Grand Slam to Quebec

Make that le “Grand Chelem”...

One of the four Grand Slam of Curling events will take place in Quebec City Nov. 28-Dec 2, as announced this week at a glitzy news conference at the famed Chateau Frontenac.

Curl Quebec, one of the more dynamic member associations of the CCA, is heavily involved, as is Tourism Quebec, and of course the usual suspects: the Asham World Curling Tour and World Curling Players’ Association (that’s chief Paul Boutilier in photo), and series management company Insight Sports.

Check out Curl Quebec’s video coverage of the announcement via their curlquebec.tv portal, located here.

For a nifty promotional video, go to the .tv mainpage.

The $100,000 tourney will be contested at the Pavillon de la jeunesse, part of ExpoCité. The Pavillion recently underwent a massive renovation and now boasts 5,000 seats plus a modern design update, which Boutilier said “made it (Quebec hosting) a very easy decision.”

“This is a golden opportunity to showcase the sport of curling in Quebec,” said Curl Quebec honcho Marco Berthelot.

“We hope to seize this opportunity to demonstrate that Quebeckers are poised to host a successful major curling event.”

This is Quebec’s first big event since the 1988 Chicoutimi Brier, the site of Pat Ryan’s first of two back-to-back Brier wins, which also featured the infamous “Hritzuk” shot in the last end of the championship final.

According to press reports, the planned team lineup includes two Quebec teams, two international teams – once from France – and a U.S. team.

It’s about time a major was hosted in Quebec, and the Grand Slam was a logical place for Curl Quebec to look, following the disappointment of the failed – and controversial – 2008 Scotties bid. Reports say Quebec City is also pushing to host a national championship in the Olympic year of 2010.

Finally:

• Nova Scotia is looking for a High Performance coach ...

• Is Kevin Martin really “the people’s champion”, as this fellow has gushed?

Bacardi: time to step up

RED ALERT: if you are on the organizing committee of a popular cashspiel and are considering an online entry system, be very aware of the snafus that have entangled athletes and organizers out in Brampton, Ontario.

It’s an ugly situation that will certainly be rectified in future, but will that future include this fall’s event? Time will tell.

By the way, the Bacardi is a fine tournament celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall. But... in the words of a recent champion, it has rarely dished out winnings much beyond what the entry fees bring in.

Think about that.

This leads one to ask: what exactly is it that Bacardi is giving to the event – or perhaps the club? – each year that deserves title sponsorship of this tournament?

It’s one thing to contribute small budget line items to the local market – Brampton is Bacardi’s home – but after 25 years, The Curling News says its high time that this world-class distiller stepped up to the plate and put more hard dollars into the prize purse.

Lots more stuff today, so get your fingers ready:

• The Asham World Curling Tour (AWCT) schedule has been released, and is available through the Tour website as a PDF download. Click away ...

• New Zealand is experiencing a nasty winter – barely a squall by Canadian standards – which means joy for curlers, as their outdoor “Grand Match” was able to run for the first time in six years. An ice layer of about 25cm on the Idaburn Dam was enough to support over 250 players and 500 stones. Here’s a preview story; here’s one report, with video, from NZ TV 3; and here’s not one but two more print tales.

Days earlier, the Baxter Cup was also battled for in an outdoor theatre, with 88 curlers taking part.

Those Kiwis are pumped!

• Atlantic Canadian curler Helen Robbins can hold her head high today; she has been awarded the Order of Prince Edward Island ...

• Ed Lukowich is in the hotseat on the latest episode of The Curling Show ...

• Curling coaches looking for a challenge might want to consider the largely desert nation of Turkmenistan, which plans to field its first Winter Olympic team at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

“We will certainly take advantage of the Russian invitation to take part in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, for which it is necessary to begin the appropriate preparations already today,” President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov recently told the official newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan.

The president did not say in which events the Central Asian nation — an oil-rich ex-Soviet republic — might compete, but he has ordered his cabinet to draft proposals for participation in the Games.

Turkmenistan has not won an Olympic medal since becoming an independent nation after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. The last time an athlete from the nation won a medal was at the 1964 games when a Turkmen kayaker was part of the champion Soviet team.

Summertime temperatures in Turkmenistan, north of Iran, can reach 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), and snow is rare in winter.

Sochi, of course, defeated Pyeongchang and Salzburg in a recent IOC vote to host the 2014 Games ...

• Remember our online teaser about this new CBC-TV show, and the feature that followed in a print issue last season? It looks like the curling promo shot in Newmarket, Ontario earlier this year has been appended by new scenes shot in nearby Richmond Hill, will indeed become part of a show episode, according to this Toronto Star story; “We have an episode this season with Muslims trying curling, which demonstrates that we are all one, all Canadians,” says show producer Mary Darling ...

• AWCT followers will note a new spiel in the Alberta town of Brooks, namely the Cactus Pheasant Classic which debuts this November, and with a hefty prize purse of $70,000, which is enough to attract KMart, for starters ...

• Over in Ottawa, the Carleton Heights club is in the news, both good and bad. The latter comes from graffiti splashed onto the club over the weekend, which police are investigating. Good is the news that the club is exploring interest in a summer (September) league, so if you are interested, click here and follow up ...

• In Winnipeg, new signage is up which rebrands the Asham Arena, aka the Valour Road CC, as the new Thistle CC (confused yet?) which of course saw its original facility destroyed in a fire just over a year ago ...

• Saskatchewan’s greatest curling soap opera – concerning the long-proposed and debated Moose Jaw Multiplex – took another negative turn yesterday, with curling now apparently on the outside looking in ...

• Finally, we wonder what Chris Daw, featured here last week, would think of the comments posted on this wheelchair curling website (7/12/2007)? Probably not much, as Daw suffered a death in the family over the weekend, forcing him to leave that training camp in Edmonton ...

Free curling game download

The Merscom PC curling videogame Curling 2006 (screenshot above) is available now, for a limited time only, as a free download.

Click here to grab it.

This giveaway saves you U.S. $19.95, but as of this 9:15am ET posting, you had just under 18 hours to act.

