Those who may be travelling to the Capital Winter Club in Fredericton NB this coming season are advised that curlers and patrons entering the facility are required to be fully-vaccinated. Here is their “Continue to Play Plan”:
Source: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalWinterClub/photos/a.1496847050360059/4646249775419755/
Monthly Archives: August 2021
All athletes, fans, volunteers, media and event staff and contractors above the age of 12 will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to participate in, and attend, Curling Canada-affiliated events, it was announced today by Curling Canada.
Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns
The policy will be implemented as soon as possible, and will be extended to all events put on by Curling Canada, including in-person meetings and championships, regardless of location.
Those attending Curling Canada events must provide a proof of first vaccination by no later than Sept. 8 and proof of full vaccination by no later than Oct. 12.
Those dates apply specifically to athletes participating in upcoming Olympic qualifying events (the Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event and Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event Sept. 22-26 in Ottawa, and the Home Hardware Pre-Trials Oct. 26-31 in Liverpool, N.S. Fans, staff, media and volunteers, meanwhile, must provide proof of full vaccination that took place a minimum 14 days before the start of the event they are attending.
“Above all else, we believe this is necessary to provide the safest possible environment for everyone who participates in our events, and that point can’t be emphasized more strongly,” said Katherine Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of Curling Canada. “There’s absolutely no question that vaccinations work and significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. We want our athletes, our fans, our volunteers and our employees to feel as safe as possible at our events, and we believe this is a necessary step toward that goal.”
“Curling Canada’s Board of Governors unequivocally supports the position that the organization is taking,” added Curling Canada Board Chair Amy Nixon. “We ask that our staff provide environments for athletes to compete and fans to enjoy that are safe for everyone. We firmly believe that the health and safety guidance that they have asked for and and received is being listened to and acted upon in the best interests of all.”
Ticket-buyers who are declining to be vaccinated will have the opportunity to get refunds. Further details on how this policy will be implemented will be available at a later date.
PEI’s Team Birt made it to the Sunday final at the 7-team $3800 purse Oakville Fall Classic at the Oakville Curling Club in Ontario, losing 8-6 to the Jamie Sinclair rink from Charlotte NC. The PEI team had a 4-3 lead after 4 ends, but the Sinclair team pulled ahead with a 3-point sixth end.
Michelle McQuaid (left) and Meaghan Hughes (photo from Team Birt Facebook page)
The Birt squad edged the Jacqueline Harrison team from Dundas Ont. 5-4 in the semis, while Sinclair and her rink got by Laurie St. Georges and her Laval QC team, also by a 5-4 score.
Team Birt and her team finished qualifying-round play with a 3-1 win-loss to advance to the money round. Team Glenn Howard won the men’s event.
PEI’s Team Birt finished qualifying-round play with a 3-1 win-loss record at the 7-team $3800 purse Oakville Fall Classic at the Oakville Curling Club in Ontario, and take on the Jacqueline Harrison rink, also 3-1, from Dundas Ont. in the 1:30 pm Atlantic semi-finals.
Team Birt, with a bye in the final qualifying round draw (Facebook)
Birt’s round-robin loss was a close 5-4 match against Harrison, who pulled out the win with a final-end deuce. The Jamie Sinclair squad from Charlotte NC and the Laurie St. Georges rink from Laval QC square off in the other semi. Team Birt beat the Quebec rink 7-3 in the qualifying round
The final goes at 4:30 Atlantic.
Linescores at www.curlingzone.com
PEI’s Team Birt opens their season this (Friday) evening as they begin play at the Oakville Fall Classic at the Oakville Curling Club.
They’ll be streaming their games live on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Team-Birt-766752610109503/) or you can get the linescores at www.curlingzone.com
Here’s Team Birt’s schedule for the weekend (Atlantic time):
Friday 6:30 pm – vs. Team St. George
Friday 10:30 pm vs. Team Little
Saturday 11 am vs.@teamharrisoncurling
Saturday 2:30 pm vs Team Hopson
The Prince Edward Island Curling Hall of Fame is once again offering bursaries to junior curlers from PEI who will be attending college or university in the upcoming season. This academic year there are two $1000 bursaries, one for a female curler, one for a male, plus two $500 bursaries, one for a female curler, one for a male, for a total of $3000. Bursaries are awarded based on financial need and passion for the game.
Application Deadline is September 15, 2021
To be eligible to apply for a bursary, an applicant must be eligible to participate in provincial junior playdowns for the upcoming curling season. Also, an applicant must be enrolled as a full-time student at the university or college they are attending. An applicant can only be awarded one bursary.
