ERIC MCCARTHY
The Journal Pioneer
O’LEARY – Great social times. Bonspiels so popular that teams had to be turned away. Provincial championships. These are some of the memories long-time members of the Maple Leaf Curling Club hold dear.
…
Thirty Years of Memories is the theme for a fundraising dinner that will take place at the O’Leary Community Sports Centre, next door, on May 8. Tickets for steak and lobster plates are now available from club members for $50 each.
There perhaps has never been a cooler time to curl.
Canada’s gold and silver successes at the Winter Olympics had passionate fans at the rink cheering and sent TV ratings soaring. And beyond the bonspiel, the country’s beloved icy pastime has been generating serious buzz.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/curling/story/2010/03/04/sp-curling-appeal.html#ixzz0hIST0Bcq
JASON SIMMONDS
The Journal Pioneer
SUMMERSIDE – Rod MacDonald will reach a milestone at the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier.
It will mark the Summerside native’s fifth decade of participating in the Canadian men’s curling championship, and his seventh appearance overall.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said MacDonald, 52. “I keep telling people that this will be my last one, but this will probably be my last one this time around for sure.”
The 4 pm opening draw of the M&M Meat Shops Provincial Mixed Curling Championship was completed on Thursday afternoon at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. Due to weather and road conditions, organizers were forced to postpone the 8 pm draw. This moves all draws ahead one slot, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday draws in this double knockout event taking place at 9 am, and 2 and 5 pm.
In the opening draw, 2008 PEI Mixed champ Bill Hope beat Dario Zannier from the host Crapaud club by a 12-2 score, while Adam Casey defeated 2005 PEI Mixed winner Larry Dewar of Montague by a 6-4 score. Jeff Nelson of Montague got by Cornwall’s Lorianne Davies team by an 8-6 score, stealing the final two ends.
Play continues, weather permitting, Friday morning at 9, with former Canadian Mixed champion Robert Campbell of Charlottetown taking on Alan Inman of the host Crapaud club, Eddie MacKenzie of Charlottetown taking on the combined Montague/Charlottetown Sean Clarey team, and Jody Jackson taking on defending Mixed champion and Charlottetown clubmate Kyle Stevenson.
14 teams are taking part.
The Mixed winner will advance to the 2011 Canadian Mixed at the Morris Curling Club in Morris, Manitoba, November 20-27, 2010,
Due to the weather conditions the M&M Meat Shops Provincial Mixed Curling Championship draw scheduled for Thursday March 4 at 8:00 pm has been rescheduled until Friday morning at 9:00 am. This change will result in all remaining draws being moved ahead to the next draw time slot. To make up for this missed draw an extra draw will be added to Sunday. They will run the same times as Friday’s and Saturday’s draws: 9:00 am, 2:00pm and 7:00 pm.
Organizers of the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts announced their call for volunteers today. It will take 470 dedicated volunteers to host the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian Women’s Curling Championship. Volunteers fill dozens of key roles such as lounge hosts, program sellers, team drivers and curling ice makers. The Tournament will be held in the Charlottetown Civic Centre, February 19 to 27, 2011. Interested volunteers will have an opportunity to be part of this exciting and memorable event.
The Host Committee is inviting you to volunteer for the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts starting Friday, March 5th 2010. Individuals are asked to apply using our convenient web registration at www.seasonofchampions.ca/2011toh/.
Following a 12 year absence since the successful 1999 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the championship will return to Prince Edward Island for the third time. “Members of the Island’s seven curling clubs and lots of community spirited individual have been waiting anxiously for our call to sign up” said Kim Dolan, Chair of the Host Committee. “Our wonderful volunteers are excited to provide PEI’s renowned Island hospitality and the best in championship curling for all our visitors.”
This announcement follows on the heels of a successful January ticket launch. The 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will mark the 30th anniversary of the championship under the sponsorship of Kruger Paper Products. The organizing committee encourages everyone to get involved, whether they are an active curler, fan or member of the community.
HALIFAX, March 3, 2010 (CCA) - The Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto, gets underway Saturday at the Metro Centre in Halifax.
It marks the sixth time that the city has staged the Brier. Only Toronto has hosted the championship more often. However, Halifax joins Calgary as six-time hosts and the only cities to hold the Brier under four title sponsors (Macdonald Tobacco, Labatt Breweries, Nokia and, for the past six years, Tim Hortons, Canada’s largest quick service restaurant chain), since the inaugural Canadian men’s curling championship in 1927.
Once again, TSN will provide exclusive and comprehensive coverage of the Tim Hortons Brier, televising all morning, afternoon and evening round robin draws, plus the playoffs. The semi-final is scheduled for Saturday, March 13 at 7:30 pm AT, while the final will be on Sunday, March 14 at 8:00 pm AT. It’s the eighth consecutive year that the Brier final has been contested in Eastern and Atlantic prime time, beginning, incidentally, in 2003 in Halifax.
Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ontario, the 2007 Canadian and world champion, will be making his 12th Brier appearance. The 47-year-old skip is a three-time Canadian and world champion, having also played third for brother Russ Howard when winning in 1987 and 1993. At last year’s Brier in Calgary, his team finished third to Alberta’s Kevin Martin, then lost the Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials final to the recent Olympic gold medallist last December in Edmonton. Ontario has nine Brier titles.
Two-time (1996, 1999) Brier winner and 1996 world champion Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg will once again represent Manitoba, which has won a leading 26 Briers, after not competing in the inaugural event in 1927. The 46-year-old Stoughton, last year’s Brier runner-up, provided his province with its last victory in 1999 and will be making his eighth Brier appearance. His team also finished third to Martin at the Trials.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue of St. John’s, who won Olympic gold in 2006 in Turin, Italy, along with third Mark Nichols and lead Jamie Korab, will be making his seventh Brier appearance while seeking his first win. The 2001 world junior champion finished the runner-up in 2007 in Hamilton, losing the Brier final to Glenn Howard. The 29-year-old skip will be trying to win just a second Brier title for his province since Jack MacDuff pulled off a shocker in 1976 in Regina. Gushue made his Brier debut in 2003 in Halifax.
Alberta, second to Manitoba with 24 Brier wins, will be represented by Edmonton’s Kevin Koe, making his Brier debut. It will be the first time since 1999 (skip Ken Hunka) that the province’s fortunes will be skipped by someone other than Kevin Martin or Randy Ferbey.
Amongst Koe’s rivals is his brother, Yellowknife’s Jamie Koe, skip of Northwest Territories/Yukon, who makes his fourth appearance in the Brier.
It’s only the third time in Brier history that two brothers will have faced each other as skips. In 1942, Donald Campbell of British Columbia competed against Gord Campbell of Ontario at the Brier in Quebec City. Then, last year, New Brunswick’s Russ Howard battled Glenn Howard of Ontario in Calgary.
The host province, Nova Scotia, will be skipped by Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc of Halifax, a former provincial junior champion also making his Brier debut. Nova Scotia has three Brier wins. The first victory, by Halifax skip Murray Macneill, came at the inaugural Brier of 1927 in Toronto. The province’s second win came in 1951 in Halifax by Kentville’s Don Oyler, while Halifax’s Mark Dacey defeated Alberta’s Randy Ferbey at the 2004 Brier in Saskatoon.
Completing the field are British Columbia’s Jeff Richard of Kelowna, New Brunswick’s James Grattan of Oromocto, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Quebec’s Serge Reid of Jonquière, Prince Edward Island’s Rod MacDonald of Charlottetown and Saskatchewan’s Darrell McKee of Saskatoon.
PEI’s team includes third Kevin Champion, second Mark O’Rourke, and lead Andrew Robinson, with 5th player Peter MacDonald, and coach Pat Aylward. Their first game is Saturday night against Saskatchewan.
Making a special appearance for the Opening weekend will be the Olympic gold medal-winning Kevin Martin team from Edmonton. Martin, a four-time (1991, 1997, 2008 and 2009) Brier winner and 2008 world champion, along with third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert, went through unbeaten at the Vancouver Olympics with a perfect 11-0 mark, capped by a 6-3 victory over Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud last Saturday in the final. They’re also the only team in history to go undefeated in two consecutive Briers – 2008 and 2009.
Martin’s team will appear for a two-hour autograph session, Friday, March 5 from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Metro Centre, open free to the public. They’ll also attend a press conference at the arena and be special guests at Friday’s Opening Banquet and the Keith’s Patch later that evening.
Then, on Saturday morning, from 10:15 am – 11:15 am, Brier ticket holders are invited to an Up Close and Personal session with the gold medallists at the Metro Centre.
Halifax previously hosted the Canadian men’s curling championship in 1951, 1966, 1981, 1995 and 2003, when won by Alberta’s Randy Ferbey, who went unbeaten during the week, finishing with a perfect 13-0 mark after defeating Mark Dacey in the final. The total attendance was 158,414, a Brier record for an Eastern Canada site (east of Winnipeg).
When Halifax staged the 2005 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, won by Brad Gushue and Shannon Kleibrink, a then-record event attendance of 159,235 was established.
The Brier attendance record is 281,985, set by Edmonton in 2005 at the first Tim Hortons Brier, which eclipsed the former mark of 248,793 established in 2000 in Saskatoon.
The Brier competition involves 10 provinces plus teams representing Northern Ontario and Yukon/Northwest Territories playing a round robin, leading to the Page Playoff system involving the top four teams. The first and second place teams meet in the Page 1 vs 2 game, with the winner advancing to the final while the loser goes to the semi-final. The third and fourth place teams meet in the Page 3 vs 4 game, with the winner advancing to the semi-final while the loser is eliminated.
