62 teams set for KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge in Pictou County, NS
The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling announced Wednesday the field for the 2019 KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge taking place Nov. 5-10 at the Pictou County Wellness Centre in Pictou County, N.S.
Featuring 62 — that’s right, 62! — teams in action, the KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge is the largest event in the series with two tiers and plenty of stakes on the line.
The Tier 1 divisions, taking place in the Sobeys Arena, include the top 15 men’s and 15 women’s teams from around the world including No. 1 ranked Rachel Homan, whose Ottawa-based club is also the defending women’s champion. Brad Jacobs’s crew from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is the reigning men’s Tier 1 champion and also aims to repeat. Tier 1 winners clinch spots in the season-ending 2020 Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 29 to May 3 in Olds, Alta.
The Tier 2 divisions, taking place in the adjacent Bell Aliant Arena, features 16 teams each including the next-ranked teams looking to rise up the charts plus a handful of local contenders such as your reigning provincial champions Team Stuart Thompson and Team Jill Brothers. Winners of the Tier 2 divisions receive promotions to compete among the top flight at the 2020 Meridian Canadian Open, Jan. 14-19 in Yorkton, Sask.
All divisions will be split up into three pools of five teams for round-robin play with the top eight overall qualifying for the playoffs. A full draw schedule of matches will be released in the near future.
The KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge is sure to be a hot ticket for one cool event. Purchase the full-event pass and you’ll never miss a moment from the opening draw straight through to the championship-winning shots. Weekend passes and single-draw tickets are also available. Visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for all ticket information.
Can’t make it to Pictou County, N.S.? Broadcast coverage begins Nov. 7 on Sportsnet with online streaming available via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Tier 1 Men’s Division
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| Team De Cruz | Team Edin | Team Bottcher |
| Team Koe | Team Epping | Team Gunnlaugson |
| Team McEwen | Team Gushue | Team Jacobs |
| Team Mouat | Team Howard | Team Dunstone |
| Team Shuster | Team McDonald | Team Schwaller |
Tier 1 Women’s Division
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| Team Carey | Team Fujisawa | Team Hasselborg |
| Team Einarson | Team Homan | Team Scheidegger |
| Team Fleury | Team J. Jones | Team Silvernagle |
| Team Roth | Team Rocque | Team Stern |
| Team Wrana | Team Yoshimura | Team Tirinzoni |
Tier 2 men’s division
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
| Team Bryce | Team Calvert | Team Grattan | Team Dropkin |
| Team Muyres | Team Fournier | Team Horgan | Team Stevens |
| Team Smith | Team S. Jones | Team Ja. Murphy | Team Sturmay |
| Team Van Dorp | Team S. Thompson | Team Ruohonen | Team K. Thompson |
Tier 2 women’s division
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
| Team Birt | Team Crawford | Team Arsenault | Team Brothers |
| Team Brown | Team Duncan | Team Balsdon | Team Feltscher |
| Team Glynn | Team Kim | Team Hilliard | Team Je. Murphy |
| Team Jentsch | Team Walker | Team Peterson | Team St-Georges |
