Curling Canada does about-face, offers pregnancy exemption to all Scotties teams

With three members of Team Lawes trying to balance pregnancy with curling at times this season, Selena Njegovan was pleased her squad received an exemption to add an out-of-province replacement player for the national championship.

What was disappointing, Njegovan said, was that only the top five teams in the national rankings were allowed to apply.

The Curling Canada decision to limit eligibility for a pregnancy exemption at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was a hot topic in the sport's circles after details were released with Tuesday's draw.

"It's just not fair to the other women and the other teams," Njegovan said from Winnipeg.

After sticking to its decision for three days despite mounting pressure, a Curling Canada about-face finally came Friday afternoon.

In a one-line post on its Twitter account, the organization said all 18 teams would now be eligible. Teams were given about 48 hours to advise Curling Canada of their interest.

Please note that we have reached out to all 2023 Canadian women’s championship participants to offer the 2024 pregnancy/parental leave policy.

Njegovan said that from the start of her team's interactions with Curling Canada on the subject, her rink maintained that all teams — regardless of ranking — should be eligible.

Curling Canada originally said in its release that only top-five teams could apply "because their ability to replace a player with someone with an equal level of ability and commitment is limited."

The backlash was swift, with several high-profile members of the curling community criticizing the decision.

Late Thursday, Curling Canada updated its rules to say that all teams could apply for an exemption at the national playdowns, but only starting in 2024.

Curling Canada CEO