The Continental Cup is a curling tournament held annually between teams from North America against teams from the rest of the World. Each side is represented by six teams, which compete using a unique points system. The tournament is modeled after golf's Ryder Cup, but unlike the Ryder Cup, the Continental Cup has never been held outside of North America nor has it been a regular, biennial event. The inaugural Continental Cup was held in 2002 but was held only three times between 2005 and 2010. Since 2011, however, the Continental Cup has been an annual competition.
Thomas Ulsrud was a Norwegian curler from Oslo. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, one World Curling Championship, two European Curling Championships, and fourteen Norwegian titles. He was also known for being the skip of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Team Ulsrud's combined showmanship and sportsmanship became iconic and contributed to reviving worldwide interest in curling since then.
Johan Niklas Edin is a Swedish curler. He currently resides in Karlstad, which has been his curling home base since 2008. He holds several sport distinctions. He is the first and the only skip in World Curling Federation (WCF) history to win three Olympic medals – gold (2022), silver (2018), and bronze (2014) – and to skip men's curling teams to six World Men's Curling Championship medals. He is also a seven-time European Curling Championship titleholder and won three silver medals in those championships. He is currently tied with Oskar Eriksson in first place on the WCF-recognized list of championship medals, with thirty-eight in total. He reached the playoffs in forty-five Grand Slam of Curling events and won the Pinty's Cup with his current teammates, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå, and Christopher Sundgren. With the same lineup in 2022, Edin and his teammates also became the first and only men's curling team to win a fourth consecutive World Men's Curling Championship. Edin has played exclusively in the position of skip since 2007. The team bearing his name has been ranked on the World Curling Tour as high as No. 1, including for most of the 2017–18 season. As of the end of the 2021–22 Curling Season, Team Edin was ranked in the top three teams in the world.
The 2008 Continental Cup of Curling was the 6th edition of this event and was held from December 18–21, 2008 at the EnCana Arena in Camrose, Alberta. It was the first edition of the Continental Cup in which teams outside of North America and Europe competed, due to the outstanding performance of the Chinese teams in the previous year's men's and women's world championships. To reflect the expanded participation, the team opposing North America was renamed from "Team Europe" to "Team World". The World Curling Federation named the six rinks representing Team World. The Canada Cup of Curling, Tournament of Hearts and Brier winners automatically qualify as the Canadian rinks in Team North America, while the American contingent in Team North America are represented by their men's and women's champions. The event was won by Team World by a score of 208-192, with the winning points scored in the fourth end in the men's featured skins game.
Rachel Catherine Homan is a Canadian international curler and the current reigning women's world champion. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion, a four-time Canadian national champion, and two-time World Champion, all as a skip. She was also the skip of the Canadian women's curling team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Lesley Kaitlyn Lawes is a Canadian curler. Lawes was the long time third for the Jennifer Jones team that represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics where they won the gold medal. They were the first women's team to go through the Olympics undefeated and the first Manitoba based curling team to win at the Olympics. Lawes curled with John Morris in the mixed doubles event at the 2018 Winter Olympics where they won gold. This win made her and Morris the first Canadian curlers to win two Olympic gold medals, and Lawes was the first to win gold in two consecutive Olympics.
The 2011 BDO Canadian Open of Curling was held from January 26–30 at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario. This event was the third men's Grand Slam event in the 2010-11 curling season. The purse for this event was CAD$100,000. 18 men's teams will be playing for eight quarterfinal spots in a round-robin competition.
The 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held January 13–16 at the Servus Credit Union Place in St. Albert, Alberta.
The 2011 Capital One Canada Cup of Curling was held from November 30 to December 4 at the Cranbrook Recreational Complex in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The format for this year's competition was changed from the previous year. Instead of 10 men's and 10 women's teams in two pools of five each, there were seven teams of each gender competing in a round robin. The first place teams advanced to their respective finals, while the second and third place teams met in the semifinals. Capital One became the sponsor of the Canada Cup of Curling after a deal with the Canadian Curling Association to become the sponsor of the Canada Cup and the Pre-Trials Road to the Roar.
The 2012 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 7 and 8 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$75,000.
The 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 10 to 13 at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, British Columbia. The Continental Cup, based on the Ryder Cup of golf, pitted teams from North America against teams from the rest of the World. The tournament featured team events, mixed doubles events, singles competitions, and skins competitions, and the brunt of available points was awarded in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it had in previous years.
The 2013 Dominion All-Star Curling Skins Game was held from January 19 to 20 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2014 Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 16 to 19 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. This edition of the Continental Cup of Curling, sponsored by World Financial Group, was the first held outside of Canada. The Continental Cup, based on the Ryder Cup of golf, pits teams from North America against teams from the rest of the World. The tournament featured team events, mixed doubles events, singles competitions, and skins competitions, and the brunt of available points was awarded in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it has in previous years.
The 2014 Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game was held on January 11 and 12 at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alberta. The total purse for the event was CAD$100,000.
The 2015 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 8 to 11 at the Markin MacPhail Centre International Arena in Calgary, Alberta. The Continental Cup featured team events, mixed doubles events, singles competitions, and skins competitions, and the brunt of the points were in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it has in previous years.
The 2016 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 14 to 17 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This marked the second edition of the Continental Cup to be held outside of Canada. The Continental Cup featured team events, mixed doubles events, and skins competitions, with most points available in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it had in previous years.
The 2017 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 12 to 15 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This marked the third edition of the Continental Cup held outside of Canada. The Continental Cup featured team events, mixed doubles events, and skins competitions, and the brunt of the points was in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it had in previous years.
The 2018 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 11 to 14 at the Sports Centre at Western Fair District in London, Ontario. The Continental Cup featured team events, mixed doubles events, and skins competitions, and the brunt of the points was in the skins competitions. TSN broadcast the event, as it has in previous years.
The 2019 World Financial Group Continental Cup was held from January 17 to 20 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This was the fourth time the event is being held in Paradise and the fourth time outside Canada. The event featured new team scramble competitions, with players from different traditional teams competing together, along with the mixed doubles, team, and skins competitions seen in previous years.
The 2020 Continental Cup of Curling was held from January 9 to 12 at the Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ontario. The Continental Cup is a curling competition pitting Team Canada against Team Europe in a series of team events, mixed doubles events, and skins competitions.
