The Curl PEI Provincial Under 16 Curling Championships are down to the final two draws at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, on Sunday at 10 am and 2 pm.

With one double round robin draw remaining on the boys’ side, defending champion Donald DeWolfe and his Cornwall rink have nailed down first place, with a 3-1 win-loss record, and have advanced to the 2 pm final. He’ll be playing the winner of the 10 am game between the other two teams in the boys’ event – the Mitchell Schut team from Cornwall, and the Alex Gallant foursome from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside, both of whom currently have 1-2 records.

In boys’ action today, DeWolfe beat Gallant 7-3 in the afternoon draw, and got by the young  Schut team by a 4-3 score in the evening. Schut was trailing 5-3 in his morning game against Gallant, but  scored 5 points in the 7th end to pull out an 8-5 win.

Round robin play wrapped up this evening in the four team girls’ section, with the Kristie Rogers rink from Cornwall going undefeated with a 3-0 win-loss record. The Lauren Moerike team from Charlottetown and Cornwall finished second, at 2-1, while the Sierra Clyke team from Crapaud were third, at 1-2. The Marie Doyle team from the Silver Fox didn’t manage to pick up a win in their three games, and finished fourth.

The 10 am Sunday semi-finals see Rogers play Doyle in the 1st vs 4th place game, and Moerike face Clyke in the 2nd vs 3rd match. The winners square off in the 2 pm final.

In play today, Rogers beat Doyle in the morning draw, while Moerike beat Clyke in the afternoon. Rogers defeated Moerike and Clyke beat Doyle in the evening draw.

(Curling Canada) A new name, a new logo and new branding will take Canada’s governing body for the sport of curling into the future, it was announced today.

Curling Canada is the new title for the world’s largest domestic curling association, replacing the title of Canadian Curling Association, which had been in place since 1990.

As well, a new, simple and elegant emblem has been unveiled that requires no explanation about its origin — the emblem features a curling rock placed on top of a Red Maple Leaf inside a shield.

Go to curling.ca/brand to see more information about our new look and branding. To download more information on our new name and emblem, click here.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to launch a new era and a new look for the sport of curling in Canada,” said Curling Canada Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. “The logo instantly identifies the sport and its role in Canada, and has an iconic, bold feel to it that at once looks modern and yet respectful of the game’s rich history and roots in Canada.”

The new Curling Canada emblem is inspired by the shield iconography that is unique to curling in Canada, appearing over the years on provincial badges, club patches, trophies and banners, and was the centrepiece of this organization’s emblem for more than half a century.

“I love the way the new emblem speaks to the history of our great sport but also takes us to the future,” said 2014 Olympic gold-medallist Jennifer Jones. “It’s always wonderful to wear the Maple Leaf and represent your country, and the new Curling Canada brand will be instantly identifiable and talked about for all of the right reasons.”

The Curling Canada brand redesign, which was undertaken with collaboration and significant support from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), was conducted by the firm of Hulse & Durrell, which has put together numerous brand launches over the years, most notably that of the COC as well as the branding for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“Our goal was to create a brand that draws from the past, is rooted in the present, and reimagines the future of this sport — a brand that stands the test of time,” said Ben Hulse, partner with Hulse & Durrell. “We searched for timeless values and aesthetics in Curling Canada’s extraordinary history and brought these qualities to every aspect of the new brand.”

Over the coming months, the comprehensive rebranding will show up in all that Curling Canada does, both on and off the ice. A new-look website (curling.ca) that features the new identity will launch on Saturday, and the new logos and colours will be part of the in-ice markings on display for the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by SecurTek Monitoring Solutions, which begins on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“The process to get us to this point where we can unveil our new branding and emblem was a long one, but the end result shows that it was worth it,” said Marilyn Neily, Chair of the Curling Canada Board of Governors. “The work put in by Hulse & Durrell should be commended as they created the ideal blend of tradition and modern impact that will keep moving our sport forward.”

The new logos and Curling Canada style will be a significant part of the Team Canada uniform going forward for future World Championships as well as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Additionally, through a new partnership with TSN and Mustang Products, clothing featuring the new Curling Canada logos, as well as retro-style items, will be on sale as of Saturday through TSN Shop (tsnshop.ca).

Curling Canada’s social media channels also will take on the new brand: twitter.com/curlingcanada, Facebook.com/curlingcanada, youtube.com/curlingcanada and instagram.com/curlingcanada.

The Dominion Curling Association was the first name of Canada’s curling governing body. Formed in 1935, it was renamed the Canadian Curling Association in 1967, with the development program Curl Canada formed in 1974. Meanwhile, the Canadian Ladies Curling Association came into existence in 1961, and upon merging with the CCA and Curl Canada in 1990, the Canadian Curling Association left as the lone brand for the sport’s governance in Canada.

