2023 Women’s Curling World Championships: Full schedule, preview and how to watch live

The 2023 World Women’s Curling Championship will be held in Sandviken, Sweden from 18-26 March.

Winners of the past three editions Switzerland will attempt to defend their crown from the 12 other competing teams at the Göransson Arena.

The event will begin with a round-robin where all teams will play each other once.

The top six teams at the end of the round-robin phase will advance to the playoffs. First and second will receive byes to the semi-finals, while the third, fourth, fifth and sixth will compete in qualification games for the semis.

In the qualification games, the third-ranked team will play the sixth, while the fourth and fifth-ranked teams will play one another. The winner of these two games will advance to the semi-finals.  

The winners of the semi-finals will then meet in the final to contest the world title while the other two teams will compete in a bronze-medal match.

2023 World Women’s curling Championship: Countries and teams

Canada

Lead: Briane Harris
Second: Shannon Birchard
Third: Val Sweeting
Skip: Kerri Einarson

Denmark

Lead: My Larsen
Second: Denise Dupont
Third: Mathilde Halse
Skip: Madeleine Dupont

Germany

Lead: Analena Jentsch
Second: Pia-Lisa Schöll
Third: Emira Abbes
Skip: Daniela Jentsch

Italy

Lead: Giulia Zardini Lacedelli
Second: Angela Romei
Third: Marta La Deserto
Skip: Stefania Constantini

Japan

Lead: Yoshida Yurika
Second: Suzuki Yuko
Third: Yoshida Chinami
Skip: Fujisawa Satsuki

Republic of Korea

Lead: Kim Su-jin
Second: Yang Tae-I
Third: Kim Hye-rin
Skip: Ha Seung-youn

New Zealand

Lead: Bridget Becker
Second: Natalie Thurlow
Third: Holly Thompson
Skip: Jess Smith

Norway

Lead: Martine Roenning
Second: Mille Haslev Nordbye
Skip: Marianne Roervik
Fourth: Kristin Skaslien

Scotland

Lead: Sophie Jackson
Second: Sophie Sinclair
Third: Gina Aitken
Skip: Rebecca Morrison

Sweden

Lead: Johanna Heldin
Second: Sofia Mabergs
Third: Agnes Knochenhauer
Skip: Anna Hasselborg

Switzerland

Lead: Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann
Second: Carole Howald
Skip: Silvana Tirinzoni
Fourth: Alina Pätz

Türkiye

Lead: Mihriban Polat
Second: Ifayet Safak Calikusu
Third: Oznur Polt
Skip: Dilsat Yildiz

United States of America

Lead: Tara Peterson
Second: Becca Hamilton
Third: Cory Thiesse
Skip: Tabitha Peterson

2023 World Women’s Curling Championship: Schedule in full

All times are in CET (UTC +1).

Saturday 18 March

Round Robin Session 1 – 14:00

• Sheet A - Switzerland v United States
• Sheet B - Republic of Korea v Norway
• Sheet C - New Zealand v Sweden
• Sheet D - Denmark v Japan

Round Robin Session 2 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Germany v Scotland
• Sheet B – Italy v Türkiye
• Sheet C – Switzerland v Japan
• Sheet D – Canada v Sweden

Sunday 19 March

Round Robin Session 3 – 09:00

• Sheet A - Türkiye v New Zealand
• Sheet B – United States v Canada
• Sheet C – Scotland v Denmark
• Sheet D – Italy v Republic of Korea

Round Robin Session 4 – 14:00

• Sheet A – Denmark v Republic of Korea
• Sheet B – Sweden v Switzerland
• Sheet C – Norway v United States
• Sheet D – New Zealand v Germany

Round Robin Session 5 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Canada v Norway
• Sheet B – Japan v Scotland
• Sheet C – Germany v Italy
• Sheet D - Türkiye v Switzerland

Monday 20 March

Round Robin Session 6 – 09:00

• Sheet A – United States v Japan
• Sheet B – Canada v Italy
• Sheet C – Republic of Korea v New Zealand

Round Robin Session 7 – 14:00

• Sheet A – Republic of Korea v Scotland
• Sheet B – Switzerland v Germany
• Sheet C – Sweden v Türkiye
• Sheet D – Norway v Denmark

Round Robin Session 8 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Italy v New Zealand
• Sheet B - Türkiye v United States
• Sheet C – Japan v Norway
• Sheet D – Scotland v Canada

Tuesday 21 March

Round Robin Session 9 – 09:00

• Sheet B – Denmark v Italy
• Sheet C – New Zealand v United States
• Sheet D – Germany v Sweden

Round Robin Session 10 – 14:00

• Sheet A – Scotland v Norway
• Sheet B – Germany v Republic of Korea
• Sheet C – Canada v Switzerland
• Sheet D – Japan v Türkiye

Round Robin Session 11 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Sweden v Japan
• Sheet B – New Zealand v Canada
• Sheet C – Italy v Scotland
• Sheet D – United States v Denmark

Wednesday 22 March

Round Robin Session 12 – 09:00

• Sheet A - Türkiye v Republic of Korea
• Sheet B – Norway v Sweden
• Sheet C – Denmark v Germany
• Sheet D – Switzerland v New Zealand

Round Robin Session 13 – 14:00

• Sheet A – Canada v Germany
• Sheet B – Scotland v United States
• Sheet C - Türkiye v Norway
• Sheet D – Japan v Italy

