(CCA) The Capital One Canada Cup, presented by Mosaic, gets underway Wednesday in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, kicking off the Canadian Curling Association’s Season of Champions.
This 10th edition brings together seven of the best men’s and women’s teams in the country, competing for berths directly into the 2013 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials Roar of the Rings, December 1-8 in Winnipeg, which will determine Canada’s representatives for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Photo: Team Webster
The women’s field comprises reigning Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and Ford Worlds bronze medallist Heather Nedohin of Edmonton; defending Canada Cup champion, four-time Scotties and 2008 world champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg; two-time winner and reigning Players’ Champion Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon; 2003 winner Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ontario; Winnipeg’s Cathy Overton-Clapham, 2007 winner, 2008 world champion and five-time Scotties winner; 2011 runner-up Chelsea Carey of Winnipeg and Crystal Webster of Calgary, a 2009 Pre-Trials event winner, whose team includes PEI natives Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay.
Jones qualified as the defending champion while Nedohin qualified by winning last year’s Scotties. The balance qualified from their standing on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) for the 2011-12 season.
Photo: Team Gushue
The men’s field boasts 2010 winner, four-time Brier champion and reigning world champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ontario; four-time Canada Cup and Brier winner and 2010 Olympic gold medallist Kevin Martin of Edmonton; two-time world champion Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg; 2010 world champion Kevin Koe of Calgary; 2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue of St. John’s, with PEI natives Adam Casey and Brett Gallant on the team; Mike McEwen of Winnipeg, the leading money winner on the World Curling Tour for the last two years and John Epping of Toronto, the 2012 Players’ Championship winner.
Martin qualified as the defending champion, Howard for winning last year’s Tim Hortons Brier, the balance from their standing on the 2011-12 CTRS.
For the first time in Canada Cup history, TSN will provide complete coverage of the Capital One Canada Cup from the opening draw on Wednesday through to and including the women’s and men’s finals on Sunday. Here is the event draw:
The Capital One Canada Cup format calls for the men’s and women’s teams to play a three-day round robin, with the first place teams advancing to their respective finals on Sunday, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals on Saturday, after any required tiebreakers, to determine the other finalists.
The total prize money is $70,000 each for men and women, with the winning teams receiving $14,000. The runners-up get $9,000 while the third place finishers earn $5,000. Teams also receive $2,000 for each round robin win.
In addition to berths into the 2013 Trials, the winners also earn invitations to the 2014 World Financial Group Continental Cup, at a site and date to be announced.
Martin, Jones, Howard and Nedohin have already earned berths into the Trials – Martin and Jones for winning last year’s Capital One Canada Cup, Howard and Nedohin for their placing on the 2011-12 CTRS. Should any of those teams win this year’s renewal, the Trials spot will go to the highest-ranking team on the CTRS at the end of the 2012-13 season which has not yet qualified for the Trials.
Since its inception in 2003, the Canada Cup has been won by some of the country’s most successful curling teams. On the men’s side, Kevin Martin is the only four-time winner (2005, 2006, 2009, 2011), while Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey (2003, 2004, 2007) is a three-time champion. Kevin Koe (2008) and Glenn Howard (2010) have also emerged victorious.
On the women’s side, Jennifer Jones (2007, 2011), Stefanie Lawton (2008, 2010) and Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary (2005, 2009) are all two-time Cup winners. The other winners were Sherry Middaugh (2003), Colleen Jones (2004) and Cathy King (2006).
The Canada Cup was staged in Kamloops, British Columbia from its inception in 2003 through 2008. In 2009, it was played in Yorkton, Saskatchewan while Medicine Hat, Alberta staged the 2010 renewal. Last year’s edition, the first one sponsored by Capital One, was held in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
Event website: www.curling.ca/championships/canadacup/
For up-to-the-minute results, visit www.curling.ca
Here are the team rosters:
MEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate, coach)
Team Epping, Donalda Club, Toronto, ON
John Epping, Scott Bailey, Scott Howard, David Mathers
Team Gushue, Bally Haly Country Club, St. John’s, NL
Brad Gushue, Adam Casey, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker
Team Howard, Coldwater & District Curling Club, Coldwater, ON
Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing, Craig Savill
Team Koe – The Glencoe Club, Calgary, AB
Kevin Koe, Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft, Nolan Thiessen, coach John Dunn
Team Martin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB
Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert, coach Jules Owchar
Team McEwen – Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Mike McEwen, B.J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld, coach Chris Neufeld
Team Stoughton – Charleswood Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Jeff Stoughton, Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers, Mark Nichols
WOMEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate, coach)
Team Carey – Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Chelsea Carey, Kristy McDonald, Kristen Foster, Lindsay Titheridge, coach Dan Carey
Team Jones – St. Vital Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin, Kirsten Wall
Team Lawton – Granite Curling Club, Saskatoon, SK
Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Anderson, Sherri Singler, Marliese Kasner, coach Rick Folk
Team Middaugh – Coldwater & District Curling Club, Coldwater, ON
Sherry Middaugh, Jo-Ann Rizzo, Lee Merklinger, Leigh Armstrong
Team Nedohin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB
Heather Nedohin, Beth Iskiw, Jessica Mair, Laine Peters, coach Darryl Horne
Team Overton-Clapham, Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB
Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jenna Loder, Ashley Howard, Breanne Meakin, Carolyn Darbyshire, coach Rob Meakin
Team Webster, The Glencoe Club, Calgary, AB
Crystal Webster, Erin Carmody, Geri-Lynn Ramsay, Sam Preston, coach Mark Johnson