Curl Canada's two biggest events of the year will have a different format in the hub city of Calgary.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Tim Hortons Brier will each have 18 entries, two more than usual.

Defending champions will be joined by 14 member associations and there will also be three wild card entries based on last year's national ranking system instead of a single one.

The format for deciding who the extra wild card team would be has yet to be determined. 

“To be clear, this is a by-product of the pandemic, and it’s a format change unique to this pandemic-affected season,” said Katherine Henderson, chief executive officer of Curl Canada in a media release. 

“So much is riding on this Olympic qualifying season, we had to make sure that the fields for both the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier include Canada’s top teams. With many of them not having the chance to earn their way into these events through the traditional route, we feel this is the best possible way to remedy that issue.”

The Scotties is set for Feb. 19-28 and the Brier has been scheduled for March 5-14 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. 

There is still no word on what Curl Sask is planning to do when it comes to Saskatchewan's representation at the events but a decision will need to come soon.