Archive for the ‘ Curling News ’ Category
Thistle St. Andrews Curling Club in Saint John, New Brunswick plays host the Molson Canadian Men’s Final 8 from February 1 to 5. The top eight teams in New Brunswick will be playing to represent the province at the Tim Horton’s Brier in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan March 3 to 11, 2012.
Games are underway beginning Wednesday, February 1 at 2:00pm with round-robin draws going Wednesday to Friday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm each day. The final round-robin draw takes place Saturday at 9:00am. The semi-final is at 8:00pm on Saturday with the final at 2:00pm on Sunday.
Live scoring for the Molson Canadian Men’s Final 8 is available on Playdowns.com.
Playdowns.com – Curling news and playdown results
The 2011-12 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts takes place Monday, January 23 to Sunday, January 29, 2012 at the Kenora Curling Club in Kenora, Ontario. Ten of the best Women’s teams from across Ontario will compete in the provincial championship to represent Ontario at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alberta from February 18, to 26, 2012.
The Ontario Scotties is a round-robin event with two draws daily, and will end with a Page Playoff beginning Saturday, January 28 which will be televised on Shaw. Six teams from the Ontario Curling Association (OCA) and four teams from the Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) have qualified to earn their berth at the Ontario Scotties.
Games start Monday, January 23 at 7:00pm with round-robin games at 2:00pm and 7:00pm from Tuesday to Friday. The Page Playoffs begin on Saturday, January 28 at 2:00pm or at 7:00pm if there are tie-breakers necessary. The final is scheduled for 2:00pm on Sunday, January 29.
Competing Teams
- Sherry Middaugh – Coldwater & District Curling Club
- Laura Pickering – North Bay Granite Curling Club
- Allison Nimik – St. Thomas Curling Club
- Kathy Brown – King Curling Club
- Mario Dahl – Port Arthur Curling Club
- Kathy Auld – Mississauga Golf & Curling Club
- Jennifer Hanna – Ottawa Curling Club
- Tracy Horgan – Idylwylde Golf & Country Club
- Krista McCarville – Fort William Curling Club
- Rachel Homan – Ottawa Curling Club
Live scoring for the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts is available on Playdowns.com.
Playdowns.com – Curling news and playdown results
by George Karrys / Canadian Curling Association photos by Michael Burns
Beer ponger Bingyu Wang boogies at practice yesterday
It started with some chats on Facebook. Then Calgary Herald curling scribe Al Cameron – who also spouts off for The Curling News once in a while – blogged this reveal. This prompted the Canadian Press to jump in. Then came this amusing display of punnery from the Vancouver Sun.
The story, such as it is, is that Team World – who are taking on Team North America in the Continental (kinda Ryder) Cup of Curling starting today in Langley, B.C. – have instituted an alcohol ban amongst their ranks.
Stung by his World team’s crushing loss to North America last year, World coach Peja Lindholm of Sweden – who witnessed the Slaughter in St. Albert firsthand – and World captain David Hay of Scotland have dropped the hammer this time.
“We have a code of conduct as a group about how we should be behaving and how we should treat the event,” Hay told the Sun. “In today’s modern world, sponsorship is exceptionally hard to get for any sport. We’re very lucky we have (sponsors) backing this event. In my view, it’s extremely disrespectful to our sponsors to turn up at any part of this competition not 100 per cent fit for the job. We’ve got lots of time to celebrate or commiserate on Sunday.”
Said Lindholm: “We’ve seen players who haven’t been sharp on every shot, and that’s not professional. Are we taking the fun out of the event? I must say this: If you need alcohol to have fun, you must be a very boring person.
“The players are here because they’re the world’s best. They should have a relaxed feeling. We will have fun. We just don’t want the fun to be too much fun.”
Well now… obviously, the secret is out. Curling athletes enjoy partying, and imbibing, off the ice – at the Continental Cup, anyway.
Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud, who is once again Pantless for this event, said the feeling was that last year’s team socialized too much.
“This will be the first week our team only drinks soft drinks for a whole weekend,” Ulsrud told the Canadian Press. “I guess it’s going to be a new experience for us as well. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe we’ll be even better.”
Members of Team North America, including Amber Holland and Glenn Howard, appear to be surprised by the Team World approach.
