RESIDENCY RULES – ALL CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
COMPETITORS:
- Must be Canadian citizens.
- Exception: Competitors at the Under-18 Boys and Girls, the Curling Club Championships and the Wheelchair Championship do not have to be Canadian citizens, but they do have to be residents of Canada unless granted an exception by their Member Association.
- Must be residents of Canada.
- Exception: Member Associations may allow Canadian citizens who are residents of the United States and are active members in good standing of affiliated Canadian curling clubs to participate.
- All four (4) members and any alternates must be bona fide residents within the geographic area of the Member Association they are intending to represent
- Exception: Tournament of Hearts and Brier playdown entrants are allowed one free agent who does not meet residency requirements per five-player team
- Exception: Tournament of Hearts and Brier athletes are able to compete in the province / territory in which they were born. This birthright status equates to being a bona fide resident
- Exception: Tournament of Hearts and Brier Team Canada (prior year Champions) and Wild Card or pre-qualified teams, must only meet rule #1 and #2. Rule #3 will not apply, as long as they still meet the requirement of the three of four (if registered as four-player team) or four of five (if registered as a five-player team) rule of team members that qualified for the Championship.
- Exception: Tournament of Hearts and Brier Athletes who have taken a accepted leave of absence from competing for their team after qualifying for the National Championships for parenting, pregnancy or childbirth are able to find a replacement player(s) that do not meet rule #3.
- A player may not have competed for any other country in any WCF competition, in any discipline, the previous two curling seasons (curling is marked as September 1 to May 31). A WCF competition is defined as a direct qualification event or Championship of any World, Olympic, Paralympic or Universiade Championship.
- Exception: Competitors at the Under-18 Boys and Girls, the Curling Club Championships and the Wheelchair Championship may have competed in the previous two years for another international Member Association, at any level, without waiting to compete in the Canadian National Championship.
- An athlete may not attempt to compete for Canada in any playdown, at any level, if they have attempted to compete for another WCF Member Association in any discipline within the same curling season, whether they successfully won the right to represent the other WCF Member Association or not.
- Canadians born in border towns such as Lloydminster (which has geographical boundaries in both Saskatchewan and Alberta) will be assigned a ‘home’ Member Association based on the province / territory indicated on their government documentation.
- The current Ontario and Northern Ontario border for curling will determine if a player was born in Northern Ontario or Ontario (any disputes will be resolved by Curling Canada). If the town/city of the athlete’s birth has a curling club, then they will be considered as born in the affiliation of that club. If the town/city of birth does not have a curling club, they will be assigned to the Member Association with the closest affiliated club to their birth town/city.
- Full-time students in good standing attending a recognized post-secondary educational institute, may curl in one (1) of these four (4) jurisdictions:
- For the province/territory where they are attending school; or
- for the province/territory where they maintain their residence of record; or
- for the province or territory where they were born; or
- for any province or territory as a Free Agent (for Tournament of Hearts/Brier only)
Note: students will be required to provide proof of registration and academic standing.
- An individual may only participate in the playdown process for the Tournament of Hearts or the Brier in one (1) province or territory in any championship season.
- When eligible, Canadians can play for different Member Associations year to year. For example, in 2022-2023 they play in Territory ‘A’ where they were born. Then in 2023-2024, they choose to play in the province/territory where they reside.
- Free Agents, athletes using the birthright option, and student-athletes are allowed to participate in any other event they are eligible for in the province or territory where they reside. For example, a player residing in province/territory ‘A’ chooses to be a free agent in province/territory ‘B’ for the Tournament of Hearts. In the same season, this player can participate in the four-person Mixed competition for province/territory ‘A’.
Birthright Status
Birthright status will be implemented nationwide as of the 2019-20 curling season and in effect at the Brier, Tournament of Hearts and all provincial / territorial playdown events leading up to the national men’s and women’s championships.
Curling Canada has updated its residency rules to include birthright status. Athletes who have moved away from their province / territory of birth are now eligible to represent that province / territory as a bona fide resident. This means any teams can consist of one free agent and the remaining players may be bona fide residents or have birthright status. All four players can have birthright status.
This decision, made by Curling Canada operations staff after discussion with the Board of Governors and Member Association presidents, modernizes the residency rules by further aligning curling with best practices of other National Sport Organizations and helps Canadian teams remain in contention for the podium at international events.
This small adjustment to the residency rules provides athletes with more flexibility in their personal and professional lives, while also continuing to chase their athletic goals. For example, an athlete can move away from their birth province / territory for an employment opportunity or personal reasons and still dream of representing the province / territory where they were born. This scenario is especially true of young adults who move away from home for post-secondary education and build new lives after graduation but still remain connected to the province / territory they were born.
Member Associations spend a lot of time, money and resources to develop youth athletes. The update to the rules means those young curlers can pursue men’s and women’s championships in the region they were born, even if they move away. This provides more value for an Member Association’s youth development program.
To read more about this update from Curling Canada, click here.
Birthright FAQ
Birthright status allows a curler to represent the province or territory they were born in, even if they move away. For example, a curler who is born in province/territory/Northern Ontario “A” and moves to province/territory “B” will be eligible to compete for province/territory “A” as a bona fide resident and not require free agent status. Birthright applies to the province/territory/Northern Ontario the curler was born in, even if they move to a new province/territory shortly after.
You would not be eligible for the Birthright Status unless you can provide the government letter noted in bullet 3) under Birthright Special Circumstances.
You must meet the following criteria to claim birthright status:
- Be born in the province/territory/Northern Ontario you are claiming birthright status; and,
- Be a member in good standing of a curling club in that province/territory/Northern Ontario and compete in its men’s or women’s playdown process; and,
- compete in its men’s or women’s playdown process; and,
- have a valid passport or birth certificate proving your birthplace for submission to the Member Association where you are claiming birthright; and,
you must be a bona-fide resident of Canada to be eligible to claim birthright status.
Only the Tournament of Hearts and Brier and all provincial / territorial playdowns leading up to those events. For example, you may not claim Birthright to play in the Seniors. Also, athletes who claim birthright status in the men’s or women’s competition are ineligible to compete in another province / territory’s men’s or women’s playdowns during the same season.
Anywhere from zero (0) to five (5)
You will need to submit a photocopy of a valid birth certificate or Canadian passport to prove your eligibility to Curling Canada.
Yes, an athlete can claim the birthright status for the Brier or Tournament of Hearts competitions, and still compete in at other events in the province / territory where they reside. Birthright, however, does not grant you residency in your birth province or territory.
Birthright is claimed year-to-year, meaning a curler may compete in their birthright jurisdiction during the 2019-20 curling season and switch to the province / territory where they reside in the following season. In other words, a player is not obligated to commit to their birthright status for a set period of time.
Canadians born in border towns such as Lloydminster (which has geographical boundaries in both Saskatchewan and Alberta) will be assigned a ‘home’ Member Association based on the province / territory indicated on their government documentation (birth certificate or passport).
The current Ontario and Northern Ontario border for curling will determine if a player was born in Northern Ontario or Ontario (any disputes will be resolved by Curling Canada). If the town or city where the athlete was born has a curling club, then they will be considered as born in the affiliation of that club. If the town or city of birth does not have a curling club, they will be assigned to the member association with the closest affiliated club to their birth town / city.
Birthright Special Circumstances:
- A player born before April 1, 1999 anywhere in the Northwest Territories that is now considered part of the Territory of Nunavut may claim birthright for either the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. If a player chooses one or the other Territory will determine a player’s Territory of birth for their career.
- A player born in the Territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999 or later may claim birthright for Nunavut only.
- Often mothers are transferred to a bigger hospital / clinic in another province or territory by doctor’s orders or to be close to family support. The birth certificate in this case would note the province or territory of the hospital / clinic where they were born. A player may provide a letter from the provincial / territorial health care provider (of the mother’s residence) indicating that when they were born, they had health care coverage from the said province / territory of their mother’s residence. The player will be granted birthright status in this case. If you cannot provide the letter, you may not claim Birthright for the province / territory where your mother lived but may claim Birthright based on your birth certificate. Canadian citizens not born in Canada will not be eligible for this option unless they can provide the government letter.
- Full-time students in good standing attending a recognized post-secondary educational institute, may play in one (1) of these four (4) jurisdictions in the Tournament of Hearts or Brier:
- for the province or territory where they are attending school; or,
- for the province or territory where they maintain their residence of record; or,
- for the province or territory where they were born; or,
- for any province or territory as a Free Agent.
Note: students may be required to provide proof of registration and academic standing.