World Curling Tour

The Asham World Curling Tour is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male curlers in the world. A Women's World Curling Tour also exists.

History

The World Curling Tour was created in 1992. In 2001, the WCT introduced a series of Grand Slam events for men which was later followed in 2006 by Grand Slam events for women.These became known as known as the Grand Slam of Curling and featured large payouts. Originally, curlers who participated in Grand Slam events were obliged to not participate in their respective Brier playdowns, however this was quickly rescinded.

Most WCT events are held in the Fall, and early Winter to avoid competing with the Brier playdowns.

The WCT is experimenting with length of games in two interesting ways. The first is that the games are only eight ends long with a 4th end break. The second is that the time clocks only count "thinking time", so the clock goes off when the players throw the rock. The reason is that time clocks, an innovation created to speed up the game, would stop as soon as the stone stopped.With the old system where teams were given 73 minutes of time if a team was losing, they would throw more draw shots which take time. The team that is winning throws more hits and thus ends up with more time if needed. So the WCT moved to "Thinking time" to even out this discrepancy. With this new system, each team is given 40 minutes of “Thinking Time” plus an additional 5 minutes if the game goes to an extra end.

The team with the most winnings at the end of the year wins the Founders Trophy. The winners in 2007 were Kevin Martin's team who won a total of $176,000.

A Women's World Curling Tour also exists, and is now affiliated with the WCT.

As of 2013, the Women’s World Curling Tour begins its debut in mid-August with the Fort Wayne Summer Cash Spiel and has events taking place all throughout the curling season until the Players Championship in mid-April. The men’s begins in mid-August as well with the Baden Masters and then finishes with the women at the Players Championship. Each of the bonspiel events on the World Curling tour and Women’s World Curling Tour lasts for approximately 3 days with a final payoff ranging in the thousands of dollars for the winners. There are 4 major men’s tournaments and 5 major women’s tournaments that are held throughout the year, each with a final cash prize of $100,000 for the winning team. For the men these major tournaments are the Masters of Curling, the Canadian Open, the Syncrude Nationals and the Players championship. For the women, the major tournaments are the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Women's Classic, the Masters of Curling, the Colonial Square Ladies Classic, and the Players Championship. There also used to be 2 more grand slam events for the women called Sobeys Slam and Wayden Transportation Ladies Classic but these were discontinued in 2010. Together, these events are known as Grand Slam events because of the large payoff that is associated with them as well as the number of high-level curlers that play in these tournaments.

On October 2, 2006, the license of rights for the Grand Slam of Curling was sold to Insight Sports Ltd. but was later sold again in August 2012 to Rogers Communications. The WCT naming rights were then sold to Asham, a long time contributor to the sport, until 2014 and because of this, the World Curling Tour was renamed Asham’s World Curling Tour. The Grand slam was originally simply called the Grand Slam of Curling until 2008 when the rights were sold by the CBC to Capitol One bank which renamed the Grand Slam the Capitol One grand Slam of Curling. Unlike the other World Curling Tour events, these Grand Slams they are played in 8-end games as opposed to the usual 10 end games found in the other WCT events. Another new rule that was first put into practice at the men’s nationals in 2014 is the 5 rock rule which increased the 4 rock rule and free guard zone rule by another rock. This changed the starting strategy of the game as the team with the hammer was able to throw up two guards uncontested instead of the usual 1 allowed with the previously used 4 rock rule. Through the addition of the Grand slam events and the new rule changes, the WCT is rapidly becoming a well known series to sports fans worldwide.