Smile for the camera – if you're on Team North America
“We’re all adults here,” Holland told the Canadian Press. “So I think everybody has to test their judgment on what they have to do off the ice to best perform on the ice.”
“I don’t get it,” said Howard. “I’m so old school. If you want to have a drink, go have a drink. Come on. We’ve got to have some fun out here.”
Clearly this is a growing scandal of epic proportions. Team North America includes U.S. players: what if mainstream U.S. media catch wind of this, and discover that the U.S curling stars do NOT have a booze ban? Good heavens.
And there’s something else. At the 2007 Continental Cup in Medicine Hat, the athletes from both teams were surprised and delighted to see the Chinese women – led by skip Bingyu Wang, photo at top – arrive at North America’s late-night hospitality suite, grab some drinks and play their first-ever game (in wide-eyed wonder) of Beer Pong. It was, trust me, quite a sight to see.
How, pray tell, will Wang’s continuing education in party games continue in Langley? Will Cola Pong or Juice Pong resonate without the beer?
So many questions.
[The 2012 Continental Cup of Curling begins today in Langley, B.C. and wraps up on Sunday afternoon. Consult the Curling TV Guide in the January issue of The Curling News for all broadcast information]
The Curling News
Words by George Karrys, Image by Anil Mungal
Vic Rauter, George Cooke and Stewart Johnston (L to R)
RAMA, Ont. – Here’s the official word: The Dominion continues to ramp up its involvement in and support of the Roaring Game, and has been announced as the title sponsor of the “2013 The Dominion All-Star Curling Skins Game” at Casino Rama.
Chief Executive Officer George Cooke was on hand – along with TSN president Stewart Johnston – for the live announcement during the fourth-end break of the 2012 final between teams Kevin Koe and Jeff Stoughton, and was obviously delighted to reveal the news.
“We at The Dominion are excited to be the title sponsor of the THE DOMINION ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME” said Cooke. “This event will raise the profile of curling in Canada, pushing it upward in the hierarchy of sport – parallel to that of hockey, baseball or basketball which all have All-Star game events.
“Enabling curlers and curling teams to take part in the team selection furthers The Dominion’s commitment to the growth of grassroots curling in Canada.”
And here’s the big twist: you, the curling fan, will be able to vote in advance – online – to decide the competing players.
Interesting stuff.
What’s unknown at this time is what this will mean for teams that have until previously been permitted to wear their own uniforms (atrocious or not). My guess is that each participating team will have to wear a special uniform prepared by the event – similar to CCA championship events – that will feature event logos, such as The Dominion, TSN etc. The alternative would be a cacophony of colours, designs and logos that even the most hardened fan of curling colour might find difficult to stomach.
I’m also guessing that the players wouldn’t be big fans of that – although they are no doubt aware that this is a third-party event which can pick and choose the rules (and the competitors) as they darn well like. A saw-off might see the event sew player sponsor logos onto the provided jerseys, once the players were confirmed.
But if the players were announced just as the All-Star Skins was due to begin – at a media launch the day before, for example – that could mean an all-night sewing session!
There’s no date set for the January 2013 reboot, and the early indication is that The Dominion is on board as sponsor in a multi-year deal, so there are many more details to come.
Johnston’s official quote was also interesting:
“TSN’s partnership with The Dominion extends to the insurance company’s extensive programs and platforms supporting grassroots curling in Canada , including The Dominion Curling Club Championship – the ultimate experience for club curlers”, said Johnston.
“Beginning in December 2012, TSN will air an annual one-hour special on The Dominion Curling Club Championship, as the country’s top men’s and women’s club championship teams are afforded the opportunity to compete not only within their province or territory, but also nationally in the CCA sanctioned event.”
All sounds great. Hearty congrats to the TSN Skins Game and The Dominion, loyal curling supporters… and also advertising partners with us here at The Curling News!
The Curling News
Team Koe with the cheque they are trying to take as carry-on for their flight home … seriously!
Words by TSN, Image by Anil Mungal
RAMA, Ont. – Alberta’s Kevin Koe added another victory to his impressive curling resume, as he hurried hard to win the 2012 TSN Curling Skins Game and take home ,900 in prize money over the course of the two-day invitational curling event at Casino Rama in Rama, ON. Koe was crowned Skins champion after defeating Manitoba ’s Jeff Stoughton five skins to two in the final earlier this afternoon.
