What you need to know about 'Rock League', a pro curling venture in the hack for 2026
Article content
Those details are still evolving, although The Curling Group promises quite the adventure for a venture long believed to be missing from the sport.
'With curling, there's no professional league yet, so it's the first of its kind there,' said curling legend Brent Laing, a Grand Slam of Curling commentator and competition committee member for The Curling Group. 'There's all sorts of ideas being thrown around all sorts of different formats and stuff. The idea is that you're not going to tune in and watch Team Homan and play Team Paetz the way the teams are right now.
'But at the end of the day, it's going to be mostly traditional curling, and curlers are going to be able to be professionals and get paid not just prize money but a salary, which is pretty awesome.'
Finally there's real cash in hand for the curlers, says curling legend John Morris, who is a strategic advisor for The Curling Group.
'Back when they made the grand slams initially — I think in the early 2000s — there was probably from the the elite curlers at the time, I'm pretty sure they had a league in the back of their mind,' Morris said. 'With The Curling Group, this is our best opportunity to ever have this happen for curlers.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
In the Rings: Highlights and lowlights from a curling season to remember
Curling made some strides over the 2024-25 campaign yet also remained behind the times in other areas, leaving the Roaring Game in a peculiar spot entering the all-important Olympic season. Equipment issues have been a concern in recent months and the sport's archaic rule structure and lack of video review have sparked controversy. The new-look Grand Slam of Curling series had some hits and misses under new ownership. Here's a look at some highlights and lowlights from the previous season with a look ahead at what's to come. BURNING ISSUE The handling of a situation involving an apparent burned rock in a China-Norway playoff game at the world men's championship sparked heated online comments from many top players. It also showed just how far behind curling is compared to other sports. Video footage appeared to show the Chinese sweeper hit the rock with his broom just before it entered the house. Put in a tough position as the non-offending team, Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell felt the stone was burned but agreed to let it remain rather than have it removed. Umpire involvement was minimal since the players decided to play on. 'If we're not going to have umpires or officials there that are actually going to officiate and umpire the game, they shouldn't be there in my opinion,' veteran skip Brad Gushue said in a recent interview. 'And if that's the case and we have cameras, we have streaming services on just about every game now played at the top level, why not utilize that?' A World Curling spokesman noted Norway didn't make a complaint after continuing play. Chinese coach Weidong Tan, who served as interpreter for skip Xiaoming Xu, said the team didn't feel the broom made contact with the rock. World Curling director Jill Officer was made available for an interview at the event but a communications staffer shut down questions on the subject. HOMAN DOMINANT Rachel Homan's Ottawa-based team became the first Canadian women's rink to repeat as world champions since Sandra Schmirler's side did it in 1994. The top-ranked Homan finished with a remarkable 75-9 record over a season that included a fifth career Scotties Tournament of Hearts title along with Grand Slam crowns at the Kioti National and Co-op Canadian Open. Top-ranked Bruce Mouat of Scotland won the men's world title. Italy's Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini took the world mixed doubles crown. HITS AND MISSES The Curling Group tried some new things over its five-event calendar after purchasing the Grand Slam of Curling series last spring. Some things worked and others didn't. More changes — including a new pro league — are on the way next season. A big hit was the decision to provide live streaming of all games at Slam competitions. Curler walkouts — or slideouts in some cases — also proved popular. Misses included the dizziness-inducing 'hat-cam' live camera and a GSOC playoff draft where skips selected pool opponents. The draft's start was delayed, players didn't have their own microphones and graphics weren't used. CLEAN SWEEP Call it what you will — Foamgate or Broomgate 2.0 — but broomhead foam density was a hot topic among athletes in recent months. Many teams believe firmer foam products allow sweepers to have too much control on the ice. World Curling and Goldline Curling mutually agreed to suspend the approval of Goldline's Pursuer foam from competitive play last February. Curlers, manufacturers, federations, the athlete commission and officials have had discussions about equipment in recent months but it's unclear when there might be clarity on the subject. 'The athletes need to know by the beginning of August what sort of broom they're going to have (in) their hand for next (season),' Officer said. 'And I plan (to) keep trying to push that timeline.' HOG-LINE VIOLATIONS In the wake of repeated electronic sensor issues with curling stones, the honour system has been in place for hog-line violations over the last few seasons. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The setup has generally worked although many curlers do not release the rocks in time. Opponent apathy may be to blame. 'There's a line there that has to be abided by and it has to be enforced,' said World Curling Hall of Famer Warren Hansen. 'And to ignore it, to me, is just ridiculous.' A first-hand look from ice level at the recent world men's championship revealed several uncalled violations. A player can still request an umpire to watch the line if desired. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2025.
