Curling 2026-27 season preview: Complete new look to panorama

It’s time to throw rocks at homes once more.

Last season was one to recollect, from the 2026 Olympics — the place curling grew to become the speaking level of the complete Games due to the double-touch controversy — to the first-ever skilled curling league, Rock League, launching in April. All of this helped the game attain a brand new degree. 

However, the Olympic quadrennial coming to an in depth final season marks the time within the curling cycle after we see essentially the most change. 

So, with the Co-op Invitational, the primary Grand Slam of Curling occasion of the 2026-27 season, simply across the nook, the theme of this yr is clearly change – new quadrennial, new groups, new season schedule, new broadcast information and new commentary groups. 

Basically all the things is new apart from the 2 greatest groups in Canada — reigning Olympic medal winners Brad Jacobs and Rachel Homan, who didn’t change something apart from a pair sponsors.

Even although it is a preview for what’s to come back, it’s essential to notice a lot of the curlers have already got been on the ice since August competing in satellite tv for pc occasions, which additionally function Grand Slam qualifiers for lower-ranked groups.

The Curling Group will ship out an invite for one of many 5 Grand Slam occasions to the winner of every satellite tv for pc occasion. If the profitable staff already is within the Slam, the invite will switch to the highest-placed semifinalist on the planet rankings. If all of the semifinalists are certified for the Slam, the highest-ranked quarterfinalist on the planet rankings (should be No. 32 or increased after factors from the occasion are added) will earn the spot.

So far, six of the 14 scheduled satellite tv for pc occasions have been accomplished. 

Here’s a take a look at all of the storylines heading into the season:

It has been two years for the reason that final main occasion of the yr, the Players’ Cup, the largest prize-purse Slam, occurred through the second week of April. Now, the GSOC season will probably be wrapped up earlier than Christmas. 

How occasions have modified. 

With the Rock League increasing this yr to a complete of 5 weeks in comparison with one final yr, the curling schedule needed to be reshaped.

Curlers are used to a schedule filled with main occasions — however solely in an Olympic yr, and just for the groups competing within the Games. Now, this appears to be the brand new norm.

The Rock League, which can start in January, will start in three cities earlier than the Scotties Tournament Hearts in February, together with one the week earlier than the Canadian girls’s championship. 

Not solely are there a number of provincial playdowns occurring throughout that point span in Canada, however with Rock League, the curlers aren’t with their regular groups. 

The schedule impacts the Canadian girls’s groups greater than the boys’s. The time the ladies normally spend getting ready earlier than the largest Canadian occasion of the yr is interrupted by the brand new league. The males compete within the Brier after the Scotties so they are going to have time to regroup after Rock League and earlier than the large competitors.

The entire schedule is listed on the backside of this text. 

Important yr for brand new groups

Year 1 of the quadrennial actually gained’t inform us who will win the 2030 Olympics, but it surely might inform us who gained’t win. 

This is an enormous yr for the brand new groups created within the low season.

Brad Gushue, who is aware of a factor or two about swapping gamers throughout a quad, mentioned the event of a staff will be unpredictable in a latest interview with Sportsnet.

“I’ve made some comments about some of the teams and I’m like, this one looks really good on paper, I love how it developed and then you can watch them play and it just comes out completely flat,” Gushue mentioned. “On the flip side you can see that these four guys do not belong together and then they go out on the ice and they’re one of the best teams in the world.”

During the primary yr for lots of those squads, the main target will probably be staff constructing and seeing the place they stack up towards the remainder of the sphere. 

For instance, if Tyler Tardi’s new rink, which appears actually good on paper, doesn’t click on and struggles all through the season, it might pressure them to re-think the staff they put collectively. 

Other notable new rinks embrace groups skipped by Grant Hardie, Bruce Mouat, Kerri Einarson and Matt Dunstone.

It’s not simply analysis time for brand new groups, both. If Jacobs’ Olympic gold medal-winning rink loses a step, severe conversations about Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert’s dedication to a full quad earlier than retiring will come into play. Kennedy will probably be 48 on the subsequent Olympics whereas Hebert will probably be 46.

New broadcast info and commentary staff 

Tuning right into a Grand Slam may even be a brand new expertise.

Rob Faulds will now not be the commentary voice you hear for the Grand Slam after he retired in August with 51 years of broadcasting expertise.

The position will now be crammed by Darren Dupont and John Cullen because the host and play-by-play announcer, respectively. 

Joanne Courtney, Brent Laing and Gushue will function analysts.  

Even although Gushue has appeared on a Sportsnet broadcast , serving as an analyst for 2 video games, he cautions everybody it’s going to take time earlier than he settles into the position.

“There’s going to be a learning curve,” Gushue mentioned. “I’m a rookie at this and I’m excited to go in and make mistakes because they’re gonna happen. But you know, like anything that I do, I’m gonna work hard to be as good as I can.”

This season, Sportsnet and CBC would be the residence of the Grand Slam. Sportsnet’s TV protection will now begin on the primary day of round-robin play for all Slams, and can air three attracts per day Tuesday by way of Friday.

Sportsnet+ and CBC will carry the Saturday quarterfinals, whereas CBC will air the semifinals on Saturday night. Championship Sunday will probably be on Sportsnet. 

All of the protection can be considered on Sportsnet+.

Key dates on curling schedule:

GSOC Co-op Invitational: Memorial Centre, Victoria, B.C., Oct. 13-18, 2026

GSOC Masters, Co-op Place: Medicine Hat, Alta, Nov. 3-8, 2026

GSOC National: Centre 200, Sydney, N.S., Nov. 17-22, 2026

GSOC Open: Fort William Gardens, Thunder Bay, Ont., Dec. 1-6, 2026

GSOC Players’ Cup: Slush Puppie Place, Kingston, Ont. Dec. 15-20, 2026

Rock League Week 1: Temple Garden Centre, Moose Jaw, Sask., Jan. 7-10, 2027

Rock League Week 2: Adirondack Bank Centre, Utica, N.Y., Jan. 28-31, 2027

Rock League Week 3: TD Place, Ottawa, Feb. 4-7, 2027

Scotties Tournament of Hearts: Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown, Feb. 12-21, 2027

Montana’s Brier: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Feb. 26 – March 7, 2027

Women’s world championship: Location TBA, March 13-21, 2027

Men’s world championship: TD Station, Saint John, N.B., March 27, April 4, 2027

Rock League Week 4: Servus Arena, Red Deer, Alta., April 8-11, 2027

Rock League playoffs and championship: Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Mich., April 15-18, 2027