ParaSport and Recreation PEI,  in partnership with Spinal Cord Injury PEI, are hosting their FREE Wheelchair and Blind Curling Fun Spiel again this year, on Sunday, March 11^th at the Cornwall Curling Club, starting with a demonstration at 12:30 pm. At 1:30 they’ll have food and refreshments, and from 2:00-3:30 a fun spiel and skills competition will take place.

This is FREE and open for family and friends to attend as well. No experience is necessary at all. 

Please register by March 7^th, so they can prepare the food order. Email info@parasportpei.ca or call (902) 368-4540.

The 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Mosaic, is set to begin March 3 in the Brandt Centre at Regina, where a new competition format will be unveiled for the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship.

Brad Gushue’s St. John’s team will be looking for a repeat victory at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier. (Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns)

Sixteen teams, representing the 14 Curling Canada member associations, Team Canada (last year’s Brier winner) and the winner of the Wild Card game on Friday (Mike McEwen vs Jason Gunnlaugson) have been seeded (by the CTRS standings, as of Dec. 31, 2017) and separated into two pools.

They’ll first play a round robin within their pool, after which the top four in each advance to the Championship Pool for four games against teams from the other pool. Upon completion, the top four teams (best overall won-lost records) proceed to the Page Playoffs on Saturday (1 vs 2, winner to final, loser to semifinal; 3 vs 4, winner to semifinal, loser eliminated).

The semifinal is Sunday, March 11 at 11 a.m. (all times Central) while the gold-medal game is at 6 p.m.

Heading the field is Team Canada’s Brad Gushue, who will make his 15th Brier appearance but first for Team Canada after previously representing Newfoundland/Labrador. Last year, in his home town of St. John’s, Gushue finally won the Canadian men’s curling championship, beating Team Canada’s Kevin Koe, 7-6 in a dramatic final. His team then won the Ford Worlds in Edmonton while undefeated.

Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker, alternate Tom Sallows and coach Jules Owchar will try to become the first team since Kevin Martin’s Alberta foursome in 2008-2009 to win back-to-back Brier titles.

In Pool A, joining Gushue, who also won a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics and a Canadian and world juniors title in 2001, will be the Wild Card game winner, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy of Halifax, British Columbia’s Sean Geall of Kelowna, Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin of Whitehorse, Newfoundland/Labrador’s Greg Smith of St. John’s and Yellowknife’s Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories.

Koe makes his 12th Brier appearance while Bottcher, the 2012 Canadian and world junior champion who made his Tim Hortons Brier debut last year, is skipping one of seven Brier teams that also competed in last December’s Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings at Ottawa, won by Alberta’s Kevin Koe.

Pool B is composed of Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s John Epping of Toronto, Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock of Saskatoon, Quebec’s Mike Fournier of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, New Brunswick’s James Grattan of Oromocto, Prince Edward Island’s Eddie MacKenzie of Charlottetown and Nunavut’s David St. Louis of Iqaluit.

Carruthers won the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier and Ford Worlds when playing second for Jeff Stoughton, while Jacobs captured a gold medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, after also winning the Tim Hortons Brier in 2013.

Laycock is a former Canadian and world junior champion in 2003 who has earned bronze medals at two Tim Hortons Briers. He’ll be trying to win an eighth Tim Hortons Brier for Saskatchewan, the last by Rick Folk in 1980.

Grattan makes his 12th Tim Hortons Brier appearance, with bronze medals in 1997 in his debut and in 2002, when playing third for Russ Howard.

The Mike McEwen team, a silver medallist in the 2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings and bronze-medallist in the 2017 Tin Hortons Brier, will have to get by fellow Manitoban Jason Gunnlaugson in the Wild Card game (between the two highest-ranked teams on the CTRS that did not win its provincial championship) on Friday, which follows an afternoon-long Ford Hot Shots competition, when a fan will win a two-year lease on a 2018 Ford Escape.

Admission to the Brandt Centre is free on Friday and the day’s schedule also includes an arena autograph session with Canada’s 2018 Olympic men’s curling team, skipped by Kevin Koe. CLICK HERE for Friday’s schedule of events.

