After athletes voice concerns, Grand Slam of Curling organizers change course

The Grand Slam of Curling has changed course after some of the sport's top players shared concerns about recent format changes on the five-event circuit.

Tiebreaker games — a key issue for the curlers — will return to the schedule starting with the upcoming World Financial Group Masters in Saskatoon, a Sportsnet spokesman confirmed via email.

"The majority of the players will be quite happy with that," Team Homan second Emma Miskew said Tuesday. "It happened so quickly too. It's great, the fact that we were able to work together on that."

Organizers had tried a new system of using last stone draw totals to eliminate teams that were tied after the preliminary round. But several prominent Slam competitors voiced their disapproval of the so-called shootout setup.

A group of players met with event organizers the week after the National, which concluded on Nov. 12. Sources involved in the process, who requested anonymity given the ongoing nature of the discussions, said those talks went well.

WATCH | Miskew discusses new curling players association:

The tiebreaker change was confirmed when the Dec. 12-17 Masters draw was posted online. Tiebreaker games could also be played at the Jan. 16-21 Co-op Canadian Open in Red Deer, Alta.

"After discussion with the players and careful consideration, we have decided to reintroduce tiebreakers to the World Financial Group Masters and Co-op Canadian Open," said Sportsnet spokesman Jason Jackson. "We believe it's important to experiment with formats in order to run highly competitive and entertaining events.

"We will continue to evolve and strive to do what's best for the players, host communities, broadcast, and fans based on our ongoing conversations. There will be no changes to the