The Canadian teams skipped by Glenn Howard, third from left, and Randy Ferbey, fourth from right, will join forces in Medicine Hat. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

National pride is at stake beginning Thursday in Medicine Hat, Alta., where a collection of the world's top curlers will do battle in the 2007 Continental Cup.

Similar to golf's Ryder Cup, the increasingly popular event pits three men's and three women's rinks from Europe against counterparts from North America in a series of contests to determine international curling supremacy.

Featuring unconventional competitions like skins games and mixed doubles along with more traditional team play, the tournament's fifth instalment promises plenty of intrigue as Europe tries to become the first side to retain the Cup.

CBC Sports will broadcast live from the crucial final two days of skins competition. Coverage begins Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET and continues with the final draw Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

To preview this year's action, CBCSports.ca spoke with curling analyst Joan McCusker to help break down what makes the Continental Cup the most unusual – and maybe most exciting – event in the sport.

The Setup

The Continental Cup comprises four distinct types of competition, each with its own quirky set of rules that makes it stand out from traditional curling.

Mixed doubles pairs a male and female – plus two sweepers – from each side against their counterparts in an eight-end contest consisting of five rocks per end. The twist? Prior to each end, two rocks, one for each team, are put in play – one splitting the centre line in the free-guard zone, the other just behind the button.

Singles is just what it sounds like, except completely different. Each side selects six throwers to compete in a series of one-on-one matchups, with men playing men and women playing women. This isn't straight curling, though – players score points based on their ability to execute six different types of shots. Think of it as a skills competition.

In contrast to the other events, the team competition is like a plain black Ron MacLean blazer alongside a Don Cherry polka-dot ensemble – it's simple and safe, but always sure to go over well with an audience. Each of the six rinks in both Team North America and Team Europe plays one eight-end game under traditional curling rules.

Skins is where the Cup is won or lost. Taking place over the final two days of the tournament, skins games play like a series of mini matches – each end is worth a pre-determined number of points (skins), with the point values escalating in the later ends. To claim an end, and the skins that go with it, the team with the hammer must score two points. The team without the hammer must simply make a steal.

"The Continental Cup is a lot of fun for the players, and with the unique format it's developing quite an audience," McCusker says. "When you bring in the skills event and the mixed doubles, which are really out there in terms of traditional curling, nobody knows who's going to win."

The Scoring

The mixed doubles, singles and team competitions – the main courses over the first two days of the Continental Cup – are worth a combined 140 of the 400 points up for grabs at the event. That means the three rounds of skins games – played over the final two days – are worth a total of 260 points, all but guaranteeing an exciting finish.

The Continental Cup brings rivals like Kelly Scott, foreground, and Jennifer Jones together for a common goal. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

But while it's true that the team that controls the skins games has the inside track on the Cup, neither side can afford to show up just for the weekend and expect to win.

"The tournament is heavily weighted on the last two days of competition, but the first two days were the undoing of Team North America last year," McCusker says. "The Europeans gathered a lot of points on Days 1 and 2, and early on Day 3, which put North America in such a hole that they couldn't pull it out in the last skins game."

The Stars

Like any of the traditional major bonspiels these days, the Continental Cup boasts a deep and talented field. Just look at Team North America, which is led by reigning Canadian champions Kelly Scott and Glenn Howard along with former national champs Jennifer Jones and Randy Ferbey. Throw in skilled Americans Todd Birr and Debbie McCormick – the 2003 women's world champ – and there's no shortage of star power.

Team Europe, meanwhile, should be no pushover. Germany's Andy Kapp and Scotland's David Murdoch each own a pair of European titles – including the one Murdoch won earlier this month in Germany – while Andi Schwaller of Switzerland has one from 2006, the same year Russia's Ludmila Privivkova claimed the women's crown. Denmark's Angelina Jensen and Scotland's Kelly Wood captured, respectively, silver and bronze at the most recent world championships.

Unfortunately for Europe, its brightest star will be out of sight in Medicine Hat. Olympic champion Anette Norberg of Sweden – fresh off winning her sixth European title in seven years – did not qualify for this year's Continental Cup due to a poor showing at the 2006 Europeans.

"The North American women must be relieved to see that Norberg is not in the lineup," McCusker says. "That's a big hole for Team Europe."

The Stakes

While no one at the Continental Cup is working for free – the winners will split $52,000 while the losers get $36,400 – the competition is more about international bragging rights. That's why you'll see skips who are intense rivals on the cash circuit put aside their professional differences in Medicine Hat for the greater good.

"It's kind of like going to the Olympics, which very few people get to do," McCusker says. "Not only do you have the pressure you put on yourself, but you have this big country kind of pressure as well.

"In other big bonspiels, it's all about yourself and how much money you're going to make and how you're going to market yourself afterwards. At the Continental Cup, it's about the team. Hey, when did you ever think [Edmonton rivals and 2002 Continental Cup teammates] Kevin Martin and Randy Ferbey would be hugging and cheering for each other?"

The Smiles

If the players at the Continental Cup seem a little looser, it's because they probably are. While everyone wants to do right by their teammates and country, escaping from the grind of the long cash season can do wonders to encourage even the most focused of curlers to let their hair down and have fun.

"Curling fans say they love the game because they love the personalities that come across the mic," McCusker says. "I think what happens at the Continental Cup is, because the format is different, the players get to relax a little bit. It isn't like a Grand Slam where there's a huge amount of cash on the line.

"Curling became so popular across Canada and especially in isolated parts of the Prairies because of the social aspect of the game, and with the Continental Cup you're almost getting back to that. And when you add the tremendously high level of performance, you really get a unique event."