The Masters Grand Slam of Curling, to be held at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre next month, will feature a star-studded lineup.
2010 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Martin headlines the list of high-profile rinks released Monday, which includes all 12 men's and women's teams who have qualified for the Canadian Olympic Trials in December.
Along with Martin, the men's draw will feature Canadian Olympic hopefuls Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, Mike McEwen and John Epping, along with several European rinks including 2013 world champion Niklas Edin of Sweden and Norwegian Thomas Ulsrud, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist.
On the women's side, defending Scotties Tournament of Hearts champ Rachel Homan of Ontario will battle fellow Olympic Trials qualifiers Jennifer Jones, Heather Nedohin, Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Middaugh and Chelsea Carey. 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Bingyu Wang of China and 2013 world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland are also in the field.
In all, 30 teams will be in Abbotsford to compete in the round robin-style bonspiel, which runs Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 and offers a $200,000 prize purse.
The opening ceremonies run Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. and will feature the MEI Screaming Eagles marching band. The spiel will then kick off with an evening draw, featuring Martin, McEwen, Jones and Nedohin, among others.
Single draw ticket prices start at $15 with single day passes starting at $40 and weekend passes at $80. Tickets can be purchased online at abbotsfordcentre.ca, by phone at 1-866-977-2372, or in person at the AESC box office. Full event ticket packages are also available for purchase.
The Sportsnet-owned Grand Slam of Curling is an elite series of men’s and women's curling events which are part of the World Curling Tour and feature the best teams from across Canada and around the world.
A full schedule is posted below.