This marks Koe’s first victory at a TSN skins game and his prize money this year includes ,600 from today’s final, plus ,300 from yesterday’s semifinal and a ,000 bonus for winning the entire tournament. With today’s win, Koe has now pocketed a total of ,900 in TSN skins game prize money over the past two years.
Stoughton takes home ,400 from today’s final for a total of ,200 in prize money won over the weekend.
Koe was in control early in the game, stealing the first two skins worth ,000 each and then stealing once again in the fifth following a carry over (,600) and in the sixth (,000) to take a commanding lead. Stoughton, who scored ,400 in the third end, came back to take the ,000 skin with the hammer in the seventh end to remain in contention for the win.
In the eighth end, it all came down to the last rock of the game, and Koe made a triple takeout to score two points and secure the victory, winning the skin worth ,000 and the winner’s bonus worth an extra ,000.
The overall money results for the 2012 TSN Curling Skins Game are as follows:
· Team Koe: ,900 (,900 in skins prize money + ,000 winner’s bonus)
· Team Stoughton : ,200
· Team Martin: ,700 (,700 in skins prize money + ,000 draw to the button bonus)
· Team Howard: ,200
The Curling News
by Molly Bonner
Action photos courtesy Chinese Curling Association
[click on images to view larger]
Molly throws with Caitlin Moroldo (L) and Mackenzie Lank
YICHUN, China – It’s 10:00 AM here as I begin to write this… and I’ve eaten four pieces of chocolate already. Needless to say, I am making up for all of the Christmas cookies and sweets I am missing out on back in the States.
It’s hard to believe the “most wonderful time of the year” is in full swing as we come to the end of our time in China. Thank goodness I downloaded the “NOW! That’s What I Call Christmas” CD onto my iPhone before this trip (Thanks, Laura, for the suggestion).
I’m planning my jet-lag avoidance strategy the day before my 30-hour travel day home begins, so I can enjoy every waking moment of the season upon my arrival stateside! I am sensing that tea, Starbucks’ lattes (very plural), and Trader Joe’s dark chocolate-covered coffee beans will be heavily relied upon, and that sounds wonderful.
Today is playoff day and our last time at the curling club. Although our team did not qualify, I wanted to spend the day at the rink. I can say with much confidence that this day, already, has been one of my favorites here so far; I was able to enjoy some time chatting with spectators, volunteers, coaches, and competitors while watching the games and enjoying coffee in the “Ice Bar.”
My coffee buddy Katherine, in her volunteer jacket
One person with whom I have visited with is an American transplant in Yichun, who gave me some further insight into the event and the community. Victor is a doctor in Yichun and has served as a liaison to the Organizing Committee due to his involvement in medicine and obvious knowledge of Western culture and people.
In speaking with Victor, I have learned that this event was kept rather private to the general public in Yichun and has been regarded as a prestigious event. In fact, a ticket to the competition costs the same as the average monthly income for a citizen of Yichun, making it far too expensive for many to attend. This explains why the one set of bleachers, which lines the far end of he rink, has not been full all week; this also also acknowledges the fact that curling is still very much a growing and somewhat mysterious sport in China.
Another item I was particularly surprised to hear about concerns the process of snow and ice removal in Yichun – quite the important process for this very cold, wintery city, and something we have been captivated by on a daily basis. Swiss coach Laurie Burrows described the feeling of the temperature best to me this afternoon: it is a “constant chill” in regard our body’s response.
Yichun has workers out on their streets literally all day and night chipping away ice and sweeping away snow. These workers are not paid for their labor, rather they are university students that are required to perform these duties in exchange for their schooling and residence. Furthermore, citizens that may have created a crime, or did not follow a protocol of some sort, may be assigned to one of these less than desirable tasks – I think I’d rather sweep the streets than be detained here.
Denmark carbs up with noodles before the final
I also learned that the city does have a fleet of vehicles that perform snow and ice removal duties; however, they are not used because the free labor is most cost-efficient, so not only does this reduce fuel costs, it also limits air pollution.
In fact, the Chinese people are quite thrifty and conservative in their spending habits, more so in northeastern China as we are told. It’s not uncommon for taxi drivers to get into an argument regarding a fare as small as 3 RMB, which is equivalent to only 47 U.S. cents.