Please submit your application form via email to Derek MacEwen at [email protected]
The information provided will be kept confidential.
Click to download Bursary Application Form in MS Word Format
Click to download Bursary Application form in Adobe PDF format
The road to the 2022 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials is set and was announced today by Curling Canada.
In addition to the six mixed doubles team already qualified, 10 more curling teams will earn a shot at representing Canada in mixed doubles at the Olympics by qualifying for the 2022 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials, which runs from Dec. 28, 2021-Jan. 2, 2022 at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, Man.
Up to four mixed doubles teams will receive direct-entry berths during three events played throughout the 2021-22 curling season.
One team will receive a berth at the Aly Jenkins Mixed Doubles Memorial bonspiel in Martensville, Sask., from Sept. 15-19. The highest non-qualified top-four finisher will receive the spot.
All eyes will be on the Qualico Mixed Doubles Classic in Banff, Alta., a few weeks later. Once again, the highest non-qualified team finishing in the top four will receive the second trials berth available this season from Sept. 30-Oct. 3.
Brantford, Ont., plays host to the last-chance qualifier mixed doubles event from Dec. 9-12. The Brantford Mixed Doubles Classic serves as the season’s final event that will have direct entry spots available into the Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials. The two highest non-qualified top-four finishing teams will punch their tickets to Portage la Prairie.
Based on Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR) standings, the final six berths will be awarded on Dec. 14. The CMDR points system will resume on Aug. 12 following its suspension during the 2020-21 season. A team’s CMDR consists of each athlete’s best seven events from March 15, 2019, to Dec. 14, 2021. Up to three Candian Team Rankings System (CTRS) events – the system used to rank four-player curling teams in Canada – can be used to determine a mixed doubles team’s CMDR.
The four highest-ranked non-qualified teams on the CMDR will earn berths into the Trials, while two will be awarded to the highest-ranked teams on the CMDR, excluding CTRS.
Any remaining berths not awarded during the qualifying events due to top-four finishers already qualifying or declined berths will be awarded to the next highest-ranked team on the CMDR, including CTRS.
For a detailed look at the qualification process for the Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, click here.
“This updated qualification process honours what mixed doubles teams achieved before the pandemic while also allowing opportunities for newly-created teams chances to qualify. It also provides a path to the trials for mixed doubles specialist teams that solely focus on the discipline,” said Scott Pfeifer, Curling Canada’s national mixed doubles program coach. “Like everything in the past year and a half, we’ve needed to adjust. I’m confident this process provides as many opportunities for teams of all backgrounds and experience to qualify for the limited number of spots available at the trials.”
Sixteen teams will compete at the 2022 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials in two pools of eight. Teams already qualified for the mixed doubles trials are:
- Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (CMDR as of May 20, 2020)
- Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing (CMDR as of May 20, 2020)
- Nancy Martin/Tyrel Griffith (CMDR as of May 20, 2020)
- Rachel Homan/John Morris (CMDR as of May 20, 2020)
- Kerri Einarson/Brad Gushue (2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship winners)
- Kadriana Sahaidak/Colton Lott (2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship – second place)
It will be the second time Portage la Prairie hosts the Canadian mixed doubles trials event. In 2018, Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris emerged victorious at Stride Place and went on to win gold at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The Prince Edward Island Curling Hall of Fame is once again offering bursaries to junior curlers from PEI who will be attending college or university in the upcoming season. This academic year there are two $1000 bursaries, one for a female curler, one for a male, plus two $500 bursaries, one for a female curler, one for a male, for a total of $3000. Bursaries are awarded based on financial need and passion for the game.
Application Deadline is September 15, 2021
To be eligible to apply for a bursary, an applicant must be eligible to participate in provincial junior playdowns for the upcoming curling season. Also, an applicant must be enrolled as a full-time student at the university or college they are attending. An applicant can only be awarded one bursary.
Please submit your application form via email to Derek MacEwen at [email protected]
The information provided will be kept confidential.
Click to download Bursary Application Form in MS Word Format
Click to download Bursary Application form in Adobe PDF format
A pair of events that will have significant ramifications in the qualifying process for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be staged at a new-look curling facility in Ottawa, it was announced today by Curling Canada.
Five men’s and five women’s teams will compete for direct-entry berths into the Tim Hortons Curling Trials, presented by AGI, while eight teams of each gender will compete for direct-entry berths into the Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials.
The Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event and Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event will run concurrently Sept. 22-26 at the RA Centre’s revamped Curling Centre of Excellence facility in Ottawa.
