World Curling Federation News Release:
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY
7 April 2010
The World Curling Federation has elected Kate Caithness from Scotland as president. Caithness, who has been serving as Vice-President since 2006, was elected to the post, gathering more votes than Les Harrison who was seeking re-election, at the annual general meeting of the Federation in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Kate Caithness becomes the first female president of the Olympic winter sport Federation of curling. She has been involved with curling since the early 1980s. From being President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club Ladies Branch (1997-1998), she moved on to get involved with the World Curling Federation.
Since 2000 she has been the driving force behind the World Curling Federation’s development of Wheelchair Curling and was instrumental in obtaining the admission of the sport into the Paralympic Winter Games programme in Turin in 2006.
Switzerland’s Patrick Hürlimann was appointed Vice-President, taking the role that Caithness has vacated. Canadian, Les Harrison, steps down as president.
Executive Board:
President: Kate Caithness (Scotland)
Vice-President: Patrick Hürlimann (Switzerland)
Director of Finance: Andy Anderson (USA)
Members at Large:
Graham Prouse (Canada)
Young C. Kim (Korea)
Leif Öhman (Sweden)
Niels Larsen (Denmark)
Among the other decisions made at the annual general meeting held during the Capital One World Men’s Curling Championship WCF Member Associations also voted to:
– Not reduce the game from 10 ends to 8 ends
– Maintain tiebreaker games to determine playoff teams
– Keep extra ends
– Reduce time outs to one 60 second coach interaction with the time clock running
– Allow electric wheelchairs at WCF wheelchair curling events
– Prohibit communications between the coach bench and anyone who is not sitting in that designated area.
– Move the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship and World Senior Curling Championships from April to the month of November, starting from November 2012
These decisions will be reflected in the new WCF rule book which will be issued on the 1st of June 2010.
In other business, Slovenia was accepted as the 46th member association of the World Curling Federation.
A presentation of a silver salver was made to former European Curling Federation President Malcolm Richardson – winner of the 2010 Elmer Freytag Award.
The next WCF General Assembly will take place on Thursday 9th December 2010 in Champery Switzerland.