After two days of play at The Dominion PEI Curling Club Championship at the Cornwall Curling Club, the Dave Ross team from Charlottetown remains undefeated on the men’s side, with a 4-0 win-loss record, while the Lorianne Davies squad from the host Cornwall club, and the Kim Aylward foursome from the Silver Fox lead the women, with 3-0 records.

There will be one less undefeated women’s team after the noon Saturday draw, when these two teams face off. Defending champion Vanessa Hamming from Crapaud, Sharon Horne from Alberton’s Western Community club, and Charlottetown’s Micki Cageorge have one win against two losses on the women’s side, while June Moyaert and her Montague rink are 0-3.

In games today, Aylward took a five-ender in a lopsided 13-1 win over Cageorge, and beat Moyaert 6-2. Davies stole triples in both a 9-2 win over Hamming, and a 7-2 victory over Horne.

In Friday men’s play, Ross beat Barry Cameron of the Silver Fox 9-2, and Cornwall’s Roddie MacLean 9-2. 

Kevin Ellsworth of Alberton and Donald Clarey of Montague are next in the men’s standings, with 3-1 and 2-1 record, respectively.  Kevin Smith of Crapaud, along with Cameron and MacLean are 1-2. Glen Betts of the Maple Leaf is winless in four starts.

Round robin play wraps up Saturday with men’s draws at 9:30 am and 2:30 and 8 pm, and women’s games at 12 noon and 5:30 pm. The championship round goes Sunday with the second and third place teams playing in the semi-finals at 1 pm, and the semi winner facing the first place team in the 5 pm finals.

The winning teams will advance to the national The Dominion Curling Club Championship, co-hosted by the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs, November 23-28.

Ottawa, ON (CCA) The World Financial Group Canadian Senior Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships get underway Saturday at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

Twelve men’s and 12 women’s teams will compete in the national championships, slated for March 20-28. At the conclusion of the round robin on Friday night, the first place teams advance directly to Sunday’s finals at 2:30 pm Atlantic, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals on Saturday.

The winners of the 2010 Canadian Seniors will then represent Canada at the 2011 World Seniors, April 15-24 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.

This year’s fields are two of the best in Canadian Seniors history. The men’s roster includes Northern Ontario’s Al Hackner, a two-time (1982, 1985) Brier and world champion, in addition to also being a Canadian Seniors champion in 2006.

Other skips include Brier veterans Peter MacDonald of Prince Edward Island, Brian Rafuse of Nova Scotia, Quebec’s Pierre Charette and Saskatchewan’s Brad Heidt.

The women’s line-up boasts Alberta’s Diane Foster of Calgary, the 2008 World Seniors champion, British Columbia’s 2008 Canadian and 2009 World Seniors championship team, this time skipped by Christine Jurgenson, while former skip Pat Sanders is now at second. Both Jurgenson and Sanders are also former Canadian and World champions.

The field also includes veteran Scotties Tournament of Hearts skips Heidi Hanlon of New Brunswick, Laura Phillips of Newfoundland/Labrador and Quebec’s Agnes Charètte, also a three-time (1997, 1999, 2000) Canadian Seniors champion. PEI is represented by Shirley Berry, making her fourth trip to the Senior nationals.

The Canadian Seniors were last held in Ontario in 2002 in St. Thomas.
Ottawa has twice previously hosted the Seniors. It staged the inaugural Canadian senior women’s championship in 1973 and the men’s event in 1976, when the championships were conducted separately, prior to being combined, starting in 1985 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Manitoba and Ontario have each won 10 Canadian senior men’s titles since the championship began in 1965 in Port Arthur, while Ontario has also won a leading 10 women¹s crowns since 1973.

Ontario (Bruce Delaney of Ottawa) and Nova Scotia (Colleen Pinkney of Truro) won the 2009 Canadian Seniors in Summerside, Prince Edward Island and will represent Canada at the 2010 World Seniors, April 16-24 in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

The 2008 Canadian Senior champions, Eugene Hritzuk of Saskatchewan and Pat Sanders of British Columbia, won gold medals at the 2009 World Seniors in New Zealand, while the 2007 Canadian Senior champions, Alberta’s Pat Ryan and Diane Foster, also won gold medals at the 2008 World Seniors in Vierumäki, Finland.