Saturday’s Opening Ceremony (free with a Draw 1 ticket) is at 12:30 p.m., followed by the first draw at 2 p.m., the second at 7 p.m.

This is the 14th year of Brier title sponsorship by Tim Hortons, one of North America’s largest restaurant chains in the quick-service segment.

The winning team will represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship, presented by Ford of Canada, March 31-April 8 at Las Vegas. The winner will also defend its title as Team Canada in the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier at Brandon, Man., March 2-10, and should it medal at the Worlds, will also earn a berth into the 2019 World Financial Group Continental Cup (site/date TBA).

The Tim Hortons Brier has been played in 31 cities across Canada, from Victoria to St. John’s. Manitoba and Alberta are tied for most victories with 27 apiece. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have yet to win.

The Brandt Centre, part of the Evraz Place complex, has hosted many major curling events, most recently the 2011 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship, won by Canada’s Jeff Stoughton. The Tim Hortons Brier has been played here twice — in 2006 (won by Quebec’s Jean-Michel Ménard) and 1992 (won by Manitoba’s Vic Peters).

Previous Regina-hosted Briers took place in 1976 (won by Newfoundland/Labrador’s Jack MacDuff) and 1955 (won by Garnet Campbell of Avonlea, Saskatchewan’s first Brier title).

The Brandt Centre also staged the 1998 and 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, 2002 World Financial Group Continental Cup, 2001 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials and the 1983 World Men’s Championship (won by Canada’s Ed Werenich).

CLICK HERE for the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier schedule. Tickets can be purchased at the Brandt Centre box office, online at curling.ca/tickets or by phone (1-855-985-5000).

TSN/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of every draw of the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete broadcast schedule.

Click to read this story at Curling Canada.

Charlie Sullivan from New Brunswick will be coming to PEI on Saturday and Sunday March 10 & 11 to help curlers and coaches with detecting and correcting issues.

Charlie Sullivan

Sullivan is an instructor at the Centre for Curling Excellence at Curl Moncton.

• Canadian and World Junior Champion (1987)
• 5 Time NB Men’s Champion
• Brier Silver Medal 1990
• Brier Bronze Medal 1997
• Certified Level 3 Coach

Teams are invited to meet with Charlie to work one-on-one for an hour (with coach if you have one).  The cost for this will be $40 per team. There are limited spots available.  

For coaches – on Saturday, March 10th from 1-4pm at the Cornwall Curling Club coaches are invited to attend a workshop where Charlie will cover topics such as video analysis and live analysis skills; observation and breakdown of skills; drills and mental skills for correction.  Cost is $10 per coach. 

Please contact Amy Duncan at aduncan@sportpei.pe.ca if you are interested in either of these.

Two men from Quebec who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the sport of curling have won prestigious Curling Canada awards, it was announced on Tuesday.

Curling Canada award winners, Mike Carson (left) and Roger Smith.

Mike Carson of Vaudreuil-Dorion has won the Ray Kingsmith Award, and Roger Smith of La Peche has won the Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year Award.

“We saw our Canadian curlers represent us with class and professionalism on the world stage this month in Pyeongchang, and one thing they all had in common was that they got their start in one of Canada’s curling centres with help from volunteers,” said Curling Canada Board of Governors member Scott Comfort, who chairs the Awards and Hall of Fame Committee. “Making announcements like these, where we get to tell the stories of volunteers, truly is one of the highlights of a curling season for our organization, and couldn’t be happier to recognize the efforts of Mike and Roger.”

Here’s a closer look at each of the award winners:

Mike Carson, Ray Kingsmith Award

The Ray Kingsmith Award is named after the man who played a leading role in bringing curling to the Winter Olympic family, and was a tireless volunteer in administration and management roles in the sport of curling. The award honours individuals who best demonstrate a similar commitment and dedication to our sport that made Ray Kingsmith the consummate sport executive.

Carson’s work in the sport of curling has seen him involved at the club, community, provincial, national and international levels — all with the attitude of giving back to a sport for which he has a passion.

