PEICurling.com

The seventh annual Jingle Bell Junior Cashspiel takes place December 12-14 at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside, with 12 junior women’s and 12 junior men’s rinks competing. Most teams entered are from the Island, but there are also teams from Fredericton NB, and Pugwash and Chester NS.  Winners of both divisions will receive $500, with $250 going to the runners-up, and $100 for third and fourth place. Complete round robin draw, team rosters, and results available at the Silver Fox website.

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company has announced its sponsorship of the Dominion Curling Club Championship, for men’s and women’s teams which have won their respective local club championships. The national event will take place at the St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Etobicoke, Ontario in late November of 2009, and will move to other clubs across Canada in future years.  Any profit generated from The Dominion Curling Club Championship will be directed to charities including the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA), as well as developmental curling initiatives in communities across Canada.

 On PEI, the provincial event, also sponsored by The Dominion, will replace the Provincial Intermediate curling championships, and will take place March 13-15 at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. Eligibility rules and other details will be made available as the event approaches.

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company to be presenting sponsor.

OTTAWA, December 4, 2008…The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) today announced that the 2009 Canadian University Curling Championships (CUCC) will be held in Montreal.

The CUCC will be played March 25-29, 2009, with round robin games at both the Royal Montreal Curling Club and Montreal West Curling Club. The playoffs will be held at Royal Montreal. The championships are being hosted by both Royal Montreal and the Association of Montreal Curling Clubs.

Twelve men’s and 12 women’s teams, representing universities in each of the 10 provinces, plus two additional teams from Ontario, are expected to participate. They’ll be divided into two pools of six teams and incorporate a cross-over playoff system. Teams will have either won their respective university championship or will have been selected by the university to be its representative.

In a related announcement, the CCA also revealed that The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (The Dominion) has signed an agreement to be the presenting sponsor of the Canadian University Curling Championships for the next three years, through 2011. The Dominion, one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurers, recently renewed its commitment as an official supplier to the CCA’s Season of Champions and also announced the launch of The Dominion Curling Club Championship, a national event beginning in 2009, for men’s and women’s teams which have won their respective local club championships.

Last March, the CCA and CIS partnered to present the Canadian University Curling Championships at the Guelph and Elora Curling Clubs, with the University of Waterloo acting as host. The winning men’s and women’s teams, skipped by Mike Anderson and Hollie Nicol, respectively, both represented the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and will now carry Canada’s colours at FISU’s (Federation Internationale de Sport Universitaire) 24th Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, February 18-28, 2009. Canadian teams won gold medals at the Universiade in 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy, by Brandon University skip Mike McEwen and in 2007 in Torino, Italy, by skip Brittany Gregor, from the University of Calgary.

FISU conducts the Universiade every two years. Therefore, with no 2010 Universiade, the winners of the 2009 CUCC, presented by The Dominion, will instead represent Canada at the 2010 Karuizawa Invitational in Japan in late February, a bonspiel which began a year after the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Canada has enjoyed great success at the Karuizawa Invitational, having won in 2004 (Brian Gessner and Cheryl Bernard), 2005 (Pat Simmons), 2006 (Ryan Fry and Crystal Webster), 2007 (Julie Reddick) and 2008 (Joel Jordison).

The 2008-2009 Provincial Senior Mixed Curling Championship takes place at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton from December 12-14 2008. Defending champions the Blair Jay rink from the host Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, with third Barb Currie, second Douglas Simmons, and lead Debbie MacMurdo, are looking to be the first team to repeat as champions in this event, now in its third year. Also back are the winners from the event’s inaugural year – Bob MacWilliams, Myrna Sanderson, Jim Farquharson, and Ruth Stavert from the Cornwall Curling Club.  Other entries in this mixed event for curlers age 50 and over are the Mel Bernard foursome from the Silver Fox, the Geoff Scutt team from Cornwall, the Donald Clarey rink from Montague, and Walter Callaghan and his team from the host Western Community club, The six teams will play a round robin on Friday and Saturday, with draws at 3 and 7 pm on Friday and 10 am, 2 and 7 pm on Saturday. Tiebreakers, if needed, go Sunday morning at 10, with the second and third place teams squaring off in the semi-final Sunday afternoon at 2, and the winner facing the first place team in the 7 pm final. All games are eight ends. Opening ceremonies go Friday at 6:30 pm. Results will be available at peicurling.com/seniormixed.

Here are the round robin draws:

Friday, December 12, 2008

3 pm

Walter Callaghan (Western) vs Bob MacWilliams (Cornwall), Donald Clarey (Montague) vs Mel Bernard (Silver Fox), Blair Jay (Silver Fox) vs Geoff Scutt (Cornwall)

7 pm

Donald Clarey (Montague) vs Blair Jay (Silver Fox), Walter Callaghan (Western) vs Mel Bernard (Silver Fox), Geoff Scutt (Cornwall) vs Bob MacWilliams (Cornwall)

Walter Callaghan (Western) vs Geoff Scutt (Cornwall), Donald Clarey (Montague) vs Bob MacWilliams (Cornwall), Blair Jay (Silver Fox) vs Mel Bernard (Silver Fox)

2 pm

Mel Bernard (Silver Fox) vs Bob MacWilliams (Cornwall), Donald Clarey (Montague) vs Geoff Scutt (Cornwall), Walter Callaghan (Western) vs Blair Jay (Silver Fox)

7 pm

Geoff Scutt (Cornwall) vs Mel Bernard (Silver Fox), Blair Jay (Silver Fox) vs Bob MacWilliams (Cornwall), Walter Callaghan (Western) vs Donald Clarey (Montague)

Team Rosters (Skip to Lead-Club)

Mel Bernard, Jeanne Duffenais, Earle Proude, Helen MacDonald-Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club (Summerside)

Walter Callaghan, Shirley Murphy, Leslie Hardy, Francis Ellsworth-Western Community Curling Club (Alberton)

Donald Clarey, Kathy Clarey, Ross Petrie, June Moyaert-Montague Curling Club

Blair Jay, Barbara Currie, Douglas Simmons, Debbie MacMurdo-Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club (Summerside)

Bob MacWilliams, Myrna Sanderson, Jim Farquharson, Ruth Stavert-Cornwall Curling Club

Geoff Scutt, Sherren MacKinnon, Donald Weeks, Deb Delvalle-Cornwall Curling Club