Off you go, then!

Will Canada lose its gold medal champion?

Curling continued to kick ass this week with the announcement of yet another official 2010 Olympic coin – make that Paralympic coin – dedicated to the sport; the second of three released since February.

This time, its Paralympic wheelchair curling that gets the honour, officially released on Tuesday at a news conference featuring Chris Daw, the skip of Canada’s Paralympic gold medal champion team (photo). See a TV report here, a print report here and the news release here.

Daw is a fiercely patriotic and powerful fellow adorned with Canuck tattoos who makes regular speaking engagements across Ontario. He offers much as a multi-sport Paralympic and world championship athlete who has competed in wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby aka Murderball, wheelchair athletics and sledge hockey. He’s been caught on camera doing wheelchair motocross, bungee jumping off a cliff, parasailing and even scuba diving.

He was also instrumental in hooking the Canadian Curling Association up with the Canadian Paralympic Foundation and the Toronto Stock Exchange earlier this year, in a landmark deal which will see the CCA set up a new Office of Inclusionary Services – catering specifically to disabled curlers in categories including wheelchair and blind – via a tidy TSX donation of $400,000.

It’s no surprise then to hear rumours, now circulating, that he is being wooed by rival nations – more than one, we hear – who want him to uproot from Canada and set up shop overseas.

What is stunning, and hard to believe, are the rumours that he is seriously considering the offers.

Daw knows his stuff, and on the curling ice, he can make shots no other wheelchair curler can. We know this, personally, as we have seen him lead his squads to exhibition game victories over able-bodied teams skipped by Glenn Howard and Mike Harris among others.

Daw spoke to The Curling Show a year ago, but there were no hints about any post-Turin troubles, just a nonchalant “we’re looking forward to 2010.”

What has changed in a year, to make Daw consider leaving Canada, and lend his considerable expertise to a rival country in advance of the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver?

The very question makes it easy to disbelieve the rumours, but in reality the exportation of Chris Daw would simply follow the able-bodied script, which has seen a multitude of Canadian curlers oversee national team coaching and/or development programs on four continents. So while Canadians would grow nervous, the rest of the curling world would improve their growth and skill set in what is the fastest-growing disabled sport on the planet.

• Oich, some great news from Scotland regarding the famed but decrepit Thomson Tower, where the rules of curling were first drafted over 200 years ago; check out Curling Today and The Scotsman for the details ...

• Hold on, Edmonton. Just a day after Terry Jones declared that Canada’s 2009 Olympic Trials are a cinch for the City of Champions, the requisite denials have appeared in various CanWest media outlets. The latest sees rival Kamloops talking tough through its local blat, with former Strauss Canada Cup chair Norm Daley offering that Edmonton’s media reports might indicate “ a little fear on their part or something” and Kamloops city director Byron McCorkell suggesting that “it would appear” Edmonton is running scared ...

• Save a prayer for Cathy King and family, as they mourn the mysterious death of older brother Robbie King, a two-time Canadian junior champ (and world junior finalist) in 1974-75 ...

• So, do you agree that a sport like “curling” has significantly less exposure than “competitive gaming”? ...

• Brad Gushue castoff Jamie Korab is enjoying new life without his ex-skipper. He’s now got two teams – one skipped by Quebec’s Guy Hemmings – and two hometown landmarks – a road and a school gym – named after him ...

• According to the Globe and Mail, former National Post curling columnist Adam Daifallah has created the Conrad Black Fan Club on the popular Facebook social networking website. Black, a Canadian-slash-British publishing maven, is awaiting a Chicago jury’s verdict on fraud and racketeering charges. Daifallah is a youthful Conservative architect and writer, when he’s not eyeballing the Quebec curling scene for yours truly (former journalist our foot) ...

Sochi shocker

Indeed, the IOC delivered another eye-bulger yesterday by voting in the Russian city of Sochi as 2014 Olympic host. Read some of the punditry here.

The World Curling Federation has spoken, congratulating Sochi as such:

"Just as Russian curling surprised the world last December, Sochi has now surprised the Olympic world with this tremendous hosting victory," said WCF President Les Harrison.

"We look forward to showcasing the world's fastest-growing winter ice sport at its sixth official Olympic appearance in Sochi."

Last December, of course, Russia's national women's curling team, skipped by youthful Ludmila Privivkova of Moscow, shocked the field to win the 2006 Le Gruyere European Championships in Basel, Switzerland. Privivkova will lead her team into competition as a member of Team Europe at the 2007 Continental Cup, announced yesterday.

Sochi defeated Pyeongchang, South Korea and Salzburg, Austria in voting at an International Olympic Committee meeting in Guatemala yesterday.

Olympic curling in 2014 is expected to take place at a new national curling complex which will be constructed for the competition.

Olympic Curling: Decision 2014

The fourth of July is more than just an American holiday: it’s the day the world finds out the host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

The choices to follow Vancouver 2010 and host curling’s sixth official Olympiad are South Korea’s PyeongChang, the Austrian city of Salzburg in central Europe, and Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The vote takes place at International Olympic Committee meetings set to begin shortly in Guatemala, with July 4 the magic day of reckoning.

Pundits have recently put the Russians squarely in third place, with PyeongChang and Salzburg running one-two in the race to host. The Koreans should be the favourites, however, given that they very nearly scooped the 2010 Games from Vancouver at the last minute. Remember that?

Curling would take place in the nearby city of Gangneung, along with all other ice sports. The existing facility is already pegged to host the 2009 World Women’s Curling Championship, following next year’s 2008 Ford Women’s Worlds in Vernon, British Columbia.

Salzburg, which has a rich winter sport history, would put curling in the new (2004) Salzburg Arena, city centre, with some 5,000 seats.

Sochi would have to build a new facility, dubbed the Imeretinaskaya Exhibition Center, which would seat 3,000 and also serve as the new national curling centre. Sochi, by the way, is a truly odd place, serving as both a sea and ski resort. That’s right... snow on the tops of plam trees, people. Wouldn’t mind getting weird with that.

