New regulations covering brush-head technology and sweeping technique for play at World Curling Federation events were approved on Saturday at the WCF’s Annual General Assembly in Stockholm, Sweden.

The new regulations came about as a result of research conducted jointly by the National Research Council of Canada and the WCF, with contributions from Curling Canada, during the first Sweeping Summit, held last May in Kemptville, Ont.

"The new sweeping regulations are the direct result of a spirit of collaboration between a number of parties, all of whom simply wanted the best for the sport of curling," said Katherine Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of Curling Canada. "We wouldn't be at this point today if it weren't for the hard work put in by the World Curling Federation, Canada's National Research Council, the World Curling Players Association, the players from around the world who took part in the Sweeping Summit in Kemptville and our own Curling Canada senior staff members who participated in the Summit. It truly is a statement about what makes our sport so wonderful, and I'm truly thankful for everyone's efforts to resolve this situation."

With the new WCF regulations in place, Curling Canada is introducing a revised Moratorium that will cover brush-heads and sweeping for Curling Canada events, and playdowns that lead to Curling Canada events. It will be in place through the 2017-18 season. You can CLICK HERE to read it.

The most notable change is that a standardized fabric (material, weave, coating and colour) will be adopted for use in all championship events. As well, new guidelines have been adopted that cover use of target and sweeping brooms, as well as sweeping technique — all the result of the extensive research and testing done in Kemptville.

You can read a summary of the Sweeping Summit findings by CLICKING HERE.

You can read the World Curling Federation news release HERE. Additionally, CLICK HERE to read the WCF’s position on equipment used for recreational and/or domestic curling.