(Sportsnet, with additional info from CBC, Curl PEI) Curling’s biggest stars are set to rock as the Grand Slam of Curling makes its first stop of the 2012-13 series in Brantford, ON for The Masters. Sportsnet and CBC will be providing coverage of the event, which gets underway Thursday at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre and three other venues.
Sixty-four men’s and women’s teams in total will compete in the high-stakes, competitive bonspiel featuring a combined purse of $200,000. The Masters features the cream of the crop in curling, headlined by 2012 Brier and World Champion Glenn Howard, 2010 Olympic gold medallist Kevin Martin, and 2010 Brier and World Champion Kevin Koe. On the women’s side, The Masters includes 2012 Tournament of Hearts champion Heather Nedohin, 2012 World Champion Mirjam Ott and current World Curling Tour money leader Sherry Middaugh.
PEI’s Suzanne Birt team is among the women’s entries, as is the Crystal Webster foursome from Calgary, which includes PEI natives Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay. The Brad Gushue team from St. John’s is entered on the men’s side, and includes PEI natives Adam Casey and Brett Gallant.
The Masters kicks off Sportsnet’s robust curling broadcast schedule for the 2012-13 season, and includes a team of seasoned broadcast veterans calling all the action. Sportsnet’s Rob Faulds will handle the play-by-play alongside Mike Harris, who skipped his team to gold at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympic Games, and Joan McCusker, 1998 Olympic gold medallist and three-time Canadian and World Champion on Sandra Schmirler’s team. Sportnet are partnering with the CBC for this event and the season-ending Player’s Championship. The Masters final will be carried on the CBC.
Owned and operated by Sportsnet, the 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. In addition to The Masters in Brantford, the 2012-13 series also includes The Canadian Open in Kelowna, B.C. (December 12-16, 2012), The National in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. (January 23-27, 2013), and The Players’ Championship in Toronto (April 16-21, 2013).
Here is the broadcast schedule:
· Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 Preliminaries, 1 pm AT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific)
· Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 Preliminaries, 4:30 p.m. AT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific)
· Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 Preliminaries, 4:30 p.m. AT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific)
· Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 Preliminaries, 8 p.m. AT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific)
· Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 Quarter Finals, 4:30 p.m. AT (CBC)
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 Quarter Finals, 9:30 p.m. AT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 Semi-Finals, 8 a.m. AT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific)
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 Finals, 2 p.m. AT (CBC)
Website: www.themastersgrandslam.com.