Who will win and who should win are often two very different concepts... particularly to IOC votemakers. Suffice to say that four years after Vancouver, curling’s big show will take place in a comparitively exotic locale.

Elsewhere:

• The Canadian Curling Association has announced the sites and dates for the 2008 Canadian Mixed and Seniors competitions: it’s the Calgary Curling Club for the Mixed on Nov. 10-16, and Prince Albert in Saskatchewan for the Canadian Seniors, taking place March 22-30 ...

• So where, pray tell, is the Brier on this otherwise engaging list of 101 Great Sporting Events One Must Visit Before One Dies? Nowhere to be found. Is this ignorance or purely a diss? We suspect the latter, given the inclusion of ridiculous things like #64, inspiring things like #60, very Canadian things like #59, and hatchet jobs like the one found at the end of #57 ...

• Here’s a well-done kid’s feature on curling, originating from PBS’ DragonflyTV ...

• Finally, a YouTube look at Houston’s recent Texas Open Bonspiel... hey, where’s Dan?

Chess on ice

Chess on ice.

Bah.

That comparison is something curling has had to deal with since the dawn of time. Much of it (but not all) is rubbish, but we have always wondered what actual chess players think... has anyone ever asked them about the comparison? Do chess players wrinkle their nose in disgust at the mere mention of curling? Has anyone ever offered that “chess is like curling with multiple pieces, physical components and a very different playing surface”?

Doubt it.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (photo) is the world chess federation chief, and in a May 31 interview on this website, he was asked about his sport’s endless quest for Olympic inclusion:

Q: Are you still trying to bring chess into the Olympic family?

A: We are working on it every day. You probably know that we opened a FIDE office in Lausanne, getting closer to the IOC headquarters. We work in all the structures of the IOC – committees, IOC associations etc., and ask the IOC to state criteria for an international sports federation to join the Olympic family. They are reluctant to state it, and we keep pressing.

For example, why curling became an Olympic sport? When they applied for the status, they advertised curling as ‘Chess on Ice’. Isn’t it absurd that chess on ice is an Olympic sport, and ‘mere’ chess is not?

Hmm. Sounds like the biggest problem may be that curlers, and curling mandarins, are guilty of using the comparison themselves. A lot.

Ilyumzhinov, by the way, is also president of the Republic of Kalmykia, a Russian subject, and according to various media reports faces persistent accusations of diverting his republic’s resources for his own use, of human rights abuses, and of suppressing media freedom.

Oh, and he apparently claims to have once been abducted by space aliens.

Hey, we don’t write all of this stuff; sometimes we just pass it on ...

Also:

• U.S. curling skips Deb McCormick and Pete Fenson were horsing around – er, bearing around – in Alberta recently and stumbled across a taping of the hunting TV show Canada in the Rough. In no time, the pair were caught on video – Deb fishing, Pete bear hunting – plus both sitting on a bear stakeout, and talking hunting. Oh, and there’s a hot tub scene. Honest.

Will the curlers make the final cut? You can find out this Sunday, on Global Manitoba CKND at 7:30 AM, and on Global Ontario Sunday at 8:00 AM ...

Skins Game squads

We kinda knew this a while ago, but we... er... forgot to pass it along (honest!), and TSN has made it official today: the four men’s teams confirmed for the Casino Rama Curling Skins Game this coming December are skipped by Glenn Howard, Kevin Martin, Wayne Middaugh and Brad Gushue.

Any bets on who plays whom in the December 8 semis? We’re not telling ...

A time for athletes?

Congratulations to one-half of the mighty online curling portal CurlingZone on his marriage over the weekend. Gerry Geurts, pictured here with Marie the day before their big plunge, is not only the co-founder of CurlingZone... he also steers the Ontario Curling Tour, co-publishes The Black Book of Curling, liases with CBC-TV on their Grand Slam coverage, writes code like a Russian spy, and has a truly awful in-turn.

He’s also a cancer survivor.

All the best to Gerry and Marie, currently on honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. And thanks to CZ’s other half, Dallas Bittle, for the photo.

In other news, the Canadian Curling Association’s annual Congress/AGM is over and there’s some loose ends to tie up. We’ll be delving into the details and what they mean in the coming weeks and months – no rush, eh – but for now...

The new board faces are Saskatchewan’s Bernadette McIntyre and Manitoba’s Mitch Tarapasky, and the president and vice-president both hail from New Brunswick: Al Forsythe is in command with Beth Sullivan the next-in-line. When one considers that World Curling Federation prez Les Harrison hails from Moncton, it sure looks like New Brunswick is the new epicentre of curling power.

Meanwhile, with the new board still dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on the financial situation, the other big news is a new era of cooperation and determination dawning amongst the traditionally über-political staff/board/membership dynamic.

Such a stage was built well in advance of the Congress with the release of the Report of the Joint Working Committee on Governance and Organizational Structure, a hefty proposal for a new era of CCA governance, which of course passed unanimously.

There are two things that leap out immediately, however. How is it that an impressive 64-page template for change does not address the issue of single-year terms for the CCA president? We’ve always thought that one-year terms don’t do a heck of a lot for a boss – newly empowered by said JWC report, of course – who is often just starting to feel comfortable in the high chair before he or she are headed out the door. We’re not suggesting decades of power like this guy or that guy, but given the six-year terms for the board of directors, a switch to a two-year presidential term only makes sense. Or does it not?

And finally, how is it that the missing equation in the CCA’s leadership conundrum – CEO/staff, board and member associations – continues to be athletes? Was this governance review not the perfect opportunity to finally get on with what simply must happen, as it has already in so many other sports... namely, athlete representation to the board of directors?

Wuthrich, Merk at Vancouver 2010

The World Curling Federation has announced that two Canadian veterans have been selected as curling ice technicians for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Hans Wuthrich of Gimli, Manitoba has been named Head Ice Technician and Dave Merklinger of Vernon, British Columbia has been named Assistant Head Ice Technician for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, taking place February 12-28.

