Video of yesterday’s news conference, with CBC’s Bruce Rainnie as master of ceremonies, where it was officially announced that the GP Car and Home Players’ Championship Grand Slam of Curling event will be held at Credit Union Place in Summerside from April 10-15 2012 is now available below:
For the record, here is a copy of the official release:
Summerside to Host Grand Slam of Curling Event
The world’s best men’s and women’s curling teams will be competing in Summerside this April for the GP Car and Home Players’ Championship, the final stop of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling.
The eight highest ranked teams on the official World Rankings will play-off for the Players’ Championship and the $370,000 that will be at stake. Men’s and women’s teams from Canada, Europe, China and the United States will compete for the largest purse in curling in front of a live national television audience with nine hours of coverage on CBC.
Mayor Basil Stewart was joined by Kevin Albrecht, CEO of iSport Media and Management today to make the announcement. “As a city, we are excited to host this Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event,” said Mayor Stewart, “Curling is a very popular sport in Prince Edward Island and we look forward to welcoming and hosting the world’s best men’s and women’s curling teams in Summerside.”
The GP Car and Home Player’s Championship will be held from April 10 – 15, 2012. All men’s and women’s draws will be played at EastLink Arena at Credit Union Place.
“The GP Car and Home Players’ Championship is the crown jewel of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling.” said Kevin Albrecht. “The new play-down format this year will ensure PEI curling fans that they will see the best teams in the world battle it out head-to-head. This is a first for this unique eight team round-robin and is sure to produce the best curling in the world.”
Held annually since 2001- 2002, the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is owned by the World Curling Player’s Association and operated by iSport Media and Management. The Capital One Grand Slam is a series of four major curling events that highlight the World Curling Tour season. The Players’ Championship is the most difficult curling tournament to win as the field is exclusively reserved for the world’s top ranked teams. Teams that have participated include Olympic medalists Kevin Martin (gold and silver) Edmonton AB, Brad Gushue (gold) St. John’s, NF, Cheryl Bernard (silver) Calgary, AB, and Thomas Ulsrud (silver) Oslo, Norway and World Championship medalists Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg, Man.), Randy Ferby (Edmonton, AB), Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) and reigning World Champion Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man).
The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events are closely tied to the Canadian Curling Association’s qualifying process for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Through their performance in the Grand Slam events, Canadian teams can earn important qualifying points towards securing a berth at the 2013 Canadian Olympic Trials.
Ticket packages for the event go on sale in the mid-November and will be available online at www.cupevents.ca, at the Credit Union Place Box Office and by phone at (902) 432-1234.
For more information on the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling and the GP Car and Home Player’s Championship, log onto www.grandslamofcurling.com .