Since 1980, when the first Labatt Brier was held in Calgary and a playoff format was introduced, 19 of 30 Brier winners have also won the world championship. The latest was Kevin Martin, who captured the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier in Winnipeg and the world championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The winner of this year’s Tim Hortons Brier, the 81st edition of the Canadian men’s curling championship, will represent Canada at the Capital One world men’s curling championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, April 3-11.
Once again this year, $130,000, representing ‘cresting television exposure value’, will be distributed to the four Page Playoff teams: $40,000 each to the winner and runner-up, $30,000 to third and $20,000 to fourth.
The entertaining and always popular Ford Hot Shots, the curling skills competition, gets underway Friday, March 5 with the preliminary round from 1:10 pm – 4:40 pm. The playoffs take place Saturday at 1:00 pm, following the Opening Ceremonies, which start at 11:30 am.
Ford of Canada will provide the winner of the Ford Hot Shots with a two-year lease on a 2010 Ford Taurus SEL FWD, an approximate retail value in excess of $25,000. The second place finisher earns $2,000 while the third place finisher receives $1,000.
The first draw of the Tim Hortons Brier begins at 3:00 pm AT/2:00 pm ET on Saturday, March 6.
Up-to-the-minute draw results will be available on the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) website (www.curling.ca). Brier tickets are available at TicketAtlantic.com.
CurlTV (curltv.com) will also provide internet round robin game coverage to its subscribers.
Team Rosters
2010 TIM HORTONS BRIER, MARCH 6-14, METRO CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
(listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate and coach)
ALBERTA – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton
Kevin Koe
Blake MacDonald
Carter Rycroft
Nolan Thiessen
Jamie King
John Dunn
BRITISH COLUMBIA – Kelowna CC, Kelowna
Jeff Richard
Tom Shypitka
Tyler Orme
Chris Anderson
Kevin MacKenzie
Gerry Richard
MANITOBA – Charleswood CC, Winnipeg
Jeff Stoughton
Kevin Park
Rob Fowler
Steve Gould
Randy Dutiaume
Norm Gould
NEW BRUNSWICK – Gage Golf & Curling Association, Oromocto
James Grattan
Steven Howard
Jason Vaughan
Peter Case
Bobby Vaughan
Dean Grattan
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR – Bally Haly Golf & CC, St. John’s
Brad Gushue
Mark Nichols
Ryan Fry
Jamie Korab
Glenn Goss
Ken Bagnell
NORTHERN ONTARIO – Soo Curlers Association, Sault Ste. Marie
Brad Jacobs
E.J. Harnden
Ryan Harnden
Caleb Flaxey
Rob Thomas
Tom Coulterman
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES/YUKON – Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife
Jamie Koe
Kevin Whitehead
Brad Chorostkowski
Marty Gavin
Jon Solberg
Terry Shea
NOVA SCOTIA– Mayflower CC, Halifax
Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc
Stuart MacLean
Kent Smith
Phil Crowell
Mark Robar
David MacLellan
ONTARIO – Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater
Glenn Howard
Richard Hart
Brent Laing
Craig Savill
Steve Bice
Scott Taylor
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – Charlottetown CC, Charlottetown
Rod MacDonald
Kevin Champion
Mark O’Rourke
Andrew Robinson
Peter MacDonald
Pat Aylward
QUEBEC – Kénogami CC, Jonquière
Serge Reid
François Gionest
Simon Collin
Steeve Villeneuve
Pierre Charette
Paul Gagnon
SASKATCHEWAN- Nutana CC, Saskatoon
Darrell McKee
Bruce Korte
Roger Korte
Rob Markowsky
Jason Jacobson
Gene Friesen
The M&M Meat Shops Provincial Mixed Curling Championship gets underway this afternoon at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, with fourteen teams taking part.
Entrants include the defending champion Kyle Stevenson foursome from Charlottetown, last year’s runner-up and 2005 winner Larry Dewar of Montague, and 2008 champion Bill Hope from Charlottetown. Other Charlottetown teams entered include 1989 Canadian Mixed champion Robert Campbell, with veteran skip Rebecca Jean MacPhee at third, and a rink which includes former Canadian Junior champions and World Junior silver medallists Adam Casey and Anson Carmody, along with Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay, runners-up at this year’s Canadian Scotties. Rounding out the Charlottetown entries are teams skipped by Don Sheidow, Jody Jackson, and Eddie MacKenzie. Kim Dolan plays third for MacKenzie. Sean Clarey and Jeff Nelson have entered combined Montague/Charlottetown teams.
Entered from the host Crapaud club are teams skipped by Tony Quigley, Dario Zannier, and Alan Inman. The nearby Cornwall Curling Club’s one entry, skipped by Lorianne Davies, who throws third, with Rob Young throwing fourth stones, were runners-up in 2008.