The pair will also team up to test the competition surface a year earlier. The 2009 World Junior Curling Championship will be staged at the Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park and will serve as an official test event.

Wuthrich is generally acknowledged to be the world’s leading ice technician. Last year he steered the playing conditions of various major events, including the 2006 Le Gruyère European Championships in Basel, Switzerland and the 2007 World Women’s Championship in Aomori, Japan.

“I've done so many events, I don’t know the actual number,” said the 50-year-old Wuthrich. “I started keeping track of them in 1993, after I did my first big one, the men’s worlds in Geneva in 1992.

“Just the prestige of doing the Olympics will make it different from anything I’ve experienced.”

Wuthrich already serves as a consultant to the 2010 Olympic process, as a technical advisor to the The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). Wuthrich will continue to serve in this role, a position he considers critical to the success of the eventual playing surface.

“The only concern is going to be the building itself,” said Wuthrich. “It’s a temporary curling facility, so we have to be careful about every step in the process.”

After the 2010 Winter Games, the curling venue will become a multi-purpose community recreation centre that will include an ice hockey rink, gymnasium, library and the new eight-sheet Vancouver Curling Club. In addition, an aquatic centre with a 50-metre pool and leisure pool will be attached and will be managed by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.

In the 52-year-old Merklinger, Wuthrich sees a familiar face. The two have worked together on more than 10 major curling events over the years, both overseas and within Canada. Merklinger has recently headed the ice crew at the 2007 Canadian men’s championship and the 2007 Ford World Men’s Championship at Edmonton’s Rexall Place.

“I pebbled my first sheet of ice in 1969,” said Merklinger, who also competed at the 1985 Canadian championship at second position. “My first head ice job was in 1974. But I’ve been hoping for the Olympic job for the past few years.

“I've always said, once I get to do the Olympics, I’ve done it all.”

Merklinger will move to Vernon from Vancouver next month to become the head ice technician and club manager at the Vernon Curling Club. He will also lead the ice crew when that city hosts the 2008 Ford World Women’s Championship in March.

Elsewhere:

• Here’s a mildly amusing tale from Alaska, by way of Scotland ...

• Speaking of the motherland, there could be mucho trouble looming as the new Scottish government has pledged to mothball sportscotland, which is disbursing some £600m to sport and athletes all the way up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London ...

• Finally, two curling teams will be inducted tonight into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum: the 2003 double world junior champions, skipped by Steve Laycock (men) and Marliese Miller (now Kasner) ...

Bernadette On Deck

Word out of Gatineau, Quebec and the Canadian Curling Association’s annual Congress says that premier Saskatchewan volunteer Bernadette McIntyre (photo) will be acclaimed to the CCA Board of Directors, without a vote.

No surprise there: McIntyre is arguably the best-known event volunteer leader in the country, having chaired the 1998 Regina Scotties, the 2006 Brier, and the 2001 Olympic Trials along with multiple years of great cashspiels in the Queen City.

She is also a founding member the Sandra Schmirler Trust Fund (now Foundation), served on the board of the Saskatchewan Sport Hall of Fame and Museum, and won the CCA’s Ray Kingsmith Executive of the Year Award in 2003. She even volunteered, in a non-executive role, with the 2005 Canada Games.

“I believe if you volunteer and contribute to your community, it makes for a stronger community,” McIntyre said in 2005.

Now, McIntyre is volunteering to contribute to all of Canadian curling, and it says here that she will be a vibrant and valuable addition to the board. And not a moment too soon, as the CCA grapples with office turmoil, financial struggles and an irritable provincial membership.

Also ...

• First the Hungarians and the Czechs, now the Slovaks... indeed, “Síri novi Sport!” ...

• Oich. The planned world-class curling centre and home of Scottish curling – a £1.5 million facility – might fizzle out, due to complaints of country aesthetics and inherent danger to – wait for it – badgers ...

• The Ontario Curling Tour’s 2007-08 event schedule was released this morning ...

• Too funny: The Score’s “Tiger Woods of Curling” dons a fabled ice uniform, grabs Mike Harris and heads to “a very unfamiliar place for a nation of brothers” (aka the Toronto Cricket club). Yo, check this ...

• Finally, more frustrating news coming out of the Fredericton Golf & Curling Club, following the stiff-arm the golfers gave the curlers.

As reported in yesterday’s Daily Gleaner, curling member Ed Haggerty believes he and his fellow rock-tossers were hosed.

Haggerty says the members were told the curling club needed $125,000 to replace the ice plant, condenser and chilling equipment.

“I’m not a mechanical engineer but I’m an electrical engineer and a good deal of that is electric,'” said the retired Haggerty. “Having worked for 37 years at NB Power in construction, I’m aware of a lot of different kind of facilities. I was on the ice committee and I personally don’t believe the plant is in as bad a condition as what’s being told.”

At the Monday meeting which saw the shareholders vote to turf the curlers, a pro engineer “submitted a letter and said much the same thing,” Haggerty said. “Yes, the plant is getting older but, in his experience as a mechanical engineer, he felt with some maintenance it was certainly capable of operating for a good long time.”

But the golfers weren’t willing to give the curlers much time to try to round up the money.

“Who can come up with 125 grand in three weeks?” Haggerty said.

Fredericton curling club kicked out

Word today that the Fredericton Curling Club has been unceremoniously booted out of the facility it shares with their former golf buddies.

What’s in a name, you ask? Not much, according to the shareholders at the Fredericton Golf and Curling Club, which essentially voted on Monday night to change its name and strike “curling” out of its title.

As the image of Fredericton curling in 1854 indicates, this marks the end of 150-plus years of history. Gone. El toasto.

This typical golf-versus-curling story has been heard often before: the golfers have been subsidizing the curlers for years, curling membership has steadily declined, and a whack of new curling facility equipment ($100,000 or so) is needed and is not forthcoming... so a “business decision” was made.

Some of the discourse is disturbing, however. Curling club past president Gary Wilson feels the curling executive was “misled into believing we were doing better than we were, by the board and by the general manager. I have, on paper, reports from annual general meetings that say we were making money.

