The field is just about set for the GSOC Co-op Invitational in Victoria.
The Grand Slam of Curling confirmed Tuesday four more teams for its first event of the season, taking place Oct. 13-18 at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Winnipeg's Team John Epping and Team Takumi Maeda of Japan will compete in the men's division, while Team Miyu Ueno of Japan and Team Kyeong-ae Kim of South Korea will compete in the women's division.
All four teams received invitations following last weekend's slate of Satellite events. Epping finished runner-up and Ueno was a semifinalist at the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall, Ontario. Maeda and Kim were finalists at the Karuizawa International in Japan.
The Grand Slam of Curling has partnered with established tour events this season to help create new pathways for teams to qualify into the top-flight circuit.
Each Satellite champion receives an automatic berth into a Grand Slam of Curling event. If the winner has already secured entry into the designated Grand Slam through another qualification path, the berth will be awarded to the next highest-ranked eligible team from the Satellite event. Should all semifinalists and finalists be pre-qualified, the invite will go to the top quarterfinalist in the event based on the world rankings, provided the team has a world ranking of 32nd or better.
The GSOC competition committee selected the first 12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams for the Co-op Invitational.
Euro Super Series semifinalists Team Orrin Carson of Scotland and Team Giulia Zardini Lacedelli of Italy were the first to qualify from a Satellite event.
The Prestige Hotels and Resorts Curling Classic, Oct. 1-4, in Vernon, B.C., will determine the final men's and women's teams for the GSOC Co-op Invitational.
