(CCA) The eighth edition of the Canada Cup of Curling gets underway on Wednesday, as the best Canadian men’s and women’s teams take to the ice at the Medicine Hat Arena for the first event in the Canadian Curling Association’s Season of Champions. Ten men’s and 10 women’s teams will battle, not only for the $25,000 winner’s share, but also for berths into next year’s Canada Cup in Cranbrook and the 2012 World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto, in Langley, British Columbia.
The teams have been seeded into two pools and will play a round robin within their group plus one cross-over game. At the conclusion of the round robin on Friday, the Page Playoffs will commence. The first place teams in each pool will face off, with the winners advancing to their respective finals while the losers go to the semi-finals.
The second place teams in each pool will also meet, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals, while the losers are eliminated.
This marks the first time that the Canada Cup will be held in Medicine Hat, which has been the site of the two most successful Continental Cups ever…in 2004 and 2007. The Canada Cup was staged in Kamloops from 2003-2008, then was conducted in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 2009.
2010 Canada Cup
His competition includes the reigning Canadian and world champion Kevin Koe of Edmonton, who won last year’s Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax and the Capital One world men’s championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. He also won the 2008 Canada Cup.
There’s also three-time Brier and world champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ontario, who suffered two excruciating losses last season…the Brier final to Koe, his only loss of the week, and the Trials final to Martin.
Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey, also a three-time Canada Cup winner, as well as a record six-time Brier winner and four-time world champion, has joined the Brad Gushue team from St. John’s. He’ll skip but throw third stones. Gushue, who will toss fourth rocks, and second Mark Nichols won Olympic gold in 2006 in Torino (Pinerolo), Italy.
Completing the field are Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton, a two-time Brier and former world champion, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, Rob Fowler of Brandon, Serge Reid of Jonquière, Quebec, Calgary’s Brent Bawel and Ottawa’s Mat Camm.
The women’s field is one of the strongest ever. It includes Calgary’s Cheryl Bernard, the 2010 Olympic silver medallist; Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones, a four-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner, 2008 Ford Worlds champion and 2007 Canada Cup winner and Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink, the 2006 Olympic bronze medallist who is also the defending Canada Cup champion and a two-time winner of the event.
There’s also 2008 Canada Cup winner Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon; 2007 world champion and two-time Scotties winner Kelly Scott of Kelowna; Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, who finished third in last season’s Scotties and the Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials; Amber Holland of Kronau, Saskatchewan; Chelsea Carey of Winnipeg; Shelley Nichols of St. John’s and Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin, the 1996 world junior champion and 1998 Scotties winner.
The Canada Cup gets underway with four draws on Wednesday, followed by three draws Thursday and Friday, prior to the start of the playoffs on Saturday. Draw results will be instantly available on the Canadian Curling Association website, www.curling.ca.
Full event, mini-packs or draw tickets are available by calling (403) 502-8777, in person at The Esplanade Box Office or the Medicine Hat Mall Box Office or online at Seasonofchampions.ca.
2010 Canada Cup of Curling
December 1-5, Medicine Hat Arena
Medicine Hat, Alberta
MEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second and lead)
Team Bawel – Calgary Curling Club, Calgary, AB
Brent Bawel, Sean O’Connor, Mike Jantzen, Hardi Sulimma, coach John Hamm
Team Camm – Ottawa Curling Club, Ottawa, ON
Mat Camm, Scott Howard, David Mathers, Andrew Hamilton, coach Will Hamilton
Team Fowler – Brandon Curling Club, Brandon, MB
Rob Fowler, Allan Lyburn, Richard Daneault, Derek Samagalski
Team Ferbey – Bally Haly Golf & Curling Club, St. John’s, NL
Randy Ferbey (third stones), Brad Gushue (fourth stones), Mark Nichols, Ryan Fry
Team Howard, Coldwater & District Curling Club, Coldwater, ON
Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh (replaces Richard Hart), Brent Laing, Craig Savill
Team Koe – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB
Kevin Koe, Blake MacDonald, Carter Rycroft, Nolan Thiessen
Team Martin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB
Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert
Team McEwen – Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Mike McEwen, BJ Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld
Team Reid – Kénogami Curling Club, Jonquière, QC
Serge Reid, François Gionest, Simon Collin, Steeve Villeneuve
Team Stoughton – Charleswood Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Jeff Stoughton, Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers, Steve Gould
WOMEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second and lead)
Team Bernard – Calgary Curling Club, Calgary, AB
Cheryl Bernard, Susan O’Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire, Cori Morris
Team Carey – Morden Curling Club, Morden, MB
Chelsea Carey, Kristy Jenion, Kristen Foster, Lindsay Titheridge, coach Dan Carey
Team Holland – Kronau Curling Club, Kronau, SK
Amber Holland, Kim Schneider, Tammy Schneider, Heather Kalenchuk
Team Jones – St. Vital Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin, coach Earle Morris
Team Kleibrink – Calgary Winter Club, Calgary, AB
Shannon Kleibrink, Amy Nixon, Bronwen Webster, Chelsey Bell, coach J.D. Lind
Team Lawton – Granite Curling Club, Saskatoon, SK
Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Anderson, Sherri Singler, Marliese Kasner
Team McCarville, Fort William Curling Club, Thunder Bay, ON
Krista McCarville, Ashley Miharija, Kari MacLean, Sarah Lang, coach Rick Lang
Team Nedohin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB
Heather Nedohin, Beth Iskiw, Jessica Miller, Laine Peters, coach Tom Lomgore
Team Nichols – RE/MAX Centre, St. John’s, NL
Shelley Nichols, Stephanie LeDrew, Rhonda Rogers, Colette Lemon
Team Scott – Kelowna Curling Club, Kelowna, BC
Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter, Jacquie Armstrong, coach Gerry Richard