Daily Archives: January 25, 2013

Birt only unbeaten rink at PEI Scotties. O’Rourke, Jackson are 2-1.

Posted on by January 25, 2013

There’s only one undefeated team left at the PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship, being played at the Charlottetown Curling Complex. The Suzanne Birt rink recorded a pair of wins today – 7-3 over Montague’s Tammy Dewar team, the only non-Charlottetown entry in the five team field, and 6-2 over defending champion and 9 time PEI Scotties winner Kim Dolan, and leads the field with a 3-0 win-loss record.

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Suzanne Birt (left), with sweepers Leslie MacDougall (top) and Sarah Fullerton (bottom)

Kathy O’Rourke, who has six PEI Scotties titles to her credit, the same number as Birt, split her games today – losing 8-6 to Lisa Jackson, and beating Dewar 8-1 in five ends, following a second end deuce with steals of one, two, and three points. Jackson and O’Rourke each have 2-1 win-loss records. Dolan’s loss, after a pair of wins on Thursday, puts her at 1-2, while Dewar has ended play in the event, with a 0-4 record.

The final round robin draw goes Saturday at 2 pm, with Jackson taking on Dolan, and O’Rourke facing unbeaten Birt. If tiebreakers are required, they will go at 7 pm Saturday and, if needed, 9 am Sunday. The second and third place teams following the round robin and any tiebreakers will square off in the semi-final, Sunday at 2 pm, with the winner facing the first place team in the 7 pm final.

The PEI Scotties champion will advance to the national Scotties in Kingston Ont., Feb. 16-24.

Mel Bernard wins 3rd straight PEI Masters Men’s ch’ship, Diane MacKay wins her first PEI Masters title

Posted on by January 25, 2013

Both the Mel Bernard rink from the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, and the Diane MacKay foursome from the Charlottetown and Cornwall curling clubs had to be the favourites going into their respective PEI Masters (for curlers age 60+) finals this afternoon at the Cornwall Curling Club, with Bernard winning the A final of the triple knockout and the 1 vs 2 Page game, both against Fox clubmate Bob Maynard, to advance directly to the final, and the Diane MacKay rink going undefeated in the round robin to also earn a bye to the final.  Both rinks pulled out four-point victories in their finals, with Bernard, again playing Maynard, winning by a 7-3 score, and MacKay defeating Cornwall’s Carol Sweetapple team by an 8-4 score. Both rink made some impressive shots on the way to the victories. A key shot for MacKay was her final rock in the fourth end when, facing a Sweetapple counter behind three of her opponents guards, squeezed her rock through a very narrow port, and managed to stay around for one point, and avoided giving up four.
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Photo (L-R): Bob Fowler (President Cornwall Curling Club), Mel Bernard, Blair Jay, Low Nowlan, Earle Proude

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Photo (L-R): Cornwall club president Bob Fowler, Diane MacKay, Val MacLean, Lynn Thiele, Donna Boulter

Playing with Bernard this year were Blair Jay, Lou Nowlan, and Earle Proude. Other members of the MacKay team are Val MacLean, Lynn Thiele, and Donna Boulter

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Photo (L-R): Bob Fowler, Cornwall Curling Club President, Bob Maynard, Harry Williams, Bruce Montgomery, Spike Martin

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Photo (L-R): Cornwall Club President Bob Fowler, Carol Sweetapple, Danielle Girard, Carlene Peters, Bernie Field

The runner-up Maynard foursome includes Harry Williams, Bruce Montgomery, and Spike Martin, while Danielle Girard, Carlene Peters, and Bernie Field round out the Sweetapple rink.

It’s MacKay’s first Masters, after being runner-up to Sweetapple in both 2010 and 2011. She has, however won the Maritime Masters event, which also includes the provincial runner-up team. Defending women’s champion Shirley Berry lost 8-6 to Sweetapple in the semi-final.
It’s the third Masters in a row for Bernard, who also recently won the PEI Legion championship.

Ten men’s and six women’s teams began play Monday. Men’s and women’s winners Bernard and MacKay, and runners-up Maynard and Sweetapple all earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships, March 7-10 at the Capital Winter Club, in Fredericton NB. The winning Bernard and MacKay teams, or the highest-finishing men’s and women’s rinks that choose to attend, are invited to participate in the Canadian Masters, April 8-14 at the Port Arthur Curling Club in Thunder Bay Ontario.