Now, Curling Canada will become the brand of record for curling in this country, covering all aspects of the sport with comprehensive guidelines that align the brand with Curling Canada’s extensive network of partners, sponsors, broadcasters and curling stakeholders. The new name and look also will apply to a myriad of other branded assets that include but are not limited to Curling Canada’s Hall of Fame, Curling Canada’s philanthropic program For The Love of Curling and the Season of Champions series of events. A complete over-arching brand architecture has been created through Curling Canada’s first systematic brand overhaul in all facets of its business operations.

In addition to being a shorter title, Curling Canada has the added benefit that it’s the same title in French and English.

(Jeff MacKinnon for the Calgary Herald)

Social media had come up with a name for it before the first rock was thrown — it is now the Prier.

After much back-and-forth from haters and supporters over the past year, pre-qualifying made its debut Thursday at the Canadian men’s curling championship with Bob Smallwood of the Yukon routing Adam Casey of Prince Edward Island 8-1 in seven ends at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Smallwood faces Glen MacLeod of Nova Scotia Friday morning at 8 a.m. and MacLeod then plays Casey at 3:30 p.m. [add 3 hours for PEI time]

The two top teams meet during Saturday’s opening draw at 1:30 p.m. for the right to move into the main draw and play Ontario’s Mark Kean on Saturday evening (6:30 p.m.).

This is Casey’s fourth straight trip to the Brier but first as a skip from his native province after he played with Brad Gushue out of Newfoundland and Labrador until this season. He was favoured to be the survivor of pre-qualifying, but with a loss Friday this could be a brief Brier for his rink.

“I came out and struggled a bit so I’ll take the blame,” Casey said.

“The guys played OK. The first couple of ends got away from us. The good thing is it’s a pre-qualifier and 1-1 is OK as long as we have our draw to the button and hopefully we look back on this and this game doesn’t make much difference.”

If the three teams are all 1-1 after Friday, there will be a draw to the button to determine who gets into the pre-qualifying final.

Casey’s gone on record as saying the new Brier pre-qualifying is “stupid.” He arrived in Calgary four days before the start of play Thursday to workout at The Glencoe Club, but struggled when he moved over the Saddledome. His team arrived in Calgary at four hours before Thursday’s game because of flight delays.

Click for full story

(Posted by: John Korobanik)

The PEI Women’s curling team, skipped by Kaleigh Mackay lost their final round robin game this afternoon at the Canada Games in Prince George, to the Northwest Territories, by a 9-6 score in an extra end. PEI trailed 3-2 at the 5th end break, with the teams matching points in the second half, until PEI stole the 10th end for the tie. The Northwest Territories had hammer in the extra end, and scored three points for the win. This leaves PEI with a 2-4 win-loss record, which will not advance them to the playoff round. They will now play in a round to determine seeding positions for the next Games.  Games are scheduled for 4 and 11 pm AST on Friday.

@TeamPEI photo: Team Mackay

PEI’s final round robin results:

(posted by: Al Cameron)

History will be made on Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome when Team Canada steps onto the ice for its inaugural game at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier.

(by Kristen Odland, Calgary Herald)

Adam Casey took a break from pursuing his master’s degree in applied science from Dalhousie University to fly across the country, hoping for a shot at attending the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier.

In theory, the native of Seven Mile Bay, P.E.I., should be in Calgary for two weeks — from the three-team pre-qualifying tournament which starts Thursday until the end of the men’s national curling championship.

And should that be the case, Casey has taken the necessary steps to ensure he’ll be able to perform with his P.E.I.-based team until the end.

“There are some benefits (with being in Calgary early),” said Casey who would be attending his fourth Brier should his team advance. “The games at the end of the week, they mean something. It’s good to have every game out there be important … whatever team gets through will essentially have three games of practice before the (Brier) starts. There is some experience you gain and confidence with the ice … it’s a great opportunity.

“Whatever team gets through the pre-qualifier gets a leg up on the competition.”

A little background on his group.

Made up of third Josh Barry, second Anson Carmody, and lead Robbie Doherty, they were formed at the end of last season when Casey received news that he wouldn’t be returning for a fourth season with Brad Gushue’s team out of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

And the team didn’t just magically come together.

There was some familiarity between teammates as Casey and Carmody won a 2009 Canadian junior title together and silver at the 2009 world junior championship. Carmody is experienced and attended the national championship last year and Doherty has experience at the provincial level [PEICurling.com ed. note -and has been on a winning Canadian Mixed team]. Meanwhile Barry skipped the New Brunswick men’s rink at the 2013 Canadian junior championships and played lead on the province’s team at the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier.

As expected with every new group, there have been some ups and downs.

“But I think I’m relatively happy and happy with our progress as a team and confident in the way the guys have been throwing,” Casey said. “We’re looking forward to a good week here because we could definitely go in the right direction.”

Click for full story in the Calgary Herald.