USCA 5U Eligibility

Details for 2027 can be found at https://www.usacurling.org/press-releases/5u-announcement-2027. Key portions are reproduced below.

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GENERAL:  U.S. citizenship or residency is required. In addition to the USA Curling membership requirements in Section I, all team members must be dues-paying members of USA Curling. Competitors must be 21 years of age prior to competing in any Five-and-Under Nationals Qualifier. Delivery of the stone with a stick device is permitted, but players cannot switch to a stick device during a game.

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USCA 5U DEFINITION:

The definition of a Five-and-Under curler, seemingly simple at first glance, has proven to be an enigmatic matter. USA Curling has frequently evaluated the eligibility definitions and their impact throughout the short lifetime of the event, striving for clear, fair guidance. Most recently, valid concerns have been raised by the Arena Curling community regarding the current July 1 - June 30 calendar and the impact it has on the 5U longevity for curlers who start their career at these committed clubs that don’t always follow the traditional curling season. The following update to eligibility is an effort to bridge that gap and ensure that arena curlers have equitable access to 5U competition when compared to their dedicated ice counterparts. 

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PREVIOUS ELIGIBILITY SUMMARY: 

Curlers are eligible to play in Five and Under Nationals and associated competitions if they have 5 or fewer years of experience in curling. One year of experience is defined as 10 or more games between July 1 and June 30th of the following year. 

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UPDATED ELIGIBILITY SUMMARY FOR 2027: 

Beginning with the 2027 USA Curling Five-and-Under National Championship, the definition of a year of experience in curling will be updated to the following: 15 or more games between June 1 and May 31 of the following year. 

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JUSTIFICATION:

The current July 1 to June 30 season was selected because it aligns with other, unrelated USA Curling and World Curling calendar schedules. This selection of dates has a significant impact on clubs that operate year round, primarily Arena Clubs, especially during Olympic years. While they sometimes have year-round operations, arena clubs generally operate with fewer overall league opportunities compared to dedicated ice clubs while often seeing the most available ice team in the spring and summer months. 

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The experience advantage of preserving the first year of eligibility for these curlers would likely be easily overtaken by their dedicated ice cohorts by year 2 or 3 of play. Allowing the extra initial year of curling before losing a year of eligibility gives these curlers an opportunity to take advantage of limited ice availability early in their development while minimizing the negative impact on their competitive opportunities down the road.  

 

Increasing the number of games from 10 to 15 more accurately reflects a theoretical "year" of curling. Most curling leagues are between 12 and 20 games, so 15 was selected as an approximate midpoint for a curler playing in typical league. 

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USA Curling will continue to observe and reevaluate Five-and-Under Eligibility to ensure the 5U field consistently reflects the intended pool of athletes.