New Broom Head Material Rules For Tuesday-Thursday Evening Leagues

Editor: Paul Macnamara
Date: 2025-12-18

The Navan Curling Club is implementing a new equipment directive for broom head material for the Tuesday and Thursday evening leagues effective February 2026.

(NOTE - An explanation of compliant broom head material is posted at the end of this message)

One of the most contentious issues over the past ten years to affect the sport of Curling has been the controversial subject of curling brush or broom head material.

When a curling stone is swept, friction is created thus “polishing” the top layer of pebble. This friction generates heat which would traditionally dissipate after a few seconds using compliant material; however, the new fabric generates a considerable amount of friction and heat which stays on the ice for three to five minutes after a rock is swept, thereby negatively impacting the curling surface.

Our Head Ice Technician, Jon Wall, a Level 4 Certified Ice Technician and one of the best in the world, concurs that the extended use of these sweeping fabrics will change ice conditions for the entire sheet. To that effect and in a concerted effort to maintain the integrity of the sport, the Navan Curling Club Board of Directors is mandating a moratorium on the use of such sweeping fabrics and is issuing a directive that “all curlers currently competing in the Tuesday or Thursday Men’s Evening draws must use Compliant Fabric brush sleeves”. This Directive will take total effect by February 10, 2026, the first week of Draw 3.

The Board of Directors is aware that there is a degree of economic and logistical complexities in implementing this Directive. To address the former, the Tuck Shop will offer these sleeves at just $2 above cost, with prices ranging from $10 to $16 for compliant sleeves. These prices will be made available to Navan Curling Club members only. To assist in the facilitation of this mandate, the Board will counsel both Convenors of those leagues as well as Skips of teams to ensure that this mandate is met by the implementation date. Further, the Board will ask that games will be defaulted by teams if any curler knowingly or unknowingly violates this Directive.

This directive will be enforced for only the Tuesday and Thursday Evening draws. Results from the implementation of this directive will be further examined by the Board of Directors after the curling season to determine the impact and whether to extend the directive to all leagues.

There are two complications that may arise from the directive. Skips and Team Members must be aware that any spares used for any of the Tuesday/Thursday Evening Draws must also adhere to this sweeping fabric restriction. Violations from Spares will also result in a default of the game. In addition, the Board is also aware that some Members curl in several leagues. Because the Brush Material Restriction only applies to Tuesday/Thursday Evening games, Members may use non-compliant fabric in those other leagues. If a Member curls in a Tuesday/Thursday Evening draw and any other league, they will have two options: use a Compliant Brush head in all leagues or purchase a separate pad and sleeve that can be easily switched to satisfy any Brush Head Material Restriction.

An Open Information Forum hosted by members of the Board of Directors will be held on Saturday January 10, 2026, from 1-2pm. This session will be used to further explain the rationale for this policy as well as to answer any questions or concerns held by members of the Navan Curling Club.

As always, we appreciate your time and consideration in this matter. The above changes are being implemented in the pursuit of Fair Play and True Sportsmanship in the game.

Background Information

Historically, this topic had been a non-issue until curling equipment manufacturers started creating broom head material with aggressive fabrics and curlers from many different countries started experimenting about the relative merits and advantages of these different fabrics.

The World Curling Federation (and subsequently Curling Canada) implemented a ban on directional fabric in 2016. A new compliant material for all brooms to be used during Competitive play was introduced. This material sought to minimize a sweeper’s ability to manipulate a curling stone’s trajectory and subsequently minimize directional sweeping effectiveness within the game played at its higher levels. These measures were brought forth in an attempt to balance the concept of competitiveness with the principles of Fair Play within the sport of Curling.

The mandate for restricting sweeping broom head material has been for many years confined to Tour, Provincial, and National competitions where participants could represent their respective Province or Country.

Over the past few years, many curling clubs have adopted similar policies in their Evening Competitive leagues again in the attempt to ensure fair play and sportsmanship within the game and to ensure optimal curling ice conditions.

Compliant Broom Head

A compliant head is easily identified by its specific "mustard yellow" color. If you look closely at the fabric, you will see a small, printed WCF authentication code (e.g., ABC12).



Non-Compliant Broom Head

Non-compliant or "recreational" heads come in various colors (like black, blue, or red) and often feature more aggressive "directional" fabrics. These fabrics are often "dimpled" or textured.

Sincerely,

The Navan Curling Club Board Of Directors