The ninth annual Canadian Open Two Person Stick Curling Championship, the first to be held east of Winnipeg, gets underway Monday and wraps up on Thursday at the Cornwall Curling Club, with the Charlottetown Curling Complex serving as a second venue on Tuesday. The championship reserves spots for provincial champions, and also allows open entries. There are 40 teams from six provinces, including 17 PEI rinks, competing in the Open division, which includes any combination of male and female curlers, and ten rinks, from the three Maritime provinces, taking part in the Women’s division, which is new this year.  The 2012 Canadian Open Division champions, the duo of Warren Johnson and Earl Stephenson  from the St. Vital Curling Club in Winnipeg, are in the event, looking to defend their title.

Photo: 2012 champions Warren Johnson and Earl Stephenson

Also entered in the Open division are the team of John Vincent and Walter Callaghan from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton, who won their fourth PEI title this year. The duo of Ruth Stavert and Gloria Clarke from the host Cornwall club, who recently won their fourth consecutive PEI women’s Stick championship, followed by the Maritime Stick Championship title, are among the Women’s division entries.

In Stick Curling there are two curlers per team, who deliver their rocks with delivery sticks, with each team member delivering from opposite ends of the ice sheet. Sweeping is allowed only from the hog line to the back of the house at the playing end. Two curlers, one from each team, alternately deliver 6 stones each per end, while their teammate skips that end. The roles are then reversed, and the partners deliver the stones back. No stone may be removed from play until the fourth stone of each end. Games are six ends and take about an hour to play. For more information on Stick Curling, including complete rules of play, visit www.stickcurling.ca.

There are forty  draws in the event, running from 8 am until approximately 6 pm Monday through Wednesday, and wrapping up with the Open and Women’s finals,  and the Open Consolation final and Bronze medal game, all Thursday at 3:15 pm. On Tuesday the Charlottetown Curling Complex will be used in addition to Cornwall, with games running at the same times at both venues.

The Open division plays a triple knockout format, qualifying eight teams for a championship round, which begins with the quarter-finals Thursday morning at 10:30. The semis go at 11:30, with the winners advancing to the final, and the losers playing in the Bronze medal game at the same time There is also a consolation round for the losers of qualifying games 5 through 8.

The Women’s division features a two pool round robin, with the second and third place teams from opposite pools squaring off Wednesday at 3:15 pm, and the winners facing the 1st place teams in the semi-finals on Thursday at 1:15, with the winners of these games advancing to the final.

Full event draw, team rosters, Women’s round robin pools, and game results are available at curlingresults.com/canadianstick

For more information on the event, contact Shirley Lank at (902) 621-0258 or email [email protected].

Two Person Stick Curling is relatively new sport which provides challenge and excitement for people of all ages on an equal and competitive basis, and in a social atmosphere. Stick Curling is also appropriate for people with physical disabilities such as knee, back, heart, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, ankle, or foot problems.  The rocks are delivered with a curling stick from a standing or sitting position (i.e. wheelchairs) enabling everyone to participate competitively.