Curling fans – get ready! Early in 2003, the city of Humboldt, SK will be host to some of the finest curlers in the country, and even the world. The World Curling Tour’s PharmAssist Grand Slam of Curling, presented by M&M Meat Shops will bring with it 18 of the world’s top ranked teams. The National, one of four Grand Slam events featured across the country, will be "rocking our rink" with four days of superb curling and total entertainment from January 30^th to February 2^nd, 2003.

The National’s defending champ, Glenn Howard of Coldwater, ON will attempt to hold on to his title, competing for a $100,000 prize purse in this triple knockout, four-rock rule event. Also headlining the field are Olympic silver-medallist Kevin Martin, and Saskatchewan’s own Bruce Korte, reigning champion of another Grand Slam event, The Masters of Curling. Joining these teams are: defending Players’ Champion Wayne Middaugh, Jeff Stoughton, Greg McAulay, Vic Peters, Bert Gretzinger, Allan Lyburn, Pierre Charette, Dave Boehmer, Glen Despins (another Saskatchewan team!), Dale Duguid, William Lyburn, Kevin Park, Brent Pierce, Peter Steski, & Kerry Burtnyk. Of the teams represented, 7 rank within the top 10 teams in the World Curling Players’ Association.

The local organizing committee (LOC) was formed several weeks ago and steps to lay the groundwork were started immediately. Each member of the LOC heads up another committee, concentrating on a specific aspect of the event as follows: Event chairperson - Rod Ehalt; Vice-chairperson - Willard Sarauer; Secretary - Ruth Sarauer; Marketing - Lora Fraess; Finance - Claudette Rode; Facilities - Cyril Puetz; Transportation & Team services - Myron Kennedy; Scoring/Officials - Greg Puetz; On-ice activities - Les Kunz; Hospitality/Decorating - Wayne Bowman; Curling Club rep - Kevin Kalthoff: Media/TV - Lorne Wilson. Along with the core committee, over 100 volunteers will be required to coordinate the event and provide venue services to an estimated 2000+ curling fans throughout the four days. Volunteers are still needed – if you are interested in helping out with this event, please call the Humboldt Curling Club at 682-2123, or contact any one of the core committee members.

There are also a number of ways for local businesses to get involved by providing sponsorship in a variety of forms. It is a great opportunity to support your community while receiving local and national recognition. If you would like more information regarding business involvement, please contact Rod Ehalt at 682-6692 (wk) or 682-5210 (hm), Willard Sarauer at 682-2592 (wk) or 682-4241 (hm), or Lora Fraess at 682-3498.

Besides exciting curling action, this 4-day event will be jam-packed with fun and entertainment. An on-sight tavern will be "the place to be" to socialize with friends, meet new people from across the country, and rub elbows with some of these great curlers. Thursday night will feature an "investment seminar" which is open to everyone. Friday and Saturday nights will each showcase live entertainment, including some prestigious local talent. Watch for details to be announced at a later date. A 50/50 raffle will also be held at each draw, with the chance to pocket a nice "chunk of change".

Along with extensive local media coverage, the event will be telecast nationwide by Rogers Sportsnet, host television broadcaster of the Grand Slam Tour. Chairperson Rod Ehalt commented, "What an event to show off our city to the entire country through national T.V. coverage! The exposure our city can gain from an event of this caliber will be enormous – we’re going to put our best foot forward to make sure it is a first-class event!" The fact that this city was chosen by the World Curling Tour as a host for one of their events is, in itself, a tribute to Humboldt and the surrounding communities. Having hosted a myriad of successful sporting events in the past, including the Scott Tournament of Hearts, and the most recent Saskatchewan Winter Games, has shown that this community is extremely capable of staging a world-class event.

The National event will consist of 12 draws: