The Neutral Zone attends the 2020 Continental Cup

The Continental Cup, where champion curlers from around the world compete, sweeps into London, ON, in January and AMI-audio's The Neutral Zone will highlight a very special part of it.

The event—taking place January 9-12 at the Sports Centre in the Western Fair District—boasts multiple sheets of ice, including an exhibition rink for curling demonstrations. On Friday, January 10, blind curling will populate the exhibition sheet; host Brock Richardson will conduct interviews with players who are participating for broadcast during a special one-hour instalment of The Neutral Zone on Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Curling for those who are blind or partially sighted is similar to the game played by sighted players. The difference is each team has a sighted guide to assist the players in their rock delivery; they describe the location of the rocks in the house and the type of shot the skip requests. The guide then assists each player in delivering his or her rock along the line necessary to make the shot. Depending on the player's vision, the guide may hold the broom at a short distance in front of the player, set a flashlight on the line of delivery or communicate with the player to ensure that they are lined up correctly in the hack.

"This is a great opportunity for blind curling and conventional curling to share the same stage at the same time," Brock says. "The Neutral Zone is proud to spotlight the athletes and organizers who will demonstrate blind curling."

The Neutral Zone broadcasts from the Continental Cup, Friday, January 10, at 4 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio.

Find the AMI-audio channel with your television service provider or stream it live at AMI.ca/ListenLive. 

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