Teams will play a double-knockout format, with today’s draws at 4 and 8 pm, Friday and Saturday play at 9 am and 2 and 7 pm, and Sunday action at 10 am and, if needed, 3 pm. The A section final is Saturday at 2, with the B final Sunday morning at 10. If the same team wins both A and B sections, they will win the event without having to play the championship game, scheduled for 3 pm Sunday. The M&M Meat Shops PEI Mixed winners will advance to the “2011? Canadian Mixed at the Morris Curling Club in Morris, Manitoba, November 20-27, 2010,
Here are the opening draws for the PEI Mixed:
Thurday March 4 at 4 pm
Bill Hope vs Dario Zannier, Larry Dewar vs Adam Casey, Lorianne Davies vs Jeff Nelson
Thurday March 4 at 8 pm
Robert Campbell vs Alan Inman, Eddie MacKenzie vs Sean Clarey, Jody Jackson vs Kyle Stevenson
Friday, March 5 at 9 am
Tony Quigley vs winner Hope/Zannier game, Don Sheidow vs winner Jackson/Stevenson game
Complete draw and end by end results available at peicurling.com/mixed.
Here are the team rosters (skip to lead, fifth, club)
Tony Quigley, Marie Ford, John Holm, Julie Mutch, Crapaud
Don Sheidow, Carol Kennedy, Ralph MacPherson, Kim Flanagan, David Murphy, Charlottetown
Larry Dewar, Tammy Dewar, Larry Richards, Gail Greene, Montague
Dario Zannier, Angie DesRoches, Frank MacDonald, Tracy Craig, Heather MacRae, Crapaud
Kyle Stevenson, Donna Butler, Doug MacGregor, Tricia Affleck, Charlottetown
Lorianne Davies (throws 3rd), Rob Young (throws 4th), Mark MacDonald, Melody Beck, Cornwall
Jody Jackson, Lisa Jackson, Jamie Jackson, Jodi Murphy, Charlottetown
Bill Hope, Sandy Hope, David Murphy, Shelley Ebbett, Charlottetown
Robert Campbell, Rebecca Jean MacPhee, Robbie Doherty, Jackie Reid, Charlottetown
Sean Clarey, Kathy Clarey, Donald Clarey, Becky Newson, Montague/ Charlottetown
Alan Inman, Vanessa Hamming, Steven Thomson, Lindsay Moore, Crapaud
Jeff Nelson, June Moyaert, Pat Birtwistle, Darlene London, Montague/ Charlottetown
Eddie MacKenzie, Kim Dolan, Steve Burgess, Sinead Dolan, Charlottetown
Adam Casey, Geri-Lynn Ramsay, Anson Carmody, Erin Carmody, Charlottetown
The 2010 Age 15 and Under Provincial Curling Championships, sponsored by M&M Meat Shops, get underway Friday afternoon, and wrap up on Sunday at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. The three boys teams will play a double round robin, while the six girls rinks will play a single. If there are no ties, the winner of the girls round robin will take the championship. If there are ties. there will be a playoff round. In the boys division, the top two teams will advance to the final game.
Live results will be available at peicurling.com/15andunder.
Defending champions are siblings Matthew and Amanda MacLean from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O`Leary. As Matthew’s team won the 17 and Under, and PEICA rules permit only two members from a team who wins an older age category to compete on one team, Matthew and teammate Marshall Smallman have teamed up with Kyle Hughes and Jonathan Schut from Charlottetown for this year’s event. Amanda’s team is not back, as they have graduated from the age category.
Here are the boys team rosters (Skip to lead, coach, club):
Kyle Hughes, Matthew MacLean, Marshall Smallman, Jonathan Schut, coach Shannon Smallman, Charlottetown/Maple Leaf
Alex Matters, Chris Gallant, Kyle Holland, Andrew Cameron, coaches Peter Gallant and Derrick Cameron, Charlottetown
Brandon MacNevin, Ben Gardiner, Riley Arsenault, Brandon Arsenault, coach Eric Pidgeon, Silver FoxHere are the girls team rosters (Skip to lead, coach, club):
Emma Cousins, Laura O’Meara, Paige Vincent, Julia McInnis, coaches Parker Clements, Keith Rowley, Maple Leaf
Carolyn Rose, Sarah MacPhee, Jessica Chapman, Leah Deveau, coach Carolyn MacPhee, Montague
Veronica Smith, Katie Fullerton, Sabrina Smith, Chloe McCloskey, coaches Paul Smith/Sarah Fullerton, Cornwall
Fallon Arsenault, Emily Vanderstine, Kristine Neil, Kassidy Arsenault, coaches Sheila Compton, Gerald Arsenault, Silver Fox
Jenny McLean, Meaghan MacDonald, Rachael Gardiner, Lauren MacFadyen, coach Don Vickerson, Silver Fox
Emily Keen, Kailey Koughan, Jessica Watts, Jenny Mutch, coach Margie Jardine, CharlottetownHere is the round robin draw:
Draw One Friday March 5, 2010 at 1 pm
Emma Cousins vs Emily Keen, Jenny McLean vs Fallon Arsenault, Brandon MacNevil vs Kyle Hughes
Draw Two Friday March 5, 2010 at 4 pm
Brandon MacNevin vs Alex Matters, Caroline Rose vs Veronica Smith, Emma Cousins vs Fallon Arsenault
Draw Three Friday March 5, 2010 at 7 pm
Jenny McLean vs Veronica Smith., Kyle Hughes vs Alex Matters, Caroline Rose vs Emily Keen
Draw Four: Saturday March 6, 2010 at 10:30 am.
Jenny McLean vs Emily Keen, Brandon MacNevin vs Kyle Hughes
Draw Five Saturday March 6, 2010 at 1:30 pm.
Emma Cousins vs Caroline Rose, Brandon MacNevin vs Alex Matters, Veronica Smith vs Fallon Arsenault
Draw Six Saturday March 6, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Kyle Hughes vs Alex Matters, Fallon Arsenault vs Emily Keen, Jenny McLean vs Caroline Rose
Draw Seven Saturday March 6, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Emma Cousins vs Veronica Smith, Boys Tiebreaker (if needed) or Final (1st vs 2nd place)
Draw Eight Sunday March 7, 2010 at 10:30 am.
Emma Cousins vs Jenny McLean, Veronica Smith vs Emily Keen, Caroline Rose vs Fallon Arsenault
See website for girls championship round (if required). Boys final (if tiebreaker) goes Sunday at 2 pm.
Video highlights from the February 24, 2010 match between the Kathy O’Rourke/Erin Carmody Canadian Scotties silver medal team and the KROCK105.5 team. The event raised funds for the Junior Curling Program at the Charlottetown Curling Club. (Courtesy of April Ennis):
The M&M Meat Shops Provincial Mixed Curling Championship gets underway Thursday afternoon at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, with fourteen teams taking part.
Entrants include the defending champion Kyle Stevenson foursome from Charlottetown, last year’s runner-up and 2005 winner Larry Dewar of Montague, and 2008 champion Bill Hope from Charlottetown. Other Charlottetown teams entered include 1989 Canadian Mixed champion Robert Campbell, with veteran skip Rebecca Jean MacPhee at third, and a rink which includes former Canadian Junior champions and World Junior silver medallists Adam Casey and Anson Carmody, along with Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay, runners-up at this year’s Canadian Scotties. Rounding out the Charlottetown entries are teams skipped by Don Sheidow, Jody Jackson, and Eddie MacKenzie. Kim Dolan plays third for MacKenzie. Sean Clarey and Jeff Nelson have entered combined Montague/Charlottetown teams.
Entered from the host Crapaud club are teams skipped by Tony Quigley, Dario Zannier, and Alan Inman. The nearby Cornwall Curling Club’s one entry, skipped by Lorianne Davies, who throws third, with Rob Young throwing fourth stones, were runners-up in 2008.
Teams will play a double-knockout format, with Thursday draws at 4 and 8 pm, Friday and Saturday play at 9 am and 2 and 7 pm, and Sunday action at 10 am and, if needed, 3 pm. The A section final is Saturday at 2, with the B final Sunday morning at 10. If the same team wins both A and B sections, they will win the event without having to play the championship game, scheduled for 3 pm Sunday. The M&M Meat Shops PEI Mixed winners will advance to the “2011″ Canadian Mixed at the Morris Curling Club in Morris, Manitoba, November 20-27, 2010,
Here are the opening draws for the PEI Mixed:
Thurday March 4 at 4 pm
Bill Hope vs Dario Zannier, Larry Dewar vs Adam Casey, Lorianne Davies vs Jeff Nelson
Thurday March 4 at 8 pm
Robert Campbell vs Alan Inman, Eddie MacKenzie vs Sean Clarey, Jody Jackson vs Kyle Stevenson
Friday, March 5 at 9 am
Tony Quigley vs winner Hope/Zannier game, Don Sheidow vs winner Jackson/Stevenson game
Complete draw and end by end results available at peicurling.com/mixed.
