With an active circuit from local club play to elite championships, you can join or follow club leagues, state championships, the World Curling Tour and the USA Curling National Championships and Olympic Trials to test your skills and watch top talent; your development benefits from coaching and community programs, while competitive events offer exposure and advancement. Be aware of ice hazards and fall injuries and use proper footwear and training to stay safe.
Key Takeaways:
- Clear competitive pathway: local club leagues feed regional playdowns into national events such as the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships, U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship, and Olympic Trials, with Juniors and Club Nationals offering additional routes to international play.
- Must-see tournaments: the U.S. National Championships and U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship determine national teams; World Curling Tour events hosted in the U.S. and major international bonspiels attract top domestic and international rinks.
- How to participate and follow the sport: join a USCA‑affiliated club for seasonal league play (fall-spring); top events are commonly streamed or broadcast, and success at nationals and trials is the main pathway to world championships and the Olympics.
Major Curling Leagues in the USA
At the national level you’ll encounter two dominant pathways: the international World Curling Tour, where teams chase ranking points and purses, and the USA Curling league system that operates through more than 150 member clubs. You can play weekly club leagues, regional bonspiels, or aim for the High Performance pipeline that feeds national championships and the Olympic Trials, all of which shape competitive calendars and player development across the country.
World Curling Tour
The World Curling Tour stages dozens of events across North America and Europe where you can earn WCT points and prize money ranging from about $10,000 to over $100,000. Top U.S. teams routinely travel to Grand Slam and Tour stops to improve world ranking; for example, competing in Masters- or Players-level events can be decisive for World Team Ranking and Olympic qualification prospects.
United States Curling Association Leagues
USA Curling’s league network runs club, arena, junior, and senior play, plus qualifiers for the U.S. Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles, and Senior Championships, which typically host around 8-12 national teams. You’ll find structured pathways-local league play, regional qualifiers, then nationals-with coaching, ice grants, and a High Performance program that supported Team Shuster’s 2018 Olympic success.
At the club level you can join drop-in arena leagues, four- to eight-end club sessions, or competitive ladders; many clubs also host weekend bonspiels and U18 programs. Joining gives you access to certified coaching, liability coverage, and scoring systems used in qualifiers, while the seasonal schedule (fall through spring) means you’ll balance travel and training-an often physically demanding but highly rewarding progression toward higher competition.
Notable National Tournaments
Beyond league play, national tournaments compress the season into high-stakes events where you can gauge elite progress: U.S. Men’s and Women’s Nationals, Mixed Doubles Nationals, plus Junior and Senior championships. You’ll typically see 8-12 top teams per field, round-robin pools followed by playoffs, and champions who often secure spots at the World Championships or affect Olympic qualification pathways.
USA Curling National Championships
Run annually by USA Curling, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Championships usually feature a ~10-team round robin leading to a Page or knockout playoff; you’ll face high-pressure draws and strategic ends. Winning teams commonly earn the national title and the right to represent the U.S. at the World Championships, and in Olympic years performance feeds directly into the Olympic Trials picture.
Mixed Doubles National Championships
Mixed Doubles Nationals spotlight two-player teams competing in six-end games with five stones per team, a pre-placed stone every end, and a strategic power play option; you’ll find the format rewards precision and speed. Since mixed doubles became an Olympic discipline in 2018, the U.S. Nationals carry increased weight as the pathway to World Mixed Doubles assignments and Olympic qualification implications.
Qualification for Mixed Doubles Nationals typically blends national rankings, playdowns, and open entries, producing a diverse field of club pairs and elite combinations; you can expect pool play then single-elimination playoffs, often with 16-24 teams. Match timing and the compressed six-end format place a premium on shot-making and communication, so success at Nationals frequently predicts which pairs will perform well on the international stage.
Regional Competitions
Regional play connects your club season to national contention, staging annual playdowns that typically field 8-12 teams in a round‑robin plus playoff format. Held in winter (Jan-Feb), these tournaments determine who will qualify for the U.S. Nationals, so you should treat each draw as a high‑stakes test of strategy, ice reading, and travel logistics.