A member of the Governor General’s Curling Club, Carson has served in various capacities with curling clubs, and also was an instrumental figure on the provincial scene, helping organize numerous championships. He was an early advocate of the Page playoff system, and had it in use at Quebec championships as early as 1983.

Not long after that, he was assigned the task of heading the organizing committee for the 1988 Brier in Chicoutimi — an event that provided popular with fans and curlers alike for the warm hospitality of the region, and the host committee.

Carson took his organizing skills to the Canadian Masters (60 and over) Curling Championships. He played in the event in 2007, and was soon part of the organizing committee. He served as event president from 2010 through 2017, and helped the Canadian Masters Championships grow significantly in prominence during his time as president.

Roger Smith, Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year

The Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year Award is based on the nominee’s contributions from the previous curling season, in any number of areas.

Getting a new curling centre built is not an easy task, but it’s one Smith attacked with fervor as he saw the need for a facility in Chelsea, Que.

Curling des Collines, a club with some 90 members originally, has been around since 2005 but has never had its own facility. It started in a hockey arena, and then moved into an Ottawa curling rink in 2014.

The dream of having a facility to call its own for Curling des Collines came true in February 2016 when the Quebec government announced it was granting $1.7 million towards the construction of a new four-sheet curling centre.

It was Smith who drafted the grant applications and business plan that convinced the provincial government to grant the funds. Smith twisted arms to the tune of more than $400,000 in a fundraising campaign and was the point-man in talks with financial institutions to secure additional financing.

The money was only half the battle; he also had to find the land for the new curling centre, and finally found a willing host in Chelsea.

Curling des Collines is now in its final stages of construction, with the doors expected to open for the 2018-19 season, with room for more than 600 members.

Smith will be honoured during an on-ice ceremony at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier in Regina.

Curling Canada’s 14 Member Associations submitted applications for the Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year Award, and among some amazing submissions, it was narrowed down seven finalists, including Smith.

The other National Finalists were as follows:

Guy Beaudry (Manitoba)
Derek MacEwen (Prince Edward Island)
Milledge Sheridan (Nova Scotia)
Stephen Goulding (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Rose Tallevi (Ontario)
Randy Brown (Ontario).

Here is the Stick Curling Draw for the Vogue Optical 55+ Games at the Charlottetown Curling Complex.

There are two divisions: M (Men/Mixed) and W (Women)

Men’s / Mixed Teams

1 Ernie Stavert / Vince Fisher
2 Myrna Craswell / Paul Field
3 Vern Chowan / Grant Laird
4 Bryan Sutherland / John McIntyre
5 Barry Craswell / Sterling Stratton
6 Bernard Keefe / Joan Doiron
7 Joe Gill / Archie MacKinnon

Women’s Teams

1 Ruth Stavert / Karen Fisher
2 Elaine Hughes / Etta Reid
3 Bernie Field / Carolyn Crockett

DRAW / SCHEDULE

Thursday 01-Mar

8:30am

Ice 2 E. Stavert / V. Fisher vs M. Craswell / P. Field
Ice 3 Chowan / Leard vs Sutherland / McIntyre
Ice 4 B. Craswell / Stratton vs Keefe / Doiron
Ice 5 R. Stavert / K. Fisher vs Hughes / Reid

9:45am

Ice 2 Gill / MacKinnon vs Keefe / Doiron
Ice 3 B. Field / Crockett vs R. Stavert / K. Fisher
Ice 4 Chowan / Leard vs M. Craswell / P. Field
Ice 5 Sutherland / McIntyre vs B. Craswell / Stratton

11:00am

Ice 2
Ice 3
Ice 4 Gill / MacKinnon vs E. Stavert / V. Fisher
Ice 5 

12:30pm

Ice 2 M. Craswell / P. Field vs Sutherland / McIntyre
Ice 3 Chowan / Leard vs B. Craswell / Stratton
Ice 4 Hughes / Reid vs B. Field / Crockett
Ice 5 Keefe / Doiron vs E. Stavert / V. Fisher

