2005 World Women's Curling Championship

The 2005 World Women's Curling Championship was held from March 19-27, 2005 at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley, Scotland. The tournament was the first since the 1988 event to be held separately from the 2005 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.

The tournament was plagued with problems from the start. Ice conditions were not the best, due to a number of factors, including the arena being located adjacent to a swimming pool. Also, de-ionized water, a standard at major events was not used for the first draws, due to a refusal by the organising committee to pay for it. These ice issues led to the postponement of the fourth draw. Also, ticket prices were very expensive, leading to poor attendance numbers. Due to a dispute with volunteers who wanted to be paid, time clocks were not used. This meant that the on-ice umpire was allowed to pull rocks out of a game as a penalty for slow play. This arguably cost the Russian team a loss in one game.

In the end, it was Sweden, skipped by Anette Norberg who won her first championship, and Sweden's first since 1999, with a win in the final over the United States, skipped by Cassandra Johnson. Norway, skipped by Dordi Nordby won bronze.

Teams

The 2005 World Women's Curling Championship was contested between teams from three continents: Asia, Europe, and North America. The list of teams differed from the Men's Curling Championship. Teams included 1990 and 1991 World Champion Dordi Nordby of Norway and 2001 Silver medalist Anette Norberg of Sweden. Joining them in their 4th trip to the worlds was Olga Jarkova's Russian team, in their 3rd appearance were Yumie Hayashi of Japan and Diana Gaspari of Italy, making their 2nd appearance were Mirjam Ott of Switzerland, Madeleine Dupont of Denmark, Kirsi Nykanen of Finland and Kelly Wood of Scotland. Making their first appearance at the worlds were Jennifer Jones of Canada, Wang Bingyu of China and Cassandra Johnson of the United States.

Page playoffs

For the first time ever, the World championships used the page playoff system where the top four teams with the best records at the end of round-robin play meet in the playoff rounds. The first and second place teams play each other, with the winner advancing directly to the final. The winner of the other page playoff game between the third and fourth place teams plays the loser of the first/second playoff game in the semi-final. The winner of the semi-final moves on to the final.

The 1-2 game occurred before the 3-4 game.

1 vs. 2 game - March 26 09:30
After leading the entire game, the Swedes, skipped by Anette Norberg allowed the Americans, skipped by Cassandra Johnson back in the game, and Anette Norberg misses her last shot, giving up a steal of one, and the win for the United States. This gives the U.S. a bye to the finals, while the previously undefeated Swedish team is forced to play the winner of the 3-4 game in the sem-finals.

Player percentages:
Player percentages:
Player percentages:
Player percentages:

Round-robin player percentages, by position

"Minimum 8 games at position"

Leads
#, Sweden 78%
#, U.S. 78%
#, Switz. 77%
#, Russia 76%
#, Scotland 76%
#, P.R.C. 76%

Seconds
#, U.S. 78%
#, Sweden 76%
#, Switz. 74%
#, Norway 70%
#, Russia 69%
#, P.R.C. 69%

Thirds
#, U.S. 75%
#, Norway 74%
#, Sweden 73%
#, Russia 69%
#, Scotland 69%

Skips
#, Sweden 74%
#, U.S. 74%
#, Norway 70%
#, Canada 68%
#, Scotland 68%
#, Switz. 68%

Qualifying

Teams qualified for the World Curling Championship in a series of different tournaments depending on their location.

European teams qualified through the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2004, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 4–11, 2004. Eight of the twelve qualifying teams (Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Italy, Finland, and Denmark) were selected from Europe.

Australian and Asian teams qualified through the 2004 Pacific Curling Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea. Two teams (Japan and China) qualified for the World Curling Championship.

The Canadian women's team was selected through the 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts. The U.S. team was selected through the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.