“These are new events that fit our mandate of trying to be as inclusive as possible for as many teams as possible to be part of the Olympic qualifying process as we come out of the pandemic,” said Curling Canada Chief Executive Officer Katherine Henderson. “These unique circumstances — especially still not knowing definitively how the competitive landscape will look in the fall — demanded a unique approach, and we believe it will, in the end, produce teams that are worthy of wearing the Maple Leaf in Beijing.”
Ottawa has hosted numerous major curling championships in recent years — most recently, the 2017 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials and the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier.
“It is great news that Curling Canada has chosen Ottawa to host the Canadian Curling Direct Entry Event and Curling Canada Pre-Trials Direct Entry Event,” said Jim Watson, Mayor of the City of Ottawa. “The Curling Centre of Excellence at the RA Centre will be the perfect venue to showcase some of the nation’s top curlers competing to represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.”
“Ottawa Tourism is very pleased that the new Curling Centre of Excellence at the RA Centre in Ottawa has been chosen to host these important curling events on the way to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games,” added Michael Crockatt, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “Ottawa is ready and willing to safely host these major events once again.”
Here’s a summary of each event:
CANADIAN CURLING TRIALS DIRECT-ENTRY EVENT
A total of five berths (three for women’s teams, two for men’s teams) into the 2021 Tim Hortons Curling Trials Nov. 20-28 in Saskatoon will be on the line in Ottawa in this event.
The number of available direct-entry qualifying berths from the Ottawa event into the Tim Hortons Trials is based on the number of teams that have already qualified to play in Saskatoon (see below for qualified teams, and how they qualified).
Women’s teams competing in Ottawa are:
- Team Suzanne Birt (Charlottetown)
- Team Corryn Brown (Kamloops, B.C.)
- Team Kelsey Rocque (Edmonton)
- Team Casey Scheidegger (Lethbridge, Alta.)
- Team Laura Walker (Edmonton)
Men’s teams competing in Ottawa are:
- Team Matt Dunstone (Regina)
- Team Colton Flasch (Saskatoon)
- Team Jason Gunnlaugson (Winnipeg) which includes PEI’s Adam Casey
- Team Glenn Howard (Penetanguishene, Ont.)
- Team Mike McEwen (Winnipeg)
To qualify for the Trials Direct-Entry Event, teams had to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Canadian teams in the Top 18 of the World Curling Team Ranking (WCTR) as of Aug. 31, 2020 (including teams with new lineups)
- Eligible teams that finished in the top nine of the Canadian Team Ranking System in 2019-20
- Eligible teams that finished in the top seven on the Canadian Team Ranking System in 2018-19
NOTE — Teams qualifying via the Canadian Team Ranking System must have three of four players that earned the CTRS points remaining on the team, and must have been CTRS-registered for the 2020-21 season.
The event formats will be announced later, and teams that don’t secure berths in the Tim Hortons Curling Trials will have a second chance to qualify via the Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials, set for Oct. 26-31 in Liverpool, N.S.
Already in the field in Saskatoon for the Tim Hortons Curling Trials are (hometown and qualifying standard they met are in parentheses):
Women:
- Team Kerri Einarson (Gimli, Man.; 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion)
- Team Tracy Fleury (East St. Paul, Man.; top three on Canadian Team Ranking System in 2019-20 season)
- Team Rachel Homan (Ottawa; 2019 Home Hardware Canada Cup champion)
- Team Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg; top three on Canadian Team Ranking System in 2019-20 season)
Men:
- Team Brendan Bottcher (Edmonton; top three on Canadian Team Ranking System in 2018-19 season)
- Team John Epping (Toronto; 2019 Home Hardware Canada Cup champion)
- Team Brad Gushue (St. John’s; 2020 Tim Hortons Brier champion), which includes PEI’s Brett Gallant
- Team Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; top three on Canadian Team Ranking System in 2019-20 season)
- Team Kevin Koe (Calgary; top three on Canadian Team Ranking System in 2018-19 season)
CANADIAN CURLING PRE-TRIALS DIRECT-ENTRY EVENT
Eight teams of each gender will compete in a triple-knockout draw for two men’s and two women’s berths into the Home Hardware Pre-Trials in Liverpool, N.S.
Teams qualified based on their World Curling Team Ranking (highest not-previously-qualified teams) as of July 2021. Teams also needed to have three of four players remaining from their declared 2020-21 lineups.
Women’s teams competing will be:
- Team Abby Ackland (Winnipeg)
- Team Jill Brothers (Halifax), which includes PEI’s Erin Carmody
- Team Kerry Galusha (Yellowknife)
- Team Ashley Howard (Saskatoon)
- Team Lauren Mann (Ottawa)
- Team Jessie Hunkin (formerly Team Robyn Silvernagle (North Battleford, Sask.)