“When this came to a head and we were asked to meet with the board, we were told point blank that this was all wrong. We never made money, we were losing money, but out of the goodness of their hearts, they were adjusting the books to make it look better than it was. They said there should have been footnotes put into the profit and loss statements that all expenses were not charged to the curling division that should have been. They didn’t cook the books, but they didn’t report everything accurately on paper. There was nothing fraudulant or whatever in that manner. But things weren’t explained as to what they were in exactness.”

Looking ahead, incoming president Cyndi Greene is talking tough, saying that fundraising toward a new facility will be “well underway” in three to four weeks and they’ll begin scouting potential locations, and that “we’ll get an ice plant and a shed to put (the club) in. The life span of an ice plant is 30 years. So once that’s in, we’re looking at a minimum 30 years.”

We should know better than to infer directly from media accounts, but these quoted steps and solutions all sound far, far too simple. There will be no FCC curling in 2007-08 and it is going to be very, very difficult to make a comeback at all, let alone get “a new venue up and running no later than 2008.”

Given that “neither Greene or Wilson were surprised” by the results of Monday’s vote, and that Greene says the club executive is only now planning “to meet with legal counsel later this week to protect the assets of the club,” one has to ask... what, if anything, was attempted to prevent this disaster?

Was the NBCA ever asked for help or direction in rebuilding what sounds like an abysmal membership count? Was the CCA’s lauded Business of Curling seminar program ever considered or attended?

Who’s on first? Or rather, was on first? Just asking.

Elsewhere:

• Alberta women have joined the men in revamping their provincial format and a pair of Calgary teams are headed directly to next January’s provincial championship.

Defending champ Cheryl Bernard and 2006 Olympian Shannon Kleibrink were the beneficiaries of the Alberta Curling Federation’s expansion of the women’s provincials, a move the ACF ratified at its annual general meeting on the weekend.

As pioneered by the men’s provincials, there’ll be 12 teams chasing the 2008 Alberta women’s title; the traditional eight (three each from the North and South, two from the Peace) as well as the defending champ, the top Alberta team on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) last season (Kleibrink) and two teams to be decided this fall. One will be the top CTRS team in the stretch from September to late January, and the other will come from an Alberta bonspiel series.

In addition, the ACF announced that both the men’s and women’s provincials will adopt triple-knockout formats, with four qualifiers going to a Page playoff system.

• Meanwhile, the eternal question of provincial qualification rages on in BC... and on, and on, and on ...

• Congrats to Vermont curlers on a great inaugural season ...

• Let’s keep the good news coming: The Curling News has learned the Toronto Curling Association will announce a new sponsor tomorrow in Retirement Residences Group. RRG becomes title sponsor of both the TCA Business Women’s Bonspiel (November 9-11, 2007) and the Toronto & District Ladies Bonspiel (Nov. 13-15).

“We are looking forward to partnering with two great bonspiels,” said Elaine Wood and Pam Starr, Regional Directors of Marketing for Retirement Residences Group. “We support curling all over the GTA and this is a great opportunity to show our support for women’s curling.”

• And finally, RIP to Bob Martin, a curling mover and shaker in Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe region ...

Take-Out Weight Curling... v3?

Remember Take-Out Weight Curling?

It was a videogame, circa 2002-03, that scored strong reviews and went through two versions, both of them selling quite well... and notably through standard retail stores, and with little or no promotion or advertising within the curling market.

Developed by Saskatchewan youngster Nathan Sorensen when he was still in high school (!) TOWC and TOWC2 are now out of print and hard to find.

Great news today in that Nate has resurfaced with a revamped website/blog, located here. He’s currently studying computer science at the University of Calgary and while he’s not announcing a TOWC3 or anything like that, his inaugural message indicates that he just might be willing to mail some game copies out to those who cannot find it, and are in desperate need of a fix.

So visit his page and send him a comment, or an e-mail... who knows, maybe if enough people write in, he’ll find the time and inspiration to get back on the curling development trail ...

Elsewhere:

• A flurry of news recently concerning Scotland and their high-performance plans aiming toward Vancouver 2010... as usual, The Scottish Curler has the best summary of what it all means ...

• In recent news, Northern Ontario has (finally) finished their long-awaited amalgamation... and Hall of Fame legend Vera Pezer is the new chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan ...

• DID YOU KNOW: that InTheHack is selling some of their branded curling gloves on eBay... and speaking of merch, it looks like the ProCurler spring sale is still going as we head into summer ...

• Congrats to all at the Great Smoky Mountains Curling Club in Knoxville, TN... not only do they have the best club motto – “will curl for jugs!” – but they also hosted a summer spiel on the weekend, with teams from Hamilton, Collingwood and Windsor, Ontario taking part along with U.S. teams from Detroit and Knoxville ...

• Just prior to that event, Colorado Springs hosted a tourney, as reported by the fine folks in Kansas City ...

• They’ve also been curling in California, and SongMonk recently broke down down his delivery... which, of course, prompted more mulling ...

• Here’s two YouTube glimpses into the magic of outdoor Swiss curling, then and now ...

• As the Czechs say, Hokej: V Trenãíne hrali hokejisti curling ...

• And don’t forget the Hungarians (also in English here) ...

• And finally... wanna buy some rocks? ...

40-degree curling

40 degrees (with humidity) celsius in big, bad Toronto today and who would think there’s curling goin’ on, all for a great cause and with some serious celebrity names to boot.

Of course, there is lots of golf underway for the celebs and sponsors, at some great courses like this one, and this one, plus this one, and of course this one.

There has already been one pub night, which saw world champ Craig Savill challenged by some unknown guy to a 40-yard sprint outside along Eglinton Avenue. We kid you not.

Savill won, like any A-carded national athlete should.

Drop on by the Canlan Ice Sports Centre for a gander this weekend, and/or make a donation here.

The Blue & Orange

All good things must come to an end, and it looks like the pink gear sported by Team Glenn Howard – the world champions, of course – has moved on... to orange and blue. Or has it?

