The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling announced Wednesday the field for the 2019 KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge taking place Nov. 5-10 at the Pictou County Wellness Centre in Pictou County, N.S.
Featuring 62 — that’s right, 62! — teams in action, the KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge is the largest event in the series with two tiers and plenty of stakes on the line.
The Tier 1 divisions, taking place in the Sobeys Arena, include the top 15 men’s and 15 women’s teams from around the world including No. 1 ranked Rachel Homan, whose Ottawa-based club is also the defending women’s champion. Brad Jacobs’s crew from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which includes PEI’s Brett Gallant, is the reigning men’s Tier 1 champion and also aims to repeat. PEI’s Adam Casey is also in the event, on Winnipeg’s Team Gunnlaugson. Tier 1 winners clinch spots in the season-ending 2020 Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 29 to May 3 in Olds, Alta.
The Tier 2 divisions, which include PEI’s Team Suzanne Birt, is taking place in the adjacent Bell Aliant Arena, and features 16 teams each including the next-ranked teams looking to rise up the charts plus a handful of local contenders such as your reigning provincial champions Team Stuart Thompson and Team Jill Brothers, which includes PEI’s Erin Carmody. Winners of the Tier 2 divisions receive promotions to compete among the top flight at the 2020 Meridian Canadian Open, Jan. 14-19 in Yorkton, Sask.
All divisions will be split up into three pools of five teams for round-robin play with the top eight overall qualifying for the playoffs. A full draw schedule of matches will be released in the near future.
The KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge is sure to be a hot ticket for one cool event. Purchase the full-event pass and you’ll never miss a moment from the opening draw straight through to the championship-winning shots. Weekend passes and single-draw tickets are also available. Visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for all ticket information.
Can’t make it to Pictou County, N.S.? Broadcast coverage begins Nov. 7 on Sportsnet with online streaming available via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Tier 1 men’s division
| Team | Hometown |
| Team Brendan Bottcher | Edmonton, AB |
| Team Peter de Cruz | Geneva, SUI |
| Team Matt Dunstone | Regina, SK |
| Team Niklas Edin | Karlstad, SWE |
| Team John Epping | Toronto, ON |
| Team Jason Gunnlaugson | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Brad Gushue | St. John’s, NL |
| Team Glenn Howard | Penetanguishene, ON |
| Team Brad Jacobs | Sault Ste. Marie, ON |
| Team Kevin Koe | Calgary, AB |
| Team Scott McDonald | Kingston, ON |
| Team Mike McEwen | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Bruce Mouat | Edinburgh, SCO |
| Team Yannick Schwaller | Bern, SUI |
| Team John Shuster | Duluth, USA |
Tier 1 women’s division
| Team | Hometown |
| Team Chelsea Carey | Calgary, AB |
| Team Kerri Einarson | Gimli, MB |
| Team Tracy Fleury | East St. Paul, MB |
| Team Satsuki Fujisawa | Kitami, JPN |
| Team Anna Hasselborg | Sundbyberg, SWE |
| Team Rachel Homan | Ottawa, ON |
| Team Jennifer Jones | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Kelsey Rocque | Edmonton, AB |
| Team Nina Roth | McFarland, USA |
| Team Casey Scheidegger | Lethbridge, AB |
| Team Robyn Silvernagle | North Battleford, SK |
| Team Elena Stern | Oberwallis, SUI |
| Team Silvana Tirinzoni | Aarau, SUI |
| Team Isabella Wrana | Stockholm, SWE |
| Team Sayaka Yoshimura | Sapporo, JPN |
Tier 2 men’s division
| Team | Hometown |
| Team Cameron Bryce | Stirling, SCO |
| Team Braden Calvert | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Korey Dropkin | Chaska, USA |
| Team Michael Fournier | Montreal, QC |
| Team James Grattan | Oromocto, NB |
| Team Tanner Horgan | Winnipeg Beach, MB |
| Team Scott Jones | Moncton, NB |
| Team Glen Muirhead | Perth, SCO |
| Team James Murphy | Halifax, NS |
| Team Kirk Muyres | Saskatoon, SK |
| Team Rich Ruohonen | Minneapolis, USA |
| Team Greg Smith | St. John’s, NL |
| Team Karsten Sturmay | Edmonton, AB |
| Team Kendal Thompson | Halifax, NS |
| Team Stuart Thompson | Dartmouth, NS |
| Team Jaap van Dorp | Zoetermeer, NED |
Tier 2 women’s division
| Team | Hometown |
| Team Mary-Anne Arsenault | Dartmouth, NS |
| Team Megan Balsdon | London, ON |
| Team Suzanne Birt | Charlottetown, PEI |
| Team Jill Brothers | Halifax, NS |
| Team Corryn Brown | Kamloops, BC |
| Team Andrea Crawford | Fredericton, NB |
| Team Hollie Duncan | Toronto, ON |
| Team Binia Feltscher | Langenthal, SUI |
| Team Mackenzie Glynn | St. John’s, NL |
| Team Tanya Hilliard | Halifax, NS |
| Team Daniela Jentsch | Füssen, GER |
| Team Min-Ji Kim | Chuncheon, KOR |
| Team Jestyn Murphy | Mississauga, ON |
| Team Beth Peterson | Winnipeg, MB |
| Team Laurie St-Georges | Laval, QC |
| Team Laura Walker | Edmonton, AB |
Click to read this story at The Grand Slam of Curling website