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.

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 2004 European Curling Championships, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 4-11, 2004. Eight of the twelve qualifying teams were selected from Europe.
Australian and Asian teams qualified through the 2004 Pacific Curling Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea. Two teams 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.

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.


St. Vital CC, Winnipeg Skip: Jennifer Jones Third: Cathy Overton-Clapham Second: Jill Officer Lead: Cathy Gauthier Alternate: Trisha Eck	Harbin CC Skip: Wang Bingyu Third: Yue Qingshuang Second: Liu Yin Lead: Zhou Yan Alternate: Yu Xinna	Hvidovre CC Skip: Madeleine Dupont Third: Denise Dupont Second: Lene Nielsen Lead: Maria Poulsen Alternate: Helle Simonsen

Hyvinkää CC Fourth: Tiina Kautonen Skip: Kirsi Nykänen Second: Sari Laakkonen Lead: Minna Malinen Alternate: Riikka Louhivuori	New Wave CC, Cortina d'Ampezzo Skip: Diana Gaspari Third: Giulia Lacedelli Second: Rosa Pompanin Lead: Violetta Caldart Alternate: Eleonora Alvera	Aomori CC, Aomori Fourth: Yumie Hayashi Skip: Ayumi Onodera Second: Mari Motohashi Lead: Sakurako Terada Alternate: Ai Kobayashi

Snarøen CC, Oslo Skip: Dordi Nordby Third: Linn Githmark Second: Marianne Haslum Lead: Camilla Holth Alternate: Marianne Rørvik	Moskvitch CC, Moscow Skip: Ludmila Privivkova Third: Nkeiruka Ezekh Second: Yana Nekrasova Lead: Ekaterina Galkina Alternate: Olga Jarkova	Dun CC Skip: Kelly Wood Third: Lorna Vevers Second: Sheila Swan Lead: Lindsay Wood Alternate: Claire Milne

Härnösands CCK, Härnösand Skip: Anette Norberg Third: Eva Lund Second: Cathrine Lindahl Lead: Anna Bergström Alternate: Ulrika Bergman	Flims CC Skip: Mirjam Ott Third: Binia Beeli Second: Brigitte Schori Lead: Michèle Knobel Alternate: Valeria Spälty	Bemidji CC Skip: Cassandra Johnson Third: Jamie Johnson Second: Jessica Schultz Lead: Maureen Brunt Alternate: Courtney George

Round-robin standings

''*First Appearance''

Round-robin results

Draw 1

''March 19, 2005 10:00''

Draw 2

''March 19, 2005 15:00''

Draw 3

''March 19, 2005 20:00''

Draw 5

''March 20, 2005 14:00''

Draw 6

''March 20, 2005 19:00''

Draw 7

''March 21, 2005 09:30''

Draw 8

''March 21, 2005 14:00''

Draw 9

''March 21, 2005 19:00''

Draw 10

''March 22, 2005 09:30''

Draw 11

''March 22, 2005 14:00''

Draw 12

''March 22, 2005 19:00''

Draw 13

''March 23, 2005 09:30''

Draw 14

''March 23, 2005 14:00''

Draw 15

''March 23, 2005 19:00''

Draw 16

''March 24, 2005 09:30''

Draw 17

''March 24, 2005 14:00''

Draw 4

March 25, 2005 09:30

''Originally scheduled for March 20, 2005''

Tie-breaker

''March 25, 2005 14:00''

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.

1 vs. 2 game

''March 26, 2005 09:30''

3 vs. 4 game

''March 26, 2005 14:00''

Semifinal

''March 26, 2005 19:00''

Final

''March 27, 2005 15:00''