Championships (WCC). |
Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships (PJCC) | For junior men’s and women’s teams from the Pacific Zone; acts as qualification to the WJCC. |
European Curling Championships (ECC) | For men’s and women’s teams from the European Zone; acts as qualification to the WCC. |
European Junior Curling Challenge (EJCC) | For junior men's and women's teams from the European zone that have not already qualified for WJCC. |
Americas Challenge | For qualification to the WCC and WJCC, only if the second-ranked member association from the Americas zone is challenged. (ex. 2010 USA-Brazil Challenge) |
See also
Notes
- ↑ "World Curling reaches 60 members". www.worldcurling.org/. World Curling Federation. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ↑ http://www.worldcurling.org/about-the-wcf
- ↑ http://www.worldcurling.org/rules-and-regulations
- ↑ World Curling Federation Members
- ↑ "World Curling Federation Annual General Assembly April 2012". World Curling Federation. 6 April 2012.
- ↑ "WCF Annual General Assembly 2014 - 7 September". World Curling Federation. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ↑ World Curling Federation. "Past Presidents of the WCF".
- ↑ World Curling Federation. "Championships Overview".