Calgary’s WinSport Event Centre to host PointsBet Invitational in 2024, 2025

With the wildly successful 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts drawing to a close this weekend in Calgary, there is plenty more championship curling in store for the WinSport Event Centre in the near future.

The 2024 and 2025 editions of the PointsBet Invitational will be staged at the WinSport Event Centre, bringing the country’s top men’s and women’s teams together under one roof in a one-of-a-kind, tension-packed curling event.

The 2024 PointsBet Invitational will take place Sept. 24-29, while in 2025, the dates are Sept. 30-Oct. 5.

Sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s teams from Canada will take part in the competition, chasing a prize purse in excess of $350,000 in a sudden-death single-knockout format.

“The packed arena during the Scotties shows what a great curling city Calgary is, and we’re excited that we’ll be coming back here so soon,” said Nolan Thiessen, Chief Executive Officer of Curling Canada. “The WinSport Event Centre has proved time and time again that it’s a wonderful facility to host our championship events, and we’re looking forward to putting on the biggest and best PointsBet Invitationals yet over the next two years.”

The 2024 PointsBet Invitational will be a kickoff to the 2024-25 competitive season, which is hugely important for Canadian teams as they push toward their goals of qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“As we embark on this exciting journey with WinSport in Calgary for the PointsBet Invitational, we reflect on the tremendous success of our first two years,” said Scott Vanderwell, Chief Executive Officer of PointsBet. “From Fredericton to Oakville, the PointsBet Invitational captivated audiences and showcased the pinnacle of curling talent. Now, as we venture into Alberta — a province with a rich curling tradition and a passionate fanbase — we are thrilled to bring our unique format to its esteemed curling community. This partnership marks a new chapter in our commitment to advancing the sport and fostering unforgettable moments for fans across Canada.”

Besides the 2024 Scotties, which has played to near-sellout crowds throughout the event, the WinSport Event Centre also hosted the inaugural Pan Continental Curling Championships in 2022, as well as the successful Calgary curling bubble in 2021 when the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Montana’s Brier, Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship and the World Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships, along with two Grand Slam events, were safely staged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Tourism Calgary is excited to welcome the Points Bet Invitational to the city for the next two years,” said Carson Ackroyd, Senior Vice President of Sales at Tourism Calgary. “Not only will passionate Calgary curling fans enjoy watching the top players in the world compete, but the calibre of this new event will draw visitors from across the country to start the season.”  

The full fields for the 2024 PointsBet Invitational will be announced at a later date, but tentatively, the 16 teams in each gender will comprise:

• The top 10 highest-ranked women’s and men’s teams on the final 2023-24 Canadian Team Ranking System standings.

• The 2023-24 Alberta women’s and men’s champions (Team Selena Sturmay, Team Aaron Sluchinski).

• The women’s and men’s champions of the 2024 New Holland Canadian Under 21 Championships.

• The women’s and men’s champions of the 2024 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association/Curling Canada College Championships.

• The women’s and men’s champions of the 2024 U SPORTS/Curling Canada Canadian University Championships.

• The women’s and men’s champions of the Curling Canada Under-25 NextGen Classic in early September.

• The women’s (Team Abby Burgess of Oromocto, N.B.) and men’s champions (Team Dan Sherrard of Beaumont, Alta.) the 2023 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships.

If any of the six championship winners is already in the top 10 of the CTRS, they will be replaced by the next-highest non-qualified team on the final 2023-24 CTRS standings.

All 32 competing teams will receive $5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs, and teams will earn more money for each successive win in the single-knockout tournament — $3,000 for a first-round win, $6,000 for a quarterfinal win, $12,000 for a semifinal win and $24,000 to the victorious women’s and men’s teams, meaning the two winning teams will each collect a total of $50,000.

At the inaugural PointsBet Invitational in September 2022 in Fredericton, Team Jennifer Jones won the women’s title, while Team Reid Carruthers prevailed in the men’s event.

Earlier this season, at the 2023 PointsBet Invitational in Oakville, Ont., Team Carruthers defended its men’s title, while Team Rachel Homan claimed the women’s championship.

“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished this week during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and we’re excited that our province will have another chance to host a major event in September,” said Jill Richard, Executive-Director of Curling Alberta. “The PointsBet Invitational and its unique format will generate great excitement to begin our season and may even inspire a few new curlers.”

Initial ticket packages are set to go on sale to the public on March 14. Customers are encouraged to sign up for Curling Canada’s e-newsletter at curling.ca to receive ongoing ticket and volunteer information.

TSN/RDS2, the official broadcast partner of Curling Canada’s Season of Champions, will televise the action from Calgary.