Here are the team rosters (skip to lead, fifth, club)
Tony Quigley, Marie Ford, TBA, Julie Mutch, Crapaud
Don Sheidow, Carol Kennedy, Ralph MacPherson, Kim Flanagan, David Murphy, Charlottetown
Larry Dewar, Tammy Dewar, Larry Richards, Gail Greene, Montague
Dario Zannier, Angie DesRoches, Frank MacDonald, Tracy Craig, Heather MacRae, Crapaud
Kyle Stevenson, Donna Butler, Doug MacGregor, Tricia Affleck, Charlottetown
Lorianne Davies (throws 3rd), Rob Young (throws 4th), Mark MacDonald, Melody Beck, Cornwall
Jody Jackson, Lisa Jackson, Jamie Jackson, Jodi Murphy, Charlottetown
Bill Hope, Sandy Hope, David Murphy, Shelley Ebbett, Charlottetown
Robert Campbell, Rebecca Jean MacPhee, Robbie Doherty, Jackie Reid, Charlottetown
Sean Clarey, Kathy Clarey, Donald Clarey, Becky Newson, Montague/ Charlottetown
Alan Inman, Vanessa Hamming, Steven Thomson, Lindsay Moore, Crapaud
Jeff Nelson, June Moyaert, Pat Birtwistle, Darlene London, Montague/ Charlottetown
Eddie MacKenzie, Kim Dolan, Steve Burgess, Sinead Dolan, Charlottetown
Adam Casey, Geri-Lynn Ramsay, Anson Carmody, Erin Carmody, Charlottetown
The Provincial age 15 and Under curling championships, also sponsored by M&M Meat Shops, also take place this weekend, at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. First draw is Friday afternoon. Details and results at peicurling.com/15andunder.
(CCA) The Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto, will be held at the Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting March 6. It marks the sixth time the city has hosted the Canadian men’s curling championship, after staging the 1951, 1966, 1981, 1995 and 2003 Briers. Halifax joins Calgary and Toronto as the only cities to have staged the Brier at least six times since it began in 1927.
When Halifax held the 2003 Nokia Brier, it was won by Alberta’s Randy Ferbey, who went unbeaten during the week, finishing with a perfect 13-0 mark after defeating the host province’s Mark Dacey in the final. The total attendance was 158,414, a Brier record for an Eastern Canada site (east of Winnipeg).
This is the 81st edition of the Canadian men’s curling championship. Since the Brier began in 1927 in Toronto, it has been played in 31 cities across Canada, from Victoria to St. John’s. Manitoba has won a record 26 Briers, while Alberta is next with 24. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Yukon/Northwest Territories have yet to win.
Nova Scotia boasts three Brier wins. The first victory, by Halifax skip Murray Macneill, came in the inaugural Brier of 1927 in Toronto. The province’s second win came in 1951 in Halifax by Kentville’s Don Oyler, before Dacey defeated Ferbey at the 2004 Brier in Saskatoon.
The Brier attendance record is 281,985, set by Edmonton in 2005 at the first Tim Hortons Brier, which eclipsed the former mark of 248,793 established in 2000 in Saskatoon.
The Brier competition involves 10 provinces plus teams representing Northern Ontario and Yukon/Northwest Territories playing a round robin, leading to the Page Playoff system involving the top four teams.
Since 1980, when the first Labatt Brier was held in Calgary and a playoff format was introduced, 19 of 30 Brier winners have gone on to win the world men’s curling championship. The winner of this year’s Tim Hortons Brier will represent Canada at the Capital One World Men’s Curling Championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, April 3-11.
PEI is represented by the team of Rod MacDonald, Kevin Champion, Mark O’Rourke, and Andrew Robinson, with 5th player Peter MacDonald, and coach Pat Aylward.
Brier tickets are available at TicketAtlantic.com
By Ryan Johnston, CTVOlympics.ca
VANCOUVER — Kevin Martin redeemed his last rock miss in Salt Lake City by winning gold on home soil Saturday, beating Norway 6-3. The gold medal was the third for Canada on a banner second-last day.
Martin never trailed in the draw, building a 3-0 lead before watching Norway cut it back to one at 3-2. Martin then played a perfect draw in the seventh to make it 5-2. A draw in the ninth stretched the lead to three and allowed Martin to match the feat of Brad Gushue in Turin 2006 and claim back-to-back Olympic gold for Canada.
Watch a replay of the gold medal winning performance here.
END 1: Martin blanked the first end to retain last rock. Canada 0, Norway 0.
END 2: Martin with last rock, playing the red stones. Morris clears the yellow Norwegian stones with a highlight triple takeout. Ulsrud forces Martin to draw for one. Canada 1, Norway 0.
END 3: Norway blanks a wide-open third end and retains the hammer. Canada 1, Norway 0.
END 4: Ulsrud misses a draw to the button and Martin steals one. Last rock stays with Norway. Television commentators blame the miss on a brushing error. Canada 2, Norway 0.
END 5: Morris in on fire, another double-takeout. Fist pumps everywhere. Ulsrud misses a double-takeout attempt of his own. The crowd awakens with a Go Canada Go. Martin steals one again. Canada 3, Norway 0.
END 6: We’re back. The break seems to have revived Ulsrud, who is back in the game with a deuce. Canada takes last rock. Canada 3, Norway 2.