Round Robin Session 14 – 19:00

• Sheet A – New Zealand v Denmark
• Sheet B – Italy v Switzerland
• Sheet C – United States v Sweden
• Sheet D – Republic of Korea v Canada

Thursday 23 March

Round Robin Session 15 – 09:00

• Sheet A – Norway v Switzerland
• Sheet B – Germany v Türkiye
• Sheet C – Japan v Republic of Korea
• Sheet D – Sweden v Scotland

Round Robin Session 16 – 14:00

• Sheet A – United States v Italy
• Sheet B – Canada v Japan
• Sheet C – Scotland v New Zealand
• Sheet D – Denmark v Türkiye

Round Robin Session 17 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Republic of Korea v Sweden
• Sheet B – Norway v New Zealand
• Sheet C – Switzerland v Denmark
• Sheet D – Germany v United States

Friday 24 March

Round Robin Session 18 – 09:00

• Sheet A – Japan v Germany
• Sheet B – Switzerland v Scotland
• Sheet C - Türkiye v Canada
• Sheet D – Italy v Norway

Round Robin Session 19 – 14:00

• Sheet A – Denmark v Canada
• Sheet B – United States v Republic of Korea
• Sheet C – Sweden v Italy
• Sheet D – New Zealand v Japan

Round Robin Session 20 – 19:00

• Sheet A – Scotland v Türkiye
• Sheet B – Sweden v Denmark
• Sheet C – Norway v Germany
• Sheet D – Republic of Korea v Switzerland

Saturday 25 March

Qualification Games – 10:00

Semi-finals – 16:00

Sunday 26 March

Bronze Medal Game – 10:00

Gold Medal Game – 15:00

2023 World Women’s Curling Championship: Teams to watch

Switzerland, led by skip Silvana Tirinzoni, will start their year’s campaign as the team to beat.

Winners of the last three championships (2019, 2021, 2022), stalwarts Tirinzoni and fourth Alina Paetz are returning to ensure their grip on the world title remains ironclad. And if the prospect of a 'four-peat' wasn’t enough to keep the Swiss team motivated, the extra-end heartbreak they suffered at November’s European championship where they finished runners-up behind Denmark is sure to give them an added boost as they fend off the best of the rest.

Fresh from winning a record-tying fourth Canadian women’s championship, Kerri Einarson and her team will be the first in line to try to knock Switzerland off their perch.

Joined by third, Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Harris, Team Einarson will be hoping for a winning third appearance as they hunt their first world crown.

In 2020, the Canadians missed out on the chance to compete at worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, during the Calgary ‘bubble’ they placed in a disappointing sixth. Then in 2022, they were denied a shot at gold after being knocked out of the semi-finals by the Republic of Korea and later settled for bronze. Could 2023 finally be the year Einarson gets her hands on the world championship?

Additionally in the hunt and not to be underestimated are Sweden, Scotland, Japan and Denmark.

Home favourite and 2018 Olympic champion Anna Hasselborg will be looking to convert her sixth appearance at worlds into a golden one after finishing as a runner-up in 2018 and 2019.

Also hoping to step up will be a new-look Scottish team following the recent retirement of Beijing 2022 Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead.

26-year-old Rebecca Morrison, who won bronze with lead Sophie Jackson, second Sophie Sinclair and third Gina Aitken at last year’s Europeans will be hoping for a smoother start to this year’s world championships in Sweden after COVID-19 disrupted their 2022 campaign.

Japan is set to be represented by Team Fujisawa, also known as Loco Solare, and they look to be a threat to all title contenders.

In addition to clinching silver at last year's Olympic Games, the Japanese curlers also brought home gold at the Pan Continental Championships defeating Republic of Korea’s Team Ha 8-6 in the final.

Meanwhile, Denmark, skipped by Madeleine Dupont, will also be ones to watch after they ended a 28-year-long wait for a second curling European title and a first women’s title last year with their unforgettable last-gasp triumph over Switzerland. Having now gone the distance once, they could well do it again.

Finally, one storyline worth watching as the competition develops will be how debutants New Zealand fares.

Their remarkable journey began in late 2020, when skip Jess Smith got the call that she had been diagnosed with cancer, forcing her to put her sport to one side to undergo treatment. After a series of treatments, including chemotherapy, in August 2021, Smith got the news that she was in remission and was back on the ice the following season.

Finding her feet on the ice almost straight away, Smith led her team to a national title which subsequently earned them a spot at the Pan Continental Championships in November for their international debut.

After the People's Republic of China opted to withdraw from the contest, the Kiwis were elevated from the 'B' contest to the 'A' event and were left facing completely different stakes.

Instead of competing for promotion, tickets to the 2023 Women's Curling World Championships were available to the top five finishers. Seizing the moment, Smith and her rink finished the contest 4-4 and crucially, in fifth place giving them a spot at this year's event.

2023 World Women’s Curling Championship: How to watch live

The 2023 World Women's Curling Championship will be available to watch via The Curling Channel on Recast, a subscription-free streaming platform.

For viewers in Canada, the 2023 World Women’s Curling Championship will also be broadcast on TSN including each of Canada’s round-robin games as well as the playoffs.

Live streams will be available on TSN.ca and in the TSN app.