Eastern Region Curling Championships
In the East, you’ll encounter strong programs from New England and the Mid‑Atlantic; events often rotate between historic clubs like Broomstones (MA) and Lake Placid, NY. Formats usually admit the top one or two finishers to nationals, and you’ll face play emphasizing finesse, precise draws, and aggressive hitting across generally slower, pebble‑heavy ice.
Western Region Curling Championships
The West stretches from the Pacific Coast to the Rockies, so you should expect varied venues-from Seattle’s Granite to Denver-where altitude and fast ice change stone speed. Typically 8-12 teams compete; the winner(s) advance to nationals, and you’ll need to plan for extensive travel and quick adaptation to bouncy pebbles and differing sheet tech.
Hosts rotate among roughly half a dozen major clubs, so you’ll often travel between 300 and 1,300 miles for a regional; teams commonly arrive 1-2 days early to dial in ice at altitude. Coaches stress aggressive sweeping and precise weight control, and you should scout opponents’ tendencies since Western playdowns frequently produce national contenders within a single tight weekend.
Junior and Youth Curling Tournaments
Across the junior circuit you’ll find structured competition from club bonspiels to state playdowns, with age brackets like U12, U15, and U21. Regional qualifiers feed state and national events, and many tournaments run alongside coaching sessions and skill-development camps, giving your team clear pathways and repeated competition-expect roughly 20-30 regional bonspiels each season that funnel talent upward.
U.S. Junior National Championships
At the U.S. Junior National Championships you compete in an annual, under-21 championship where teams qualify through regional and state playdowns; fields typically include about 10-12 teams per gender. Winners earn the right to represent the U.S. at the World Junior Curling Championships, and the event usually takes place in late winter, around March, making it a key stepping stone for international selection.
Skills Competitions for Young Curlers
Skills competitions focus on discrete shot-making tests-draw-to-the-button, hit-and-rolls, and takeout accuracy-scored by distance or execution and run in age divisions so you face peers. Top finishers often receive invitations to development camps or scholarship opportunities, and coaches use results to target technical gaps in your delivery and sweeping.
Typically you’ll face multiple stations (draw, hit, takeout) with a set number of attempts per station-often scored on a 0-5 per shot scale-then top scorers advance to finals. Events employ measuring sticks or electronic sensors for precision, and organizers emphasize safety measures like proper footwear and delivery drills to reduce slip-related injuries while refining your game.
Women’s Curling Events
U.S. Women’s Curling Championship
At nationals you’ll see about a field of roughly 10 top teams battle a round-robin and playoff format organized by USA Curling, with the ultimate prize: the winning rink usually represents the United States at the World Women’s Curling Championship. You can study game plans, sweeping rotation, and strategy shifts across week-long events that determine Olympic and world-level contenders, making it a key nexus between club success and international opportunity.
