Curling Photo Feedback

This photo captures the millisecond following the moment of impact of Kevin Koe’s last-shot attempt to win the Grey Power World Cup of Curling.

The angle-runback missed by a hair, ticking a front guard, and two of Koe’s team members react with obvious dismay.

The photo was shot the stands at the Hershey Centre by Allen Hofstetter of Paris, Ontario.

Allen and his wife Lynne Gawley-Hofstetter started a little curling supply business called Hit The Broom Curling Gear about four years ago. The Paris Curling Club, just outside of Brantford, had lost its informal “supply guy” so the Hofstetters starting displaying curling equipment on tables at the club.

“The response was amazing,” said Allen.

In a contra deal for the selling space, Allen built a large trophy case for the club’s basement. Now the company supplies Paris and also travels to surrounding clubs during popular bonspiels.

The squad also befriended the victorious Team Glenn Howard around the same time. The friendship is such that Howard lead Craig Savill even mailing one of his official Brier shirts to the couple’s 13-year-old son, Tucker, in 2007.

In addition, the squad was sent this photo, which soon made its way to The Curling News Blog, where is has been published here, with thanks to the Hofstetter clan.

A full-size version of the photo will appear in the upcoming December issue of The Curling News. Got your subscription yet?

Incidentally, Howard third Richard Hart has been corresponding with TCN writer Matt Hames this week, following Hames’ awesome blog and twitter posts during the World Cup final last Sunday.

Hames, who has blogged about the Hart discussions is correct to note that “Prior to the internet, this world class player would never have been able to get this kind of feedback about (his own) game.

“True, he could have watched the tape of the final on CBC and got the commentators’ take on the game, but that’s more an official take. Mine was kind of off-the-cuff riffs on the game in general.

“(Hart) may or may not find value in the feedback, but he’s at least taking the time to acknowledge that feedback can be valuable.”

On a final note, the World Cup feedback from television is quite good. Sunday’s final scored 441,000 viewers on CBC-TV, while Saturday’s quarter-final matchup between Koe and Brad Gushue earned 483,000 viewers, which is up 83 per cent over last year’s numbers.

Grey Power World Cup: The Preamble

by Matt Hames

MISSISSAUGA – So here we are, in the wild west of the Greater Toronto Area, for Act III. I'll be your live blogger for what is the third year in a row that Glenn Howard takes on Kevin Koe in the final of the World Cup of Curling.

Here are some stats that I'm sure CBC will mention:

1. It's the third year in a row that these two teams are playing in the World Cup final. Howard has won the last 2. But that was when the event was called the Masters of Curling. Now that it's called the World Cup, will Koe win? (We'll take your predictions in comments, but I'll throw out Howard winning 6-5.)

2. Head to head since 2006, they've played 6 times. Koe is 1-5.

3. Yesterday we watched Gushue beat Martin on CBC. My wife, a reluctant curling fan, opined the following: "Aren't people tired of Kevin Martin and Brad Gushue? Don't they always play each other?" Well, I responded, they're kind of the best. If you had of made the bet that it was Koe v Howard in the final, you weren't really going out on a limb. These guys can play. It's up to the rest of curling to catch Howard, Martin, Koe and Gushue.

4. If Howard wins, the team will tie Wayne Middaugh for second place on the all-time Capital One Grand Slam list.

5. If Koe wins, it will be his first Grand Slam win.

6. This is Team Koe's sixth Grand Slam final. See #5 for his record in finals.

7. Liverpool beat Manchester United today 2-0. I tell you that because there's a nice argument to be made that Liverpool is Koe and Man U are Howard. I won't make the argument. I'll also be updating West Ham Arsenal (Arsenal lead 1-0).

If you have questions, want to say hello, you can catch me here in comments or on Twitter at twitter.com/curling and also twitter.com/mhames.

Enjoy the game.

Million Dollar Button 2010

For the second consecutive season, Canadian curling fans from coast to coast have the opportunity to register for their chance to cover the button for CDN $1 million, live on CBC Television, through the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest.

And the website that is open to one and all to register at went live this morning.

This year’s finals will take place during the championship game of the BDO Classic Canadian Open, the third leg of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

During each of the first three events of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, six lucky fans who filled out a ballot on-site will be randomly selected to compete in an on-site playoff. The on-site playoff will take place during the finals of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling and The National as well as during the quarterfinals of the BDO Classic Canadian Open. During each on-site playoff, the fan who is closest to the button will win the right to compete in the semi-finals of the Capital One Million Dollar Button.

A total of six Canadian curling fans will qualify for the semi-finals of the Capital One Million Dollar Button including one representative from the Grey Power World Cup of Curling, The National and the BDO Classic Canadian Open along with three randomly selected online entrants.

The six semi-finalists will subsequently compete against each other following the semi-finals of the BDO Classic Canadian Open on Saturday, January 23. The semi-finalist who throws the rock closest to the button will earn the right to compete for $1 million in the finals of the Capital One Million Dollar Button.

