U.S. Olympic curler to compete in Charlotte this week

Four-time U.S. Olympic curler Debbie McCormick will compete in a tournament hosted by the Charlotte Curling Association Thursday through Sunday at the Charlotte Curling Club on Old Statesville Road.

The fourth-annual Grits ‘n’ Granite Bonspiel is scheduled to include 128 competitors from the U.S. and Canada. “Bonspiel” is another word for tournament.

Admission is free to spectators. The club is off the Sunset Road East exit of Interstate 77 in north Charlotte.

McCormick has competed on four Winter Olympic teams and nine times in the Women’s World Championship, winning gold in 2003 and silver in 2006. She is an eight-time U.S. national champion.

Elimination-round play begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, with a second round at 9 p.m. McCormick’s team will play at 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday will feature more than 14 hours of curling each day, from 8 a.m. through the last game that starts at 8:30 p.m. The championship is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Sunday.

Curling tradition holds that competitors are piped onto the ice by a bagpiper, followed by a toast to the piper with a shot of Scotch. Before the finals, Charlotte Curling Association member Andrea Jones will play the bagpipes, and the Grits ‘n’ Granite toast will feature North Carolina moonshine.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "U.S. Olympic curler to compete in Charlotte this week."