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The Grand Slam of Curling season is now underway here in Charlottetown with the HearingLife Tour Challenge. What a way to start the season with the largest event on the circuit featuring 64 of the top teams from around the world. The HearingLife Tour Challenge offers twice the fun from the highest ranked teams in Tier 1 to the next stage in Tier 2, including Charlottetown’s own Team Smith, looking to receive invitations to the WFG Masters.

Team Retornaz returns as the defending Tier 1 men’s champion while a new winner will be crowned in the Tier 1 women’s division after skip Jennifer Jones stepped back. Retornaz and Jones captured the titles last year in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

This is the first time Charlottetown has hosted a Grand Slam of Curling event, as well as the first time P.E.I. has hosted a Grand Slam of Curling event since 2014, and we hope the wait was worth it.

Another unique aspect of the HearingLife Tour Challenge is the event’s format.

Don’t call it a comeback, triple knockout has been here for years.

Although triple knockout is common on tour — and was used throughout the Grand Slam of Curling when the series started 23 years ago — the HearingLife Tour Challenge is the lone event in the series to use the format.

There’s one simple rule to remember: Teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the playoffs.

All teams are seeded based on the world rankings in one of two brackets in the A Event. Winning teams remain in their current bracket while each loss drops teams to a lower bracket until they reach three losses (i.e. when they lose in the C Event).

Two teams from the A Event (3-0 records), three teams from the B Event (3-1 records) and three teams from the C Event (3-2 records) qualify for the playoffs.

What makes triple knockout interesting is a team could breeze through the A Event and reach the playoffs in only three games (thus also earning a full day of rest) or they could grind it out and play up to two more games through the C Event. The latter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes teams play better with the pressure on plus learning more about the ice and the rocks by playing one or two more games could be an advantage in the playoffs.

Also, with the 16-team triple knockout, teams are always playing against another team with an identical record — making every match an intriguing battle. As long as you’re still playing, you’re still in it. Once a team has qualified, that’s it for them until the quarterfinals. Likewise, there are no games where a team has already been eliminated and is just playing for pride. Teams also don’t have to worry about tiebreakers as winning alone will control their destiny.

What to know about the HearingLife Tour Challenge

• The goal of the HearingLife Tour Challenge is to broaden the field and provide the opportunity for 64 teams to participate in a Grand Slam of Curling event on arena ice. Tier 1 features the top 16 teams based on the world team rankings system with Tier 2 comprised of teams’ ranked No. 17 to No. 32.

• Winners of the Tier 2 will receive byes to the 2025 WFG Masters. Think of it like a fast-track ticket to the top flight. The winning team’s entry fee will also be waived and $5,000 will be given to the team to cover costs of travel and accommodation. Some notable past winners of the Tier 2 include: Team Einarson, Team Cotter, Team Gunnlaugson, Team Dropkin and Team Kim.

• All games are played to eight ends. If the score is tied after eight ends, an extra end will be played to determine the winner. If the score is out of reach late, teams may “shake hands” to

Team Profiles

Men’s Division

BRUNNER: Team Brunner finished third at the Swiss national championship last season. Their best tour result was a runner-up finish to compatriots Team Schwaller at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Western Showdown.

BRYCE: Bryce won two tour events last season, both in Switzerland, taking the Swiss Cup Basel and St. Galler Elite Challenge. Menzies previously played with Team Paterson and captured the National in 2018.

CARRUTHERS: Carruthers returns to calling the shots with Schneider joining at third this season following the departure of Brad Jacobs. Schneider won the Masters with Team Dunstone in 2019.

CRAIK: Craik had a breakout season last year making his top-tier Grand Slam of Curling debut at the KIOTI National and qualifying for the playoffs. Team Craik also finished second to Team Whyte at the Scottish curling championships.

DROPKIN: Dropkin is a two-time winner of the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 event. The team was runner-up to Team Shuster in the USA Curling national championships last season.

DUNSTONE: Dunstone won his first Grand Slam of Curling title at the 2019 Masters. Harnden captured seven Grand Slams with Team Jacobs including back-to-back Tour Challenge titles in 2018 and 2019.

EDIN: Edin has won four Grand Slam of Curling titles including two at the Tour Challenge (2016 and 2022). Edin earned a record-extending seventh world championship gold medal last season.

GUSHUE: Gushue has won 15 Grand Slam of Curling titles including the 2017 Tour Challenge. He is the only men’s skip to win every event in the series. Gushue won a record sixth Brier as a skip last season and earned silver at the world championship.

JACOBS: Jacobs has won seven Grand Slam of Curling titles including back-to-back at the Tour Challenge in 2018 and 2019. He linked up with Kennedy, Gallant and Hebert this season. It’s a homecoming for Gallant, who is from Charlottetown.