The Capital One Million Dollar Button is the first curling-based contest in Canada with a grand prize of $1 million available to be won.

Last year, Ron Trottier of Osoyoos, B.C. came within 35 inches of winning $1 million after his shot slid just past the button. Trottier’s shot was good enough to earn him $10,000 (CDN) as the inaugural finalist of the Capital One Million Dollar Button.

“We’re getting fans off their seats and right onto the ice with their favourite players,” said Ian Cunningham, Chief Marketing Officer, Capital One Canada. “It’s a once in a lifetime chance to shoot for $1 million and experience the excitement and pressure that the pros feel every time they play a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event.”

In order to win the Capital One Million Dollar Button’s grand prize of a one-time payment of CDN $1 million, the contest finalist must successfully deliver a rock from the hack and have it cover the hole in the centre of the button on a regulation curling sheet. The contest finalist will have just one opportunity to execute the shot.

Should the finalist’s rock miss covering the hole in the centre of the button, but be touching a part of the button, the individual will receive CDN $100,000. Alternatively, CDN $25,000 will be awarded if the rock is touching the four-foot circle. A prize of CDN $10,000 will be awarded if the rock is touching the eight-foot circle while a rock that touches the 12-foot circle will earn CDN $5,000. Should the finalist’s rock not touch any of the circles, the individual will receive $1,000 (CDN).

Full contest details are available at the website.

To enter the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest, individuals can register online at capitalone.ca/button or on-site during the opening days of the first three men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events.

On-site registration dates include October 22-24, 2009 during the Grey Power World Cup of Curling at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont., January 7-9, 2010 during The National at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. and January 21-22, 2010 during the BDO Classic Canadian Open.

Online registration began today, and ends at 11:59pm ET on January 10, 2010.

Swiss are flying, crazy-mad

Here’s the very happy Swiss Olympic Men’s team right after yesterday’s Trials victory.

From left (standing) is skip Ralph Stoeckli, third Jan Hauser, second/third Markus Eggler, and lead Simon Struebin.

Crouching in front is the coach, Thomas Lips (left) and aternate Toni Mueller.

We have some exclusive quotes from some of the boys.

“I’m flying,” an elated Eggler told The Curling News.

“You can’t believe how I am feeling. The old man is back to the Olympics. For me it’s just like a dream after I stopped curling after the world championships in Victoria (2005).

“It is also a big moment for me, because it shows me that you can reach something when you work hard for it. When our team started 1,000 days ago, our goal was to play in the Olympics, and now we did it!”

Here’s more about the excitable Eggler, specifically a recent curling milestone.

Struebin, meanwhile, tells a funny story from late in the final game, which was played at a curling club. The athletes were the only ones allowed onto the vast and otherwise empty ice surface during the competition.

“I saw this club curler who wanted to practice on sheet one during the seventh end of our last game,” laughed Struebin.

“He went totally crazy-mad, when the umpire told him that he is not allowed to go on the ice. It was hilarious!

“No kidding. A scene for the ages.”

Team Stoeckli now jets to Toronto for next week’s Grey Power World Cup of Curling in nearby Mississauga, followed by further training excursions in Canada.

[Swiss Curling Association photo by Joerg Leunenberger]

Howard in Toronto

Here’s Glenn Howard showing his stuff at Toronto’s Leaside Curling Club last night.

Howard and teammates Richard Hart and Brent Laing visited Leaside and then the Cricket club to promote next month’s Grey Power World Cup of Curling at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre, located just west of the Toronto airport.

At each club the lads met with members, signed autographs and participated in an interactive on-ice clinic.

Team Howard begins the World Cup with a Wednesday night (Oct. 21) matchup against Germany’s Andy Kapp, in a repeat of the 2007 Ford World Men’s Championship final.

Also in action on that opening draw is Kevin Martin, who faces Sweden’s Olympic hopeful Niklas Edin; 2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue, who takes on 2006 Olympic bronze medallist John Shuster of the United States; Four-time world champ Randy Ferbey, who battles the Chinese men’s Olympic team; and Edmonton’s Kevin Koe, who takes on Thomas Dufour of France.

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster or the Hershey Centre box office.

Toronto media seem to awakening, briefly, from their NHL hockey pre-season slumber. Both the Globe and Mail and Toronto Sun published advance stories about the World Cup today.

[LATEST: and another Howard-oriented piece from the Globe’s James Christie was released tonight]

The Howards are jetting to the left coast tonight, for the start of Thursday’s World Curling Tour stop in Vernon, B.C. Four of the Olympic women’s teams confirmed for Vancouver are also competing in the women’s division.

[The Curling News photo by Anil Mungal]

Three Nations Cup curling

There’s more bang for the curling buck available at the Grey Power World Cup of Curling, coming to the Greater Toronto Area in just a few weeks.

The women’s Three Nations Cup has been added to the opening men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, October 21-25 at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre.

