World Curling sweeps Broomgate 2.0 away with new ruling ahead of Olympic year

Edmonton Journal

23-06-2025

Article content
Broomgate 2.0 has finally been swept aside.
After months of controversy, World Curling has made a decision to entirely ban firmer broom foams that many players said gave sweepers too much control of the rocks that were being thrown.
Article content
Just in time for the Olympic year ahead.
'Following the challenges throughout the 2024-2025 season of the reported over-effectiveness of several brush-head constructions, World Curling are updating the sweeping equipment compliance regulations for the Olympic season — effective immediately,' World Curling said in a statement Friday.
Article content
Most players in the curling world are on board with the rule because it's creating a level playing field amongst the curling teams, but allowing the emphasis of the game to be focused on the person with the rock.
Rather than the technology of the broom heads hogging the spotlight of each curling shot, the ruling ensures the talent of the shot-makers is shining through.
'It's a common solution that creates the game that everyone wants,' Team Jacobs and five-time Olympic coach Paul Webster said. 'I think what the fans need to understand is the athletes want this. They don't want a foam or a fabric like we used to have that ends up with kind of what we refer to as 'remote-control rocks.'
'They want it to come down to who are the best curlers on the planet. So if it's 90% shooting and 10% sweeping, then great. I just think last year or so, there's been too much involvement of the sweepers.'
Article content
HOW DID WORLD CURLING REACH THIS RULE?
Some say the decision should've come sooner, given the issues the new technology presented during the most recent season.
But World Curling waited until season's end — a fair timeline so as not to interfere with the integrity of the 2024-25 schedule — to put into play a covert session with invited athletes, manufacturers and ice experts of the curling world.
It was a lab — of sorts — to measure the impact of the broom heads in question, with World Curling describing the extensive consultation as being staged in a 'highly co-operative atmosphere.'
'The time allowed in-depth discussions to take place on how the effectiveness of sweeping could be maintained at a level the athlete community agreed was in line with the established principles of sweeping,' World Curling said in a statement. 'The updated regulations ensure that the foams used in the component-style brushes have their minimum compression specification increased to a higher percentage, allowing only the less-firm category of foams to be used.
Article content
'It was agreed that manufacturers of component-style brushes would be given the opportunity to create foam matching those specifications or continue to use the existing foam they produce in that range.'
The 'sweep testing' exercise took place in late spring at the curling rink in Morris, Man.
'We were lucky to have Brett Gallant there,' Webster said of the decorated Team Jacobs second. 'He wasn't able to share too much until this week until it was announced.
'But he was really happy with how it went and confident that they've ended up with something that everyone's going to be happy with.
'It's nice having people there that you know and can be confident about,' Webster continued. 'Like if World Curling did this with an undisclosed sweeping group and we are just supposed to take their word for it, we might all be looking at each other with question marks.
Article content
'So I think having some of these top athletes there was super important.'
It's not the first time a 'sweeping summit' has been put into play.
A decade ago, the curling world met in Kemptville, Ont., to discuss a similar crisis that had erupted, with the end result being a universal fabric put into use for all competitive play.
WHAT BROOMS ARE AFFECTED BY THE RULE CHANGE
With the new regulations coming into effect, the following brushes are no longer approved for play in World Curling competitions, says World Curling:
• BalancePlus RS with Firm 2.0 foam
• Goldline Impact with Evader foam
• Goldline Impact with Pursuer foam (already withdrawn)
• Hardline Ice Pad with Competitive foam
• SmartBroom by Curling Tools with current foam
'Everything that was in play last year was legal,' Webster said. 'And what the athletes recognized — and the athletes were spearheading this — is that (the firmer broom) was pushing the game to a level they weren't comfortable with.
Article content
'So the ability for the World Curling Federation to hear that — albeit, I think, a few months too late — and involve athletes and brush manufacturers, much like they did back in 2016 — the last time we did this type of thing — I just think that's where you get the credibility and accountability.
'They've included all the parties in front of it.'
WHAT BROOMS ARE STILL IN PLAY?
The regulation changes will apply only to component-style brushes (covers/sleeves over moulded foam).
So the following brushes are approved for play in World Curling competitions, which includes the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy:
• BalancePlus with Original RS Foam
• BalancePlus RS with 3.0 foam
• SmartBroom by Curling Tools with less-firm foam (subject to lab approval)
• Goldline Impact with Pulsar foam
• Hardline Ice Pad with Recreational foam
• End Game Icon
Article content
All existing traditional brushes (with fabric stapled to the brush head) remain approved.
'It's important to note that we don't want to take sweeping out of the game,' Webster continued. 'I think some of our best highlights are getting by those guards by an eighth-of-an-inch or whatever it might be — those are some of our best highlights when all four people are involved in the shot.'
IS THIS THE LAST OF BROOMGATE 2.0?
Officials are calling the ruling a first step, with long-term reviews and equipment standards still in development.
'This is not the end of the process with all involved recognizing this is an interim step designed to move the sport through the Olympic season,' World Curling said in its statement. 'As our sport continues to modernize and professionalize at the élite level, our athletes and manufacturers continue to look for competitive and innovative approaches to improve performance on the ice.'
Article content
But there's no doubt the ruling marked the biggest step in quelling the controversy.
'I think we are done with Broomgate,' Webster said. 'There's still distance and other issues to discuss with the brooms.
'But knowing the work that BalancePlus, Goldline and Hardline are all doing right now, I'm sure there's going to be a new brush coming out at some point in terms of design that will have to use certain foam.
'I don't think we're going to have anything coming up, but we also didn't think Broomgate 2.0 was going to happen. So you can never say never.
'But with this ruling, we're confident going into the fourth year of this quadrennial that we've got something that is going to ensure the top teams are going to get on the podium.'
Latest National Stories