The curling action today has been great to watch and both semifinal matches were very close. In the first one, Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont – who has been curling for her country forever, it seems! – took on Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, who defeated Canada’s Rachel Homan in the 2010 world junior championship final.
In the second semi, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (another world junior winner) challenged China’s top women’s team, skipped by Wang Bingyu… who, of course, won Olympic bronze in Vancouver and also gold at the world women’s championship in South Korea a couple of years earlier.
That’s quite a scoreline, SUI!
After two great semifinals – check out the first two ends of SUI vs CHN at left – the Danish and Swiss ladies advanced to compete in the finals.
Interestingly enough, and as some of you may know, both finalist teams have Canadian coaches: Burrows, as previously mentioned, works with the Swiss and Thomas Evans coaches Team Dupont.
Meanwhile, China’s Wang Bingyu used to be coached by a Canadian but Montreal’s Dan Rafael now coaches the Italian national teams. The editor tells me that Italy’s women stayed in the top eight of the recent European championships, which was good enough to qualify them for the 2012 world championships, so Mr. Rafael is obviously working his magic with the ladies once again!
Switzerland won a thrilling semi before falling in the final
As for the winners of the first Yichun International Ladies Competition…? It was the Danes, who walloped Switzerland 11-4 in a one-sided finale, while China took one in the 10th end to win the bronze medal, 6-5 over Sweden. Denmark had leads of 6-0 and 10-2 but, this being a high-profile exhibition tournament, there were no thoughts of early concession until mathematical elimination!
If there is one thing I appreciate and acknowledge today, more than ever before, it is the fact that the strength of a community lies within its people. Today has given me the opportunity to better get to know all of the wonderful individuals that have made this event possible and a success, no matter how big or small a part they have had.
Although I may have said it a few times (okay, that may be on the low side…) during this trip that I am very much looking forward to my own bed and eating a pizza the moment I am back in America (!) I am very fortunate to have met some fantastic Chinese people and reconnected with curling comrades from around the globe.
What an amazing journey and life experience!
Tonight it’s the Closing Banquet and then the enormous final day of travel begins. There may yet be one final blogpost to come, during a layover in Toronto, so do stay tuned curling fans…
The Curling News
by Molly Bonner [click on images to view larger]
Patti, Caitlin and Mackenzie wait to try and cross the street
BEIJING – Is it time to curl yet?! Tomorrow morning we rise at 4:00 AM to head to Yichun, and the main purpose of our trip to China.
Of the people we’ve interacted with over the past couple of days who have heard we are going to Yichun, most of them have similar responses:
“Northeastern China is very country, very traditional.”
”Did you bring warm clothes?”
“You can see Russia from Yichun!”
“Did I mention, did you bring warm clothes?”
“I saw the Reindeer Races in Yichun on the television yesterday.”
Really? Sign me up for that one!
In fact, some of people of Beijing have even laughed when we told them what city our final destination is. Have they no faith?!
The craze of Beijing roadways is truly indescribable and you must experience it for yourself (really, you must!). There are only centimetres between another car, pedestrian, or bicyclist while weaving in and out of traffic, running through red lights and making turns that only the Chinese must understand.
Molly in front of the first of three Forbidden City palaces
Meanwhile, the history of this city is complex, rare, and very interesting. We spent our last day in Beijing taking in as much of that history and culture as possible before we head north to Yichun which, by the sounds of it, will seem like a new country in many ways.
This morning began at 4:00 AM for Cait and I… time change not fully registering. We met our wonderful travel guides downstairs and the seven of us took off in the Honda hybrid for Tien An Men Square (most westerners spell it as Tiananmen; however, proper Chinese is to separate the consonants into three words).
Tien An Men Square is the enormous square in the city center of Beijing, and it received its name from the Tien An Men Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace), located to the north of the square separating it only from the Forbidden City.
Although it is best known to the majority of the world for the protests in 1989, it has great cultural significance for the people of China. One that we discovered the Chinese people are mainly proud of, and rightfully so, is the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, which took place at the Square.
This Hall… allowed women. Of course!
On to the Forbidden City, which is truly incredible. It took 100,000 people 15 years to fully complete. In viewing the ornate architecture and design, it is impressive to believe that this was even possible.