Women in Curling Initiatives
Beyond competition, you’ll find targeted programs-mentorship networks, leadership workshops, women-only bonspiels and coaching clinics-often run in partnership with the World Curling Federation’s Women in Curling network; these initiatives host dozens of clinics nationwide Many regional clubs and USA Curling-backed efforts offer practical pathways you can join: short clinics (1-3 days) that focus on delivery and sweeping, mentorship pairings to develop skip and coaching skills, and grant programs that reduce travel costs for national events. You’ll see measurable outcomes where increased female enrollment and new women’s teams form after sustained local campaigns, making these programs a direct pipeline to higher-level play. You’ll find a mix of regional leagues, weekend bonspiels and elite opens that anchor the men’s calendar; clubs run multiple weekly draws and travel events attract teams from across states. Clubs such as Traverse City Curling Club host major bonspiels and training camps, and the rise of dedicated ice facilities has improved ice quality and competition levels for club and elite players alike. You can follow an annual national championship organized by USA Curling that typically fields 8-12 top teams via qualifiers, regional playdowns and rankings; the event uses round-robin play followed by page playoffs to determine the champion. Winning often secures national prestige and, in many years, the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the World Championships, so the stakes and competition intensity are high. You’ll notice participation rising across ages, with more than 150 clubs nationwide offering leagues, learn-to-curl sessions and junior programs that funnel talent into men’s competition; college and community programs have expanded opportunities for new players and travel teams. Increased visibility from international events and improved local programming means your local club is likelier to attract newcomers and stronger competitors. For more detail, consider that USA Curling supports growth through sanctioned junior and adult championships, coaching certification and regional development initiatives; you can track expansion by the number of new bonspiels and dedicated rinks built in nontraditional markets over the last decade. When you participate, your club benefits from volunteer-run leagues, targeted youth outreach and occasional grant support that together drive steady increases in membership and competitive depth. To wrap up, the top U.S. curling scene-from your local club leagues and regional bonspiels to marquee events like the U.S. National Championships and Olympic Trials, plus World Curling Tour stops-offers pathways for every level of player and fan. You can follow elite competitions, enter competitive bonspiels, or build your skills through weekday leagues to progress toward higher-level tournaments. A: The United States Curling Association (USCA) runs the flagship events: the United States Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships (often called U.S. Nationals), the United States Mixed Doubles Championship, the United States Junior Championships, and the United States Club Curling Championships. These events are typically annual and use round-robin or pool play followed by playoff brackets; winners frequently earn the right to represent the U.S. at World Championships or to advance into Olympic Trials qualification. The U.S. Olympic Trials (quadrennial) and various international events hosted on U.S. ice also rank among the country’s highest-profile competitions. A: Qualification pathways combine season-long performance and specific Trials qualifiers. Teams can earn spots via national championship results, U.S. ranking/point systems accumulated on the World Curling Tour and USCA-sanctioned events, and designated Trials qualifying events or challenge rounds. The USCA publishes the exact points system and qualification criteria for each Olympic cycle, and selection may include automatic berths for high-performing national teams plus winners of playdown tournaments held in the lead-up to the Trials. A: Competitive opportunities include club leagues at local curling rinks (evening leagues, weekend men’s/women’s/mixed play), arena curling programs, and national-organized leagues such as the American Curling League (ACL), which runs weekend-format interclub competitions across many states. Regional associations run bonspiels and ladder events, and high-performance programs (USCA HP) provide elite training and competition for athletes aiming at national teams. Most curlers progress from social or house leagues into competitive ladders, cash spiels, and WCT events hosted in the U.S. A: The Upper Midwest and northern states host the bulk of high-level U.S. bonspiels and World Curling Tour (WCT) events; notable examples include the Curl Mesabi Classic and several cash spiels in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. In addition, when the U.S. hosts international championships (Worlds, Continental Cup or invitational events), those competitions draw top global teams. These tournaments offer cash prizes, ranking points, and strong competition that appeals to both domestic elite teams and international entrants. A: Start by joining a local curling club and taking introductory and skills clinics to learn delivery, sweeping, and strategy. Move into club leagues to gain consistent game experience, enter local and regional bonspiels, and play in organized ladders or ACL-style interclub events to test higher competition levels. Track performance in sanctioned events to build ranking points, enter playdowns for state or regional qualifiers, and pursue USCA development programs or junior/high-performance pathways if aiming for national teams. Consistent competition, coaching, and targeted travel to higher-tier bonspiels accelerate progression.Men’s Curling Events
U.S. Men’s Curling Championship
Participation and Growth in Men’s Curling
To wrap up
FAQ
Q: What are the major national curling championships and tournaments in the USA?
Q: How do teams qualify for the United States Olympic Trials?
Q: What competitive leagues and organized play opportunities exist for adult curlers in the USA?
Q: Which U.S.-based bonspiels and tour events attract international fields?
Q: How can a recreational curler advance to competing in top U.S. leagues and tournaments?