CBC
03-05-2025
- CBC
CURLING_ROCK_LEAGUE 5 minutes ago Duration 3:46
A planned new curling league, Rock League, is aiming to launch in April 2026. Three-time Canadian Olympic curler and Rock League special advisor John Morris catches up with the CBC's Acton Clarkin to share early details.
CBC
29-04-2025
- CBC
Canada up against 'stacked field' in quest for playoffs at mixed doubles curling worlds
At the end of three days of mixed doubles curling inside Fredericton's Willie O'Ree Place, one team stood alone above the rest. Only the reigning Olympic champions in mixed doubles, Italy's Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, had yet to lose a game. That came after storming back to defeat the Canadian team of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant 7-5 on Monday evening, a comeback that Italy secured by tying the game in the seventh end and pulling ahead by two in the final end. It was the Canadians' second game of the day, after defeating the Netherlands 7-3 on Monday morning. You could hear a pin drop inside the arena as the last red Canadian rock slid down the ice, followed by applause for the home team. "We battled right to the end," Gallant told CBC Sports. "She made a beautiful runback on her last shot and left us with a really tricky draw. But we knew it was going to be a battle tonight and we've just got to dust that one off and come back tomorrow." Canada ended Monday tied with Scotland and Sweden, all teams with a 4-1 record, behind Italy in Group A. In the second group, all of Australia, Estonia, Japan, Norway and the United States registered one loss atop the pool. Only the top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. That so many teams are in the running is a sign of the depth of the field, something that's only grown since mixed doubles was added as an Olympic discipline in 2018. "It's a stacked field," said Sweden's Anna Hasselborg. "Four of our teams [in Group A] could easily be medalling at the Olympics. It's going to be a really tough week because there's a lot of top teams." The stakes are high. Olympic qualification points will be awarded based on how teams finish. The points earned this year and at last year's world championship will combine to determine which countries go to Italy next February. Based on those points, the top seven countries (behind the automatically-qualified host country, Italy) will earn berths. The final two spots will be determined at a last-chance qualifying tournament later this year. The Canadians had to quickly shake off the loss on Monday evening. As the arena emptied, the married couple of Peterman and Gallant took some time to see their families, including their toddler son. Then, it was back on the ice to practice ahead of a Tuesday afternoon game against Korea. Beyond Olympic qualification, the team is vying to win Canada's first world championship in mixed doubles curling. "We know that every game, we have to bring our best," Peterman said. "There's no easy games in our pool. We know we're ready to battle for each game." Excitement for a new pro league Days before the mixed doubles world championship began, The Curling Group announced plans to launch a professional curling league that will begin play next April. The owners of the Grand Slam of Curling series have said the Rock League will include six franchises featuring curlers from across the globe facing off in "a multi-format competition" over six weeks. The teams are organized by region, including two from Canada (one captained by Rachel Homan and the other by Brad Jacobs), two from Europe (one led by Switzerland's Alina Pätz and the other by Scotland's Bruce Mouat), one from Asia-Pacific (captained by Chinami Yoshida of Japan) and an American team, which will be led by Korey Dropkin. Each team will include 10 curlers: five men and five women. The league is part of The Curling Group's "vision to professionalize and evolve the sport of curling" and could transform the sport. For one, curlers will be paid a salary in addition to any prize money. Exact financial details haven't been released. The idea of earning a salary is something Pätz, who is competing this week at the mixed doubles world championship, has only been able to dream about. "We usually use the sponsor money to pay the expenses for travel and everything," she said in an interview. "If we have something left at the end of the year, that's basically our salary for now. To have a guaranteed salary for six weeks, that's just something totally new for me and so exciting." She also hopes it will continue to grow the sport and attract fans in a new way. Scotland's Mouat, who's in Fredericton this week looking for his second world championship of the season, after winning with his four-man team, signed on as a Rock League captain with the idea of showing younger curlers that the sport can be a full-time job. Other curlers are waiting to find out more about how the league might work. "They're certainly interested in growing the game and they're putting a lot of effort into building these leagues up," Gallant said. "I'd love to see what happens." More details, including team names, locations and full rosters, are expected to come this fall. "There are still things that they can't disclose yet, just because they're still trying to figure it all out," Mouat said. "But I think once all the teams are signed on and established, then a lot of excitement will be happening from the athletes, which will then resonate to the fans."
