What's Happening in Oakville, ON…

Oakville will play host to the Masters curling championship this October, the kickoff event for the Grand Slam of Curling series.

The event will see the top men’s and women’s curlers in Canada competing against each other. The men’s side will feature teams headed up by former world and national champions such as Kevin Koe, Brendan Bottcher, and Brad Gushue. The women’s competition is similarly loaded with names like Rachel Homan, Kerri Einarson, and Eve Muirhead. Whereas past editions have included international teams and a developmental tournament, the 2021 edition of the Master’s will focus on high-level Canadian players, with some guests such as Scotland’s Muirhead and Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa.

The Master’s will use a classic bonspiel format with teams playing each other in round-robin blocks before moving to an eight-team playoff. Unlike other tournaments, teams will not be representing provinces or nations but only their skips, meaning that multiple top curlers from the same province can compete against each other. This will be the first Masters’ event in two years, with the 2020 edition set to take place in Sarnia canceled. Top curlers typically compete in a full season of events, often promoted through means such as banner printing and television advertising, before competing for provincial, national, and world glory.

The 2021 edition of the Masters curling championship will take place between October 19 and 24 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville.