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.

After opening day play at the Island Petroleum Junior Mixed Curling Championship at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside, the Sarah Fullerton rink from Cornwall and the Silver Fox is 2-0, while the Adam Casey foursome is 1-0 in round robin play in  the five team 20 and Under division. The two 15 and Under division teams are playing a best of 5, with the Alex Matters rink of Charlottetown leading the Christopher Gallant foursome from the Charlottetown and Silver Fox clubs two games to none.

Fullerton, with teammates Justin Richard, Sara MacRae, and Corey Miller, and coach Brenda MacMillan, took four points in the first end of her opener, and hung on for a 7-6 win over the Spencer Pitre team from Charlottetown.  The Fullerton team then stole a triple in the first end of their second game, against Colton Griffin of the Western Community club in Alberton, and won by a 7-5 score.

Casey, whose team includes Anita Casey, Anson Carmody, and Hillary Thompson, with coach Jeff Wilson, doubled Cody Dixon of Montague 6-3 in his opener, and had a second round bye. Pitre won his second game, over Dixon, picking up seven points in ends six and seven in an 11-7 come-from-behind win, to finish the day at an even 1-1. Griffin is 0-1,  while Dixon is 0-2.

In the 15 and Under division, Matters, with teammates Emily Keen, Andrew Cameron, and Emma Matheson, with coach Derrick Cameron, won his first game 6-1 over Gallant, and his second by a 6-3 score.  Other members of the Gallant team are Jenny McLean, Kyle Holland, and Lauren MacFadyen. Dr. Don Vickerson is their coach.

Play continues Saturday at 11 am, and 2 and 7 pm. and wraps up on Sunday.

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.

The final event in the 2009-2010 PEI Curling Association championship season is the Island Petroleum Junior Mixed, which gets underway this afternoon, and wraps up on Sunday at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. The five teams in the age 20 and under division will play a round robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the Sunday afternoon final, while the two 15 and under division teams will play a best of five. Defending 20 and Under champions, the Mitch Rowley rink from O’Leary’s Maple Leaf Curling Club, are not back this year, while the 15 and Under winning skip, Colton Griffin, from the Western Community club in Alberton,  has moved up to the 20 and Under division.

Results will be available at peicurling.com/juniormixed

Here are the team rosters (skip to lead, coach, club)
20 and Under Division
Spencer Pitre, Michelle McQuaid, Connor MacPhee, Whitney Young, coach Trevor Young, Charlottetown
Adam Casey, Anita Casey, Anson Carmody, Hillary Thompson, coach Jeff Wilson, Charlottetown
Cody Dixon, Caroline Rose, Jonathon MacDonald, Sarah MacPhee, coach Brent MacDonald, Montague
Sarah Fullerton, Justin Richard, Sara MacRae, Corey Miller, coach Brenda MacMillan, Cornwall/ Silver Fox
Colton Griffin, Chantal Clements, Shawn Pitre, Jessica Chapman, coach Roger Gavin, Western Community (Alberton)

15 and Under Division
Alex Matters, Emily Keen, Andrew Cameron, Emma Matheson, coach Derrick Cameron, Charlottetown
Christopher Gallant, Jenny McLean, Kyle Holland, Lauren MacFadyen, coach Dr. Don Vickerson, Charlottetown/Silver Fox

Here is the draw:
Draw One Friday March 19 at 4 pm
Spencer Pitre vs Sarah Fullerton, Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant, Adam Casey vs Cody Dixon

Draw Two Friday March 19 at 7 pm
Christopher Gallant vs Alex Matters, Cody Dixon vs Spencer Pitre, Sarah Fullerton vs Colton Griffin

Draw Three Saturday March 20 at 11 am
Colton Griffin vs Cody Dixon, Spencer Pitre vs Adam Casey

Draw Four: Saturday March 20 at 2 pm.
Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant, Adam Casey vs Colton Griffin, Cody Dixon vs Sarah Fullerton

Draw Five Saturday March 20 at 7 pm
Sarah Fullerton vs Adam Casey, Christopher Gallant vs Alex Matters (if needed), Colton Griffin vs Spencer Pitre

Tiebreakers (if needed):  Sunday March 21 at 9 am and 12 noon (if two), or 11 am (if one).

Final draw: Sunday March 21, 2010 at 2 pm (3 pm if 2 tiebreakers)
Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant (if needed), 20 and Under final (1st vs 2nd)

One men’s and one women’s draw, plus the opening ceremonies took place this evening, as The Dominion PEI Curling Club Championship got underway at the Cornwall Curling Club. The Cornwall and Charlottetown clubs will be the co-hosts of the national The Dominion Championship, November 23-28.

In the opening men’s draw, wins were recorded by Dave Ross of Charlottetown, Kevin Ellsworth of the Western Community club in Alberton, and Montague’s Donald Clarey rink. Ross  stole four points in the second end en route to an 8-6 win over Crapaud’s Kevin Smith team, Ellsworth beat Summerside’s Barry Cameron by a 5-2 score, and the Clarey foursome beat the Glen Betts team from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary by a 7-3 score. The Roddie MacLean rink from Cornwall had the bye in the first draw.

In the six team women’s division, Cornwall’s Lorianne Davies rink downed the Micki Cageorge team from Charlottetown 11-1 in six ends. Kim Aylward of Summerside’s Silver Fox club beat the Sharon Horne rink from Alberton 8-5, and defending champion Vanessa Hamming of Crapaud scored a five ender in a 13-6 win over the June Moyaert team from Montague.

Leigh Armstrong from The Dominion, MLA Ron McKinley, Cornwall Mayor Patrick MacFadyen, and PEI Curling Association president Shirley Lank were among those on hand for the opening ceremony.

Round robin play continues on Friday and Saturday, with men’s draws at 9:30 am, and 2:30 and 8 pm. Women’s draws are 12 noon and 5:30 pm.

The championship round is on Sunday, with the semi-finals at 1 and the finals at 5 pm.

It was an all Nova Scotia final in the men’s section of the second annual Maritime Stick Curling Championships, sponsored by Ferguson Funeral Homes, which wrapped up this afternoon at the Cornwall Curling Club.

The duo of Ted Lohnes and Ron Crowe beat the team of Wayne Gormann and Ray Shillington by a 7-1 score in the final, taking two points in the opening end, and stealing a deuce and a single in the next two ends to build up an early 5-0 lead. Lohnes/Crowe doubled PEI’s Grant Laird/Vernon Chowan twosome 4-2 in one semi-final, while Gormann/Shillington got by the Vince Clark/Kerry Gardner pair, also from Nova Scotia, by a 7-5 score in the other.

The Clark/Gardner team edged the Laird/Chowan rink 4-3 in the consolation final, between the losers of the semi-final matches. Twelve teams participated in the men’s division.

In the four team women’s divison, with all PEI teams this year, the Ruth Stavert/Gloria Clarke team from the host Cornwall Curling Club beat out the team of Cornwall’s Shirley Lank and Crapaud’s Ruth Walsh by a 7-1 score in the final. Lank/Walsh had finished the round robin in first place with a 5-1 win-loss record, while Stavert/Clarke were second at 3-2.

In stick curling there are two curlers per team, who deliver their rocks with delivery sticks, with each team member delivering from opposite ends. Sweeping is allowed only from the hog line to the back of the house at the playing end. Two curlers, one from each team, alternately deliver 6 stones each per end, while their teammate skips that end. The roles are then reversed, and the partners deliver the stones back. All games are six ends.

Next year’s Maritime Stick championship will be in New Brunswick.

The first and second “All Canadians” teams were announced at the closing ceremonies on Sunday for the CIS/CCA Canadian University Curling Championships in Edmonton. UPEI’s Anson Carmody, second on the silver-medallist Brett Gallant rink, made the first men’s team, for having the highest curling percentage among seconds.

Photo (L-R): Laura Lochanski (CCA Governor),  Skip: Jon Beuk (Queen’s), Third: Stephen Ryan (Memorial).
Second: Anson Carmody (UPEI), Lead: Trent Hilliard (Dalhousie)

Click for a wrapup of the championships, including complete winners list.

The Canadian rink under the guidance of skip Jim Armstrong played a tight battle against Korea to win 6-4 in eighth draw action Wednesday night, clinching first place in round robin play at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games.

Canada sits at 7-1 with a final match to play against Italy on Thursday. The United States is in second at 6-2, but Canada beat the Americans in the round robin and would still finish first should the two rinks finish with 7-2 records.

Click to read this story at CTVOlympics.ca

‘I was speechless … it seems like a dream’, girl says of meeting Hannah Montana

JIM DAY
The Guardian

Eight year old Olivia Craig’s wish to meet her hero Hannah Montana, the popular TV character played by Miley Cyrus, came to fruition at a concert in Boston on Nov. 7.

The funds for the wish were raised last year during the annual Vogue Optical Curl for Wishes. The celebrity curling event raised just under $20,000 — enough to cover two wishes.

Click to read this story in today’s Guardian.

The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada Prince Edward Island Chapter and Vogue Optical along with the Charlottetown Curling Club would like to announce the sixth annual “Vogue Optical Curl for Wishes” taking place on April 8th – 10th, 2010. 

Thirty Curling teams will have an opportunity to play with one of Canada’s top curlers and in the process help grant the wish of an Island Child. Once again this year the top ten fundraising teams will have first choice of their celebrity skip. Registration includes a minimum of 4 games, an opening reception hosted at Hunter’s Ale House, live entertainment, lunch provided each day and awards presentation at the Charlottetown Curling Club. There will be a silent auction held throughout the tournament which will include numerous items from around the curling world.

“It’s PEI’s most fun and entertaining curling event of the season” says Stefanie Clark, Chair of the Organizing Committee for the, “Vogue Optical Curl for Wishes”.  “It is a weekend filled with good times and good memories that can be enjoyed by all regardless of their curling ability”.  
 
For more information, please contact the Children’s Wish Foundation office:
22 Allen Street
P.O. Box 2614
Charlottetown,  PE  C1A 8C3
pei@childrenswish.ca
1- 800-267-9474

The Mel Bernard foursome from the George R. Pearkes VC Branch in Summerside finished second at the Dominion Legion Curling Championships in Stephenville NL. The Bernard rink finished round robin play at 5-3, behind the Jeff Stewart team from Manitoba/Northwest Territories, who went 6-1.  Other members of the Bernard team are Blair Jay, Doug Simmons, and Earle Proude. They wrapped up play on Wednesday with two wins — 10-4 over Nova Scotia/Nunavut, and 7-1 over Newfoundland and Labrador.

The second annual The Dominion Provincial Club Curling Championship gets underway Thursday afternoon, following the Maritime Stick finals,  at the Cornwall Curling Club, with opening men’s draw at 5:30, followed by the opening ceremonies and a reception. The opening women’s draw is scheduled for 8 pm.  Club champions from all seven PEI clubs will be competing in the men’s section, along with women’s champions from six clubs. Defending champions are the Vanessa Hamming rink from the Crapaud Community Curling Club, and the Louis Walsh foursome from the Silver Fox. Hamming and her team are back this year. The winning provincial rinks will advance to the national The Dominion Curling Club championship, which is cohosted by Cornwall, and the Charlottetown Curling Club, and will take place November 23-28.

The provincial and national club championships, sponsored by The Dominion, one of the country’s largest property and casualty insurers, are designed to give regular club curlers across the country an opportunity to compete in provincial and national level competitions. Any profit generated from provincial or national Dominion Curling Club Championship events will be directed to charities including the Canadian Paraplegic Association, as well as developmental curling initiatives in communities across Canada.

In the provincial event, the men’s and women’s divisions will play round robin formats, with alternating men’s and women’s draws at 5:30 (men) and 8 pm (women) on Thursday, and on Friday at 9:30 am (men), and 12 noon (women), 2:30 (men), 5:30 (women) and 8 pm (men). The round robin wraps up on Saturday with men’s draws at 9:30 am, and 2:30 and 8 pm, and women’s play at 12 noon and 5:30 pm.

Tiebreakers, if needed, go Sunday at 10 am, with the semi-finals at 1 and the final at 5 pm.

End by end results will be available at peicurling.com/thedominion.

Here are the men’s team rosters (skip to lead, fifth, club)

Dave Ross, Nick Fraser, Paul Gaudet, Lester Wah,   Charlottetown
Roddie MacLean, Paul Durant, Edgar Coffin, George Younker,  Cornwall
Kevin Smith (throws 1st), Calvin Smith (throws 4th), Todd Gilbert (throws 3rd), Donald Whitehead (throws 2nd), Crapaud Community
Glen Betts, Rodney Ellis, Lowell Morrison, Reggie Clements, Ricky Cook (5th), Maple Leaf (O’Leary)
Donald Clarey, Larry Richards, Elliot Morrison, Cameron Lerch, Mike Clarey (5th), Montague
Barry Cameron, Corey Montgomery, Andrew Windsor, Steven Arsenault, Silver Fox (Summerside)
Kevin Ellsworth, Fred Fraser, Alan Gaudet, Gifford Costain, Western Community (Alberton)

Here are the women’s team rosters (skip to lead, fifth, club)

Micki Cageorge, Velma MacLean, Debbie Mol, Wilma Smith, Charlottetown
 
Lorianne Davies, Melody Beck, Tracy MacDonald, Lynda Turnbull, Cornwall
 
Vanessa Hamming, Ruth Walsh, Lindsay Moore, Heather MacRae, Crapaud Community
 
June Moyaert, Shelley Rice, Darlene Larter, Carole Sullivan, Montague
 
Kim Aylward, Jeanne Duffenais, Michelle Weaver, Debbie Caissy, Silver Fox (Summerside)
 
Sharon Horne, Kim Ellsworth, Wendy Fraser, Cheryl Bell, Western Community (Alberton)

Round robin draw

Thursday March 18 5:30 pm (men)
Dave Ross vs Kevin Smith, Barry Cameron vs Kevin Ellsworth, Glen Betts vs Donald Clarey

Thursday March 18 8 pm (women)
June Moyaert vs Vanessa Hamming, Kim Aylward vs Sharon Horne, Micki Cageorge vs Lorianne Davies

Friday, March 19 9:30 am (men)
Kevin Ellsworth vs Donald Clarey, Glen Betts vs Roddie MacLean, Barry Cameron vs Dave Ross

Friday, March 19 12 noon (women)
Kim Aylward vs Micki Cageorge, June Moyaert vs Sharon Horne, Lorianne Davies vs Vanessa Hamming

Friday March 19 2:30 pm (men)
Glen Betts vs Kevin Smith, Dave Ross vs Donald Clarey, Roddie MacLean vs Kevin Ellsworth

Friday March 19 5:30 pm (women)
Sharon Horme vs Lorianne Davies, Vanessa Hamming vs Micki Cageorge, June Moyaert vs Kim Aylward

Friday March 19 8 pm (men)
Dave Ross vs Roddie MacLean, Kevin Ellsworth vs Kevin Smith, Barry Cameron vs Glen Betts

Saturday March 20 9:30 am (men)
Glen Betts vs Kevin Ellsworth, Roddie MacLean vs Kevin Smith, Barry Cameron vs Donald Clarey

Saturday March 20 12 noon (women)
Micki Cageorge vs June Moyaert, Lorianne Davies vs Kim Aylward, Vanessa Hamming vs Sharon Horne

Saturday March 20 2:30 pm (men)
Kevin Smith vs Donald Clarey, Barry Cameron vs Roddie MacLean, Glen Betts vs Dave Ross

Saturday March 20 5:30 pm (women)
Vanessa Hamming vs Kim Aylward, Lorianne Davies vs June Moyaert, Sharon Horne vs Micki Cageorge

Saturday March 20 8 pm (men)
Barry Cameron vs Kevin Smith, Dave Ross vs Kevin Ellsworth, Roddie MacLean vs Donald Clarey

Sunday March 21 10 am
Tiebreakers, if needed

Sunday March 21 1 pm
Semi-finals: 2nd vs 3rd place

Sunday March 21 5 pm
Finals: 1st vs winner semi-final

Nova Scotia rinks finished in first place in both round robin pools at the Ferguson Funeral Homes Maritime Stick Curling Championship, which wraps up Thursday afternoon at the Cornwall Curling Club.  Three teams finished at 3-2 records in the first pool, with the Ted Lohnes/Ron Crowe duo from Nova Scotia grabbing first place after points were compared, followed by the Wayne Gorman/Ray Shillington twosome, also from NS. The New Brunswick rink of Ken Grattan and Al Gauvreau finished third. The other three teams in the pool, all from PEI, had 2-3 win-loss records.

In the second pool, the Nova Scotia team of Vince Clark and Kerry Gardner were first, with a 4-1 win-loss tally. Two PEI rinks, the Grant Laird/Vern Chowan duo from the host club, who were awarded second place, and the third place Bob Leard/Barry MacDonald team, were 3-2. Two teams went 2-3, with one at 1-4.

At 10 am Thursday, the second place team from one pool will play the third place team from the other, with Gorman/Shillington facing Leard/MacDonald, and Grattan/Gauvreau playing Laird/Chowan. The winners will then take on first place teams Lohnes/Crowe and Clark/Gardiner at 12 noon, with the winners of those two games playing in the 2 pm final, and the losers going to the consolation game at the same time.

With one round robin draw remaining, Thursday at noon,  in the four team women’s section, with all teams coming from PEI, the rink of Shirley Lank and Ruth Walsh from the Cornwall and Crapaud clubs have sewn up first place with a 4-1 win-loss record.  The other three teams are at 2-3. Lank/Walsh will play the second place finisher in the women’s final, at 2 pm.

 The Mel Bernard rink from the George R. Pearkes VC Branch in Summerside has a 3-2 win-loss record after five draws at the 2010 Dominion Legion Curling Championship  in Stephenville NL, after splitting their two Tuesday games, losing 9-8 in an extra end to New Brunswick’s Graeme MacKinnon foursome, and winning 7-3 over Jeff Cheal of Quebec. Bernard plays  Ivan Deveau of Nova Scotia/Nunavut and Rick Cook of Newfoundland and Labrador today. (Info from Transcontinental Media)

Waldron’s Wanderings by Waldron Leard

At the recent Lady Hawks Women’s Hockey Tournament in Souris, there was a lot of buzz about another usage for the Eastern Kings Sportsplex. Many of the folks were excited for the return of curling to the Souris area.

Click to read this story in the Eastern Graphic

After opening day play at the second annual Maritime Stick Curling Championships, sponsored by Ferguson’s Funeral Homes,  being played at the Cornwall Curling Club, only one rink, the Nova Scotia duo of Ted Lohnes and Ron Crowe, remains undefeated, with a 2-0 win-loss record. Five men’s rinks — two from Nova Scotia, two from PEI, and one from New Brunswick, are 2-1. In the women’s section, with all teams entered this year coming from PEI,  all four teams are at 1-1. Round robin play continues on Wednesday, with draws at 10 and 11:15 am, along with 12:45, 2 and 3:30 pm.

The final women’s round robin draw is Thursday at noon, with first and second place teams playing off in the final at 2 pm. In the 12 team men’s division, second and third place men’s teams in opposite pools play off at 10 am Thursday, with the winners playing against the first place teams at noon. The winners of the noon contests will then play in the final at 2 pm, while the losers will play in the consolation final at the same time.

VANCOUVER — Funny pants worn by the Norwegian team and a Korean skip who believes that if he yells at the rocks, they will listen. Such is the quirky world of wheelchair curling.

No wonder the sport, both the able-bodied and wheelchair varieties, has taken off in popularity at these Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Click to read this story in the Vancouver Sun

Many of the best stick curlers in the three Maritime provinces will  be at the Cornwall Curling Club Tuesday March 16 through Thursday the 18th for the second annual Maritime Stick Curling Championships, sponsored by Ferguson Funeral Homes. There are two men’s pools, with four Nova Scotia teams, one New Brunswick rink, and seven PEI duos. For the first time there is also a women’s pool, with all the women’s teams coming from PEI for this year. Defending men’s champions are the rink of Vince Clark and Lorne Breckon from the Truro Curling Club. Clark is back this year, with teammate Kerry Gardner.

The final event in the 2009-2010 PEI Curling Association championship season is the Island Petroleum Junior Mixed, which gets underway Friday afternoon, and wraps up on Sunday at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. The five teams in the age 20 and under division will play a round robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the Sunday afternoon final, while the two 15 and under division teams will play a best of five. Defending 20 and Under champions, the Mitch Rowley rink from O’Leary’s Maple Leaf Curling Club, are not back this year, while the 15 and Under winning skip, Colton Griffin, from the Western Community club in Alberton,  has moved up to the 20 and Under division.

Results will be available at peicurling.com/juniormixed

Here are the team rosters (skip to lead, coach, club)
20 and Under Division
Spencer Pitre, Michelle McQuaid, Connor MacPhee, Whitney Young, coach Trevor Young, Charlottetown
Adam Casey, Anita Casey, Anson Carmody, Hillary Thompson, coach Jeff Wilson, Charlottetown
Cody Dixon, Caroline Rose, Jonathon MacDonald, Sarah MacPhee, coach Brent MacDonald, Montague
Sarah Fullerton, Justin Richard, Sara MacRae, Corey Miller, coach Brenda MacMillan, Cornwall/ Silver Fox
Colton Griffin, Chantal Clements, Shawn Pitre, Jessica Chapman, coach Roger Gavin, Western Community (Alberton)

15 and Under Division
Alex Matters, Emily Keen, Andrew Cameron, Emma Matheson, coach Derrick Cameron, Charlottetown
Christopher Gallant, Jenny McLean, Kyle Holland, Lauren MacFadyen, coach Dr. Don Vickerson, Charlottetown/Silver Fox

Here is the draw:
Draw One Friday March 19 at 4 pm
Spencer Pitre vs Sarah Fullerton, Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant, Adam Casey vs Cody Dixon

Draw Two Friday March 19 at 7 pm
Christopher Gallant vs Alex Matters, Cody Dixon vs Spencer Pitre, Sarah Fullerton vs Colton Griffin

Draw Three Saturday March 20 at 11 am
Colton Griffin vs Cody Dixon, Spencer Pitre vs Adam Casey

Draw Four: Saturday March 20 at 2 pm.
Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant, Adam Casey vs Colton Griffin, Cody Dixon vs Sarah Fullerton

Draw Five Saturday March 20 at 7 pm
Sarah Fullerton vs Adam Casey, Christopher Gallant vs Alex Matters (if needed), Colton Griffin vs Spencer Pitre

Tiebreakers (if needed):  Sunday March 21 at 9 am and 12 noon (if two), or 11 am (if one).

Final draw: Sunday March 21, 2010 at 2 pm (3 pm if 2 tiebreakers)
Alex Matters vs Christopher Gallant (if needed), 20 and Under final (1st vs 2nd)

By Larry Wood, Tankard Times Editor (CCA)

HALIFAX, March 14 – It took a cold out-turn draw to a piece of the button in an extra end for Kevin Koe to win Alberta’s 25th Brier title.

Indeed, it was a spine-tingling finish to a classic Tim Hortons Brier championship final on Sunday night at the Metro Centre that proved dreamlike for the winner and totally devastating for previously unbeaten Glenn Howard of Ontario, who has now lost three of the last five Brier finals and suffered six career Brier-final disappointments.

“It’s awesome for this team,” said the joyful and victorious Koe at the finish. “It took us a long time to get to the Brier, and then to win the first one and to beat Glenn Howard in the bargain. This team had never before beaten Glenn’s team.”

Koe, who had third Blake MacDonald operating at 91 per cent efficiency, credited his sweepers Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen for the last button shot to neutralize three Ontario counters in the rings.

“It was a great team effort,” he said. “People don’t realize how much pressure there was on the sweepers there. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t heavy and give them a chance, and they swept it beautifully.

“A draw to the button to win the Brier is pretty special. We’re better known as bangers and for me to come through to hit the button, that’s pretty memorable.”

Koe was a picture of confidence during the final exchange, mentioning several times he just wanted an open button.

“I liked my chances, you know? I had good draw weight all week and I just wanted to throw that shot.”

Koe bailed his team out of a dangerous jam in the 10th end with Ontario angling for a winning deuce with hammer and Alberta in front by one.  With Howard counting the necessary pair, Koe executed a brilliant last-rock hit-and-roll shot that eliminated Ontario’s first counter and spun across the rings to rest behind cover in front of the second enemy stone.

That forced Howard to draw for a tying single and take his chances attempting to steal in the extra frame.

“We were lucky to have a shot to get out of that 10th end,” said Koe.  “It was a tough one but we made it.”

Howard, who earlier lost the Tim Hortons Olympic trials final to Martin and also lost the last Olympic-year Brier final to Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec, fought bravely to mask his disappointment.

“I can’t describe it,” he said. “It’s (bleep). You know, we had a tough loss in Edmonton and then to come back and have a tough one here after winning them all, I can’t describe it. I’m just not a happy camper right now.”

Did he feel jinxed? By Olympic years, or Alberta curlers, or Alberta skips named Kevin or Brier finals?

“Yeah. I don’t know. It’s just not a great feeling,” he said. “We had one bad end, it still looked like we were going to come back. Damn!  We left it all out on the ice. We played phenomenal, we had a great game, and Kevin made a couple of great, great, unbelievable shots — a great one in 10 and, obviously, a great last one in 11.”

He said Koe’s last shot of the 10th “probably took it away from us.  If my (first-rock) draw curls a couple more inches I probably wouldn’t have had to throw my last one. It didn’t curl those two inches and Kevin threw a great last shot that rolled right into the pocket and I had nothing but the draw for one.”

Koe flashed in the first end and Howard was afforded an easy draw for an opening pair. A raise-double in the second from Ontario third Richard Hart led to a blank end but Alberta was forced to take one in the third.  Howard blanked the fourth and was forced to hit and stick for one and a 3-1 lead at the half.

The Westerners finagled control in the sixth, hiding two counters behind a corner guard. Combined with a perfect freeze from Koe on first rock, the Alberta skip had an open draw for three with his last stone.

After a blank seventh, Howard bailed out of a jam with a triple-kill in the eighth but settled for a tying single. Koe then stuck for a go-ahead point in the ninth.

“It’s great to get out of a tough province like Alberta,” summed up Koe, “and then follow up to great teams like Kevin Martin and Randy Ferbey and win the Brier.”

Alberta’s 25th win ranks only one behind Manitoba’s 26 win total.  The Alberta squad will represent Canada at the Capital One world men’s championship April 3-11 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.  Additionally, the team earned a berth in the 2010 Canada Cup at Medicine Hat and the 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup at St. Albert.

Koe was named Hec Gervais playoff MVP for his efforts. Shot-of-the-week honours went to Hart, who threw a spectacular sixth-end takeout through a seemingly impossible port in the Page One-Two playoff on Friday night against Northern Ontario.

The Koe and Howard teams each won $40,000 (TV value for crest exposure) while the Jacobs team earned $30,000 and fourth finishing Brad Gushue of Newfoundland/Labrador pocketed $20,000.

Alberta’s Kevin Koe drew to the button facing three Ontario rocks in an extra end to beat  Glenn Howard by 6-5 score to win  the Tim Hortons Brier in his first appearance. It was Howard’s first loss in the event, after winning 12 straight. Koe finished the round robin with a record of 8-3. The key shot in the game was a hit and roll by Koe in the 10th to force Howard to take one, and go to an extra end.

Koe will now go on to represent Canada at the Ford World Men’s Curling Championships in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy from April 3-11.

(CBC) By Mihira Lakshman

Attendance figures for the 2010 Brier in Halifax are expected to be around 120,000, much lower than the 158,414 that the Metro Centre drew in 2003.

(In case you’re wondering, Edmonton set the record in 2005, drawing 281,985)

Organizers are blaming the Olympics and curling fatigue as the main reasons for the drop off.

Click to read this story at CBCSports.ca

(from http://www.albertoncurlingclub.ca/)

The Western Community Curling Club and the Jacques Cartier Memorial Arena now have Automated Emergency heart Defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid services thanks to the Alberton Lions Club and grants from the provincial government. The devices were given to the two sports centres March 12 in a presentation at the curling club.

The official presentation of the devices to officials of both sports groups. (L to R) Perly Hardy, charter member of the Lions Club, Fr. Art Pendergast, President of the curling club, Joe O’Meara, 3rd Vice President of the Lions,Grant Milligan 2nd Vice President of the Lions, Terry LeClair, Secretary of the Lions, Greg Oliver, President of the Jacques Cartier Arena and area MLA Pat Murphy representing the provincial government.

The units cost $4,400.00 for the pair with the Lions Club paying $2,400.00 and Recreation PEI donating $1,000 to each sporting facility to cover the balance. Personnel from both facilities are set to be trained in the use of the devices.

The provincial government has been  helping fund the installation of the life-saving  units in recreation facilities across the province for a few years. Its grant program covers 50 per cent of the cost of an eligible AED, up to a maximum of $1,000 per unit. Recreation PEI looks after the administration of the program.

The Cornwall Curling Club also acquired an AED this season, with assistance from Recreation PEI, and local sponsor Cornwall Physiotherapy and Sports Rehabilitation.

The Cameron MacKay and Megan Ching rinks from the Cornwall Curling Club won the KFC Provincial Age 12 and Under Curling Championships, which wrapped up on Sunday at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton.

Photo (L-R) Audrey Callaghan (PEICA, and Western club), Cameron MacKay, Alexander MacKay,
Carter Worth, Avery Wells, coach Geoff Scutt (back row), Angus Davies from sponsor KFC.

MacKay, and his team of Alexander MacKay, Carter Worth, and Avery Wells, with coach Geoff Scutt,  beat the Alex MacFadyen rink from the Silver Fox by a 5-3 score in the final on Sunday afternoon, stealing the final two ends. Other members of the runner-up MacFadyen team are Matthew MacDonald, James Dalton, and Parker MacFadyen, with coach David MacFadyen. The MacKay rink beat the Owen Collier rink from Montague 5-3 in the semi-final, earlier on Sunday. Playing with Collier were John Campbell, Dawson Chatman, and Milo Ryan, with coaches Steve Ryan and Rachel Collier.

Collier, Devin Schut of Cornwall, and Dillon Vincent of Western, finished with 2-1 records in their pool, and advanced to the playoff round, with the winless Cameron Jenkins team from Charlottetown being eliminated. All three teams in the other pool, skipped by MacFadyen, MacKay, and Montague’s Brooks Roche, finished with 1-1 records and  advanced to the playoffs, with draw to the button rankings used to determine playoff placements.

In the crossovers between second and third place teams, MacKay edged Vincent 6-5, and Roche downed Schut 9-1. MacKay then went on to beat Roche 7-2 to advance to the semi-final. The two first place teams, skipped by MacFadyen and Collier, played off, with MacFadyen winning 8-3 to advance directly to the final, and Collier getting a second chance in the semi.

Photo (L-R): Audrey Callaghan (PEI Curling Assoc. and Western club), Megan Ching,
Rachel O’Connor, Lauren Lenentine, Breanne Burgoyne, Sara MacRae (coach)

The girl’s division was decided Saturday evening, with the Cornwall Curling Club rink of Megan Ching, Rachel O’Connor, Lauren Lenentine, and Breanne Burgoyne, with coach Sara MacRae, taking only three ends to blank the Laura Gillis rink from the host Western Community Curling Club  by an 11-0 score in the  final. Other members of the runner-up Gillis foursome are Emma-Jean Griffin, Hailey Wilson, and Karlei Lewis, with coach Norma Jean Griffin.

The Gillis team edged out the third team in the competition, skipped by Crapaud’s Kayla Schut rink, 7-6 in an extra end in the semi-final. All three teams finished round robin play with identical 1-1 win-loss records, so draw to the button results were used to determine playoff rankings. Playing with Schut were Laurel Parsons, Kaleigh Peters-Ellis, and Sarah Parsons, with coaches Dario Zannier and Phyllis Stretch.