The Grand Slam of Curling (formerly branded as the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling for sponsorship reasons) is a series of curlingbonspiels that are a part of the annual World Curling Tour. Grand Slam events offer a purse of at least 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 (with the 2006 Players' Championship also considered a Slam),[1] but some of the Grand Slam events have longer histories as bonspiels.
The Grand Slam season consists of six men's and women's events. The original four events (Masters, Open, National, and Players' Championship) are considered to be "majors".[2] The other two slams (Tour Challenge and Champions Cup) have unique formats that set them apart from other events on the World Curling Tour.
After the merger of the Women's Tour and the WCT, the 2006 Players' Championship featured a women's event for the first time, and was considered a Slam for the women too. In the 2006–07 curling season, several existing women's events were designated as Grand Slams, but were not operated by the Grand Slam of Curling.[7] Grand Slam games also got reduced to eight ends that season.
In 2012, the Grand Slam of Curling was acquired by Rogers Media via its Sportsnet subsidiary. As such, Sportsnet became the main media rightsholder of the series, although CBC Sports would still carry championship rounds of selected events.[8][9][10]
In 2017, Yare TV began broadcasting online streams of the Grand Slams, opening up access to fans outside of Canada.[11]
Under this new ownership, the separate women's Grand Slams were phased out, with women's divisions added to existing men's Grand Slams. New Grand Slam events were also added: the Elite 10 in the 2014–15 curling season and the Tour Challenge and Champions Cup in the 2015–16 curling season. A women's division was added to the Elite 10 in the 2018–19 curling season, achieving for the first time equal number of events, prize money, and television time for men and women.[7] The Elite 10 was dropped the next season, bringing the number of events to six.
The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remaining two slams of the 2019-20 curling season and all but the remaining two slams of the 2020–21 curling season. The 2020–21 season was supposed to include the first international Grand Slam, the Canadian Open (renamed to the Open) to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States,[12] but that too was cancelled along with the Tour Challenge that season. The Slam tour was back to normal for the 2022–23 season with six events, however it would be the last season for the Champions Cup which was discontinued.
In April 2024, it was announced that a consortium known as The Curling Group had acquired the Grand Slam of Curling. The group includes Jennifer Jones, John Morris and former American football player-turned curler Jared Allen, and Marc Bulger. Sportsnet will remain the Canadian broadcaster of the tour under a multi-year agreement of unspecified length.[13]
The GSOC Tour Challenge was introduced as a men's and women's event in the 2015–16 curling season. The Tour Challenge has two tiers, with the bottom tier including regional invitations. The Tier 2 winning team qualifies for a subsequent grand slam.
Champions
The winning skip for Tier 1 is listed above the Tier 2 winning skip.
1 There was no National in the 2004–2005 season, but the BDO Curling Classic was held. It returned to its original name in the 2005–2006 season. The words "BDO Classic" were added to the name of the Canadian Open.
The Canadian Open was introduced as a men's event in 2001, and was added to the women's side in 2014. The Canadian Open is the only Grand Slam that uses a triple knockout format.
The Players' Championship, the oldest tournament on the men's Grand Slam of Curling, was introduced as a men's event in 1993, and added to the women's side in 2006.
The Manitoba Women's Curling Classic was held in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, and was held eight times as a Grand Slam tournament. It was removed from the Grand Slam lineup starting in the 2014–15 curling season.
The Autumn Gold Curling Classic is held annually in Calgary, Alberta, and has been held 42 times (as of 2019). It offers a total purse of $50,000. It was removed from the Grand Slam lineup starting in the 2015–16 curling season.
The Colonial Square Ladies Classic is held annually in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and has been held since 1983. It officially became a Grand Slam event in 2012. It was removed from the Grand Slam lineup starting in the 2015–16 curling season.
The Elite 10 was introduced as a men's event in 2015, and added to the women's side in September 2018. The Elite 10 used a unique match play format, similar to skins curling. The event was dropped for the 2019–20 curling season.
The Champions Cup was introduced as a men's and women's event in the 2015–16 curling season. The Champions Cup is contested by champions of various Grand Slam, Season of Champions, World Curling Tour, and other events throughout the season. The event will not be held in 2024, as it has been put on hold.
Beginning with the 2008–09 season, at the end of the season, the top Grand Slam team is awarded a cup as champions of the season. It was originally called the "Capital One Cup", with the winning team awarded $50,000.[20] It became the "Rogers Grand Slam Cup" in 2012 with the winning team given $75,000, then it became the "Bonus Cup" for the 2017–18 season, and then the "Pinty's Cup" in 2018–19, and had that name until 2022. Teams accumulate points based on their performance in each of the slams except for the Champions Cup and Tour Challenge Tier 2.[21][22]
Brad Gushue (Men's)
Kerri Einarson (Women's)
