Hosts and defending champions Canada will begin the Women's Curling World Championships against Czech Republic ©Getty Images

Hosts and defending champions Canada will begin this year's World Women's Curling Championship with a first session clash against Czech Republic, after the schedule for the tournament was unveiled.

Thirteen teams are due to compete in all at the North Bay Memorial Gardens in Ontario, between March 17 and 25.

Every rink will meet in round-robin play with the top two in the standings advancing straight into the semi-finals.

Teams finishing third, fourth, fifth and sixth will enter a play-off system for their chance to earn a spot in the last four.

It means there will be 19 sessions of round-robin matches in all.

Rachel Homan skipped Canada to victory last year ©Getty Images
Rachel Homan skipped Canada to victory last year ©Getty Images

Other opening day clashes include Switzerland v China, Russia v Scotland, South Korea v Germany, Sweden v Denmark and United States v Italy. 

The competition will be the first major curling action for teams following the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics next month.

Canada beat Russia in last year's final in Chinese capital Beijing, with their winning rinks skipped by Rachel Homan.

The full schedule for the tournament can be found here.