CCA Introduces Curling TV: a new way to watch curling on-line (CCA)

Posted on by January 25, 2013
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OTTAWA — An exciting new initiative from the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) means curling fans are just a click away from watching their favourite sport from anywhere on the planet with an internet signal.
Curling TV, which is now on-line and available at www.curlingtv.ca, offers curling fans a wide array of video options, ranging from archived TSN broadcasts from Season of Champions events (round-robin and playoffs), archival footage from older events (wait till you check out some of the highlights of past Briers dating back to 1955!), as well as instructional videos, equipment tips and post-game media scrum footage from our championship events.
“We’re always looking for new ways to offer opportunities to our fans to get involved with curling,” said Greg Stremlaw, the Chief Executive Officer of the CCA. “We’re very excited about what this new venture gives our fans, and where we can take it in the future.”
TSN broadcasts from Season of Champions events will be loaded onto the site within 48 hours of their appearing on television; currently, broadcasts are available from all of the 2011-12 events and the events that have taken place during the 2012-13 season.
“What we’re most excited about is that anybody interested in curling can find something to watch on Curling TV,” said Stremlaw. “Competitive curlers and coaches can use the archived broadcasts for game analysis and instruction, while beginning curlers will find benefits from such features as the equipment guides. There really is something for everyone to enjoy.”

Finals set at PEI Masters: MacKay vs Sweetapple, Bernard vs Maynard

Posted on by January 25, 2013

The 12 noon finals are set at the Curl PEI Provincial Masters Curling Championships, for curlers age 60 and over, at the Cornwall Curling Club.

On the men’s side, it’s an all-Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club final, with Mel Bernard, who qualified on the A side of the triple knockout, and then blanked clubmate Bob Maynard 8-0 in the Page 1 vs 2 game to earn a bye to the final, taking on Maynard again.  Maynard defeated the Bill Hope rink from the Cornwall and Silver Fox clubs in this morning’s semi-final, by a 7-1 score, with Maynard stealing a deuce in end four, a single in five, and another deuce in six to wrap things up early,

On the women’s side, the semi-final was a see-saw battle between defending champion Shirley Berry and her combined Cornwall/Silver Fox team, and Carol Sweetapple from the host club. Berry opened with a deuce, but Sweetapple pulled ahead with a single, a stolen deuce, and a stolen single. Berry moved into a 5-4 lead with a triple in the fifth end, and stole a single in the sixth. Sweetapple tied things up with a two point seventh end, and kept things clean coming home. Berry was short on her first draw, and didn’t throw her final rock, as that would have given her only one rock in the house, not enough for a tie. Final score: 7-5 Sweetapple.

Sweetapple now faces undefeated Diane MacKay and her Charlottetown/Cornwall rink in the final.

Ten men’s and six women’s teams began play Monday. Men’s and women’s winners and runners-up 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 invited to participate in the Canadian Masters, April 8-14 at the Port Arthur Curling Club in Thunder Bay Ontario.

Countdown to the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier (CCA)

Posted on by January 25, 2013

(by Allen Cameron) One team has already booked a ticket to Edmonton, and 11 others will be making travel plans over the next two weeks as the field shapes up for the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto.

Jamie Koe’s team from Yellowknife has claimed the Yukon/Northwest Territories title, meaning he will skip in his seventh Canadian men’s curling championship, and fifth in succession, when he arrives at Rexall Place in Edmonton for the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, which runs March 2-10, 2013. Koe’s team finished fourth at last year’s Brier in Saskatoon; it was the first time a Territories team had ever made the playoffs since the format was introduced at the Brier in 1980.

Yukon/Northwest Territories skip Jamie Koe of Yellowknife has already clinched a berth into the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier at Rexall Place in Edmonton. (Photo, CCA/Michael Burns)

The Quebec championship is underway this week in Victoriaville; the Saskatchewan (Melfort) and New Brunswick (Fredericton Junction) championships kick off on Jan. 30; and the rest of the Brier field will be decided on Feb. 10 when eight championship finals are scheduled.

Defending champion Glenn Howard leads the field into the Ontario championship in Barrie, while 2012 silver-medallist and 2010 Brier and world champion Kevin Koe will contest the Alberta championship in Leduc.

This is the ninth year that Tim Hortons has been the title sponsor of the Brier; it will be the sixth time Edmonton has hosted. The city holds the attendance record for the Brier; in 2005, 281,985 fans came out during the nine-day event.

Next year’s Brier is scheduled for Kamloops, B.C.

Check the Canadian Curling Association website (www.curling.ca) for updates on the Brier field.

