The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 1975 and the women's since 1988. Since curling became an Olympic sport in 1998, the World Junior Curling Championship of the year preceding the Olympic Games have been held at the site of the curling tournament for the upcoming Games.
The European Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments held in Europe between various European nations. The European Curling Championships are usually held in early to mid December. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for the World Championships, where the top eight nations qualify.
Oskar Ingemar Eriksson is a Swedish curler from Karlstad. He currently plays third for the Niklas Edin rink. He is the first curler in history to win four Olympic medals – gold, silver, and two bronze – and the first to secure two Olympic medals in different curling disciplines in the same Olympic Games. He is also a six-time World Men's Curling Champion, seven-time European Men's Curling Champion, and the first curler in history to win three gold medals in major international curling championships in a single calendar year – the World Men's Curling Championship, the European Curling Championship, and the World Mixed Doubles Championship. Having also won two World Mixed Doubles Championship medals, he is the first and the only curler to have seven World Curling Championship gold medals in the senior men's division and has won twelve World Curling Championship medals overall in that division. He also holds the record for most gold medals in international competitions as recognized by the World Curling Federation. He is the only member of Team Sweden to have competed in all of the World Men's Curling Championships from 2011 to 2021. He won medals in all but one of these championships, as well as playing in multiple positions – as skip, third, second, and as an alternate. In 2022, Eriksson and his teammates also became the first men's team in history to win four consecutive World Men's Curling Championships, with Eriksson and Niklas Edin becoming the first and only two curlers in history to have six career gold World Men's Curling Championship medals.
The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's and women's versions of junior and senior championships. There is also a world championship for wheelchair curling. The men's championship started in 1959, while the women's started in 1979. The mixed doubles championship was started in 2008. Since 2005, the men's and women's championships have been held in different venues, with Canada hosting one of the two championships every year: the men's championship in odd years, and the women's championship in even years. Canada has dominated both the men's and women's championships since their inception, although Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Scotland, the United States, Norway and China have all won at least one championship.
The 2012 World Junior Curling Championships was held from March 3 to 11 at the Z-Hallen in Östersund, Sweden. Östersund previously hosted the World Junior Curling Championships in 1999 and in 2008.
The 2012 World Senior Curling Championships were held at the Tårnby Curling Club in Tårnby, Denmark from April 14 to 21. Tårnby has previously hosted the 2006 World Senior Curling Championships, the 2011 European Mixed Curling Championship, and the 2011 European Curling Championships' Group C competitions, and hosted the 2012 European Junior Curling Challenge. For the first time since 2009, the event was not held in conjunction with the same year's World Mixed Doubles Championship.
The Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships was an annual curling bonspiel held in the World Curling Federation's Pacific zone. The championships featured curlers under the age of 21 competing to qualify for a spot in the World Junior Curling Championships. Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea have participated in past championships. Replacing the European Junior Curling Challenge and the Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships in 2016, the World Junior B Curling Championships will now serve as the qualifier for the World Junior Curling Championships.
The European Junior Curling Challenge is an annual curling bonspiel held in the World Curling Federation's Europe zone. The championships feature curlers under the age of 21 competing to qualify for a spot in the World Junior Curling Championships. Nations that participate are those which have not already qualified for the World Junior Championships. Replacing the European Junior Curling Challenge and the Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships in 2016, the World Junior B Curling Championships will now serve as the qualifier for the World Junior Curling Championships.
The 2012 European Junior Curling Challenge was held from January 3 to 8 at the Tårnby Curling Club in Copenhagen, Denmark. The challenge consisted of nations that have not already qualified for the World Junior Championships. The winners of the men's and women's tournaments qualified for the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships in Östersund, Sweden.
The 2013 World Women's Curling Championship was held at the Volvo Sports Centre in Riga, Latvia from March 16 to 24. It marked the first time that Latvia has hosted the World Women's Championship. This event was also a qualifying event for the 2014 Winter Olympics, awarding points to countries based on performance at the worlds.
Rasmus Stjerne Hansen is a retired Danish curler. He is a former world junior champion and current Danish champion. He curls out of the Hvidovre Curling Club.
The 2013 European Junior Curling Challenge was held from January 3 to 8 at the Curling Hall Roztyly in Prague, Czech Republic. Nations in the Europe zone that have not already qualified for the World Junior Curling Championships participated in the curling challenge. The top finishers of each tournament will advance to the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia. In the men's tournament, Italy regained a spot in the World Junior Championships after a last place finish at last year's worlds with a win over Denmark. In the women's tournament, Denmark won a spot in the World Junior Championships with a win over Hungary.
Curling is a minor sport in Turkey. It is governed by the Turkish Ice Skating Federation and has been a member of the World Curling Federation since 2009. The country has one dedicated curling venue, the Milli Piyango Curling Arena in Erzurum. Turkey is ranked 39th in the world in men's curling and 31st in women's.
Kjell Tommy Christoffer Sundgren is a Swedish curler. He currently plays lead for the Swedish national team, skipped by Niklas Edin. The World Curling Federation's historical records rank Sundgren as one of the most successful curlers of all time, both in the medals that he has received and his lifetime performance in individual championships. He is one of only three curlers in history to have won both the Olympic Gold medal and five World Championship gold medals. In 2022, he surpassed the previous record holders for World Men's Curling Championship medals, winning his fifth gold medal, in addition to his and European Men's Curling Championship, placing him third of all time on both lists behind his teammates Edin and Oskar Eriksson. He also has reached thirty-five playoffs at Grand Slam of Curling events, including winning three Grand Slam tournaments and the Pinty's Cup as part of Team Niklas Edin, the first non-Canadian men's team to do so. In 2017, Sundgren and his teammates also became the first men's team in history to win four consecutive European Men's Curling Championships. In 2021, he and his teammates became the first men's team in history to win four consecutive World Men's Curling Championships.
The World Junior-B Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel. The championships feature curlers under the age of 21 competing to qualify for three spots in the World Junior Curling Championships. Nations that participate are those which have not already qualified for the World Junior Championships. The competition originally was established in 1999, then was replaced after the 2003-04 season with the European Junior Curling Challenge and Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships. In 2016, the Junior-B Championships were brought back to replace the European and Pacific-Asia Junior Championships.
The 2016 World Junior Curling Championships were held from March 5 to 13 at the Tårnby Curling Club in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mikkel Munch Krause is a Danish curler from Hvidovre. He is a former World Junior champion.
The 2022 World Junior-B Curling Championships was being held from January 3 to 14 at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja, Finland. The top three men's and women's teams were to qualify for the 2022 World Junior Curling Championships.
The 2022 World Junior Curling Championships were held from May 15 to 22 at the Jönköping Curling Club in Jönköping, Sweden. The event was originally scheduled to be held March 5 to 12, however, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden. It was the final World Curling Federation event held during the 2021–22 curling season.
The 2022 World Junior-B Curling Championships were held from December 8 to 19 at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja, Finland. The top three men's and women's teams qualified for the 2023 World Junior Curling Championships.
