In The Rings: Gushue likes change that rules out three-player curling teams

The three-versus-four player debate has been a hot topic for years in curling circles. World Curling has done its part to settle the matter, and Curling Canada is on board too.

Starting this season, teams need to start each game with four players on the ice. If they can’t do so, the match will be forfeited.

Entering a competition as a trio or playing a single game with three players will no longer be allowed.

Retired skip Brad Gushue, now the high-performance director for USA Curling, feels it was a change that was long overdue.

“I think the main part of the decision was really just the optics,” Gushue said. “We’ve got to look the part if we’re trying to make our game look more professional.

“Having three players out there when it’s a four-person game just doesn’t make any sense.”

Gushue famously won the Montana’s Brier with a three-player side in 2022 at Lethbridge, Alta., after vice-skip Mark Nichols missed the final weekend due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Nichols watched on television from his hotel room as Gushue, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker topped Alberta’s Kevin Koe 9-8 in the final.

There are pros and cons to using a three-player side.

With fewer players, there are more opportunities to throw rocks and get a better feel for the ice. However, fatigue can quickly become an issue, especially at longer competitions.

“(Another) challenge is you don’t have another set of eyes out there to read the ice, to read the weight, to give you another opinion on strategy,” Gushue said in a recent interview. “And it does get pretty lonely out there for that one (curler) who’s sweeping.”

Previously, some teams would occasionally enter tour events with three-player sides. Those competitions are traditionally shorter than Grand Slams or national/world championships.

The subject returned to the spotlight last season when Tyler Smith’s Prince Edward Island used three players at the Brier. Regular second Chris Gallant was unavailable and the rink declined to bring a replacement player.

“If you’re choosing to play with fewer players than what a full team is, it just doesn’t look good,” Gushue said.

Per the new rules, if a curler on a four-player side needs to leave the game at any time, they can do so for a maximum of two consecutive ends.

To avoid a forfeit, the curler must return or an alternate would have to enter the game. A mechanism by which teams can apply for relief from the rule due to extenuating circumstances has been included in the new regulations, Curling Canada said.

“I know the World Curling athlete council was behind this change,” Curling Canada chief executive officer Nolan Thiessen said in a website post. “At the championship event level perspective, I think they wanted to protect the fact that this is meant to be four players.”

Thiessen, a former player, also sits on World Curling’s competition and rules commission.

TSN BOOTH

With a later start to the Season of Champions curling schedule, TSN has yet to release details on who will be in the broadcast booth this season.

Normally the PointsBet Invitational would kick off the network’s coverage in early autumn, but Curling Canada dropped the event this season. The event will be replaced by the Canadian mixed doubles championship next year.

The big question on the Canadian curling broadcasting scene is: who will replace longtime host Vic Rauter as the voice of the sport in this country?

Bryan Mudryk is the betting favourite ,although he also calls Montreal Canadiens games on TSN’s regional broadcasts. Mudryk has mainly hosted morning draws for Season of Champions events in recent seasons.

“Our Season of Champions broadcast details will be confirmed in early 2027,” a TSN spokesperson said via email.

Major changes were made to the Grand Slam of Curling booth this season after the retirement of longtime Sportsnet host Rob Faulds. Darren Dupont and John Cullen have been tabbed for host and play-by-play duties.

Veteran analysts Kevin Martin and Mike Harris did not have their contracts renewed. Joanne Courtney and Gushue have joined an analyst crew that also includes Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing.

HOCKEY NIGHT

The return of “Hockey Night in Canada” will force a change to the linear broadcast timing of a playoff session at the GSOC Open in early December.

The CBC recently announced that the long-running hockey program would return Dec. 5 with the Professional Women’s Hockey League set to make its debut.

The game between the Montreal Victoire and PWHL Hamilton will be broadcast live.

The curling game will air live on the CBC Gem streaming service and will be shown on the main network via tape delay later in the evening, The Curling Group CEO Nic Sulsky said in a text message.

The CBC recently agreed to a five-year deal with The Curling Group to broadcast Grand Slam games on Saturdays and select Sundays.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press