The full draw for the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier is available at: www.curling.ca/championships/brier/draw-schedule/

For ticket information, go to: www.curling.ca/championships/brier/ticket-information/

Here’s a complete listing of the various dates and host cities for provincial men’s championships, as well as the provincial association websites, where links are available to the various events:

Date                    Province               Host city                    Website

Jan. 21-27            Quebec                  Victoriaville                www.curling-quebec.qc.ca
Jan. 30-Feb. 3     Saskatchewan        Melfort                        www.saskcurl.com
Jan. 30-Feb. 3     New Brunswick      Fredericton Junction    www.nbcurling.com
Feb. 4-10              Ontario                 Barrie                            www.ontcurl.com
Feb. 5-10              B.C.                      Parksville                      www.curlbc.ca
Feb. 5-10              Nova Scotia          Truro                             www.nscurl.com
Feb. 5-10              Nfld/Labr               St. John’s                     www.curlingnl.ca
Feb. 6-10              Alberta                  Leduc                           www.albertacurling.ab.ca
Feb. 6-10              Manitoba              Neepawa                      www.curlmanitoba.org
Feb. 6-10              N. Ontario            Nipigon                           www.curlnoca.ca
Feb. 6-10              P.E.I.                     Crapaud                        www.peicurling.com

Click to read this story on the CCA website

Koe remains unbeaten with win over Gushue, who falls to 1-2 at The National (CB Post)

Posted on by January 25, 2013

(by T.J. Colello)

Final round robin draws today at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, playoffs Saturday

SYDNEY — Kevin Koe continues to roll at The National in Port Hawkesbury.

Koe and his Calgary rink defeated 2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L. [whose team includes PEI natives Adam Casey and Brett Gallant], 7-3 in seven ends on Thursday in the fourth draw of the tournament. The win improved his record to 3-0.

Kevin Koe of Calgary throws a stone during Day 2 action at The National men's curling tournament at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. T.J. Colello - Cape Breton Post Kevin Koe of Calgary throws a stone during Day 2 action at The National men’s curling tournament at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. T.J. Colello – Cape Breton Post

Koe, with the hammer in the fifth end, made a double takeout to score three to go up 6-3 over Gushue, who fell to 1-2 at the event.

Gushue got into the win column Thursday afternoon by defeating Steve Laycock’s crew from Saskatoon, Sask., 7-4.

Koe is looking to win his second event on the Grand Slam of Curling tour, after winning The Masters in Brantford, Ont., in November. If he wins The National, he can move into the lead for the first-place Grand Slam of Curling bonus money of $50,000 over Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont. Howard won the Canadian Open last month in Kelowna, B.C.

Earlier in the day, Koe defeated Rob Rumfeldt of Guelph, Ont., 7-4. His foursome opened the tournament on Wednesday with a 6-5 extra-ends win over 2010 Olympic silver medallist Thomas Ulsrud of Norway.

Click for full story in the Cape Breton Post

Birt, O’Rourke only unbeaten teams at Scotties (Guardian)

Posted on by January 25, 2013

(by Jason Malloy) Teams skipped by Suzanne Birt and Kathy O’Rourke are atop the leaderboard after Day 1 of the P.E.I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship.

Birt scored singles in the first three ends, added a deuce in the fourth and never looked back Thursday night handing Lisa Jackson her first loss in the five-team tournament. Jackson conceded in the seventh end trailing 8-2 at the Charlottetown Curling Complex.

“It’s always nice to have a good start,” Birt said after the game. “It’s a short round robin, so every game is really, really important.”

O’Rourke scored singles in the ninth and 10th ends to beat Dolan 7-4 in an afternoon contest.

Dolan evened her record by defeating Dewar in the evening draw 9-2 in eight ends.

O’Rourke said all of this week’s games will be tough, so remaining in the moment is important.

“We’ll just try to focus on the first game and the first end of the first game,” she said. “Everyone just (has to) keep focused on the shots that they’re throwing in that end and not think too much ahead and too far ahead.”

Guardian photo by Nigel Armstrong

Gail Greene, lead with the Tammy Dewar rink of Montague delivers a stone during opening day action Thursday at the P.E.I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The games are being played at the Charlottetown Curling Complex.

The cold weather that has struck the Island this week was playing a factor with the ice conditions. Both O’Rourke and Birt said the ice was straighter than normal and it’s colder on the ice surface than the players are used to.

Click for full story in The Guardian