Curling 101: Who's qualified for Team USA

Feb 24, 2018; Gangneung, South Korea; John Shuster (USA) reacts as he competes in the men's team curling final between the United States and Sweden during the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at Gangneung Curling Centre. (James Lang-Usa Today Sports)

The 2021 World Curling Championships and three Olympic Qualification Events will determine which countries send curling teams to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

A maximum of 30 teams and 120 athletes will qualify:

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  • Mixed doubles: 10 teams of one male and one female athlete (20)

The host country, China, is guaranteed an Olympic team berth in each tournament.

In all three curling events, teams qualify for Beijing through earning Olympic Qualification Points at the World Curling Championships. Higher world championship finishes earn more points, and the teams with the most accumulated points will earn Olympic berths for their country.

The countries that have already qualified a team for the 2022 Olympics are:

Men's curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Great Britain
  • ROC
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • USA

Women's curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Denmark
  • ROC
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • USA

Mixed doubles curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Czech Republic
  • Great Britain
  • Italy
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

Three more men’s and women’s curling teams will have a second chance to earn Olympic berths at Olympic Qualification Events.

The teams that finish first, second and third at the Olympic Qualification Event will earn the final spots at the Beijing Olympics.

There are only two spots remaining for mixed doubles at the Beijing Olympics. An Olympics Qualification Event will also determine the final mixed doubles squads.

Team USA

Team USA can qualify a maximum of 12 curling athletes (a five-person men’s team, a five-person women’s team and a two-person mixed doubles team) to Beijing.

The top contenders on the men's side are the rink skipped by John Shuster, Tyler George, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner and Joe Polo; the team that took home the gold medal in PyeongChang.

The Nina Roth-led women's squad didn't win a medal in 2018, but Roth is once again expected to have a strong chance at representing the U.S. in Beijing.

The men’s and women’s teams, as well as the mixed doubles team, will be named after the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling in November.