2:00pm

Ice 2 B. Field / Crockett vs R. Stavert / K. Fisher
Ice 3 M. Craswell / P. Field vs Gill / MacKinnon
Ice 4 E. Stavert / V. Fisher vs B. Craswell / Stratton
Ice 5 Keefe / Doiron vs Chowan / Leard

Friday 02-Mar

8:30am

Ice 2 E. Stavert / V. Fisher vs Sutherland / McIntyre
Ice 3 Hughes / Reid vs B. Field / Crockett
Ice 4 B. Craswell / Stratton vs Gill / MacKinnon
Ice 5 Keefe / Doiron vs M. Craswell / P. Field

9:45am

Ice 2 M. Craswell / P. Field vs B. Craswell / Stratton
Ice 3 Chowan / Leard vs Gill / MacKinnon
Ice 4 Sutherland / McIntyre vs Keefe / Doiron
Ice 5

11:45am

Ice 2 Chowan / Leard vs E. Stavert / V. Fisher
Ice 3 Gill / MacKinnon vs Sutherland / McIntyre
Ice 4 R. Stavert / K. Fisher vs Hughes / Reid

Gold – W 1:30pm Ice 2 Womens 1 vs Womens 2
Gold – M Ice 3 Mixed 1 vs Mixed 2
Bronze- M Ice 4 Mixed 3 vs Mixed 4

Rules:

All games will be 6 ends with a win. loss or tie recorded opposite team name. Coin toss will determine last rock or rock color.
Teams with the top 2 records will advance to the GOLD Medal game. Positions 3 and 4 will advance to the BRONZE MEDAL game.
Tie positioning will be decided by record against each other.
If still tied , a draw to the button after game 1 will decide positioning.
In MEDAL games, the higher position team will have last rock or rock color. Ties decided by a full extra end.
Women’s Division – Positions 1 and 2 will play on GOLD MEDAL game, position 3 awarded BRONZE.

It took two tries today, but the Mitchell Schut team came out winners over their Cornwall clubmates, skipped by Mitchell’s brother Devin, in the Provincial Under 18 Boy’s Curling Championship, sponsored by PEI Credit Unions, taking place at the Silver Fox in Summerside. Mitchell, who had won two of the three modified triple knockout sections, could have taken the title with a win this morning, but lost after leading 6-1 after 5 ends when his brother came back with a deuce in the sixth, a stolen single in the seventh, and a deuce in the 8th to tie the game 6-all, and then went on to steal three points in the extra for a 9-6 win, forcing the afternoon deciding match.

File photo (L-R): Colin MacKenzie, Liam Kelly, Nick Johnston, Mitchell Schut, coach Lori Robinson

This afternoon’s game was tied at three at the fourth end break, but Mitchell scored a pair of triples in ends 5 and 7 and kept Devin to a single in six to bring the game to handshakes with a 9-4 final score. The Mitchell Schut team, which includes third Nick Johnston, second Liam Kelly, and lead Colin MacKenzie, with coaches Bill Hope and Lori Robinson, along with this morning’s winning Girl’s team from the Cornwall, Charlottetown and Crapaud clubs, skipped by Lauren Ferguson, now advance to the 2018 Canadian Under-18  Boys and Girls Curling Championship, April 9-14 in St. Andrews NB.

Photo (L-R): Coach Roger Gavin, Dylan Moase, Tyler Garnhum, Alex Huestis, Devin Schut

The Devin Schut finalist team also included third Alec Huestis, second Tyler Garnhum, and lead Dylan Moase, with coach Roger Gavin.

The two Monday championship round finalists in both the Boy’s and the Girl’s divisions have now been determined in the Provincial Under 18 Curling Championships, sponsored by PEI Credit Unions, and taking place at the Silver Fox in Summerside.