END 7: Martin calls timeout. Conversation seems to be around the peel, the double-peel or a draw. Double-peel it is. Ulsrud misses with his last rock, allowing Martin to draw for two. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on his feet. The big screen just showed men’s hockey coach Mike Babcock as well. Canada 5, Norway 2.
END 8: Morris restores faith with a good shot in the eighth after a pair of previous misses, the crowd responds. Martin draws to the top button, pressure is on the Norwegians. Martin delivers a perfect freeze, Norway can only take one. Canada 5, Norway 3.
END 9: Martin with last rock. Timeout called; the Norwegian coach is also wearing the checkered pants. Solidarity. Martin draws for another single point. Up three heading to the last end. Canada 6, Norway 3.
END 10: Norway with last rock. One end away from back-to-back Olympic gold medals in men’s curling for Canada. Impromptu singing of O Canada. Martin backs off. Norway is run out of stones and Martin is an Olympic champion.
GAME OVER
TEAM CANADA: Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert, Adam Enright.
TEAM NORWAY: ULSRUD Thomas, Torger Nergaard, SVAE Christoffer, PETERSSON Haavard Vad, LOEVOLD Thomas.
By Bob Weeks, The Globe and Mail
Silver simply won’t do it this time.
Eight years ago, Kevin Martin came away from the Olympics with a second-place medal and while he would have preferred gold, he wasn’t unsatisfied with his finish. To win a medal, he said, was a great achievement.
But this time around, there is only one colour on his mind.
“For sure, definitely,” answered Martin when asked if silver would be a disappointment. “It’s a lot of work to get back here and you don’t get that many chances in lifetime. We’ll give her our all but I roll with the punches pretty good so it definitely won’t be the end of the world if we don’t win but I seriously want to get up that podium one more step.
After losing the final to Norway’s Pal Trulsen in 2002, Martin has been on a mission to get back and reach the top step of the podium.
He re-built his team with John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert, and demanded they buy in to his plan, set up in exacting detail. And hit the gym to try and transform his 43-year-old body into a machine that could keep up to the hold up to the rigours of all the play.
“It’s been guys pushing each other and he’s finally found three other guys who want to be like him,” said Jules Owchar, Martin’s coach for the last 25 years. “He didn’t always have that. These four guys work hard. They’re in tremendous shape and it shows.”
That’s all brought Martin back to the spot he was eight years ago, and now he knows what to do ahead of Saturday’s contest.
“All you can do is play well,” said the Canadian skip. “That’s the key to this whole thing. Make sure we get a lot of rest, have a real important practice session [today] and leave nothing on the table.”
Standing in his way is a, once again, a Norwegian team that has played exceptionally well and is looking forward to the challenge.
“They just look like they’re on cruise control,” said Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud of the unbeaten Canadian rink, “playing really well but I’m not too worried because the way my guys played we’re going to give them some trouble.”
If the Norwegians need any inspiration, they will find it in their team leader, Trulsen, who has been helping out the rink throughout the Games. So what can the retired star pass on to the current Norwegian skip?
“Nothing,” Trulsen said emphatically. “He is better than I have ever been.”
Trulsen is also impressed with Martin, who he says has continued to improve year after year, just like the game. “Curling is like all other sports,” he said. “It gets harder and what’s good enough eight years ago is not good now. He’s a better curler, he has more shots, more difficult shots.”
The victory turned Trulsen into a minor celebrity back in his home country as the infamous last-shot miss by Martin and the Norwegian celebration was played over and over on television. While it inspired Ulsrud to work to for a medal of his own, it didn’t spur any growth in the sport. There are still just eight sheets of curling ice in the entire country.
Ulsrud may have a chance to help curling’s cause but that will come later. For now, he’s simply developing his game plan to take on the powerhouse Canadians.
“This is what we’ve been training for,” he stated. “When we put this team together three years ago, this was the ultimate goal, to play the Olympic final. Back then we said we were probably going to play Canada and that’s going to be awesome.”
Game time is 7 pm.
The PEI Curling Association will hold a general meeting at 8 pm on Monday March 1st at the Cornwall Curling Club. The Event Rotation Committee will meet prior to that meeting, at 7 pm.
Switzerland beat Sweden 5-4 this afternoon to win the bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Sweden was heavy on their last rock, giving Switzerland the draw for the deuce. It was heavy, too, but hit the other Swiss rock, and both counted.
Canada goes for gold against Norway at 7 pm Atlantic.
The curling portion of the PEI 55+ Games will take place March 2-5 at the Charlottetown Curling Club, with Open and Women’s stick curling categories, along with traditional curling, in Men, Women, and Mixed categories in the 55+ and 65+ age groups.
Visit pei55plusgamessociety.vicid.net for more information on the 55+ Games.
