Will entertainment-led Rock League be future of curling?

Will entertainment-led Rock League be future of curling?Image source, Rock LeagueByRichard WintonBBC Sport ScotlandPublished13 minutes agoRock League Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto April 6-12 Watch on iPlayerWatch the semis and final live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app on Sunday, 12 April It is the conundrum curling wrestles with every four years: how to parlay the surge of interest in the sport around a Winter Olympics into a more regular audience. The latest idea is Rock League, the first-ever professional curling league. The first iteration of the competition starts in Toronto later on Monday, with six mixed-gender global franchises playing in an unusual format. The focus will be on entertainment, with the semi-finals and finals being show live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app next Sunday. How will it work?There will be six franchises - two from Canada, two from Europe, one from Asia and one from the United States. Each will have five men and five women on the roster. The teams will play each other across three disciplines - men's four, women's four and mixed doubles - with all three games happening at the same time. The franchise that wins at least two of those will win the overall contest. That runs for the first five days of competition - with each franchise facing off - before the mixed fours day, when each team sends out two teams. The top four after all that advance to the semi-finals on 12 April, with the winners of those meeting in the championship match later that day. "It's another exciting opportunity to show off our sport," Team GB skip Bruce Mouat told BBC Sport Scotland. "It's a new look, with shorter matches and time clocks so there will be a lot more quick-thinking and it will be faster." Which Scots are involved?Seven Scots will be playing - five of whom were at the Winter Olympics in Cortina and another couple who were at the recent World Championship - while 2022 Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead will take on a general manager role. Mouat skips Northern Shield and is joined by Olympic mixed doubles partner Jen Dodds and Robin Brydone. Muirhead joins Hammy McMillan in the other European franchise, Alpine Curling Club. "I think we've five Olympic medals between us from this recent Games, which is pretty incredible," Muirhead, who was Team GB's chef de mission, said. Grant Hardie is with American outfit Frontier Curling Club and Ross Whyte joins Canadian team Maple United. Perhaps most interestingly, Bobby Lammie is part of Asian franchise Typhoon Curling Club and will team up with girlfriend Seol Ye-eun. "That could be an interesting dynamic," he tells BBC Sport Scotland. "I'm looking forward to it, but hopefully we don't fall out." "The main challenge for us, in the Asian franchise, is going to be the language barrier because there's Chinese players, Japanese, Korean, as well as New Zealand, and Sweden. But that's part of the fun." What else makes it different?As well as some unusual match-ups and pairings, there are other aspects that will be different. As Mouat alluded to, matches will be over fewer ends with shot clocks to speed play up. The crowd will be closer to the ice than ever before too. "The appeal is to get curling out there," Whyte told BBC Sport Scotland. "People will hopefully tune in for something different and see this isn't just another event. "The fans will get up and close and personal and it gives them the opportunity to see what it looks like from where we are and I'm sure there'll be a bit of interaction between the fans and the players as they go." While the Toronto event is considered a taster, it has already been announced that Rock League will return for a five-week season next year. Stagings will be held across the United States and Canada in four consecutive weeks from 7 January, with the Championship event in early April. Related topicsCurlingWinter Sports