On the Boy’s side, the Mitchell Schut team will be playing the rink skipped by Mitchell’s older brother Devin, who won the “C” final of the modified triple knockout draw on Sunday afternoon.  Both teams are from the Cornwall Curling Club. Devin Schut came back from a 3-1 deficit after five ends of play, scoring a deuce, a single, and a triple to beat Charlottetown’s Chase MacMillan team 7-3 in the C final. Mitchell Schut, who won both the A and B sections, against MacMillan and the host club’s Cruz Pineau, respectively, lost to MacMillan 7-6 in an extra end in the C semi-finals, while Devin Schut eliminated Pineau from the four-team draw with an 8-1 win.

(L-R): Devin and Mitchell Schut, with Alec Huestis and Dylan Moase from Devin Schut team

The Schut siblings now face off in the Championship Round on Monday at 10 am. If Mitchell, who won two sections, wins that game, he’ll take the title. If not, the Schuts will play again, in a sudden-death match at 2 pm.

It’s a similar situation in the Girl’s section, with Lauren Ferguson and her Cornwall, Charlottetown, and Crapaud rink having won sections B and C, with Cornwall’s Emily Sanderson winning the “A”. These two teams played off in all three section finals, with Ferguson winning the C on Sunday afternoon in an exciting finish, with Sanderson stealing the final end to tie the game, and Ferguson taking a deuce in the extra end to win 7-5.

(L-R): Lexie Murray, Alexis Burris, Lauren Ferguson from Team Ferguson

If Ferguson wins the 10 am game on Monday, she’ll win the championship. If Sanderson wins, they play off again in a winner-take-all game at 2 pm. Five teams took part in the Girl’s section.

Live results are available at PEICurling.com.

The winning teams advance to the 2018 Canadian Under-18  Boys and Girls Curling Championship, April 9-14 in St. Andrews NB.

By Devin Heroux, CBC Sports

The game came to an abrupt stop at the end of that ninth end. The Koreans conceded, shaking hands and surrendering to the Swedes with the score 8-3.

The Koreans couldn’t fight back their tears. 

But then in their moment of despair, they stood at the end of the curling sheet together, held hands and lifted their heads before bowing to each section of the arena. 

All four members of the team, all with the last name Kim — the team is known as Team Kim — basked in the raucous cheers raining down on them. Fans also call them the “Garlic Girls” because of the large of amount of garlic grown in the region they come from.

And watching it all from the other end of the arena was their Canadian coach Peter Gallant.

“Two years ago this team didn’t believe they were good enough to win a game,” Gallant said. “This week they believed they were the best in the world.”

From P.E.I. to Pyeongchang

Photo: Peter Gallant (World Curling Federation)

Gallant joined the team a little more than two years ago. He has a wealth of Canadian curling experience. The pride of Prince Edward Island has curled in nine Briers. His son, Brett, is an elite curler with Brad Gushue’s rink. 

“They had a pretty good game before I came,” he said. “I was more fine-tuning them and teaching them a better way to play the game. They had the technical skill but they really didn’t know how to go about the strategy.”

Gallant says the team practiced five times a week in the lead up to this. They were serious about getting good and making a push for the podium. 

The goal coming into the Olympics was to make it into the playoffs. The top four teams earned that right. It wouldn’t be easy though and Gallant knew it. Besides, the team was going up against Canada to begin the Olympics. Rachel Homan’s Canadian team are the reigning world champions. 

The Koreans made a statement though, defeating Homan 8-6 in the opener and never looked back. They finished the round robin in first place and only lost once.

For Gallant though, the defining moment of this all came against Japan in the semifinal. In front of a standing room only crowd, skip Kim needed to make an extremely tough draw to the button in an extra end to win the game.

The pressure was immense. A win meant they would be guaranteed a medal. The arena went silent. 

Kim delivered, sending people into hysterics over curling in South Korea.

“To see her make that shot in that moment was remarkable,” Gallant said. “That was a life-changing moment because it meant they were guaranteed a medal. I was so proud of all of them.”

“And to win this first medal in their home country, they’re superstars,” Gallant said.

“You hope a lot of these people get to try the sport. I think that’s the bottom line what they’re hoping for in Korea,” Gallant said. 

“If this doesn’t do it, I don’t know what will.”

Click to read full story at CBC