KOE: Koe has captured five Grand Slam of Curling championships as a skip including the inaugural Tour Challenge men’s title in 2015. His team won two events last season taking the Astec Safety Challenge and Pumps and Pressure Red Deer Curling Classic.

MCEWEN: The reigning Saskatchewan champions earned silver at the Brier last season. McEwen is a winner of seven Grand Slam of Curling titles. The Marsh twins captured the Tour Challenge Tier 2 title in 2018 with skip Kirk Muyres.

MOUAT: Mouat completed a career Grand Slam (win all four majors) last season at the Co-op Canadian Open. Mouat and his teammates have won a total of seven Grand Slam of Curling titles together.

RETORNAZ: Retornaz is the defending champion with last year’s win kicking off a run of three consecutive Grand Slam of Curling title victories. He won his first Grand Slam at the Masters in 2022.

SCHWALLER: The Swiss national champions won the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and Shorty Jenkins Classic back-to-back in September. Schwarz-van Berkel captured the Canadian Open in 2018 with skip Peter de Cruz.

SHUSTER: Shuster is the 2018 Olympic gold medallist and won the USA Curling national championships last year to make an 11th career appearance at the world championship. His best result in the GSOC came at the 2015 Tour Challenge reaching the semifinals.

WHYTE: Team Whyte won the Scottish curling championship for the first time last season. Whyte also reached his first Grand Slam of Curling final at the WFG Masters finishing runner-up to Team Retornaz.

Women’s Division

CAREY: It’s a homecoming event for Lenentine, who is from Charlottetown. Burgess, Zacharias and Lenentine won their first Grand Slam of Curling title at the HearingLife Tour Challenge last season with skip Jennifer Jones.

CONSTANTINI: Team Constantini earned silver at the European Championships and finished fourth at the world championship last season. Constantini captured the gold medal in mixed doubles with Amos Mosaner at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. 

EINARSON: Einarson has won five Grand Slam of Curling titles plus two Tour Challenge Tier 2 titles. She won four consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts championships from 2020-23 and also earned bronze at the world championship in 2022 and 2023.

FUJISAWA: Team Fujisawa became the first Japanese club to capture a Grand Slam of Curling title at the 2023 Co-op Canadian Open. They earned silver medals at the Pan-Continental Championships last season.

GIM: Gim won her first Grand Slam of Curling title last season at the KIOTI National. Kim, who is a former skip, captured the 2019 Tour Challenge Tier 2 title and, with the promotion, reached the final of the 2020 Canadian Open.

HASSELBORG: Hasselborg has won seven Grand Slam of Curling titles including the 2019 Tour Challenge. She is the first women’s skip to complete a career Grand Slam (win all four majors).

HOMAN: Homan holds a record 15 Grand Slam of Curling women’s titles. The team captured back-to-back championships in the series last season at the WFG Masters and Co-op Canadian Open. Homan also won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the world championship.

KIM: Kim captured the HearingLife Tour Challenge Tier 2 title last season. The team also won the Nutrien Ag Solutions Western Showdown and Stu Sells Tankard. Kim claimed silver on home ice at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

LAWES: Lawes, who won six Grand Slam titles with Jennifer Jones, reached her first final in the series as a skip last season at the HearingLife Tour Challenge. The team also won provincial playdowns to represent Manitoba at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

MORRISON: Morrison made her Grand Slam of Curling debut last season at the HearingLife Tour Challenge and qualified for the playoffs. Dodds captured gold with skip Eve Muirhead at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

PETERSON: Peterson won her third USA Curling national championships title as a skip last season. Her team also earned bronze at the Pan Continental Championships. Persinger and Anderson both joined the team this season.

SCHWALLER: The reigning world junior champions also won four titles on tour last season. Schwaller, who made her Grand Slam of Curling debut at the Players’ Championship, finished runner-up to Team Tirinzoni at the Swiss national championship.

STROUSE: Strouse made her Grand Slam of Curling top-tier debut at the KIOTI National last season. The team also finished third at the USA Curling national championships. Anderson joined the team this season.

STURMAY: The team won Alberta provincial playdowns and finished fourth at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last season. Sturmay also made her Grand Slam of Curling debut at the Co-op Canadian Open.

TIRINZONI: Tirinzoni has won four Grand Slam of Curling titles including the inaugural Tour Challenge in 2015. After earning silver at the worlds, the team captured the Players’ Championship to wrap up the season.

WRANA: Wrana won the Players’ Championship in 2023. The team finished runner-up to Team Tirinzoni in the event last season and represented Sweden at the European Championships finishing fourth.