When the General Motors Centre officials realized a dream of attracting the Capital One
Grand Slam of Curling next January, they called on those more familiar with takeout
weight and drawing to the four-foot ring.
The two Oshawa curling clubs, and another from Whitby, will be playing an integral
role in participating and helping organize this mammoth event which will be attracting
many of the world’s best men’s curlers to Oshawa, many currently in Vancouver competing
in the Winter Olympics.
“When the GM Centre found out about getting (the Grand Slam), we were notified
and we are more than happy to get involved in it,” says Brian Rutherford, who heads up the
membership drive for the Oshawa Curling Club.
“We will be allowed to put up a kiosk at the event and from this, we will have (participating)
curlers and celebrities like maybe Team Sweden for 20 minutes to help pull people in.
This should generate a lot of interest in curling for the clubs in Durham Region because we
certainly need it.”
This particular competition is the third of four legs in the Canadian Open series slated for
January 26-30, 2011 with a purse of $100,000.
Among those expected to compete are Edmonton’s Kevin Martin, who is competing for Canada at the Olympics, along with David Murdoch from Lockerbie, representing Scotland in Vancouver.
Canada has long been recognized for displaying the cream of the crop on the curling ice and
many will be in Oshawa. Among those in action are Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Brad Gushue
of St. John’s, N e w f o u n d l a n d , Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey, Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg, Kerry Burtnyk, also from Winnipeg and Etobicoke’s Wayne Middaugh. Thomas Ulsrud from Oslo, Norway, is also expected to be among the 18-team participants.
The 2010-2011 campaign actually kicks off in Windsor November 3-7 and will move on to Vernon, British Columbia for the second leg December 15- 19. Following the third leg in Oshawa, the Canadian series will conclude with the Grey Power Players Championship, a joint men’s and women’s event, April 12-17 at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
As part of an exclusive agreement, the CBC will be providing live television coverage of the
playoff rounds in Oshawa and other centres.
“We knew this was going to be the greatest thing when we heard about it,” adds Rutherford,
who will be joined by representatives from the Oshawa Golf Club and the Whitby Curling
Club. “I’m expecting all the European teams in Vancouver plus the best Canadian teams to be
here.
“And the neat thing about this being held in January is that tickets for this event will be fabulous stocking stuffers for Christmas. We know that curlers from Durham Region and the GTA will be here to watch the world’s best curlers. But I also know a lot of non-curlers who also enjoy watching the sport on television. This is a great opportunity for them to come out and see it live.”
Representatives of the three Durham Clubs and the GM Centre will be meeting on a regular
basis leading up to the competition, says Rutherford.
“We’re thinking about getting the high schools involved with raffles and if we can bring in a couple of bus loads of high school kids during the day and get them yelling and screaming and making a lot of noise, that can only add to the atmosphere. The curlers love that stuff.”
Tickets are on sale at the GM Centre box office.