(by Francis Campbell, Truro Bureau)

TRURO — Organizers of the 2015 Masters curling event draw endless pleasure from each home run hit and victory recorded by the Toronto Blue Jays.

“The Blue Jays are playing well and the Blue Jays are on Sportsnet and so is the advertising for our event,” said Terry Hunt, chairman of the Grand Slam competition that will bring 30 of the world’s top rinks to the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.

“So the better the Blue Jays play, the more advertising we’re getting and the more buzz there is. It’s interesting the relationship between the two sports.”

The Pinty’s Grand Slam event will offer its own field of heavy hitters, including a host of world and Olympic champions among the 120 curlers expected.

Brad Gushue, Mike McEwen, Brad Jacobs, Kevin Koe, Jennifer Jones and Rachel Homan are among the Canadian skips who will play in the event, which will bring the world’s top 15 rinks in both men’s and women’s curling to town.

Click for full story in the Chronicle Herald

The 9th annual PEI Curling Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Ceremony will take place Monday October 19 at 7 pm at the Charlottetown Curling Complex. An announcement on this year’s inductees will be coming soon. Tickets for the event are $10, and will be available from Hall of Fame committee members, and at the door..

The Crapaud Community Curling Club will be holding a Cash Spiel on September 25 and 26. This is for all Junior, Men, Women, Senior, Mixed and Travelers (formerly The Dominion) Teams. Cost is $100 per team and includes three games per team with $50 per win payout. Contact Calvin Smith @ 902-628-7019 or [email protected] if interested in this spiel. Entry fee will be paid before the first game.

Curling’s biggest rock stars will be heading to the Rock in 2017 for the Tim Hortons Brier, it was announced today by Curling Canada.

Mile One Centre in St. John’s, N.L., will host the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, it was announced today. (Photos, courtesy Mile One Centre)

The 2017 Canadian Men’s Curling Championship will be played March 4-12 at Mile One Centre in St. John’s, and will be just the second time the Brier has been played in Canada’s easternmost province.

The 1972 Macdonald Brier was held at Memorial Stadium in St. John’s and won by Manitoba’s Orest Meleschuk.

Forty-five years later, after a rousing campaign put together by local organizers that saw Newfoundland and Labrador curling fans put deposits down on nearly 2,200 event passes, curling’s biggest show is making a long-awaited return.

“While there were some very attractive bids submitted to host the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the enthusiasm shown by St. John’s and Newfoundland and Labrador and the local organizers made this a natural choice,” said Pat Ray, acting Chief Executive Officer for Curling Canada. “St. John’s has wonderful facilities that will work perfectly, both for our athletes and the fans from across the country who will be eager to see what a St. John’s curling party is all about.”

Mile One Centre, with a seating capacity of around 7,000, opened in 2001, and is home to the St. John’s IceCaps — the Montreal Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate. It also played host to the 2005 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, won by Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones with a dramatic 10th-end in-off takeout to score four and beat Ontario’s Jenn Hanna.

Mile One Centre played host to the 2005 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“As a proud Newfoundlander, this really is a dream come true for all of us,” said 2006 Olympic gold-medallist and 12-time Tim Hortons Brier participant Brad Gushue. “My hometown will put on a great show for the curlers and curling fans from across Canada, and I know our team will be working extremely hard for the chance to be able to represent our province in 2017.”

The 2017 Brier will mark the 13th year of title sponsorship by Tim Hortons, one of North America’s largest restaurant chains in the quick-service segment.

“We are honoured to be back for the 13th year as title sponsor of Canada’s prestigious Brier,” said Peter Nowlan, Chief Marketing Officer, Tim Hortons. “The Brier is an exciting tradition for all of us curling fans and St. John’s will make a great home to what we’re sure will be another spectacular event.”

In addition to the curling action at Mile One Centre, the World Famous Patch will be set up in the adjacent St. John’s Convention Centre, which is connected to the arena by a covered pedway.

“We got it! The City of St. John’s is thrilled the Tim Hortons Brier will be coming to our capital city,” said Dennis O’Keefe, Mayor of the City of St. John’s. “Events such as these highlight all that St. John’s has to offer to a national and international audience, and we are proud to be an event sponsor. We believe in the importance of high-calibre sport and we look forward to showing Canada’s best curlers a fine time.”

The winner of the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier will represent Canada at the 2017 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship on home soil (host city and dates to be announced). As well, should the Brier champs win a medal at the Ford Worlds, they also will secure direct entry into the 2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials in Ottawa.

“Congratulations to the 2017 Brier Bid Committee and to STEP St. John’s on the successful bid to host this first-class sporting event,” said the Hon. Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. “Our government is proud to support the Brier, which will provide significant economic benefits to the region. It will also draw attention to the benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle, as curling is a sport that welcomes participants of all ages. This is a fabulous economic and athletic opportunity, as we showcase to the country, our province’s sportsmanship and love of curling.”

Tickets for the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the 88th edition of the championship, are expected to go on sale early in 2016.

The Brier has been played in 31 cities across Canada, from Victoria to St. John’s. Manitoba has won a leading 27 Briers, while Alberta is just behind with 26 victories. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have yet to win.

