TSN Skins Game
| Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Established | 1986 |
| Host city | Banff, Alberta |
| Arena | The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre |
| 2017 men's champion | Team Kevin Koe |
| 2017 women's champion | Team Jennifer Jones |
|
|
|
 2017 Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game |
|
The TSN Curling Skins Game is an annual curling bonspiel hosted by The Sports Network. "Skins" curling had been developed as a way to make curling more interesting on TV during the time before the free guard zone rule was implemented. The bonspiel was held annually from 1986 to 2004 before being revived as the Casino Rama Curling Skins Game in 2007. In 2013, Dominion of Canada took over naming rights to the event, which also shifted into an all-star format featuring teams of top Canadian curling players, but the format reverted to the original format in 2015, when Pinty's acquired the naming rights to the event.
In skins curling, teams compete for "skins" rather than points. A team can win a skin by stealing an end or scoring two or more points in an end while with the hammer.
The first Skins Game was held in 1986 in Newmarket, Ontario.
In 1989, McCain Foods Limited teamed up with TSN, and the tournament became known as the "McCain TSN Skins Game." The tournament was held every year until 2004. The McCain skins event involved four teams: the defending champion, the defending Brier champion, and the winner of an east and west Superspiel.
A women's skins game was also held from 1996 to 2003 and was sponsored by JVC.
After three years of the event's absence, TSN revived the event in December 2007, with Casino Rama as the main sponsor. It was held at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre until 2013. From 2007 to 2011, it had a total cash purse of $100,000. It was reduced to $75,000 in 2012, but was increased back to $100,000 in 2013.
The 2007 event was held on December 8th and 9th and featured the teams of 2006 Olympic Champion Brad Gushue, 1987, 1993 & 2007 World Champion Glenn Howard, 2002 Olympic silver medalist Kevin Martin and 1993 & 1998 World Champion Wayne Middaugh. The second edition was held January 10th and 11th, 2009 and featured defending champion (and 2008 World Champion) Kevin Martin, Howard, 1989, 2002, 2003 & 2005 World Champion Randy Ferbey, and for the first time, a women's team, skipped by 2008 World Women's Champion, Jennifer Jones. The 2010 event was notable for the victory of the World Champion David Murdoch rink, who became the first non-Canadian to skip the winning skins game team. The 2011 event included the Olympic women's silver medalist team Cheryl Bernard, the second women's team to appear at the Skins Game.
...
Wikipedia