Sports

The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, the World Curling Tour and iSport Media and Management has announced that Vernon, B.C. has been awarded the hosting rights to The National for the 2010-11 season.

The second leg of the men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, The National is scheduled to take place at the Wesbild Centre in Vernon, B.C. from December 15-19, 2010.

Advanced ticket packages for The National will go on sale to the public on Friday, November 19 at 10:00 a.m. Early bird ticket packages are priced at just $162.00 – a savings of 40 per cent off the regular priced seats.

Tickets are available online at www.ticketseller.ca or by phone at (250) 549-7469. The early bird offer is valid until January 30, 2010.

“We’re thrilled to award Vernon the hosting rights to The National for the 2010-11 season,” says Wendy Kane, Executive Director of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling.

“The City of Vernon and the Wesbild Centre have a distinguished record in hosting international sporting events and we’re looking forward to showcasing the world’s best players to the city’s passionate curling fans.”

An elite 18-team event consisting of the world’s top ranked curling foursomes, the field for The National is expected to include a wealth of World Championship and Olympic medallists including Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.), David Murdoch (Lockerbie, Scotland), Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.), Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.), Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.), Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.), Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) and Thomas Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway).

The event features a total purse of $100,000 (CDN).

“The Wesbild Centre is pleased to have the opportunity to host The National,” says Stan Mitchell, Arena Manager of the Wesbild Centre.

“This will be the third major curling event hosted in the building and will once again give our team a chance to showcase the Wesbild Centre and the Greater Vernon area. We look forward to another successful event that we all can be proud of.”

The National will mark the first time the City of Vernon has played host to a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event.

The city and the Wesbild Centre previously hosted the 2008 World Women’s Curling Championship and the 2004 Canadian Senior Curling Championship.

“Once again, the Greater Vernon area has been successful in attracting another major curling event,” says Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert.

“Wesbild’s reputation as a state-of-the-art sports venue is already well established and it continues to bring in the kind of events Vernon is so good at organizing. We have a long history with curling and have been producing champions for decades, so I know that our community will be supporting this event in a big way.”