Newfoundland/Labrador’s lone Brier championship was in 1976 when Jack MacDuff prevailed in Regina.

The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier is scheduled for March 5-13 in Ottawa. Tickets are available at www.curling.ca/2016brier/tickets/

Click to read this story at Curling Canada

(by Jonathan Brazeau)

PARADISE, N.L. — Brad Gushue of St. John’s sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy as he punched his ticket to the final in his home-province Tour Challenge event Saturday night at the Paradise Double Ice Complex.

Team Gushue defeated Team Mike McEwen of Winnipeg 5-3 in the semifinals of the season-opening Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament.

Gushue grabbed the lead with a deuce in the seventh and ran McEwen out of rocks in eight when he nailed an open hit with his last shot that brought the entire building to its feet.

“No matter what happens tomorrow this is going to be one of the most memorable weeks of my curling career,” an ecstatic Gushue said after the match. “To get a standing ovation before every game and have a full house here cheering us on, supporting us the way they are, it’s awesome.”

“You just don’t get that opportunity very much,” he added. “The guys told me it’s been seven years but the last one I remember is 10 years ago so it’s been a long time and it’s fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and it’s going to be a great game and a great atmosphere.”

The three-time Pinty’s GSOC champion Gushue now plays Calgary’s Kevin Koe (Sunday, 5:30 p.m. AT; Sportsnet), who rolled through defeating John Shuster, of Duluth, Minn., 9-2 in six ends.

Koe, who is also a three-time Pinty’s GSOC event winner, jumped out with a three-ender in the third, stole one in the fourth and closed out the game with a four score in the sixth.

“They’re a good team, four very-good shot-makers. We’re going to have to play well to beat them,” Gushue said. “If we can just keep playing the way we’re playing then we’ll have a good shot. We’re going to need a couple misses from them and they’re probably hoping for the same thing from us but I’m looking forward to it.”

[P.E.I’s Adam Casey rink went 1-3 in round robin play, and did not advance to the playoff round].

Tour Challenge: Digital Program | Scores & Standings | Draw Schedule | TV Schedule | Watch Online

The women’s Tier 1 final sees Rachel Homan’s undefeated Ottawa rink face Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland (Sunday, 11:00 a.m. AT; Sportsnet).

Team Homan defeated EunJung Kim of South Korea 6-4 and are now 6-0 through the Tour Challenge. Homan scored two in the third and stole one in four to break out to a 4-1 lead. Kim was held to one in the sixth, Homan added another two in the sixth and Kim wasn’t able to claw back.

Team Kim is the first Asian team to qualify for the playoffs at a Pinty’s GSOC event.

Meanwhile, Tirinzoni fended off a late charge from Tracy Fleury, of Sudbury, Ont., to win 9-7 and advance to her first career Pinty’s GSOC final. Fleury, the reigning Northern Ontario Scotties champion, scored three in the seventh to close to within one but Tirinzoni made the draw with her last shot coming home to advance.

TIER 2 RECAP

Jim Cotter and Mark Kean meet for a spot in the Pinty’s GSOC Masters event when they clash in the Tour Challenge Tier 2 men’s final.

Cotter of Vernon, B.C., cruised by with a 9-2 victory in five ends over Scotland’s Kyle Smith. Cotter got a deuce in the first, added a three-ender in the third, and scored four in the fifth while holding Smith to singles in two and four.

Kean, from Stoney Creek, Ont., held off Scotland’s Tom Brewster 6-4. Kean broke a 2-2 tie with a single in the third and stole points in five and six to pad his lead. Brewster got two in the seventh but couldn’t complete the comeback.

The women’s Tier 2 final sees Team Chantelle Eberle face Kerri Einarson. [P.E.I.’s Suzanne Birt rink went 2-2 in round robin play, and advanced to the quarter-finals, losing to Winnipeg’s Jill Thurston by an 8-5 score. Thurston lost to Einerson in the semis.]

Eberle’s rink, with 2011 Scotties champion Amber Holland sparing at skip, defeated Jamie Sinclair, of Blaine, Minn. Team Eberle, from Regina, snapped a 2-2 tie with a single in three and followed up stealing two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Sinclair got a point in six and stole one in seven but gave up the hammer coming home and Team Eberle added another two in the eighth to ice the game.

Einarson scored two in the eighth to tie it and stole in the extra end to win 7-6 during an all-Winnipeg rink match against Jill Thurston.

The Tier 2 finals will be played during their respective Tier 1 finals on the main rink.

NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the first of two new tournaments on the expanded seven-event 2015-16 Pinty’s GSOC season and features 30 men’s and 30 women’s teams split into two tiers. … Winners of the Tier 1 divisions also receive berths to the second new Pinty’s GSOC event, the season-ending Champions Cup. … Tier 2 champions earn byes to the next Grand Slam, the Masters, running Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 in Truro, N.S.

Click to read this story at the Grand Slam webite

The ice is ready and available for practice this weekend at the Crapaud Curling Club. Contact the Club to book your time.  Meanwhile, a $100 donation yesterday by the Cornwall Curling Club has boosted Crapaud’s online fundraising to $2885. To donate, go to http://www.gofundme.com/db2panm9

File photo: Ice preparation at Crapaud