Team sponsor BalancePlus has announced a limited run of new specialty carbon-fibre tapered brushes are on sale now, with proceeds going to prostate cancer research. That’s $100 from every brush going to this cause, which will be embraced by the team through the coming 2007-08 season.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get pink brushes anymore... indeed, they are also still on sale via the BalancePlus website. But the new campaign should deliver another $10,000 to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada, and should also deliver a new look for the colourful Howard guys this fall.

Unless the Howards are sticking with pink, meaning that another team would be donning the blue and orange. Hrmm... any thoughts?

What a busy bunch, these world champs are. Fresh off a party at their home club which drew a whack of supporters, the boys are in Sudbury today as part of Tim Hortons Camp Day, visiting no less than 13 Tim Hortons area locations.

“They might serve coffee, pose for pictures, sign autographs, talk about curling, whatever they want to do,” said John McLellan, Tim Hortons’ regional marketing manager for Northern Ontario.

The Curler

It’s back.

The Curler was a staple of Manitoba curling club reading for about 15 years, but hasn’t been around for a while. Back in late February, publisher Resby Coutts – recently the MR guy of the Manitoba Curling Association, who also hosts a Sunday morning radio program called “Rock Talk” on Winnipeg’s CFRW AM1290 – brought it back to online life and we have watched it become a great little website. Check it out... and with provincial associations all meeting in the lead up to next week’s big annual Canadian Curling Association Congress, there’s lots to digest.

Briefly:

• They’re turning away curling-crazed people in Aukland, New Zealand... check out this Kiwi TV report ...

• Meanwhile, they went “Turkey Curling” in the Middle East the other day, and these guys hosted “Ferret Curling” in Ottawa yesterday ...

• Curling Today reports that, amongst other cool stuff, there’s a new Scottish curling forum up and running, and also that world champ Kelly Scott will compete in Scotland in mid-January, at a lucrative new WCT-E event ...

• Still with Scotland, did you know they’re planning a new tourist centre overlooking the legendary Ailsa Craig? That would cost some 30 million pounds? Tis true, read on here ...

• Finally, the new Grand Slam for women, the Sobey’s Slam, will be held on arena ice in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia ...

June curling with Brad Gushue

And you thought curling was over.

The June 9-10 weekend will actually see not one but two curling events in Toronto. There’s the perennial East York Summer Spiel, which you never hear about because the following year’s event is always near-full by the time the current tourney ends. No need to advertise!

But the big news is yet another charity event, this time benefitting the world-famous Hospital for Sick Children, which gives Toronto curling fans a chance to raise money for one of the city’s great causes and rub elbows with some celebs, like Mike Harris and Jenn Hanna.

The big score the fledgling Curl For SickKids event has produced is the participation of Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue, who will be making his first appearance at a celeb-charity event in four years.

There are some spots available but curlers and fans are urged to visit the website, send an email or phone call soon to get in on the action. The top five fundraisers, naturally, get to select their skip ...

Scottish curling online

We at The Curling News are honoured to spotlight The Scottish Curler, a glossy mag that is actually a wee bit older than us (shhhh!) and which is also chock full of great currrrrrling news from Scoootland every month.

The Scottish Curler now has an online weblog, Curling Today, and we are also honoured to have been the first out there to spot it, and post its first comment.

So there you be. Check in often and read up on all things Scoootish and currrrrrling via your desktop.

Elsewhere:

• Great news from the European curling world as Le Gruyère AOC has renewed its title sponsorship of the European Curling Championships for another two-year term ...

• The Canadian Curling Association has a selection committee currently out west, checking out sites for the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The choice is down to Kelowna or Victoria in B.C.

Steering said committee are the CCA’s Warren Hansen and Jack Bowman, as well as veteran STOH chief Robin Wilson.

The final decision, which will be announced this fall, will be a tough one. Victoria has a strong event pedigree with the lucrative 2005 Ford World Men’s still fresh in memory. Kelowna, however, is currently the talk of curling in B.C. as it is home to world champion Kelly Scott.

Kelowna has also hosted the Scotties, in 1989, and other Season of Champion events like the World Women’s (1986), the Canadian Juniors (1999), and the World Juniors (2002)... and the mammoth Kelowna Curling Club is a very sleek operation, headed by 2007 provincial Mixed champ Jock Tyre.

As for the two arenas in the running, there appears to be little to choose from between Kelowna’s Prospera Place – built in 1999 – with seating for 6,007, and the Save on Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria – still with some fresh drywall during the 05 Worlds – and its capacity of 7, 400.

Nearby Vernon, of course, is hosting the coming 2008 Ford World Women’s Championship, which just scored a $50,000 grant... and the Vernon Curling Club recently hired Dave Merklinger – he of the criticized Tim Horton’s Brier and very much uncriticized Ford Worlds in Edmonton – as ice technician and general manager, who makes the move from Vancouver’s Royal City CC.

• Still in British Columbia, 2006 Paralympic wheelchair champion team member Sonja Gaudet is in the running for Vernon Business Woman of the Year award. The gala takes place tomorrow at the Best Western Vernon Lodge.

Gaudet’s bio reads as follows:

Sonja Gaudet is a dedicated wife and mother, as well as a volunteer, ambassador, motivational speaker and highly accomplished athlete. She was a key member of the Canadian Paralympic Curling Team that won gold at the 2006 Torino Paralympic Games. Her life is an example of grace and achievement as well as selfless determination to make her community a better place. She has used her life experience to inspire others, always with a sense of humor and her signature smile.

• A wee bit further to the southwest, B.C. curling coach Sharon Delver paid a curling visit to New Zealand and Australia this month. And nice to hear more about concrete plans for Oz’ first real curling facility ...

• The Sports Network picked up our exclusive on Brad Gushue’s newest addition. But of course ...

• Finally, a YouTube curling roundup shows excerpts from Sweden’s 2007 men’s final (check out the huge backswing on Per Carlsen)... the women’s final, and also the men’s juniors (note switch of Van Halen backing track to Survivor), plus a cool vid summarizing the 2007 World Juniors in Eveleth. Finally, someone has finally posted Brit comedienne Catherine Tate’s amusing – if predicable – sketch, which features Rhona Martin ...

