The 2026-2027 season will mark a new step in the competitive evolution of international curling. Following the restructuring of the sporting calendar, the World Curling Team Ranking System (WCTRS) Points Group announced a series of changes aimed at improving the operation of the world rankings, a key tool for measuring team performance throughout the year. These updates are intended to ensure that the rankings more accurately reflect the level of competition in each event and the sporting merit of results achieved across different competitive settings.
The updates not only modify technical criteria such as the Strength of Field Multiplier (SFM) and the Importance Factor assigned to certain events, but also introduce a new framework for organizing international competitions. Beginning this season, the calendar will be divided into three major categories—Champion Series, Elite Series, and Challenger Series—a model designed to provide greater clarity about the competitive value of each tournament while establishing a more consistent points system for both men’s and women’s teams.
A ranking system designed to better reflect the level of each competition
The changes announced by the WCTRS respond to the need to adapt the rankings to an increasingly broad and diverse international calendar. In recent years, the growth of the circuit has increased both the number of tournaments and the diversity of participating teams, making it necessary to review the criteria used to award ranking points. With the updated Strength of Field Multiplier (SFM), the system will be able to more accurately assess the strength of each competitive field, assigning different weight to results depending on the quality of the teams competing in each event.
In addition, the Importance Factor applied to different championships has also been revised, determining the significance of each competition within the world rankings. The goal is for the most prestigious and demanding tournaments to carry an impact that matches their competitive level, while regional and smaller events retain a proportional weighting. In this way, the rankings will reward both consistency and success in the most challenging competitions on the international calendar.
Three new categories will organize the world curling calendar
The main innovation of the system will be the creation of the WCTRS Competition Series, which will divide men’s and women’s tournaments into three levels based on their SFM classification. At the top will be the Champion Series, made up of the most important events on the international calendar. This category will include the World Championships, the European Championships, the World Qualification Events, the National Championships, and the Grand Slam of Curling, competitions that will receive either a fixed Importance Factor or an increased value reflecting their sporting significance.
The second tier will be the Elite Series, reserved for tournaments with an SFM rating between 4.0 and 8.0, characterized by teams from different countries, a high level of competition, and, in many cases, larger prize purses. Finally, the Challenger Series will include events with an SFM rating of 3.9 or lower, focusing primarily on local and regional competitions. Although these tournaments will award fewer ranking points, they will continue to play a fundamental role in the development of new teams and in building a broader competitive structure for international curling.
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