The Grand Slam of Curling, the tour elite sequence that includes the most effective males’s and girls’s groups from throughout Canada and around the globe, has been bought by a brand new sports activities enterprise enterprise group.
The Curling Group, led by chief govt officer Nic Sulsky, has bought possession and operations of the Grand Slam of Curling from Rogers Sportsnet. The community will proceed to be the unique Canadian broadcast rights holder.
“With the ability to proceed this legacy alongside Sportsnet is paramount to what we’ll begin attempting to construct collectively. It is vital for the curling group, each the athlete and the fan,” Sulsky instructed CBC Sports activities.
“The Curling Group’s intentions are true. We are going to give the fan and roller a degree of belief that we’re going to do that with the appropriate spirit and motivation in thoughts. We have now a love of the sport and [both] the curlers and followers which have made the game what it’s right now.”
WATCH | Acquisition of Grand Slam of Curling about to ‘blow up the roaring sport’:
The Curling Group founder Nic Sulsky explains the adjustments he hopes to convey to the newly acquired curling circuit alongside supporters John Morris and Jennifer Jones.
The brand new enterprise has some large names connected to it, together with two-time Olympic champion John Morris and Olympic champion Jennifer Jones, who’s retiring on the finish of this season from the four-person sport.
Former NFL star Jared Allen can be a part of the group. They may all be a part of serving to form what the Slams appear to be transferring ahead.
“We would like the expansion of the sport to be so profitable. We need to achieve success. I believe the curlers are going to embrace this and be very excited concerning the alternatives,” Jones stated. “Our sport has a lot potential and it is simply so thrilling to be part of this and hopefully we are able to have an amazing influence.”
Rob Corte, VP of manufacturing at Sportsnet, stated staying on because the official broadcaster of the Grand Slam of Curling was a non-negotiable, including it has been a key property to their programming plans for years.
“It has been a implausible property for us and what we’re actually enthusiastic about is how the longer term goes to play out,” Corte stated. “Simply to be clear, the Grand Slam of Curling wasn’t on the market however over the past whereas by way of conversations with Nic, and his listening to his imaginative and prescient, we began to see what the way forward for the Grand Slam of Curling might be and it was one thing Sportsnet wished to be a part of.
“This partnership will assist develop the game whereas permitting Sportsnet to do what we do greatest – present followers a world-class broadcast and essentially the most in-depth curling protection.”
WATCH | Canada’s Homan collects 2nd ladies’s world curling title:
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Canada’s Rachel Homan wins gold on the ladies’s curling world championship with a 7-5 win over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni. The win ended Canada’s six-year title drought at this occasion.
Offering a platform for curlers
Sulsky stated the athlete’s voice goes to be a crucial piece in how they form the Slams transferring ahead, that is why curling legends like Morris and Jones have been introduced in from the start.
“We have to present a platform for curlers to take their place alongside the remainder of the worldwide sporting elite as a result of they belong there. They’re an unimaginable, participating, enjoyable, humorous group of oldsters. It is about time the highlight shines on them,” Sulsky stated.
“We’re going to blow up the roaring sport all around the globe, and I couldn’t be extra excited to start out on this journey alongside actually the 2 largest legends that the game has ever had.”
WATCH | Gushue’s Canadian aspect settles for silver at world championship:
Swedish skip Niklas Edin drew to the four-foot ring within the tenth and last finish to beat Canadian counterpart Brad Gushue 6-5 within the gold-medal sport Sunday on the world males’s curling championship in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Morris stated for as a lot change can be coming sooner or later, it’s going to be necessary to additionally keep true to lots of the conventional elements of the game that pulls followers to the sport.
Corte stated the viewers numbers stay sturdy on Sportsnet as this season’s last occasion, the Gamers Championship in Toronto, begins Tuesday.
He stated Grand Slam of Curling numbers on Sportsnet are up 16 per cent in comparison with final season, with the 18-34 age demographic displaying a 44 per cent enhance. Corte stated feminine viewers numbers are up 14 per cent this season as properly.
“A part of the explanation we have been so profitable through the years is as a result of it has been finished with the curlers. They’re the spine of the game. We made certain we talked to them to know issues which may make the sport higher,” Corte stated.
“All of it begins with respect – respect for the game, curlers and followers. If you hold them in thoughts as you progress ahead, and the appropriate intentions, in the long run it all the time works out.”