• Okay, finally here’s the last item, and it’s a warning. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, click on this link. Just don’t do it ...

Gushue picks Noftall

There’s a big story in the Wednesday edition of the St. John’s Telegram, but The Curling News has it first: the search for Brad Gushue’s new lead is over, and the winner is... Dave Noftall of St. John’s (photo).

Noftall recently played lead for Mark Noseworthy, including the 2005 season which saw Noseworthy surprise the field to qualify for the playoffs at the Players’ Championship in St. John’s. Gushue also thrilled the hometown fans by making it to the final that year, eventually losing to Edmonton’s Kevin Martin.

Gushue spoke exclusively to The Curling News:

“Dave will bring a hard working, positive attitude to our team,” Gushue said. “He is a very calm, mature guy who will fit into the chemistry we are trying to develop.

“It was a long process trying to find the right fit, but we have. We had interest from all over the country; it came down to choosing who would be the best fit on the team, no matter where they were from.

“We are all extremely happy about having Dave as part of the team and we are looking forward to hitting the ice next season.”

Unconfirmed reports say the final choice came down to Noftall and an athlete from British Columbia.

Noftall was also a key player behind the scenes during the run of Grand Slam events at Mile One Stadium in St. John’s (2004, ’05 and ’06). He works for Destination St. John’s as Manager of Event Tourism, charged with attracting and booking big events such as the the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (2005), the Memorial Cup, the Juno Awards, and so on.

Perhaps another major curling event is in the offing, Dave? Looks like your upcoming season is destined to be a “major” as well...

Rocking the Vic

Harry is back home, the golf clubs are swinging, and there yet another musician front and center on The Curling News Blog.

Why, you may ask?

Simple... it turns out one of the best-kept west-coast-Canadian secrets in the world of music venues is in Victoria, BC... and specifically, the Victoria Curling Club.

Ever since one of our favourite bands – the Pixies – played VCC on their enormously successful 2004 reunion tour – this VCC concert photo shows lead singer Black Francis – we’ve noted more and more live shows booked for this curling club. After the ice goes out in April, of course.

But the legacy is much older... we found word of a Ben Harper show at the VCC dating back to May of 1997. That’s at least 10 years, folks.

Last Sunday saw a popular Finger Eleven gig – some clips can be seen on YouTube, but we’re not linking to them because, well, they suck – and this Saturday it’s another TCN fave, alt-rock heroes Metric. In July, there’s more in store with geezers, and bagpipe punks, a skafest, and so on and so forth.

The only time we’ve personally seen the club floor covered with something other than ice was during the 2005 Ford Worlds: the club became the Keith’s Patch and we could definitely see how it would also serve as a good live venue. Of course, that week the musical acts were the usual gang of cover bands we see at many Season of Champions events. The mighty Pixies, however... they’re simply at another level. Sigh.

Elsewhere:

• This Norwegian blog tells us that there were no spectator turnout for the recent Norwegian Mixed Championship. The local club president also wonders if its label as a “championship” scares away people, ie. players, who are more interested in having a good time – which is important to Norwegians at all times, naturally!

The last bit turns to some positives: that the event was played in the “western territories” – we assume Norwegian events aren’t typically hosted there – and while it’s sad that they still have to play in a hockey rink, says NCA general secretary Sverre Myran, a new rink will probably be built soon in Stavanger. Nice ...

• DID YOU KNOW: that former Mark Dacey third Bruce Lohnes has an award named after him? Truro Curling Club juniors Adam Berry and Megan Annand are the 2007 winners of the Bruce Lohnes Award (which was presented by Lohnes’ father Ted) to the Truro CC juniors curlers who demonstrate participation, co-operation and sportsmanship through the season ...

• Speaking of award winners, the inaugural recipients of Newfoundland’s “Team Gushue Scholarship Awards”, worth $5,000 each, were recently announced, among many others ...

• Meanwhile, Canadian Press has hopped on the story about Jamie Korab’s new team, and the result is something like thirty stories running all across the country, some with wild headlines like Curler fuels feud on rock (Edmonton Sun) and the Globe’s hysterical Hell hath no fury like a curler scorned.

Congratulations Jamie: you have to be the first front-end player to get more ink than over half the skips on the World Curling Tour! ...

• TCN honcho George Karrys tries to wrap up a wild season over at The Curling Show ...

• Word is that New York Rangers assistant coach Perry Pearn and curling ace Kevin Martin have both entered their alma mater’s fundraising golf tourney on June 1 at Edmonton’s Coloniale Club. The annual event attracts up to 120 players and sends proceeds to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s fund for athletic scholarships ...

• Looks like YouTube curling wizard sterlingwes got a boost from TCN Blog as his viewer numbers have jumped this week. If you haven’t started clicking on his collection of highlight-reel shots, we invite you to do so. Resistance is futile ...

Neil Harrison suffers stroke

Lots to tell you about, but first a heartfelt prayer for the world’s greatest lead, Neil Harrison (beach party photo), who has been hospitalized for seven days following a mild stroke.

The beloved “Harry”, a two-time world champion with Ed Werenich – yeah, Harry was also Eddie’s fifth in 1990, and he actually played – who also won the 2007 Canadian Firefighters crown (again) has been a busy guy recently. Fresh from another appearance at the revamped Heart to Heart Bonspiel in Sudbury, was scheduled to emcee last Saturday’s Avonlea Farewell Party in Toronto, but felt “funny” after taking a shower earlier in the day. He tried to shrug it off but his wife Jane – bless her – would have none of it, and called 911.

The verdict is a mild stroke, and but the good news is that the nature of Harry’s lengthy stay is a) physiotherapy and b) the aggravating wait for an MRI, which must be driving him bonkers.

So he sounds okay... but our thoughts are, of course, with him and his family during the road to recovery.

In other news:

• Jackie-Rae Greening earned kudos for running a spectacular 2007 Ford Worlds, including this recent media feature.

