The governing body staged its introduction to instruction and basic umpire courses last week in Füssen in Germany.

And the WCF wants to assist those round the world seeking to learn about the sport, no matter what their location.

A statement on the WCF website read: “We’ve been working with the top coaches and umpires in the sport to create both courses online and in person to accommodate a global audience.

“Due to the size and growth of the sport, the new World Curling Academy will facilitate these courses moving forward.

“Moving towards e-education allows participants to have more flexibility depending on when they want to take the course, no matter where they are located geographically.

“Select outcomes will continue to be face-to-face in order to ensure participants can apply their learned skills in person.”

The introduction to instructing course is designed to help experienced curlers who wish to learn the skills required to teach new participants.

Those skills include game orientation, delivery, sweeping, warm-up and cool-down routines, basic strategy and ethics in coaching.

The basic umpire course is for those wishing to get involved in umpiring and officiating or for those who wish to learn the rules in depth.

The areas covered are the rules of the game, tasks and responsibilities of the different umpire functions and practical work on ice.