- Team Laurie St-Georges (Laval, Que.)
- Team Sarah Wark (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Men’s teams competing will be:
- Team Corey Chambers (Winnipeg)
- Team Jacques Gauthier (Winnipeg)
- Team Sean Grassie (Winnipeg)
- Team William Lyburn (Winnipeg)
- Team Shaun Meachem (Saskatoon)
- Team Vincent Roberge (Etchemin, Que.)
- Team JT Ryan (Winnipeg)
- Team Ryan Wiebe (Winnipeg)
- NOTE — Team Steve Laycock declined its berth
The two qualifiers in each gender will head to Liverpool for the Home Hardware Pre-Trials, where they will compete alongside these previously qualified teams — again, based on their World Curling Team Ranking (highest not-previously-qualified teams) as of July 2021. Teams also needed to have three of four players remaining from their declared 2020-21 lineups
Women:
- Team Sherry Anderson (Saskatoon)
- Team Penny Barker (Moose Jaw, Sask.)
- Team Hollie Duncan (Woodstock, Ont.)
- Team Jacqueline Harrison (Dundas, Ont.)
- Team Danielle Inglis (Mississauga, Ont.)
- Team Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay, Ont.)
- Team Jestyn Murphy (Mississauga, Ont.)
- Team Beth Peterson (Winnipeg)
- Team Darcy Robertson (Winnipeg)
- Team Mackenzie Zacharias (Altona, Man.), which includes PEI’s Lauren Lenentine
Men:
- Team Jonathan Beuk (Formerly Team Scott McDonald; Kingston, Ont.)
- Team Braden Calvert (Winnipeg)
- Team Pat Ferris (Grimsby, Ont.)
- Team Paul Flemming (formerly Team Jamie Murphy; Halifax)
- Team Mike Fournier (Montreal)
- Team Jeremy Harty (Calgary)
- Team Pat Simmons (Formerly Team Tanner Horgan; Winnipeg)
- Team Karsten Sturmay (Edmonton)
- Team Tyler Tardi (Langley, B.C.)
The Home Hardware Pre-Trials will decide the final entries (two men’s, two women’s) into the Tim Hortons Curling Trials in Saskatoon, where Canada’s four-player teams for the 2022 Winter Olympics will be decided.
The Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event and Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event will serve as the debut events for the RA Centre’s Curling Centre of Excellence, as curling shifts to a former hockey ice-pad at the facility and will have five sheets in a championship-like stadium setting.
More details are available by CLICKING HERE.
“We are thrilled to host Curling Canada with the first curling event in the new Curling Centre of Excellence at the RA Centre,” said Tosha Rhodenizer, Chief Executive Officer of the RA Centre. “Curling has a strong following across the country and is growing in Ottawa. This multi-year project will develop a facility that will support the sport in a comprehensive manner. The RA is creating a dynamic curling environment that will promote this growth through the expansion of youth, para and stick-curling programs and the integration of Long-term Development in sport principles.”
As part of the ongoing redevelopment at the RA Centre, the House of Sport also has opened, providing office space to national and provincial sport organizations, and CurlON is among those moving into the House of Sport.
“It’s an exciting time for curling in the Ottawa Valley, and we are excited to see the new Curling Centre of Excellence host many of Canada’s top curling teams as they pursue their Olympic dreams,” said Steve Chenier, Executive-Director of CurlON. “It’s going to be a first-class show in a first-class facility, and we are ready to welcome these events to Ontario.”
The Management Board & the General Manager Hiring/Search Committee of the
Silver Fox Entertainment Complex in Summerside has announced that Michael D’Agostino is joining the Silver Fox team as the facility’s next General Manager.
Michael D’Agostino (Source: LinkedIn profile)
An Ontario native, Michael comes to the Silver Fox after 3.5 years working at Summerside’s Credit Union Place in the roles of Facilities Supervisor & Asst. Facilities Supervisor. In addition to this management role at one of PEI’s premier multi-purpose sport & entertainment venues, Michael brings a diverse skill set to the Silver Fox, with previous professional experience in client service/sales, marketing & communications, events management, as well as in the restaurant industry. Michael resides in the heart of Summerside with his wife & children.
Michael will assume his General Manager duties effective Tuesday, September 7, 2021. He takes over the position from Interim GM Tom Peters, who stepped into the role in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic following the retirement of the late Gordon Lapp.
The Silver Fox Management Board and all their staff/members thank Tom for his work during tumultuous & unprecedented times, and enthusiastically welcome Michael to the GM position.
(Posted on Facebook by Jonathan Greenan)