Rock League
| Upcoming season or competition: 2026 Rock League season | |
| Classification | Professional curling league |
|---|---|
| Sport | Curling |
| Founded | April 24, 2025 |
| First season | 2026 |
| Owner | The Curling Group |
| Motto | "Curling Unleashed" |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Related competitions | Grand Slam of Curling |
| Official website | www |
Rock League is an upcoming professional curling league operated by The Curling Group, who also own the Grand Slam of Curling. Rock League will launch in April 2026, initially consisting of 6 franchised teams consisting of both males and females.
History
In April 2024, the Grand Slam of Curling, a series of curling bonspiels that was mainly held in Canada, was announced to be bought by a consortium known as The Curling Group. The group included curlers Jennifer Jones and John Morris, alongside former American football players-turned curlers Jared Allen and Marc Bulger.[1]
On April 24, 2025, The Curling Group announced a professional curling league known as Rock League, which would begin play in April 2026 and hold events in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The league would initially consist of 6 globally franchised teams, with each team having five males and five females. The inaugural season would consist of six weeks of bonspiels in multiple formats.[2] Bruce Mouat, one of the six team captains announced that same day, likened the potential impact that Rock League would have on the momentum of the sport, which usually only sees a surge of interest during the Winter Olympics, to how Grand Slam Track was meant to increase momentum in track and field after the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[3] Curling legends John Morris and Jennifer Jones were also announced as competition advisors.
Teams
The six teams announced with the founding of Rock League on April 24, 2025, are franchises that initially are owned by The Curling Group itself. Each team consists of ten curlers, five of whom are male and five that are female. For the inaugural season in 2026, each of the six teams will be regionally focused. Two teams each will represent Canada and Europe, with the United States and the wider Asia-Pacific region each having a team. Each team also announced a team captain on that same day.
| Team | Team captain |
|---|---|
| Team Canada 1 | Rachel Homan |
| Team Canada 2 | Brad Jacobs |
| Team Europe 1 | Bruce Mouat |
| Team Europe 2 | Alina Pätz |
| Team Asia-Pacific | Chinami Yoshida |
| Team USA | Korey Dropkin |
Full rosters were announced on December 16, 2025:[4] Roster alterations were announced on March 20.[5]
On March 20, 2026, the Rock League announced that Sweden's Linda Stenlund and Italy's Mattia Giovanella would be "super spares" who could play for any team due to an injury or any other vacancy.[5]
Schedule
On December 18, 2025, the Rock League announced its schedule and format for the 2026 and 2027 seasons:[6]
The 2026 season will be held April 6–12 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, and will feature men's, women's, mixed team and mixed doubles events. Following a round robin schedule, the four best teams will qualify for a playoff.
The 2027 season will be spread out over four weeks in January and February of that year, with a playoff to be held April 8–18 at a location to be announced. The regular season will be held at January 7–10 at Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Jan. 14–17 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia; January 28–31 at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York; and February 4–7 at TD Place in Ottawa.
References
- ^ Novy-Williams, Eben (April 9, 2024). "Grand Slam of Curling Sold in Bid to Make Over Olympic Sport". Sportico.com. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "The Curling Group plans to launch professional curling league next spring". TSN. The Canadian Press. April 24, 2025. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
- ^ Weese, Lukas (April 24, 2025). "With new Rock League, curling is latest Olympic sport to get a professional boost". The Athletic. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
- ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (December 16, 2025). "Rosters unveiled for all six Rock League franchises". Rock League.
- ^ a b Brazeau, Jonathan (March 20, 2026). "Rock League names four replacement curlers for inaugural season". Rock League.
- ^ "Rock League announces dates and locations for 2026 and 2027 seasons".