We love some of the quotes in here: “I think Glenn Howard’s team said it best when they won the world championship,” said Greening. “They told me ‘you should do a template for this event because you could tell it came from a curler’s perspective.’

And we strongly applaud her mission to cut the speeches short.

“I told the opening ceremonies committee I didn’t want the players standing on the ice any longer than 20 minutes,” she said. “We’ve been left out there for an hour at some events, and then you’ve got to play a game right after that.”

Amen sistah.

And as for rumours about Edmonton – and Jackie – hosting the 2009 Olympic Trials?

“Stay tuned till June.” Jackie teases. OK, we will.

• Speaking of Wednesday’s honourees, June 2 will see the Coldwater CC host a “Tribute to Team Glenn Howard”. Howard, who lives in either Midland or Penetanguishene (we’ve lost track actually), plays out of Coldwater, as does women’s powerhouse Sherry Middaugh.

TSN’s voice of curling, Vic Rauter, will be emcee for the festivities, slated to run from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, with the official ceremonies set for 6 p.m.

Admission, which includes a barbecue, soft drink and “curling token”, is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children under 12 ...

• In other curling club news, there’s an interesting school curling concept – complete with an international angle – brewing on the Sask/Man border ... the Amherst CC in NS had a good year ... Vancouver’s Royal City Curling Club recently played host to a very different kind of sport ... and Brad Gushue (with the CCA) wants the ice in early this fall in Atlantic Canada ...

• Speaking of Gushue, we’re not sure why we mentioned his upcoming nuptuals in this story: he was married, of course, last fall. We actually meant to announce that he’s pregnant... er, rather, his wife is... with their first child. Congrats!

• Lee and Breanne Merklinger of Gloucester (Ottawa) have been awarded $2,000 grants from the The Canada Games Council and the Foundation for Athletes Sport Training. Lee is the new player suiting up for Team Jenn Hanna this fall, as former Hanna second Dawn Askin is fully dialed into Team Jennifer Jones out in Winnipeg ...

• Spies tell us that Vancouver’s Brent Pierce is the latest skip to assemble an out-of-town team. The 2000 world champion out of British Columbia will indeed take over Don Walchuk’s Edmonton squad of Brent MacDonald, Warren Hassall, and Brendan Melnyk. It was apparently an amicable split between Don and his mates, who had a solid season ...

• CurlTV has confirmed that Rob Meakin will haul his butt out of retirement – and a plum coaching gig with USA Curling – to rejoin his old 1995 world champion skip Kerry Burtnyk in the ice wars this fall. The Curling News Blog had speculated that Don Harvey would get the gig, and although we were eventually wrong, we are heartened to hear that Harvey was indeed the first choice and was asked to join. Turns out Harvey’s new business venture meant he couldn’t fully commit to the rigorous Bubba schedule ...

• Our other favourite charity spiel, Duluth’s House of Hearts, has a new date for next year’s 2008 event, plus some new photos posted to the Gallery section of the website ...

• Amid the CCA turmoil, there is good news on the sponsorship and ticket sales fronts ...

• In a YouTube roundup, we have some French juniors training, competing, and mostly partying ... Manitoba’s wheelchair team shows their stuff ... does this Italian video mean that Joel Retournaz’ Swiss experiment is over and he’s returning to curl for Italy? Can we get a translator here? ... and finally, sterlingwes has posted a whack of fresh curling highlight-reel shot vids – 22, in fact – on his growing YouTube page in the last half-day or so. Wicked. When does the ice go in again, exactly?

Meet the Preem

TORONTO – Almost a year to the day following a reception for Olympic and Paralympic medallists from the 2006 Games, Ontario politicians paid a tribute to the world champion Team Glenn Howard.

They were congratulated by Premier Dalton McGuinty (centre) and Ontario’s Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson (far left) at Queen’s Park yesterday. Howard and teammates Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Saville and team coach Scott Taylor were also recognized in the Legislature after they presented the Premier with an autographed curling broom (BalancePlus, of course).

Team Howard was also joined by Brian Cowen, Chair of Curl Ontario and Michelle Gower, outgoing president of the Ontario Curling Association.

Photo courtesy of the Government of Ontario

Parkes’ final four

The news came screaming into TCN’s email bin yesterday afternoon: Canadian Curling Association CEO Dave Parkes (photo) was packing up and leaving this Friday, a full seventh-plus months ahead of schedule.

Back in March, in Japan, Parkes told TCN he was disappointed with the ongoing efforts to replace him; indeed, he had hoped to know the replacement in time for the CCA’s annual general meeting in mid-June, whereas the RFP for a search firm just went out last week.

According to Al Cameron, who broke the story online yesterday (and in CanWest papers today), it was a pre-AGM board meeting in April that is pushing Parkes out the door earlier than planned.

So Parkes is down to his final four days in the corner office, and after 20-odd years, CCA is headed for some rather huge changes in the weeks and months to come.

Weston joins 2010

Here’s (left to right) curling golden boy Brad Gushue along with fellow Olympic medallists Beckie Scott (cross-country skiing) and Dominique Maltais (snowboardcross).

The athletes were in Toronto last Thursday to announce that Weston Bakeries has joined the Vancouver 2010 Olympic (and Paralympic) sponsorship family. Weston, which also sponsored the 1976 Montreal and 1988 Calgary Olympic Games, is currently celebrating its 125th anniversary. The company will also be a supplier to the Canadian Olympic teams headed to Beijing next summer and London in 2012.

In addition, the parent company – George Weston Limited – also announced a donation of $300,000 to YMCA organizations across Canada. The new Wonder Play, Dream, Grow Community Spirit program will fund community-based programs that help kids stay fit through play. The program will also include funding the building of several playgrounds and training facilities in communities across Canada.

Gushue flew in and out on the same day, but told The Curling News that he is scaling back his appearances after more than a year of crazy-busy scheduling. He also revealed he was recently acclaimed to the presidency of the Atlantic Chapter of Olympians Canada.

Photo courtesy of Argyle Communications