First off you have Gerry Guerts, the wizard of Curling Zone, to blame for this edition of the blog. It was, after all, his idea. A few weeks back Gerry was on Facebook trumpeting the fifth anniversary of the Slams being saved from oblivion by Sportsnet. Who stepped in and bought them after financial miss-management and ineptitude almost ended them for good. (remember how all of sudden it was revealed that a certain TV network wasn't getting paid and was about to pull its coverage? We never did find out what happened to the money, did we?) (click here to view entire post on author's website)

On this week's podcast, Brad Jacobs reflects on his team's victory at the Shorty Jenkins Classic and Gerry Guerts joins us to discuss the major announcements made at the World Curling Congress. Kerri Einarson and Sherry Middaugh join us on the Road to Summerside series and tour players/bloggers John Cullen and Mike Fournier join us for a round-table discussion. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

The NEW Power Rankings are now posted. Who moved UP and who took a tumble DOWN? Find out... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Author's note: This blog is the first in a series discussing how USA Curling qualifies athletes for major events and suggesting changes for the qualification processes to increase participation and heighten the level of competitiveness of American curlers.- - -On August 17, 2017, USA Curling announced that the organization was "relaxing" the World Team Qualification Process for the 2017-2018 season. The stated changes to the World Qualification Process are twofold in that now:·;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp; Any eligible team within the Top 75 in the WCT Order of Merit (OOM, two-year period) on Jan. 31, 2018, can qualify to represent the USA at the 2018 Men's/Women's World Championships by winning the 2018 U.S. Men's/Women's National Championships.·;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;;nbsp;... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

REGINA — Val Sweeting was in big trouble once again. The Edmonton native had already given up a steal of three to start Sunday's Tour Challenge Tier 1 women's final against Sweden's Anna Hasselborg and was stuck in another jam during the fifth end. Although Sweeting had several rocks dotted around the rings, she was trailing by two points without the hammer and facing a pair of Hasselborg stones in the crowded house. Miss and Hasselborg had an easy shot to tack on another three count and possibly put a "three count" to the championship game. Sweeting seemed relaxed despite the high-pressure situation. She slid out of the hack and delivered a cross-house double to eliminate both of Hasselborg's stones and sit four counters. The once-quiet Co-operators... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Most Canadian curling fans will tell you that Team Brad Gushue is the best in the world right now. It's hard to argue that considering Gushue's St. John's team is the reigning Tim Hortons Brier and world champion, and it won the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season this past weekend in ... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Episode 2 of the Extra Extra End Podcast interviews Jamie Sinclair, Vicky Persinger, Rich Ruohonen along with a roundtable discussion on Olympic Trials selections along with discussion on Team Birr's push to be included. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

By Rebecca Connop Price It is time for teams to register for their chance to represent BC at nationals! Up to 40 qualification events will be staged across the province - giving athletes the chance to compete close to home. Registration has now opened. Visit www.curlbc.ca/playdowns/ for your chance to take part. You are only [...] (click here to view entire post on author's website)

There will be a play-in game to decide the 16th team at the men's and women's national curling championships next season. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

It is time for teams to register for their chance to represent BC at nationals! Up to 40 qualification events will be staged across the province – giving athletes the chance to compete close to home. Registration has now opened. Visit www.curlbc.ca/playdowns/ for your chance to take part. You are only a few wins away from being a BC champion! The post Playdown registration has opened appeared first on Curl BC. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

TEAM SMITH AND TEAM MUIRHEAD CONTINUE CANADIAN CAMPAIGNSTeam GB;'s Winter Olympic curling teams are back in action this week as they continue their respective Canadian campaigns. After reaching the semi final of the Grand Slam of Curling event in Regina last weekend, skip Eve Muirhead hopes they can do even better at this weekend;'s HDF Insurance Shoot-Out in Edmonton where they reached the final last year. ;'After kicking off the season with a strong start at the grand slam we are looking forward to continuing our processes here in Edmonton. The field is tough once again with the top Canadian, Asian and European teams all here,;rdquo; said Muirhead, ahead of the event which gets underway tomorrow. ;'With the Olympic Games not far away, every competition for us is an opportunity to... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

