Oakville to host major curling competition this fall

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Published February 1, 2023 at 12:56 pm

Curling Canada announced Wednesday (Feb. 1) the second annual PointsBet Invitational will be played Sept. 26-Oct. 1 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville. Jennifer Jones and her rink won the first invitational held last year in Fredericton, N.B. CURLING CANADA PHOTO

One of curling’s major events is coming to Oakville.

Curling Canada announced Wednesday (Feb.1) the second annual PointsBet Invitational will be played at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1.

The competition features 16 men’s and women’s teams from across the country who will be chasing a prize purse in excess of $350,000 in a sudden-death single-knockout format.

“The curling community here in Oakville always steps up to support big events and we’ll be working hard over the next seven months to get ready to welcome the 2023 PointsBet Invitational,” said James Francolini, president of the Oakville Curling Club.

“We welcome this opportunity and take pride in the confidence Curling Canada and PointsBet have with our curling community. It’s a great way to build our sport in Oakville and bring in new curlers and new fans. We can’t wait for September!”

The Oakville complex recently hosted the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling WFG Masters in December was to have hosted the 2021 Continental Cup before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our state-of-the-art and fully accessible Sixteen Mile Sports Complex facility was built to host international and national events such as Curling Canada’s 2023 PointsBet Invitational, as part of the town’s vision to become a leading destination for tournaments and events that is recognized nationally and internationally,” said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.

The first major event of the 2023-24 season, the 2023 PointsBet Invitational will give fans an opportunity to see the results of off-season lineup changes as Canada’s top teams ramp up their push toward qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Curling fans will also have the chance to win a $1-million prize through the Sweep 16 Bracket Challenge. Fans who correctly predict a perfect men’s and women’s bracket will win $1 million from PointsBet Canada.

“I love what PointsBet has done with this event, and it really was first-class from the players’ perspective in Fredericton,” added three-time defending Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Kerri Einarson. “Every game is win or go home, and that kind of experience is invaluable. We hope we’ll be part of the show in Oakville.”

Competing teams will each receive $5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs, and teams will earn more money for each successive win in the single-knockout tournament.

Teams get $3,000 for a first-round win, $6,000 for a quarterfinal win, $12,000 for a semifinal win and $24,000 to the victorious women’s and men’s teams, meaning the two winning teams will each collect a total of $50,000.

At the inaugural PointsBet Invitational in September in Fredericton, Team Jennifer Jones won the women’s title, while Team Reid Carruthers prevailed in the men’s event.

The full fields for Oakville will be announced at a later date.

Initial ticket packages are set to go on sale to the public on Thursday, March 23, at 10 a.m.

Tickets will be available online through Ticketmaster at curling.ca/tickets. There is no on-site box office at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex before the event.

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