Curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Qualification
A total of 10 teams in each tournament will qualify for a quota of 100 athletes in curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics. A further 10 mixed doubles pairs will qualify for a total of 20 athletes. Therefore, a total of 120 athletes can qualify in total to compete in the curling competitions.
Qualification timeline
Qualification system before COVID-19
Qualification to the Men's and Women's curling tournaments at the Winter Olympics will be determined through two methods. Nations will qualify teams by earning qualification points from performances at the 2020 and 2021 World Curling Championships. Teams can also qualify through Olympic qualification events which will be held in 2021. Seven nations will qualify teams via World Championship qualification points, while two nations will qualify through qualification events. In men's and women's play a host will be selected for the Olympic Qualification Event. They will be joined by the five nations with the highest qualification points not already qualified to the Olympics, and two qualifiers from the Pre-Olympic Qualification Event. The Pre-OQE will be open to all member associations. For the mixed doubles competition in 2022, they are expanding the tournament from eight competitor nations to ten. The top seven ranked teams earning qualification points from performances at the 2020 and 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship will qualify along with two qualifiers from the Olympic Qualification Event – Mixed Doubles. This OQE will be open to a nominated host and the fifteen nations with the highest qualification points not already qualified to the Olympics. As the host nation, China qualified teams automatically, thus making a total of ten teams per event in the curling tournaments.
Qualification points
The qualification points are allotted based on the nations' final rankings at the WorldChampionships. The point distribution for Olympic Qualification will be as follows: ;Men's and Women's tournaments
Final rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Points
15
13
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
;Mixed Doubles
Final rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Points
27
23
20
18
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Note: Scotland, England and Wales all compete separately in international curling. By an agreement between the curling federations of those three home nations, only Scotland can score Olympic qualification points on behalf of Great Britain.
Before the impact of COVID-19, teams would accrue Olympic Qualification Points during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Because the World Curling Championships are not taking place in 2020, no Olympic Qualification Points will be awarded in 2020. The host nation, China, will qualify for one of ten spots in the Men's, Women's and Mixed Doubles. For the Men's and Women's tournament, the top six teams at the 2021 Men's and Women's Championship will automatically earn a spot at the Olympics. If China is among those top six teams then only the five other teams in the top six will directly qualify and a fourth qualifier will be needed. The remaining three spots will be obtained through an Olympic Qualification Event. For Mixed Doubles, the top seven teams at the 2021 Mixed Doubles Championship will automatically earn a spot at the Olympics. If China appears in the top seven, the eighth place team will qualify as well. The remaining two spots will be obtained through an Olympic Qualification Event.
