WCT's 'rebirth' begins this week in St

WCT's 'rebirth' begins this week in St. John's

World Curling Tour looking to attract new sponsors

Adam Daifallah

National Post

March 31, 2004

While most curlers are starting to exchange their brooms for golf clubs, the best male players in the game will be taking to the ice tomorrow for the first draw of the PharmAssist Player's Championship, the year-ending event of the World Curling Tour's (WCT) Grand Slam series.

Much is at stake this week at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Nfld., and not just cash, although the $150,000 purse is the biggest of the season.

The WCT has been working overtime to make this final event -- considered by players to be the crown jewel of the WCT calendar -- a big success. This is the third year for the Grand Slam series (the second with PharmAssist as title sponsor) and two of its four championships still do not have title sponsors. Next year is the last year for existing sponsorship contracts. So the WCT is looking to use the weekend to impress.

"It's the rebirth of the Grand Slam for us," said Chad McMullan, the WCT's executive director. "We have a great partner here locally [St. John's Sports & Entertainment Ltd.] and we're pulling out all the stops."

It's been a rough and tumble last few seasons for the world of curling.

When the Slam series started with backing from sports marketing and management giant IMG, teams competing agreed to an exclusivity arrangement that precluded them from playing in the Brier playdowns.

Curling fans suffered the most.

But at the beginning of this season that condition was dropped. All events, both Grand Slam and those run by the Canadian Curling Association (CCA), were open to everyone.

"We're pretty excited about where we are," McMullan said. "What you're going to see this weekend is what's happened over the last couple of years. This is the next big step for these events."

To wit:

- The honourary chairman of the event is Bob Cole, the legendary voice of Hockey Night in Canada. Cole represented Newfoundland & Labrador at the Brier in 1971 and 1975.

- The WCT picked up an extra sponsor just for this event: Viagra! No joke. (Potential slogan: "For curlers who can't get their rocks off"?)

- The World Curling Players' Association (WCPA) is hosting a youth clinic with 200 youngsters this evening in St. John's, with top-flight players such as Kevin Martin and Guy Hemmings, Scotland's Tom Brewster and hometown boy Brad Gushue -- all of whom are competing this week.

- Last week, the WCT announced the establishment with the event host committee of a scholarship fund for junior curling development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

- Curling reporters were offered a free trip to the event by the WCT in an attempt to increase the championship's media coverage.

- The event is also the last chance to earn points for this season's coveted Olympic Curling Trials qualifying spot based on the CCA's Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS). The CCA's points system will determine two of the 10 berths in the trials. The winner of the trials, to take place in December, 2005, in Halifax, will earn the right to wear the maple leaf in Torino, Italy, in 2006.

Only two teams still have a chance at this year's spot, and both are playing in St. John's: Jeff Stoughton's Winnipeg foursome and Wayne Middaugh's Toronto rink.

The winner this weekend will earn 35 points. Stoughton heads into the event with 124.5 points, while Wayne Middaugh's rink has racked up 104. So, mathematically speaking, in order for Middaugh to win the berth, he will not only have to win this weekend, but Stoughton will have to finish no higher than fourth (The CTRS awards points to the first through eighth place teams).

This is also the time of year when rumours of team split-ups start circulating. If the scuttlebutt materializes, this event might be the final time curling fans see Kevin Martin and his vice, Don Walchuk, playing together.

Speculation has abounded in recent weeks that the two Edmontonians will head their separate ways after this season.

Rogers SportsNet will be broadcasting quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Saturday and Sunday. Check it out. It's the last bit of curling you'll see on the tube until the world championship in three weeks.