The Forbidden City covers 178 acres, nearly 8 million square feet, making it the largest surviving palace complex in the world. How many curling sheets would it take to fill that? Someone do the math…
While walking through and exploring the City, you cannot help but try to envision what it must have been like when the Ming and Qing Dynasties occupied it for government, religious, and living purposes.
There are many specific Halls, Courts, and Palaces throughout the City, all of which are there to serve a specific purpose. Those purposes very greatly from just about everything you can imagine. Furthermore, there are certain areas of the City in which women were not allowed (raw deal for the Empress, if you ask me!)… typically these areas dealt with “important” government dealings, or were Palaces and Halls specifically for the Emperor.
Late Tuesday morning brought our sightseeing to the Summer Palace – very fitting as this is where the Emperor and his family (wives may be plural) reside during the summer months, and we had just come from the Forbidden City – where they reside for the rest of the year.
Just when we thought the City was the largest community imaginable, we discovered out that the Summer Palace is, in fact, three times as large! This is mostly because of Kunming Lake, the focal point of the residence that spans just over 2.2. kilometers. Even more impressive, this lake is entirely man-made… how’s that for some hard labor?
(Note: unfortunately the air pollution was so strong today that there was a constant haze in the air, making all the Summer Palace photos a bit less than ideal.)
Dragon boats and a Marble Boat at the Summer Palace
The main purpose of the Summer Palace was to have a retreat that would focus on increasing the wellness of the Emperor’s family, in turn promoting longevity. Indeed, the major hill on the residence is named Longevity Hill, and it houses both the actual palace where the family resided along with the Buddhist Temple, which is the main focal point atop the hill.
This amazing area is truly a great spot for tourists to spend an entire day to explore during the summer months. You can enjoy a traditional Chinese tea on the Marble Boat, take a paddle boat or dragon boat to the island, and explore the gardens and wildlife. This, however, was not in the cards for us in these winter months.
Speaking of winter… as I type this (10:00 PM on Tuesday evening in China) it is apparently -17 degrees Fahrenheit in Yichun! I think I’ll be taking the long underwear in my carry-on, for quick access.
Tomorrow, we fly Beijing-Harbin-Yichun: Domestic airport travel in China, this will be an adventure all its own! Until next time… please eat some peanut butter for me (my daily staple is unheard of in China)?
The Curling News
The Copper Cliff Curling Club in Sudbury, ON plays host to the 2011-12 Northern Ontario Women’s Curling Championship from December 9 to 11. Four spots in the Ontario Women’s Championship are up for grabs with defending Northern Ontario champion Krista McCarville looking to take one of them.
McCarville has won the Ontario Scotties title in four of the last five years but lost to Rachel Homan in last year’s final. McCarville would like to get back to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer this year and an opportunity to qualify for the Canadian Olympic Trials in 2013. She’ll be playing in Sudbury with a different lineup as Kari Lavoie is expecting a child. Liz Kingston will be throwing lead stones while Sarah Lang has moved up to play second. Ashley Miharija remains at third.
Live scoring for the 2011-12 Women’s NOCA Championship is available on Playdowns.com.
Playdowns.com – Curling news and playdown results
The British Columbia Men’s Curling playdowns begin this weekend with four regional playdowns taking place in the new 5 inter-region playdown format. Qualifiers from these four regional playdowns plus one more next weekend will qualify teams for the Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship presented by Dundee Wealth taking place at the Parksville Curling Club from February 6 to 12.
The four regional playdowns taking place from December 9 to 12, 2011 are as follows:
Additional spots in the BC Men’s Curling Championship will be determined at the Island Playdown in Campbell River December 16 to 19 and an open qualifier in Kelowna January 13 to 16.
Live scoring for all four events is available on Playdowns.com
Playdowns.com – Curling news and playdown results
The teams of Kelley Law and Brent Pierce from the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster received automatic qualification for the 2012 British Columbia Provincial Championships based upon being the top teams in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points this season.
The BC Scotties presented by Best Western will be taking place at the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver, BC from January 23 to 29. The Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship presented by DundeeWealth will be at the Parksville Curling Club from February 6 to 12.
Full story: Curl BC – Law & Pierce advance to 2012 BC Curling Championship
Playdowns.com – Curling news and playdown results
