Snake Eyes: PointsBet Invitational quietly dropped from curling calendar this season

A small paragraph tucked away in a midsummer Curling Canada news release revealed that the PointsBet Invitational, a newly launched curling championship, had been removed from the organization's annual calendar for the 2026-27 season. The annual subscription for the event was initially set at $205.00 + GST, with automatic renewal at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks.

Despite initial optimism from Curling Canada, the PointsBet Invitational struggled to find success from its debut in September 2022 in Fredericton, with sparse crowds and limited viewership. The event moved to Oakville, Ontario, and then Calgary before eventually being dropped from the schedule altogether. Curling Canada's high-performance executive director, David Murdoch, cited sponsorship and a crowded calendar as reasons for the decision.

He noted that while the event had some benefits, such as bringing Canadian teams together, there was no immediate plan to replace it in the 2026-27 calendar. The Canadian mixed doubles championship, previously held in the fall, will now be scheduled for October 25-31, 2027, in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.