In this episode the girls recap the Grand Slam of Curling's first event of the season, the Tour Challenge.  We track how the Canadian Olympic Trials and Pre-Trials teams fared, analyze the finals for both the Tier 1 and Tier 2.  We discuss our recent trip to the Oakville Curling Club and our experiences interviewing some of the games biggest stars!  Lots of fun stories to share! (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Hello again.;nbsp; Trust you had a math free summer.;nbsp; Plenty coming up this curling season, including another edition of Canada's Olympic Trials.;nbsp; I will be there the whole week and can only hope that;nbsp; CCA Curling Canada has lost the licensing rights to Katy Perry's "Roar".;nbsp; (If you've been to one of these events you might still have nightmares as they play it constantly between draws).Curling Legends Podcast is back with weekly episodes starting around the end of October.;nbsp; I was hoping to finish an update to my e-book "End Game" ahead of the Olympics, including a print version, but that may have to wait another 4 years.;nbsp;;nbsp;I am hoping to increase the output of CWM analysis for this Olympic year, starting with the first Grand... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

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CurlManitoba U15 Camp CurlManitoba is hosting an Under 15 Curling Camp at the Granite Curling Club September 16th from 10-4pm. This camp is in preparation for the Manitoba Games hosted this season March 4-11th in Thompson, Manitoba. CurlManitoba instructors will teach campers the following Delivery Fundamentals and Analysis Sweeping Fundamentals U15 Curling Camp is $75 Register for this course (click here to view entire post on author's website)

ast weekend’s Everest Curling Challenge in Fredericton, New Brunswick saw an experiment with adding 2 points for covering the pin. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

They beamed as;nbsp;they came down the escalator at Ottawa International Airport. Emma Miskew and Lisa Weagle said they hadn't expected the large crowd that greeted them at the airport Monday evening after helping Rachel Homan's team win a;nbsp;world women's curling championship in Beijing. “It's hard to describe the feeling,” said Weagle, the team's lead. “We knew a few people were going to be here and see our families, but we had no idea that the reception was going to be quite as big as it is, so we are really thrilled to see so many people.”;nbsp; Miskew agreed.;nbsp; “It's very moving,” the team's third;nbsp;said. “I know we had support from far away even though we were on the complete other side of the world, so we were in a little bit of a bubble... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

The Ontario Curling Council board and staff welcome Perry Marshall as our new Education Manager – South.;nbsp; “We are excited to have Perry Marshall join the OCC team, I know he'll be as impactful for the OCC as he has been with so many other clubs and aspects of the game,” Jennifer Ferris, Manager – Programs and Operations. Perry will be coordinating all things “Education” for the OCA district including Coach Training, Ice Technician Training, Professional Development.;nbsp; As well, Perry will take the lead role on an exciting new project – “Ontario Kids Curl” – a joint project with Curling Canada through an Ontario Sport Communities Recreation Fund Grant. Perry can be reached at perry@ontcurl.com. Perry Marshall ;nbsp; The Ontario... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Vince of the You Almost Had It Podcast stepped out onto the ice to try everyone's favorite Winter Olympic sport. At a "Learn to Curl" event hosted by the Charleston Curling Club, Vince soaked in the rules, history, and lingo of this great sport. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

