Curl PEI’s championship curling season is now underway, with the first draw of the Pepsi Juniors being played at Cornwall, and entries now closed for four provincial curling championships — the Tankard (men’s), the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (women’s), The Masters, with men’s and women’s divisions for curlers age 60 and over, and the new Mixed Doubles championship. Three events – the Credit Unions of PEI Seniors, the O’Connor Glass Under 18, and the Ferguson Funeral Homes Stick championship, have entry deadlines this month.
Tankard
Ten teams, including the defending champion Mike Gaudet rink, have signed up. The 10 team field means that there will be no preliminary events, just a triple knockout final with a Page playoff round. The Tankard Final goes Feb. 6-10 at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. The winning team from this year’s Tankard will advance to the Tim Hortons Brier, March 2-10 in Edmonton Alberta.
Website: peicurling.com/tankard
Scotties
For the second consecutive year, the Prince Edward Island Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be held at Charlottetown Curling Complex. Last year, for the first time since 1999, Kim Dolan won the title, and returned to the national Scotties, in Red Deer Alberta. The Dolan rink join three other teams from the host club skipped by Suzanne Birt, Kathy O’Rourke, and Lisa Jackson, along with Montague’s Tammy Dewar foursome, in this year’s event, scheduled for January 23-27. The five team event will be played as a single round robin, with the top three teams advancing to a championship round where the second and third place teams meet in a semi-final, with the winner taking on the first place team in the championship game.The winning rink will advance to the national Scotties in Kingston Ont., Feb. 16-24.
Website: peicurling.com/scotties
Masters
The Cornwall Curling Club is this year’s host for the Curl PEI/The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy Provincial Masters Curling Championships, for curlers age 60 and over. Event dates are January 21-23 (start and end dates may vary slightly, depending on number of entries)..
Defending champions are the Mel Bernard rink from the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, and the Shirley Berry foursome from the Charlottetown and Cornwall clubs. Both teams are back this year, with the 10 men’s teams signed up playing a triple knockout format with a Page playoff round, and the 6 women’s teams entered playing a round robin, with the second and third place teams playing in a semi-final, and the winner facing the first place team in the final.
Winners and runners-up in both men’s and women’s divisions earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships, March 7-10 at the Capital Winter Club, in Fredericton NB. The winning teams, or the highest-finishing men’s and women’s rinks that choose to attend, are also invited to participate in the Canadian Masters, April 8-14 at the Port Arthur Curling Club in Thunder Bay Ontario.
Website: peicurling.com/masters
Mixed Doubles
No entries were received by deadline time for the first Provincial Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, which had been scheduled for January 31-Feb. 3 at the Montague Curling Club.
The winning team from the championship would have represented PEI at the Mixed Doubles Curling Trials in Leduc, Alberta March 14-17, 2013.
Events with entry deadlines in January
Credit Unions of PEI Seniors – Deadline January 18
Both the men’s and women’s Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Seniors Curling Championships will be held at the six-sheet Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club, from February 13-17, 2013. The winning teams will advance to the Canadian Seniors, March 16-25, which will also be hosted at the Fox. Defending provincial women’s champs are the Cornwall and Charlottetown rink of Shirley Berry, Sandy Hope, Shelley Ebbett and Arleen Harris, while the team of Charlie Wilkinson, Ken McGregor, Phillip McInnis and Bill Doherty are the reigning PEI men’s champions.
Entries for this year’s event close on January 18. Entry fee is $200 per team, plus a $35 per player/per season CCA Competitor’s fee, Entries must be made online at PEICurling.com.
Entries to-date may be viewed at the event website: PEICurling.com/seniors
O’Connor Glass Under 18 – Deadline January 25
The Montague Curling Club is hosting the O’Connor Glass/Curl PEI Provincial Under 18 (formerly the 17 and Under) Curling Championships, from February 21-25 2013. Defending champions are the Matthew MacLean rink from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, and the Veronica Smith team from the Cornwall Curling Club. The winning rinks this year advance to their choice of either the Atlantic Under 18 Curling Championships, March 28-31 at the Caribou Curling Club in Stephenville NL, OR the Optimist International Under 18 Curling Championships, March 27-31 in Surrey and Langley BC, with the runners-up going to the other event. Starting last year, the option to attend the Optimist rotates annually between the four Atlantic Provinces, and 2013 is PEI’s turn.
Entry deadline for the PEI event is January 25. Entry fee is $140/team. Entries must be made online at PEICurling.com.
Entries to-date may be viewed at the event website: PEICurling.com/under18
Ferguson Funeral Homes Stick – Deadline January 25
The Western Community Curling Club in Alberton is the site of the 2013 Curl PEI/Ferguson Funeral Homes Provincial Stick Curling Championships, which take place February 19-22. Defending champions in the open division are the Floyd Stewart/Gordon MacDonald duo from the Montague Curling Club, who edged the three-time defending champion Walter Callaghan/John Vincent twosome from Western by a 5-4 score in last year’s final. The Ruth Stavert/Gloria Clarke rink from the Cornwall Curling Club are three-time defending champions in the women’s division, finishing with a perfect 5-0 record last year. The 2012 runners-up were the team of Audrey Callaghan of Western, and Ann Barwise of the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary.
The top four open division teams, and the top two women’s rinks from this year’s event all earn the right to compete in the Maritime Stick Curling Championships, March 12-14 (revised dates) here in PEI at the Montague Curling Club. The Ruth Stavert/Gloria Clarke duo are the defending women’s champs, and also won in 2010. The Floyd Stewart/Gordon MacDonald rink were runners-up in the open division last year.
The top two open division teams also earn the right to compete in the 2013 Canadian Open Stick Curling Championship, April 1-4, also here in PEI, at the Cornwall Curling Club. The defending champs from last year’s event in Regina are the Earl Stephenson and Warren Johnson team from Winnipeg MB. The Montague Curling Club rink of Basil and Sterling Higginbotham won the B consolation prize. This is an “open” event, but reserves entries for the top two teams from each of BC, Alberta, Manitoba,Saskatchewan. Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. There are 32 spots available for other teams, for a total of 48 teams. Entry fee for the national event is $120 per 2 person team, with a pay-per-win format, 5 games guaranteed, plus a banquet, and championship and consolation events. Entry deadline is March 1st. For more info, contact Shirley Lank at (902) 621-0258 or lankshire.farms@pei.sympatico.ca, or visit StickCurling.ca. To enter the national event, send team roster with cheque to: 2013 PEI-National Stick. 780 Route 225, North Wiltshire, PE C0A 1Y0.
Entries for the provincial championship close on January 25. Entry fee is $80 per two-person team. Entries must be made online at PEICurling.com.
Entries to-date may be viewed at the event website: PEICurling.com/stick