A total of four women’s Olympic qualifiers and hopefuls will compete in the inaugural Three Nations Cup including reigning Olympic bronze medallist Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary (in photo at right), 2009 Roar of the Rings direct qualifier Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon (bottom left), reigning World Champion Bingyu Wang of China (left) and 2010 Olympic Winter Games entrant Eve Muirhead of Scotland (main image), who will represent Great Britain in Vancouver.

“We’re thrilled to be adding this elite, international women’s event as part of the festivities surrounding the Grey Power World Cup of Curling,” said Kevin Albrecht, Chief Executive Officer of iSport Media and Management. “Featuring four of the top women’s teams in the world, the Three Nations Cup will provide fans with a snapshot of the competition heading into the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.”

This latest curling Cup begins October 22 and concludes with the championship game on October 25.

“Curling fans in the GTA have been waiting more than 20 years for an elite international event to take place in our region, and now we have two outstanding tournaments joined together,” said Elizabeth Woolnough, President of the Toronto Curling Association.

“The Three Nations Cup will provide even more excitement for the GTA’s passionate curling fans.”

Tickets – both for packages and single draws – are now on sale from Ticketmaster and at the Hershey Centre box office.

For more on the impressive, Olympic men’s field at the Grey Power World Cup, check out this previous blogpost.

Got your tickets yet?

Grey Power World Cup of Curling

The big news today concerns the “Toronto Slam” as the event has been re-branded as the Grey Power World Cup of Curling.

Formerly known as the Masters of Curling, the Grey Power World Cup of Curling runs October 21-25 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, just minutes from Toronto’s main airport.

As the first tournament in the new Capital One Grand Slam of Curling season, the event would normally be big enough on its own. However, as The Curling News has previously reported, this one is worthy of it’s new World Cup name.

No less than 10 of the international teams headed to February’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will take part, challenged by four of the top dogs headed to December’s Canadian Olympic Trials: Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard, Randy Ferbey and Kevin Koe.

A fifth Canadian team will also take part. Brad Gushue’s foursome, fresh off their victory at the first World Curling Tour stop of the season, will compete at the Hershey Centre. The Gushues are looking to win a spot into the Trials at the last-gasp qualification event at Prince George, B.C. in November.

As The Curling News reported last winter, Grey Power first jumped into the Slam sponsorship world by taking title rights to the season-ending Players’ Championship in Grande Prairie.

“We’re thrilled to be increasing our involvement with one of Canada’s favourite sports through our partnership with the World Cup of Curling,” said Catherine Smola, President of Grey Power Insurance Brokers Inc.

“We are hugely impressed by the passion Canadians have towards curling and we believe these world class events represent a tremendous opportunity for us to further connect with our customers.”

Today’s announcement comes from the Slam, the Tour and also from an organization called iSport Media and Management. This is the new home of Kevin Albrecht, the man who first built the Grand Slam property at IMG Canada and took it to Insight Sports some three years ago.

“The ability to extend our partnership with Grey Power to include two of curling’s biggest international tournaments reinforces the growth and popularity of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series,” said Albrecht.

“Grey Power’s brand and services have proven to be an ideal fit for curling’s passionate fan base and we are looking forward to building on the success of last year’s Grey Power Players’ Championship.”

Among the international Olympic teams headed to Hershey are reigning World champions David Murdoch of Scotland, reigning World bronze medallist Thomas Ulsrud of Norway, 2007 World silver medallist Andreas Kapp of Germany, 2006 Olympic bronze medallist John Shuster of the United States, 2008 World fourth-place finisher Fengchun Wang of China, defending World University Games champion Niklas Edin of Sweden, France’s Thomas Dufour and Denmark’s Ulrik Schmidt.

The final nation to compete in the Grey Power World Cup is Switzerland. A best-of-seven series between Ralph Stoeckli and Stefan Karnusian will declare their Olympic rep, who will then appear in Mississauga.

Ticket packages for the Grey Power World Cup of Curling are currently on sale, with seats available through Ticketmaster or by visiting the Hershey Centre box office.

The 2009 Grey Power World Cup of Curling is being lauded as the first major international curling event to be held in the Greater Toronto Area since 1986, when Toronto hosted the World Men’s Curling Championship.

The Toronto Curling Association has been a strong partner of the Grey Power World Cup of Curling with strong support from all of the TCA’s 23 member curling clubs.

Following the Grey Power World Cup, the 2009-10 men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series continues with The National, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. from January 6-10, 2010; the BDO Classic Canadian Open, from January 20-24, 2010 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg; and concludes with the Grey Power Players’ Championship, an event featuring separate men’s and women’s draws, to be hosted in April (dates and location TBA).

Two additional women’s Grand Slam events get underway next month, with the Calgary’s Trail Appliances Classic on October 9-12 and the Manitoba Lotteries Women’s Curling Classic scheduled for Winnipeg on October 23-26.