Twenty-four teams will be looking to take a step closer to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, when the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Pre-Trials, presented by Monsanto, get underway on Nov. 5 at the Memorial Auditorium Complex in Kitchener, Ont. PEI curling fans will have four native Islanders to watch at the event. On the men’s side, Brett Gallant and Adam Casey are on the Brad Gushue rink out of St. John’s NL. Gushue was Olympic champ in 2006. The women’s event has two PEI natives – Geri-Lynn Ramsay on the Crystal Webster rink out of Calgary (see previous story), and Erin Carmody, third on the Laura Crocker team from Edmonton
Twelve teams of each gender will play off for two berths into the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials, also presented by Monsanto, Dec. 1 to 8 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The Trials will decide Canada’s teams to compete for Olympic gold in Sochi.
Photo (Facebook): Team Crocker with Erin Carmody 2nd left
The Crocker rink also includes Rebecca Pattison at second, and lead Jen Gates. Gates is also part of Crocker’s Wilfrid Laurier University rink that won back-to-back Canadian Interuniversity Sport titles and will represent Canada in the Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy, from Dec. 11-21. Crocker and Gates moved to Edmonton from Ontario last summer to train and curl at the Saville Community Sports Centre in preparation for the Universiade. They added Pattison to play on their team that competed on the World Curling Tour and were semi-finalists in the Alberta women’s championship. Carmody replaced Sarah Wilkes, who decided to reduce her curling commitment for academic reasons.
Carmody played third on the Webster rink the past two seasons, and was on the PEI team, skipped by Kathy O’Rourke, with Carmody throwing fourth stones, that brought the Island a silver medal finish at the 2010 Scotties. Crocker says that Carmody is “a proven top-level player and we expect her to fit right into the lineup as we attempt to win the right to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.” In 2010, Carmody won the national Scotties Sandra Schmirler Award for MVP of the playoffs. She was also on the PEI Mixed championship team in 2011, along with the PEI women’s championship team in 2010 and runner-up in 2011, and skipped the PEI Junior Women’s Provincial Championship team in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Teams qualified for the Road to the Roar through the Canadian Curling Association’s Canadian Team Ranking System. Here is the list of teams, in the order they qualified:
Men
Brad Jacobs, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Brad Gushue, St. John’s, Nfld.
Mark Kean, Toronto
Jim Cotter, Kelowna, B.C.
Steve Laycock, Saskatoon
Joe Frans, Bradford, Ont.
Jean-Michel Ménard, St-Romuald, Que.
Greg Balsdon, Toronto
Rob Fowler, Brandon, Man.
Bryan Cochrane, Ottawa
Jake Higgs, Harriston, Ont.
Rob Rumfeldt, Guelph, Ont.
Women
Shannon Kleibrink, Calgary
Laura Crocker, Edmonton
Renee Sonnenberg, Grande Prairie, Alta.
Cheryl Bernard, Calgary
Crystal Webster, Calgary
Amber Holland, Regina
Val Sweeting, Edmonton
Kelly Scott, Kelowna, B.C.
Cathy Auld, Mississauga, Ont.
Tracy Horgan, Sudbury, Ont.
Barb Spencer, Winnipeg
Krista McCarville, Thunder Bay, Ont.
The format for the Pre-Trials will see teams play a modified triple-knockout draw leading to a four-team playoff. One playoff qualifier will come out of the A-event, one from the B-event and two from the C-event. The A- and B-event qualifiers will meet in the playoffs, with the winner advancing to the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.
The two C-event qualifiers, meanwhile, will meet in the playoffs, with the winner advancing to play against the loser of the A-B game. The winner earns the other Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings berth.
Click here for Pre-Trials info and tickets
(with info from the CCA and the Edmonton Journal)