Curling Tournament Information

Registration opens January 3, 2026 at wc.leaguebuddy.ca. Last year filled in under 5 minutes! Have your full roster details ready.

• Cost: $500 per 4-person team / $535 per 5-person team
• Maximum Teams: 48, with potential expansion to 56 teams if demand is high (based on waitlist)
• NEW FOR 2026: Two divisions — Upper & Lower (see below)
• Lower Division Registration: Opens January 3 at 10:00 AM MST (initial capacity: 12 teams, may expand to 16 if 4+ teams on waitlist)
• Upper Division & General Registration: Opens January 3 at 12:00 PM (noon) MST
• Payment: E-transfer or credit card (2.9% service fee for credit card)
• Waitlist: If the tournament appears full, please join the waitlist — expansion is only possible if we know additional demand exists

Early Access (Out-of-Town Teams Only)

Teams with at least three members residing outside greater Calgary may request an Early Access code.

• Request Window Opens: December 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM (noon) MST (requests sent before this time will not be considered)
• Total Codes Available: 24 (first-come, first-served)
• How to Apply: Email westerncup [at] apollocurling.com with team member names, locations, and whether you are registering for Upper or Lower division.
• Deadline: Teams who receive an Early Access code have until January 2 to register and submit full payment.
• Important: Once general registration opens on January 3, Early Access codes provide no advantage whatsoever.

Travel & Hotels

Joining us from out-of-town? The Hyatt Regency is our host hotel where all the action happens.

• Marriott Option: A promo rate is also available at the Calgary Marriott Downtown (book before March 3, 2026).
• Air Canada Discount: Use promo code FQEA4MV1 on aircanada.com for 5% off Standard fares or 10% off Flex and higher (minimum 10 passengers required to activate).

For 2026, teams will compete in one of two divisions during the round robin:

• Upper Division: For experienced and more competitive teams
• Lower Division: For newer teams or those seeking closer, more balanced competition

Teams will select their preferred division during registration. To help us plan division sizing in advance, teams intending to register for the Lower Division are asked to email us before December 20 (non-binding).

Round Robin & Playoff Structure

All teams — Upper and Lower — will advance into a single unified playoff structure, as in previous Western Cup events.

To ensure fair playoff seeding:

• Upper Division round robin games award full points
• Lower Division round robin games award half points

This guarantees that Lower Division teams will naturally be seeded into the lower playoff brackets, while still allowing all teams to participate in the same overall Western Cup playoff system.

Here's a general overview of the weekend's schedule.

Round robin scores and playoff game results are published on-line.

The tournament will adhere to the Curling Canada Rules of Curling for General Play.

Tournament Structure

• Teams will be grouped into pools.
• Each team will play a three-game round-robin within their pool.
• Following the round-robin, teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket.

Tournament Supervisors

Please contact a tournament supervior:

• In the event of a dispute regarding game-play.
• If you have entered your score or playoff game result incorrectly.
• If you won the double-take-out contest and want to collect your prize.

Unique Tiebreaker

In the event of a tie in the standings after the round-robin portion, teams have a choice between two tiebreaker options:

• "Clever" Option: A skill-testing question or challenge.
• "Lucky" Option: A draw of cards or similar game of chance.

Beyond the ice, Western Cup offers fantastic opportunities to socialize and have fun! Curling participants have their Sapphic Soirée and Play Haus Club tickets included in their registration fees.

Let's Get Physical! — Registration Kickoff Mixer

Thursday, April 2 • 7:00 PM to close

Home and Away Bar, 1207 First St. SW

Start your first night off right! Slide into your best retro vibes and head over to Home and Away to register, mix and mingle, and meet fellow athletes before the weekend goes full throttle. Entry is free and open to everyone.

Sapphic Soirée

Friday, April 3 • 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Imperial Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Calgary, 700 Centre St. SE

A fem-forward, sapphic-inspired dance party. While the night's theme celebrates queer women and femme energy, all athletes and allies are warmly invited. Come as you are. Dance like you mean it.

Play Haus Club

Saturday, April 4 • 9:00 PM to 2:00 AM

Imperial Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Calgary, 700 Centre St. SE

Dance the night away at Calgary's biggest queer Euro nightclub-inspired party featuring a killer sound and visual experience. A separate chill-out area will be available for those who want a break from the house music vibes.

She Gon'! Bus

Free transportation throughout the weekend from the hotel to various sport venues, sponsored by Carlin Koster Real Estate. A bus schedule will be posted in the weeks leading up to Western Cup.

Your participation extends to helping us recognize outstanding individuals and teams:

• Curling Princess: Vote for your favorite contestant!
• Most Sporting Team: Recognize the team that exemplifies the spirit of good sporting behaviour.

Don't have your own curling equipment? No problem! Rental equipment will be available at both North Hill Curling Club and Calgary Curling Club.

Participate in our 50/50 raffle to support a great cause!

All proceeds from the raffle will go directly to the End of the Rainbow Foundation, helping them continue their valuable work.

Teams — get ready. This year we're running a Western Cup photo & video scavenger hunt!

With two amazing curling venues just a short distance apart, plus Western Cup–wide social events packed with participants from every sport, there will be no shortage of opportunities to capture some legendary moments.

Your team captain will receive a unique submission link by email on Thursday of Western Cup. Your mission: capture a fun, creative photo or short video for each item on the list.

Every submission must include at least two members of your team, and judges need to be able to identify who they are. To help with this, uploading reference selfies or a team group photo is strongly recommended — without them, judges may not be able to award full points.

You can upload a photo or short video for each challenge (shorter is better — judges have a lot to review!), and you can replace submissions anytime before the deadline.

All submissions are reviewed by a small panel of judges, who award points based on meeting the challenge and overall creativity.

The submission deadline is noon on Saturday, giving judges time to review everything before prizes are awarded at the Saturday afternoon medal ceremony.

Sharing & Privacy

Your submission page includes a sharing toggle for social media (off by default). Some favourite entries — where permission is given — may appear in a Western Cup photo gallery.

Playful, cheeky, slightly naughty and/or creative entries are absolutely welcome — this is Western Cup after all. What happens at Western Cup… stays at Western Cup (as long as you say so). Just keep things reasonably respectful, consensual, and safe. Please don't interfere with games in progress, disrupt other participants, break venue rules or endanger anyone's safety.

Submissions not approved for sharing will remain private and will be deleted after the bonspiel.

• Doubles Board - If your team makes a double-takeout (completely removing two or more of your opponents’ stones from play), locate and ring the cowbell (attached to a balloon) and place that bell at the end of your curling sheet. The last team in possession of the cowbell at the end of the draw wins a round of drinks from our sponsor, Amy Skinner Law.
• Costumes - Dressing your team up as something fun is always encouraged!
• Photos - Take lots of photos! Upload your photos here.
• Name Tags - Apollo members are expected to wear their league name tags. For all other participants, we’ll provide magnetic name tags.