;nbsp;Chuck Hay, legend, died last week, aged 87. That's him in happy times on the hack at the Brora rink. You will find the World Curling Federation's obituary here, and the Royal Club's here.Some years ago I wrote the following about Chuck and his team of John Bryden, Alan Glen and David Howie:"Chuck Hay and his team won the Scottish title in 1965, the first of a string of successes as the team was to dominate the Scottish Championship for four years. Such success was well deserved. Hay had watched the Richardson rink with their long sliding deliveries, the takeout game with its blank ends, and the powerful sweeping. He made a conscious decision to copy the Canadian style of play. The Richardsons had impressed Hay both on and off the ice and he and his team set out to... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Our interview with Mike Pfundstein. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Format changes coming (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Nunavut will play seven round-robin games in the new Scotties and Brier format rolled out Tuesday by Curling Canada. And there will be no camouflaging that. But a creative twist will be introduced that will definitely add interest and appeal while the association proceeds with the politically correct decision to include Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories as fully accredited ‘provinces' in the two showcase events. Instead of the relegation system in which four teams competed in a mini-tournament prior to the Scotties and the Brier to admit one team to join the field for the normal nine-day competition, there will be a 16-team, two-pool round-robin format. To get to 16 teams, Curling Canada announced the creation of a new ‘play-in' game for the two top teams in season Canadian... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Jill Officer details her trip to the Arctic Curling Cup, eight arctic nation women’s teams playing in Dudinka, Russia for a total prize purse of US $100,000! (click here to view entire post on author's website)

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Reid Carruthers is a Canadian curler. He skips his own team based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carruthers has won the 2016 Canada Cup of Curling, 2017 WFG Continental Cup of Curling as part of Team North America, and the 2017 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. He is currently representing Canada at the 2017 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Lethbridge, Alberta with Joanne Courtney. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Adapting to changes in the sport of curling will reduce the threat that is posited by doomsayers. Curling has emerged as both a sport and a recreation, but it is the recreation side that attracts 95% of your market. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

In Part 2 of my conversation with Paul Savage, we'll cover the 1987 Olympic Curling Trials and the controversy surrounding the qualification process.   We talk about the early days of the Skins format, the Battle of the Sexes and Paul's experience as fifth man with the Mike Harris Rink during their run to a Silver Medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  There are a few extras after our talk as well.  Paul shares stories from the Kurl for Kids Celebrity Bonspiel, Men With Brooms, the World Lefthanders Curling Championship and explains how to perform the plate dance.  At the very end is an excerpt from Episode 8 where Warren Hansen discusses his version of the 1987 Trials, which I reference with Paul at the beginning of the show. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Included: That time Rachel Homan beat him in a FG kicking contest... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Swiss Mixed Doubles champions Martin Rios and Jenny Perret under fire after video shows possible cheating in important round-robin game. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Yes, I know, it's been more than awhile since I've put fingers to keyboard on my blog site. Thank you to the many who have sent emails and made telephone calls to inquire if I was, well, OK! I doubt I've never been fully OK, but thanks, I'm fine!;nbsp;So what's the reason for the no blogs for several months? I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't write just for the sake of writing. If there wasn't something to say, I wasn't going to say it! But now there is and it's time to reach into the electronic mailbag to answer an email sent from someone for whom I have great respect. His name is John Newhook from one of my favourite cities in Canada, Halifax. I had the joy of spending an afternoon with John at the iconic Mayflower CC as he walked me through... (click here to view entire post on author's website)

In case you have missed what is going on, Twitter has predicted the outcome of the February 12 Mens and Womens Round Robin games two days early in our completely scientific NerdCurl US Curling Twitter National Championships. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

Team North America's lead heading into this final day seems insurmountable but don't tell that to the mostly European Team World supporters. They remember the "Meltdown at Medina" and are hoping for the curling equivalent upset. Fortunately for the North American's there isn't really a disastrous alliterative term I can think of that works with Vegas. However, much to the liking of TSN and the Orleans ticket gate there is still plenty to play for. Pride is always good, especially with so many fans still cheering (sans Packer fans). But more importantly each game and end has some cash money tied to it which could seem pretty useful if you curl for a living and spending your last night in Vegas. (click here to view entire post on author's website)

The back half of the 2016-2017 curling season kicks off this week with the Meridian Canadian Open on the World Curling Tour and the USA Nationals Challenge Rounds taking place closer to home. A preview of the challenge rounds, highlights from an interview with Thomas Howell (lead for the top-ranked Heath McCormick rink) as their team embarks on its first Grand Slam of Curling event, and the updated rankings are on-tap in this week’s edition. (click here to view entire post on author's website)