Capital One Gains Title Sponsorship of Grand Slam of Curling Series TORONTO, Nov. 6 /CNW/ - Insight Sports Ltd. announced today that CapitalOne Financial Corporation has been awarded title sponsorship of the Grand Slamof Curling series in a multi-year agreement. As the property's title sponsor,Canada's premier "best on best" curling series has been renamed the CapitalOne Grand Slam of Curling. "Curling occupies a unique place in the Canadian spirit, as a sport itupholds a tradition of skill, strategy and sportsmanship. We're honoured toplay a role in continuing the sport's legacy," said Ian Cunningham, ChiefOperating Officer, Capital One Canada. "This is our first major sportingsponsorship, and it's only fitting that it connects us with one of ournation's most popular and distinctive sports." In addition to acquiring the title sponsorship to the Grand Slam ofCurling, Capital One's partnership includes the development of the Capital OneSchool of Rock community program. Held in conjunction with each individualCapital One Grand Slam of Curling event, the Capital One School of Rock is aninteractive grassroots clinic designed to give local students the opportunityto receive expert tips and advice from Canada's top players. "As an organization that is committed to supporting, developing andpromoting the sport of curling throughout Canada, Capital One is an idealpartner for the Grand Slam of Curling," said Kevin Albrecht, President andChief Executive Officer, Insight Sports Ltd. "Together with Capital One,Insight Sports is committed to working with World Curling Tour and the entireCanadian curling community to grow the Capital One Grand Slam of Curlingseries into one of the must-attend events on the national sports calendar." Held annually since 2001-02, the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is aseries of eight premier men's and women's events that feature Canada's deepestand strongest curling fields. Among the top Canadian men's and women's skips who will compete in theCapital One Grand Slam of Curling events includes Canada's all-time leader inGrand Slam victories, Kevin Martin; four-time World Champion Randy Ferbey;two-time World Champion Colleen Jones; Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue;Olympic bronze medallist Shannon Kleibrink; reigning World Champion GlennHoward; and two-time Tylenol Players' Champion Jennifer Jones. The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events are closely tied to theCanadian Curling Association's qualifying process for the 2010 Olympic WinterGames in Vancouver. Through their performance in the Grand Slam events, rinkscan earn a significant amount of points towards securing a berth at the 2009Canadian Trials. "With the recent success of Canada on the international stage, the growthand popularity of curling in Canada is arguably at an all-time high," saidPaul Boutilier, President of the World Curling Players Association andExecutive Director of the World Curling Tour. "Capital One has a solid historyof supporting world-class sporting events and we are elated with theircommitment to this premier Canadian sport property." In 2007-08, CBC Sports will once again serve as the official televisionbroadcaster of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. As part of its exclusiveagreement, CBC Sports will carry live coverage of the semi-finals and finalsof the first three Capital One Grand Slam of Curling men's events. CBC Sportswill also broadcast the men's and women's finals of the Tylenol Players'Championship, the eighth and final Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event.Complete details around CBC's broadcasts and the full broadcast schedule forthe coming season are available at www.cbcsports.ca. The 2007-08 men's Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series kicks off withthe BDO Classic Canadian Open in Quebec City from November 28 to December 2.The second leg will take place from December 20 to 23 when Port Hawkesbury,Nova Scotia hosts The National. Saskatoon will host the third leg, the Mastersof Curling, from January 23 to 27. The 2007-08 women's Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series began withJennifer Jones capturing the Trail Appliances Autumn Gold Curling Classicevent in Calgary on October 9 and Shannon Kleibrink winning the Casinos ofWinnipeg tournament on October 22. The series' third and fourth legs includethe Wayden Transportation Ladies Classic event from November 16 to 19 inAbbotsford, B.C. and the Sobeys Slam in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia fromNovember 29 to December 2. The dates and location for the Tylenol Players' Championship, a jointmen's and women's Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event, will be announcedin the coming weeks. About Insight Sports Ltd. Insight Sports Ltd. is a leading sports media and entertainment companywhich creates and distributes sports and entertainment content across multipleplatforms, including broadcast television, DVD, on-line, mobile, in-arena andvideo on-demand. Insight Sports operates three specialty television networks: GOLTV Canada(www.goltv.ca), a 24-hour soccer network; WFN: World Fishing Network(www.wfn.tv), North America's only network devoted entirely to fishing; andGameTV (www.igametv.com), the only Canadian television network that givesviewers a chance to win great prizes every day, simply by tuning in. Thecompany owns and operates the Grand Slam of Curling, the most prestigiousevents on the World Curling Tour and Ford Major League Gaming Canada(www.mlgcanada.com), an affiliate of Major League Gaming and the largestorganized league and international sanctioning body for professional videogaming. Insight Sports also manages Wayne Gretzky's official website,www.gretzky.com and holds a significant interest in the NHL Network(www.nhlnetwork.ca), a 24-hour hockey channel. Aquila Productions Inc., a leader in sports television production, is awholly owned subsidiary of Insight Sports. Based in Toronto, the principalshareholders of Insight Sports include Larry Tanenbaum (Kilmer EnterprisesInc., a subsidiary of Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Limited) and MWI & Partners. Formore information see www.insightsports.com. About Capital One Located in Toronto, Ontario, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers arange of competitive MasterCard(R) credit cards since 1996, when the companyfirst introduced the Platinum MasterCard(R) in Canada. Capital One Canada is adivision of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One FinancialCorporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF).For further information: Eric Michalko, Communications Manager, InsightSports Ltd., Phone: (416) 593-0915, ext. 253, Cell: (647) 669-0900, Email:[email protected]; Pam Girardo, Director, Communications, CapitalOne, Phone: (416) 549-2783, Email: [email protected]