Six draws in the 40 team Open (any combination of men’s and women’s players)  division, and 2 draws in the 10 team Women’s division were played on opening day at the 9th annual Canadian Open 2 Person Stick Championship, which got underway today at the Cornwall Curling Club.

Photo: Willie Nicholson

Among the twenty unbeaten Open division teams after opening day are the defending champion Warren Johnson and Earl Stephenson duo from Winnipeg, the Dennis Cassidy/Mike Akagi twosome from BC,  the Carson and Miranne Shultz rink from Alberta, the wheelchair team of Lauchie Rutt and George Horning from the Lakeshore club in Halifax.  the New Brunswick team of Ken Grattan and Al Gauvreau from the Gage Curling Club, and the Charlottetown Curling Complex rink of Robert Acorn and Willie Nicholson. The Open division is a triple knockout  format, which will select eight qualifiers for Thursday’s championship round.

Three teams are unbeaten in the two-pool round robin Women’s division – the Shirley Lank/Mary Plamondon and the Jean Anderson/Margaret Stewart teams from the host Cornwall Curling Club, and the Eleanor Murray/Irene King duo from Fredericton NB.

Action resumes at 8 am Tuesday at both the Cornwall club and the Charlottetown Curling Complex (the only day Charlottetown is used in the event), with the final games of the day at 4:30 pm at both venues. Wednesday draws run from 8 am through to 5:15 pm at Cornwall, with the last four Open qualifiers determined in the 8 am Thursday draw.

The Open division quarter-finals go 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.
In the Women’s division,  the second and third place teams from opposite pools square off Wednesday at 3:15 pm, with 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.

In Two Person Stick Curling, a relatively new sport which provides challenge and excitement for people of all ages on an equal and competitive basis, 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. Games are six ends and take about an hour to play.

Results are available throughout the event at curlingresults/com/canadianstick.

There is no admission charge to watch the event.