Curling Canada is making changes to the format of the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials according to the Canadian Press. The final will be a best of three for the first time. The previous eight Canadian Olympic Curling Trials championship finals on the men’s and women’s sides have been a single game final.
There will also be only eight teams competing per gender. The previous two Canadian Olympic curling trials in 2017 and 2021 had nine teams competing per gender. Changes were in order as Canada has not won a gold medal in men’s or women’s curling since the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
The winners of the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials will represent Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. The location of the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials has yet to be announced, but the dates are set. They will take place from November 22-30, 2025.
There will also be some changes to the Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts starting in 2024 regarding how the wildcard teams are determined. This past year, the top three teams in the Canadian Team Ranking System Standings that did not qualify for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts as of January 31, or the Brier as of February 8, were added as the three wildcard teams. As of 2024, the top two teams from the Canadian Team Ranking System Standings of the previous curling season not Team Canada will be awarded two wildcard spots. A third Wildcard team will be awarded based on the standings right before the Canadian National Curling Championships.
