L-R: Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston, curler Jocelyn Peterman, Host Committee Chair Lindsey Planaden, World Curling Hall of Famer Kevin Martin, and Red Deer Tourism CEO Jesse Smith. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

played at servus arena

Jocelyn Peterman, Kevin Martin raise hype for coming Grand Slam of Curling in Red Deer

Sep 13, 2023 | 3:02 PM

Red Deer is now just four months from welcoming the world’s best curlers who’ll be in town to compete in the Grand Slam of Curling 2024 Co-op Canadian Open.

Officials, along with local Olympian Jocelyn Peterman and World Curling Hall of Famer Kevin Martin, were in Red Deer Wednesday to hype up the tournament, which runs Jan. 16-21, 2024 at Servus Arena.

Martin, an 18-time Grand Slam champ who retired in 2014 and won gold at Vancouver 2010, is now a TV commentator for the sport.

“Go back a few years, and you’ll see international events like the Grand Slam, with 16 teams on each the men’s and women’s sides, would’ve been three quarters Canadians. That’s not the case anymore,” says Martin on the game’s evolution. “Last year, on the men’s side, we had six different nations in the quarterfinals. It’s a ton of fun, and a different atmosphere than what you’d get at most international events. These curlers are the very best of the best.”

Martin says it’s not just a possibility you’ll see future Olympians competing, spectators will see eventual Olympic gold medalists.

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Peterman, meantime, is a one-time Grand Slam Champion, 2018’s Canadian Open, and will be competing alongside her Team Lawes teammates, Kaitlyn Lawes, Selena Njegovan and Kristin MacCuish.

Peterman spoke of growing up at the Red Deer curling rink, where her father was once the ice-maker.

“This is considered a major for us. We want to peak at these events because this is really where you can showcase how you stack up,” she says.

“It’s cool for me to come home too. We play these events across the country and don’t often have much family support, so it’ll be nice for me in that sense to show off my hometown to everyone we play with on tour.

Peterman admits its been a weird year, with three members of Team Lawes, herself included, recently having babies.

“We planned it that way though, and we’ve set this team up with the goal to get to the Italy Olympics in 2026,” she says. “We’re ready to start the season and play it all together building towards that goal.”

She says it’d also be great to see lots of families at the event, in hopes that perhaps young athletes may be inspired to take up the sport.

Prize money for the Grand Slam of Curling, it was noted, is now up to $2.1 million, split evenly between the men and women.

It’s estimated that hosting a Grand Slam of Curling event will deliver around $3.0 million in economic impact to the city, plus more than 2.0 million TV viewers.

More information is at thegrandslamofcurling.com.