VANCOUVER — Canada’s Cheryl Bernard finally ran out of miracles, missing a pair of gold-medal winning shots in the 10th and 11th ends to lose to 7-6 to Sweden’s Anette Norberg on Friday.
It was the second consecutive gold medal for the Swedish team, which knocked off Switzerland four years ago in Turin, and the second time it won the title in an extra end.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Norberg, who along with teammates Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindhal and Anna Le Moine, appeared stunned at the wild finish. “It just happened, I don’t know how.
“We had a great week but we weren’t happy just being in the final. Gold again is absolutely unbelievable.”
It appeared the Canadians would be the ones celebrating a victory, but in the 10th end, Bernard missed a simple down-weight takeout to allow the Swedish rink to score two points and force an extra end.
Then in the 11th, she had a relatively easy double takeout that curled too much, removing one but leaving the winning point in the four-foot.
Cheryl Bernard attempted a double with the final shot in an extra end against Sweden’s Annette Norberg, but couldn’t hold the line, leaving one Swedish stone, to lose 7-6 at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and take the Silver medal. In the 10th, Sweden hit and stuck for the deuce to force the extra.
The 2010 CIS / CCA University Curling Championships – presented by The Dominion – will be held March 10-14 at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, with 14 men’s and 12 women’s teams taking part.
The winning teams from this event will represent Canada at the 2011 FISU World Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey, January 27 to February 6th, 2011.
Last year’s UPEI women’s entry, skipped by Sarah Clow is back this year, with Christina Hennessey at third, Whitney Young joining the team at second, and Courtney Moore as lead. Coach is Angela Hodgson,
The UPEI men’s team, who are also reigning PEI junior men’s champions, is the rink of Brett Gallant, Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, and Alex MacFadyen. Their coach for this event is Tristan Chisholm. Casey and Carmody were on last year’s UPEI team, while MacFadyen was on the team from St. Francis Xavier.
The Big Ticket for the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts – February 19 – 27 in the Charlottetown Civic Centre – now comes with an innovative new option, Host Committee Chair Kim Dolan announced today.
“After all the excitement of Prince Edward Island’s remarkable performance at the 2010 Scotties, the new ticket package gives fans another reason to get excited about women’s curling in our province,” said Dolan.
Now, starting March 1st, you can purchase the Big Ticket with “Flex Appeal” at a price of $399 including all taxes and service charges. It still includes 21 draws, but with the added flexibility to design a personalized ticket package that works best for your schedule. The “flex” package is priced and structured to ensure as many fans as possible have access to the best seats in the house.
“It allows fans to use their tickets on their own terms,” said Dolan. “Take family or friends to a draw. Give a few to your staff or customers for another. Pick the times and draws that work best for you. It’s all about making the most of your 21 tickets.”
A complete guide to buying the new Flex package is available online at seasonofchampions.ca.
All Big Ticket packages provide value-added features including an exclusive Fan Appreciation Night where fans take part in a “meet-and-greet” with competitors, as well as Up Close and Personal interviews and team autograph sessions.
Tickets may be purchased online at seasonofchampions.ca, by phone at 902.629.6625 or in person at the Civic Centre Box Office.
By Rod Mickleburgh, The Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER – Jeff Maystruck lined up early, dressed in green like all good Saskatchewan Roughrider fanatics.
Green sneakers, green jockey shorts on the outside of his green tights, green football jersey, green cape and, of course, the signature green watermelon perched on his head.
But there was something wrong with this picture. It was February and Mr. Maystruck was going to watch curling.
“I love curling,” said Mr. Maystruck, a 25-year-old marketing strategist from Regina. “Why not have a little fun and get the crowd going?”
Actually, that hasn’t been a problem at the spanking new Olympic curling venue, where the constant din from unexpectedly raucous fans has unsettled some curlers used to peace and quiet, stoked others and given a whole new meaning to the sport’s nickname, “the roaring game.”
By Bob Weeks, The Globe and Mail
It may not have been their best win of the week, but it clearly was the sweetest.
Cheryl Bernard and her team of Susan O’Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire and Cori Bartel battled through some early inconsistency to defeat Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott 6-5 in the Olympic semi-finals, guaranteeing the Canadian rink a silver medal. They’ll try to improve on that in Friday’s final when they take on Sweden’s Anette Norberg for the gold.
By Bob Weeks, The Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER – It took him eight long years, but Kevin Martin has worked his way right back to where he wants to be, playing for a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Martin and his rink of John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert survived a scary start to defeat Sweden’s Niklas Edin 6-3 in their semi-final match and earn a spot in Saturday’s final. Just as he did in 2002, Martin will face Norway in that ultimate game after the Norwegians knocked off Switzerland 7-5 in the other semi-final.
Click to view a photo gallery from Wednesday’s charity match between K-Rock 1055 and the Kathy O’Rourke/Erin Carmody rink at the Charlottetown Curling Club.