Men's Events

As of the 2015-16 curling season

Week	Event	Location	Purse
1	Uiseong International Curling Tour	Uiseong, KOR	US$3,500
2	Baden Masters	Baden, SUI	CHF32,500
3	Stu Sells Oakville Tankard	Oakville, ON	CA$27,200
4	GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 1	Paradise, NL	CA$100,000
5	AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic	Cornwall, ON	CA$46,000
5	HDF Insurance Shoot-Out	Edmonton, AB	CA$22,000
5	Cloverdale Cash Spiel	Surrey, BC	CA$8,200
6	Point Optical Curling Classic	Saskatoon, SK	CA$41,000
6	KW Fall Classic	Kitchener-Waterloo, ON	CA$9,900
6	Appleton Rum Cashspiel	Lower Sackville, NS	CA$8,000
7	Swiss Cup Basel	Basel, SUI	CHF40,000
7	Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic	Vernon, BC	CA$17,000
7	Sobeys Classic	New Glasgow, NS	CA$11,200
8	Minebea Cup	Miyota, JPN	¥350,000
8	Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic	Edmonton, AB	CA$50,000
8	St. Paul Cash Spiel	St. Paul, MN	US$12,000
8	Bud Light Men's Cashspiel	Halifax, NS	CA$5,000
9	Canad Inns Men's Classic	Portage la Prairie, MB	CA$60,000
9	Hub International Crown of Curling	Kamloops, BC	CA$26,000
9	Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel	Stroud, ON	CA$12,380
9	McKee Homes Fall Curling Classic	Airdrie, AB	CA$9,600
9	Thompson Curling Challenge	Urdorf, SUI	CHF8,800
10	Challenge Chateau Cartier de Gatineau	Gatineau, QC	CA$45,000
10	Curling Masters Champery	Champery, SUI	CHF40,000
10	Red Deer Curling Classic	Red Deer, AB	CA$39,000
10	Bernick's Miller Lite Open	Bemidji, MN	US$14,000
10	Grande Prairie Cash Spiel	Grande Prairie, AB	CA$8,000
11	Masters of Curling	Truro, NS	CA$100,000
11	Medicine Hat Charity Classic	Medicine Hat, AB	CA$22,000
11	Huron ReproGraphics Oil Heritage Classic	Sarnia, ON	CA$22,000
12	CookstownCash presented by Comco Canada Inc	Cookstown, ON	CA$22,500
12	Original 16 WCT Bonspiel	Calgary, AB	CA$15,000
12	Edinburgh International	Edinburgh, SCO	GB£10,000
12	Coronation Business Group Mens Classic	Maple Ridge, BC	CA$8,000
12	Fort St. John Cash Spiel	Fort St. John, BC	CA$8,000
13	The National	Oshawa, ON	CA$100,000
13	Westwood Inn Classic	Swan River, MB	CA$36,000
13	Bally Haly Cashspiel	St. Johns, NL	CA$0
14	DEKALB Superspiel	Morris, MB	CA$45,000
14	Dave Jones Molson Mayflower Cashspiel	Halifax, NS	CA$27,400
15	Weatherford Curling Classic	Estevan, SK	CA$32,000
15	Challenge Casino de Charlevoix	Clermont, QC	CA$27,000
15	Coors Light Cash Spiel	Duluth, MN	US$16,000
15	Black Diamond / High River Cash	Black Diamond / High River, AB	CA$8,000
15	Spitfire Arms Cash Spiel	Windsor, NS	CA$4,900
15	Dawson Creek Cash Spiel	Dawson Creek, BC	CA$8,000
16	Home Hardware Canada Cup of Curling	Camrose, AB	CA$70,000
16	WFG Jim Sullivan Curling Classic	Saint John, NB	CA$15,300
17	Canadian Open	Yorkton, SK	CA$100,000
17	Truro Cashspiel	Truro, NS	CA$12,000
18	Karuizawa International	Karuizawa, JPN	¥2,500,000
18	Curl Mesabi Classic	Eveleth, MN	US$20,000
18	Dumfries Challenger Series	Dumfries, SCO	GB£12,000
20	U.S. Open of Curling	Blaine, MN	US$24,000
20	Peace River Cash Spiel	Peace River, AB	CA$8,000
21	Mercure Perth Masters	Perth, SCO	GB£17,160
21	Goldline Saskatchewan Players Championship	Humboldt, SK	CA$11,000
22	Red Square Classic	Moscow, RUS	PP
23	German Masters	Hamburg, GER	€15,000
23	Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic	Tempe, AZ	US$15,300
31	Elite 10	Victoria, BC	CA$100,000
31	Alberta Series Championship	Mundare, AB	CA$
32	Aberdeen International Curling Championship	Aberdeen, SCO	GB£13,500
35	Players' Championship	Toronto, ON	CA$100,000
35	EURONICS European Masters	St. Gallen, SUI	CHF26,000
37	Champions Cup		CA$100,000

Women's events

As of 2011–12 curling season

Event	Location	Week	Purse
AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic	Brockville, Ontario	3	CAD$16,400
The Shoot-Out	Edmonton, Alberta	3	CAD$20,000
Radisson SAS Oslo Cup	Oslo, Norway	4	Nkr 100,000
Schmirler Curling Classic	Regina, Saskatchewan	4	CAD$47,000
Twin Anchors Invitational	Vernon, British Columbia	5	CAD$35,000
Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic	Calgary, Alberta	6	CAD$52,000
RE/MAX Masters Basel	Basel, Switzerland	6	CHF 32,000
Meyers Norris Penny Charity Classic	Medicine Hat, Alberta	7	CAD
Manitoba Lotteries Women's Curling Classic	Winnipeg, Manitoba	8	CAD$60,000
Labatt Crown of Curling	Kamloops, British Columbia	8	CAD$34,000
Challenge Casino Lac Leamy	Gatineau, Quebec	8	CAD$11,000
Colonial Square Ladies Classic	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	9	CAD$35,000
Royal LePage OVCA Women's Fall Classic	Kemptville, Ontario	10	CAD$15,000
Stockholm Ladies Cup	Stockholm, Sweden	10	Skr 75,750
Red Deer Curling Classic	Red Deer, Alberta	10	CAD$34,000
Vancouver Island Shootout	Victoria, British Columbia	11	CAD$50,000
Sun Life Classic	Brantford, Ontario	12	CAD$50,000
Interlake Pharmacy Classic	Stonewall, Manitoba	12	CAD$11,250
DEKALB Superspiel	Morris, Manitoba	13	CAD$16,200
International ZO Women's Tournament	Wetzikon, Switzerland	13	CHF 16,000
Boundary Ford Curling Classic	Lloydminster, Alberta	13	CAD$32,000
Laphroaig Scotch Open	Madison, Wisconsin	14	USD$16,000
Curl Mesabi Cash Spiel	Eveleth, Minnesota	16	USD$17,200
International Bernese Ladies Cup	Bern, Switzerland	20	CHF 20,000
Glynhill Ladies International	Glasgow, Scotland	21	£8,000
Victoria Curling Classic Invitational	Victoria, British Columbia	31
Sun Life Financial Players' Championship	Summerside, Prince Edward Island	36	CAD$100,000
Grasshopper Women's Masters*	Zurich, Switzerland
Sobeys Slam*

Grand Slam events indicated in bold.
Events with an asterisk (*) indicate events held in the 2010–11 curling season but not yet announced as included in the 2011–12 season.

See also

• List of teams on the World Curling Tour
• Atlantic Curling Tour
• BC Curling Tour
• Curling Champions Tour (formerly World Curling Tour Europe)
• Great Lakes Curling Tour
• Manitoba Curling Tour
• Northern Ontario Curling Tour
• Ontario Curling Tour
• Saskatchewan Curling Tour

External links

• Official website
• Official website
• Official websiteTemplate:World Curling Tour