The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is a series of curling bonspiels that are a part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of CAD$100,000, and feature the best teams from across Canada and around the World. The Grand Slam was instituted during the 2001-02 season for men and 2006-07 for women, but many of the Grand Slam events have longer histories as bonspiels. In the past, finals were televised on Rogers Sportsnet and on the CBC. Capital One became the title sponsor of the series in 2008.
Grand Slam games are played in eight ends, instead of the standard 10 ends seen in other major international tournaments. This came into effect for the 2006-07 season.
The Grand Slam of Curling was previously operated by the sports media company Insight Sports. In August 2012, Rogers Communications (through its Sportsnet unit) purchased the rights to operate the event, and acquired broadcast rights to the events, which will be shared with the CBC.
Famous quotes containing the words capital, grand, slam and/or curling:
“It is a bore, I admit, to be past seventy, for you are left for execution, and are daily expecting the death-warrant; but ... it is not anything very capital we quit. We are, at the close of life, only hurried away from stomach-aches, pains in the joints, from sleepless nights and unamusing days, from weakness, ugliness, and nervous tremors; but we shall all meet again in another planet, cured of all our defects.”
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)
“Sanity consists in not being subdued by your means. Fancy prices are paid for position, and for the culture of talent, but to the grand interests, superficial success is of no account.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It’s not a slam at you when people are rude—it’s a slam at the people they’ve met before.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“The sucking milk from this our body sends through
jolts of light; the son, the father,
sharing mother’s joy
That brings a softness to the flower of the awesome
open curling lotus gate I cup and kiss”
—Gary Snyder (b. 1930)