Some of the biggest names in curling are preparing for the final stop of the inaugural Mixed Doubles Super Series season in what promises to be a riveting four days of competition in Brantford, Ont.
Throughout the fall teams from across Canada and around the world have competed in four events, trying to find their way to the top of the mixed doubles rankings.
Organizers Wayne Tuck, who will be playing in the final event with his wife Kim, and Jay Allen created the newly formed series to allow mixed doubles players greater opportunities to earn money and valuable points in the rankings.
“We’ve had countless conversations with the athletes, all of them have carried the same message to both Wayne and myself. This super series is exactly the platform needed for us as a nation to get our athletes back to the podium in Milano, Italy,” Allen told CBC Sports.
CBC Sports will be streaming games Saturday and Sunday leading to the championship game. That Curling Show will be live every day of the competition, beginning Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and going all the way to Sunday evening to wrap up the event.
The first draw of the competition begins Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.
WATCH | Kim, Wayne Tuck share news of super series on CBC Sports’ That Curling Show:
The Canadian mixed doubles curling duo took it upon themselves and some fellow curlers to create a new Grand Slam-style event for the discipline.
It hasn’t been easy navigating the jam-packed schedule, with events nearly every weekend, to get curlers to attend and to also secure sponsorship.
However, Allen says the curlers have bought in and he feels this is a springboard for future super series.
“The curlers have been incredibly supportive and patient as we go through some obvious growing pains but we’re adding two more venues for a total of seven next season, and this will help further enhance our athletes playing the best in the world,” he said.
“With half of the field in Winnipeg being from Europe, they’ve now caught wind of this super series and it’s safe to say more European teams will be coming to play in our own backyard next year.”
Allen says this first season couldn’t have been done without a lot of people stepping up to help.
“Without CBC Sports, Curling Canada’s commitment, not to mention the entire curling community coming together, this venture wouldn’t have been possible,” Allen said.
The season started just outside Ottawa at Carleton Place in the beginning of October. That’s where Jenn Dodds and Bruce Mouat defeated Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres in an extra end to claim the first-ever super series title.
WATCH | Dodds and Mouat explain their mixed doubles chemistry:
The Mixed Doubles Super Series Ottawa champs talk about their open communication and how being friends off the ice translates to wins on the ice.
From there, the series landed in Saskatoon at the beginning of November. Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith knocked off Walker and Muyres to win the second stop on the tour.
Walker and Muyres have both stepped away from the four-person game to focus solely on mixed doubles.
“The players are super grateful for this new entity in this new discipline. It’s an incredibly dedicated elite tour that we can go play on week in and week out to get better,” Muyres said.
On the third stop of the tour, Martin and Griffith won their second consecutive title after beating Kerri Einarson and Brad Jacobs in Leduc, Alta. Then at the beginning of December in Winnipeg, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant defeated Chaelynn Kitz and Brayden Stewart in the championship game.
This has all led to the final event in Brantford.
Dodds and Mouat, Martin and Griffith, Walker and Muyres, as well as Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing, and Lisa Weagle and Jon Epping are a few of the star-studded teams making up the 16-team field.
The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
“It’s about getting more eyes on the game,” Muyres said.
“It’s just going to grow more and I think that it’s going to be exponential in the next few years once it keeps rocketing up in the right direction.”
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