OTTAWA, April 22, 2009 (CCA)… The Canadian Curling Association today confirmed the 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams which have qualified for either the Tim Hortons ‘Roar of the Rings’ Canadian Curling Trials in Edmonton, Alberta or the pre-Trials ‘Road to the Roar’ event in Prince George, British Columbia.
Four men’s and four women’s teams have earned berths directly into the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, presented by Monsanto, December 6-13, 2009 at the 15,000-seat Rexall Place. They will be joined by four other men’s and four other women’s teams who will participate in the 12-team (men and women) pre-Trials competition at the 6,000-seat CN Centre, November 10-14.
Advancing directly to the Trials are teams skipped by Kevin Martin, Kevin Koe and Randy Ferbey, all of Edmonton, Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ontario, Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, Shannon Kleibrink and Cheryl Bernard of Calgary and Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon.
The teams qualified by winning three specific events over a three-season period (2006-2009) or by their cumulative points total on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) during that time.
Martin, a four-time Brier winner, 2008 world champion and 2002 Olympic silver medallist, won the 2007 Players’ Championship, 2008 Tim Hortons Brier and world men’s title, while Howard, a three-time world champion, captured the 2007 Brier and Ford world men’s and 2008 Players’ Championship.
Koe, winner of the 2008 Canada Cup, and Ferbey, a six-time Brier and four-time world champion, both qualified via their CTRS points total during the last three seasons. Ferbey clinched his spot by winning last weekend’s Players’ Championship in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
The Jones team was the first to qualify directly for the Trials, after taking the 2007 Canada Cup and Players’ Championship and 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, prior to winning a 2008 world title as well. Kleibrink, winner of this year’s Canada Cup, Bernard and Lawton, the 2008 Canada Cup winner, all qualified via their CTRS points total during the last three seasons.
The Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings will be an eight-team round robin competition, with the first place finishers advancing to their respective finals, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals. TSN will provide complete event coverage. For ticket information, visit www.seasonofchampions.ca.
The winners will, of course, then represent Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, where the curling competition takes place February 16-27 at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.
The women’s teams at the pre-Trials Road to the Roar event, a triple knockout format, include 2007 world champion Kelly Scott of Kelowna, former Canadian junior champion Marie-France Larouche of St-Romuald, Quebec, 1998 Canadian champion Cathy King of Edmonton, 2008 Players’ champion Amber Holland of Kronau, Saskatchewan, 2001 Trials runner-up Sherry Anderson of Saskatoon and Ottawa’s 20-year-old Rachel Homan, the youngest skip in the group, who was the runner-up at the 2009 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.
The men’s field includes reigning Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue of St. John’s, two-time Brier and one-time world champions Jeff Stoughton and Kerry Burtnyk, both of Winnipeg, two-time world champion Wayne Middaugh of Toronto, 2006 Brier winner Jean-Michel Ménard of St-Romuald, 2000 world champion Greg McAulay of Richmond, British Columbia and former world junior champion Bob Ursel of Kelowna.
For ticket information, visit www.seasonofchampions.ca. TSN will also provide coverage of the pre-Trials, televising the A, B and C finals.
A complete list of all teams, including seeding for the Trials and pre-Trials, is attached. A breakdown of
the 32 teams shows nine from Alberta (five women’s, four men’s), six from Saskatchewan (four women’s, two men’s), five from Manitoba (one women’s, four men’s), five from Ontario (three women’s, two men’s), three from British Columbia (one women’s, two men’s), three from Quebec (two women’s, one men’s) and one men’s team from Newfoundland/Labrador. More information is available at www.curling.ca.
The Trials will be the fifth such competition to determine Canada’s representatives at the Winter Olympics.
In 1987, the Trials were held in Calgary and won by Vancouver’s Linda Moore and Calgary’s Ed Lukowich. The following year, at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, when curling was a demonstration sport, Moore won a gold medal while Lukowich received a bronze medal.
In 1997, the Trials were staged in Brandon, Manitoba and won by Toronto’s Mike Harris and Regina’s Sandra Schmirler. Schmirler went on to win a gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano (Karuizawa), Japan, while Harris earned a silver medal, as curling became an official medal sport.
In 2001 in Regina, the Trials were captured by Edmonton’s Kevin Martin and New Westminster’s Kelley Law. Martin then earned a silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City (Ogden), Utah, while Law took home a bronze medal.
At the 2005 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax, Brad Gushue of St. John’s and Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary emerged victorious. Gushue went on to win a gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin (Pinerolo), Italy, the first time Canada had won the men’s competition, while Kleibrink earned a bronze medal.
TEAMS FOR THE 2009 TIM HORTONS CANADIAN CURLING TRIALS, DECEMBER 6-13 IN EDMONTON AND THE 2009 PRE-TRIALS, NOVEMBER 10-14 IN PRINCE GEORGE, BC
2009 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings
# denotes seed for Trials
Women
1. Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg, MB)
2. Shannon Kleibrink (Calgary, AB)
3. Cheryl Bernard (Calgary, AB)
4. Stefanie Lawton (Saskatoon, SK)
Men
1. Kevin Martin (Edmonton, AB)
2. Glenn Howard (Coldwater, ON)
3. Kevin Koe (Edmonton, AB)
4. Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, AB)
2009 Road to the Roar (Pre-Trials)
# denotes seed for Pre-Trials
Women
1. Kelly Scott (Kelowna, BC)
2. Sherry Middaugh (Coldwater, ON)
3. Marie-France Larouche (St-Romuald, QC)
4. Michelle Englot (Regina, SK)
5. Heather Rankin (Calgary, AB)
6. Rachel Homan (Ottawa, ON)
7. Crystal Webster (Calgary, AB)
8. Cathy King (Edmonton, AB)
9. Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay, ON)
10. Amber Holland (Kronau, SK)
11. Eve Bélisle (Montreal, QC)
12. Sherry Anderson (Saskatoon, SK)
Men
1. Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, MB)
2. Wayne Middaugh (Toronto, ON)
3. Brad Gushue (St. John’s, NL)
4. Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, MB)
5. Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, MB)
6. Joel Jordison (Moose Jaw, SK)
7. Jean-Michel Ménard (St-Romuald, QC)
8. Ted Appelman (Edmonton, AB)
9. Bob Ursel (Kelowna, BC)
10. Pat Simmons (Davidson, SK)
11. Greg McAulay (Richmond, BC)
12. Jason Gunnlaugson (Beausejour, MB)
Note: Four women’s and four men’s teams will qualify from the Pre-Trials and advance to the 2009 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.