The World Women's Curling Championship is still scheduled to take place in March ©WCF

The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced it will be prioritising the events offering qualification for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics after cancelling other competitions scheduled for the 2020-2021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 World Women's Curling Championship is still set to take place in Schaffhausen in Switzerland from March 20 to 28, acting as part of the qualification process for the women's competition at Beijing 2022.

This year's Championship in Prince George in Canada was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19, just days before it was due to start.

The 2021 World Men's Curling Championship is now set to take place in Calgary in Canada from April 3 to 11.

It was initially due to be held in the nation's capital Ottawa, but this was changed to Calgary as it is acting as Curling Canada's "hub city" for competitions during the pandemic.

If it goes ahead, the World Championship will return from its break in 2020 after the event in Glasgow in Scotland was cancelled due to the outbreak.

A potential host for the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship has yet to be determined, but the WCF said the event is set to take place from April 24 to May 1.

The World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Championship will not debut in January ©WCF
The World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Championship will not debut in January ©WCF

COVID-19 protocols will be in place at all competitions to ensure the safety of players and personnel.

The newly-created World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship had been scheduled to be held in Lohja in Finland in January, but this has been cancelled.

This could instead take place in late 2021 as the discipline looks to become part of the Paralympic programme.

The World Wheelchair-B Curling Championship was also set to take place in Lohja in the same month, but has also been postponed.

It is now set for April 10 to 15, allowing teams to qualify for the recently postponed World Wheelchair Curling Championship.

"While we are disappointed that we have had to cancel and postpone more of our championships in this difficult season, we must prioritise the championships that will result in qualification for Beijing 2022," said WCF President Kate Caithness.

"All our staff and host partners are working hard behind the scenes in order to ensure that these key championships take place, and we are hopeful that we will have more details that can be shared publicly soon.

"None of our decisions are taken lightly and the health and safety of everyone involved is the most important factor in whether we are able to run our championships during this dreadful pandemic.

"Despite all of these challenges, we are hopeful that we will all be able to return to the ice soon."