Curling: How Much Money Is In The Sport That Everyone Forgets About?
It was a late Sunday afternoon and I found myself scrubbing the back deck furiously with a stiff bristled broom. Working out a few tough stains. Back and forth, back and forth. The motions looked familiar. Oh, I remember now.
It’s the sport we fall in love with every 4 years during the Winter Olympics. And then we forget about it for the next 4 years.
Hardly anyone fully understands it, yet we are captivated.
Let’s talk about the sport of professional curling, the World Curling Tour, and have a look at the the Grand Slam of Curling prize money breakdown.
When Was Curling Founded?
Many may think that curling is somewhat of a new sport, but in fact it quite the opposite. Curling is believed to have originated in Scotland in the 16th century, with a curling stone (that’s the thing they slide along the ice) found inscribed with the date 1511.
The first curling club, Kilsyth Curling Club, was founded in 1716, and then first recognised official set of rules for the game believed to have been created by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1838.
Various rocks and other implements such as a curling stone were used as the “stone” right up until the 20th century, at which point the stone changed to be somewhat similar to what you see today in competitions. The modern curling stone weight is 44 pounds and is made of granite.
The sport of curling was first seen at the Olympics in 1924, but not formalised as a medal event until the 1998 Olympics, held in Nagano.
The Rules Of Curling Explained
A basic explanation of the curling rules
Slide the rock along the ground and get it stop close to the center of the circle. Sweep the brooms to make it slide faster.
A more appropriate explanation of the curling rules
Two teams take it in turns to slide the 44 pound granite stone, sometimes also referred to as a rock, along the ice sheet. Each team usually consists of 4 people wearing special curling shoes, who each slide 2 stones (8 stones per team, 16 stones in total).
At the end of the 150 foot sheet of ice is a series of circles, or rings in shape of a bullseye. The sweeping of brooms reduces friction, and therefore allows the granite curling stone to slide faster when required. Teams may tactically choose to position stones towards the center of the bullseye, or in some cases allow stones to play blocking roles, or even just completely knock the other team’s stones out of play.
After the 16 stones have been completed the team with the stone closest to the center of the bullseye is awarded a point. If that same team also have the second closest stone they will receive a second point, and potentially a third, fourth, or fifth.
At the end of usually 10 rounds the total number of points is added up. The team with the most points wins.
Where Is Curling Most Popular?
From those origins in the 16th century the Scots have remained interested in the sport of curling, although it is really Canada who dominate.
The Canadian men’s team have taken home gold medals in Olympic curling in 2006, 2010 and 2014, along with silver in 1998 and 2002.
Other countries with an interest in curling are the United States of America, many European countries, Japan, New Zealand, China, Korea. And then, for some reason despite not having much ice or cold weather, add Australia and Brazil to the list.
Famous Curling Players
No story would be complete without rattling off a couple of the superstars. They might not be at the superstar level of Lebron James, being hounded in the streets by paparazzi, but these famous curling players are absolute legends within their sport.
- John Morris – A Canadian curler, labelled as the “Bad boy of curling”. Really, that’s what they called him. It’s not dissimilar from being labelled as the “tough guy of the Chess Club”; supremely difficult to visualise and causes many in the crowd to chuckle under their breath. The bad boy of curling, John Morris, is a two time Olympic Gold Medallist, and author of the book Fit to Curl. While his glory days were largely between 2005 and 2011, he is still active on the scene today.
- Kevin Martin – Also a Canadian. A former World Champion, the 2010 Winter Olympic Gold medallist, winner of 18 grand slams and 4 briers. Kevin Martin was also instrumental in the creation of the Curling Grand Slam competition series.
- Glenn Howard – Yet another Canadian. The winner of 4 world championships, 16 grand slams and 4 briers.
- Russ Howard – Canadian, yes, there is a trend happening here. 2 time world champion, a Winter Olympics gold medal, 2 grand slams and 2 briers.
The Grand Slam of Curling
Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling was established in 2001, as an alternative to playing in the events run by the Canadian Curling Association. The Grand Slam of Curling quickly became the premiere event in the World Curling Tour and is televised.
The Grand Slam of Curling consists of 6 events, held in various areas of Canada.
Prize money on offer is upwards of CAD$100,000.
Grand Slam of Curling Prize Money Breakdown
The team curling prize money isn’t going to rival the winnings of Badminton any time soon, however is nothing to sneeze at either.
The total prize purse for the 2022 Grand Slam of Curling season came in at $2.1 million.
As well as prize money on offer for each event, sometimes up to $50,000 for a winning team, there are prizes for the overall season winners.
Grand Slam of Curling Prize Money Breakdown (per team)
- 1st: $75,000
- 2nd: $40,000
- 3rd: $25,000
- 4th: $10,000
What we need to remember about this curling prize money breakdown is that these prizes need to be split four ways, which suddenly makes the curling world flagship event winnings look slightly more dire.
Grand Slam of Curling Prize Money Breakdown (per team member)
- 1st: $18,750
- 2nd: $10,000
- 3rd: $6,250
- 4th: $2,500
Large bonuses of up to $1 million have been offered in earlier years if a team can win all 4 of the major grand slam of curling events.
Although sponsorships are on offer for many of the teams, unlike basketball, …or apparently badminton, curling is not a big screen mainstream sport which has the power to draw in millions upon millions of fans and massive sponsorship money.
Almost all of the athletes will likely need to keep their day job.
As I type my final words of this story I acknowledge the fact that I will likely forget about this sport until the next Winter Olympics; at which point I will once again be obsessed for a week or two.
It’s a bit of a weird sport, especially for someone from Australia who doesn’t see ice, but it is strangely addictive to watch.
My Sunday afternoon deck cleaning continues. Sweeping back and forth. But now with a little more purpose and imagination.
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