The Sobeys Slam gets underway Thursday and wraps up Sunday at the Bluenose Curling Club and the John Brother MacDonald Stadium in New Glasgow NS. Charlottetown’s Suzanne Birt rink, which includes third Shelly Bradley, second Leslie MacDougall, and lead Stefanie Clark, along with Cornwall’s Donna Butler foursome, with Marie Molyneaux at third, Melissa Andrews at second, and Carolyn Coulson at lead, are PEI’s entrants. Other entries in this star-studded event include Jennifer Jones, Shannon Kleibrink, Kelly Scott, Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Middaugh, Cheryl Bernard, Cathy King, Mary Anne Arsenault, two US teams, and the silver medallists in last year’s World championship, Team China (Bingyu Wang).
Birt will play Amber Holland of Regina in the opening draw, Thursday at 8:30 am.
The Butler rink, who qualified as a result of their 3-2 finish at the Rodd Curling Classic in Charlottetown, will open against top-ranked Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary Thursday at noon.
Asked about the opportunity to play in the Slam and to face Kleibrink, Butler had this to say, “As a team, we are so pleased the host committee has allowed for two spots to be filled with Atlantic Canada teams through a qualifying process and we are very excited about the opportunity to play in the Sobeys Slam. It is such a great opportunity to play the best teams from across Canada. Playing Kleibrink in our first game does put pressure on us but it is great. I am a little nervous but once the game gets going, we’ll settle in and just play”.
The Sobeys Slam is the only women’s World Curling Tour Grand Slam event in Eastern Canada. Featuring the best women’s curling teams in the world, the Canadian teams will be competing for Canadian Team Ranking system (CTRS) points, enabling them to qualify for the 2009 Olympic Trials. It is not all about points however — with $60,000 up for grabs, the Sobeys Slam is one of the richest women’s cash spiels in the world.
A full schedule of events can be found at www.sobeysslam.ca.
Tickets can be purchased at the website, or at any Sobeys store in Atlantic Canada.