Eye Opener March 20th

Issue 1 – Saturday, March 20, 2010 • An Official Publication of the Canadian Curling Association.

Sponsor of the day

your guide to what’s goin’ on

It’s brand new for the 2010 curling season - your guide to what’s goin’ on at all the Season of Champions events. Check out The Party Line on page 9 and make sure you don’t miss a second of the fun!

A Current affair

In a very young field, two clear favourites have emerged – Canada’s Jennifer Jones and China’s Bingyu Wang. Wang is the defending champion; Jones won the title two years ago in Vernon. There remains plenty of potential for upsets in Swift Current with half the field fresh off of the Olympics.

Young field, clear favourites... a few surprises?

Page 9Saturday, March 20, 2010

It’s Simply

The Pioneer Co-op is privileged to welcome the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championships to Swift Current. Formed in July 1936, Pioneer Co-op has become a fixture in the Swift Current Community. Pioneer Co-op has grown from a simple service station to a place that will satisfy all your shopping needs. The Pioneer Co-op is locally owned and

controlled by its members. Profit is returned to the members based on patronage. There are two major department stores, which include two service stations and the Marketplace Family Restaurant in the city and 14 rural branches. Please stop by one of our locations while in Swift Current and we would be pleased to assist you.

Sponsor of the Day

Picture Perfect is the “fan’s eye” view from Swift Current. When you’re capturing your favourite memories from the Ford World Women’s, send them in… they may just show up in The Party Line.

Email pictures to: [email protected](Please note: Cameraphone images may not be of suitable quality to reproduce.)

Hit Us With Your Best Shots!

Picture Perfect

Honorary Team Hosts

Canada Dan Corfield - Richardson International

China Shannon Doka - SaskEnergy

Denmark Jeff Parsons - Cypress Motors

Germany Zane Hansen - Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority

Japan David Cornelius - PMA Canada

Latvia Stuart Dyrland - Pioneer Coop

Norway Monte Williams - Sasktel

Russia Amy Cudmore - Peller Estates

Scotland Ron Heeg - Pharmasave

Sweden Alden Lodoen - SGI

Switzerland Trish Jordan - Monsanto Canada

United States Susan Woods - Innovation Credit Union

The Credit Union i-plex opens its doors to the world at noon today for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship – marking the start of an exciting week of action.

The colourful event features all 12 teams dressed in official uniforms,

proudly displaying their national pride. The ceremonies set the stage for the opening draw of competition at 2:00 pm.

The Host Committee extends thanks to Innovation Credit Union for providing the flags and Pharmasave for medical supplies.

The Great Tastes of the PatchKeith’s Patch is the perfect place to enjoy a beverage and a bite. Choose from an appetizing array of menus from our featured food vendors:

Extreme PitaVern’s Pizza/Extreme Donair

Soups n SuchElmwood Golf Club

Gramma Bep’s

Swift Current

Welcomes the World

The Coolest Competition in Keith’s Patch!

The competition on the ice at the Credit Union i-plex will be hot all week – in Keith’s Patch it will be extremely cool!

Cool Curling has become one of the biggest hits of the 2010 Season of Champions, attracting hundred of fans to the Patch to play the tabletop version of the roaring game.

The Cool Curlers will be at it again this week for the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship. It’s great fun with great prizes! So if you think you’ve got what it takes, grab a partner and sign up at the Patch. The competition gets underway Monday.

Twenty-four young curlers - representing clubs in Swift Current and communities throughout Saskatchewan - were selected as Junior Stars through a random draw of applicants.

Today’s feature stars are:

Team Scotland • 2:00 pm

Kyra Behm, Swift CurrentLane Larochelle, Ponteix

Team Canada • 7:00 pm

Bailey Senicar, VanguardShane Robertson, Waldeck

Page 2 Eye Opener

Inexperienced field yes, but plenty of potential

Supposedly, also purport-edly, the Ford World women’s curling champi-

onship field departing the blocks today at the Credit Union Iplex is inferior to that which gathered last month in Vancouver to chase Olympic medals.

Maybe. Maybe not.Sweden’s two-time gold medal-

list Anette Norberg isn’t on hand.Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott, a

double Olympic silver medallist who failed to grab a disk at Van-couver, is another absentee.

Ditto Debbie McCormick of Madison, Wis., and her U.S. Olympic team which pulled a fast fade at the latest Games.

Oh yes, and then there isn’t Canada’s Cheryl Bernard, the silver-medal winner who never has qualified for a world champi-onship, including this one.

If experience is a key, though, Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones will direct Team Canada for the third straight Worlds and the fourth in the last six years. She’s back with her 2008 champion team of Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Of-ficer and Dawn Askin intact.

Some are suggesting Jones stands a good chance to stam-pede through this field.

Probably not.Defending world champion

Bingyu (call me Betty) Wang of China is on hand, direct from an Olympic bronze-medal (7-and-4) effort and a bonspiel last week-end in Morris, Man.

“We are tired,” Wang admit-ted on Friday following practice. “But we are here and we will do our best. We hope we can play well here.”

“Yes, we may be world cham-

pions but we are still a young team and there are a lot of things about the game we don’t know.”

Wang said the Olympic Games was a new experience for her team.

“It will help us grow,” she said.Something else about the

Chinese threat at the Iplex. The team is comfortable playing in Canada. It’s like a second home because the Chinese compete here most of the season and have a Canadian coach in Dan Rafael of Montreal.

“We feel comfortable here be-cause we know so many people and they are so friendly,” said Wang. “There are so many great

curlers and so many big games in Canada. And our teacher is a great coach from Canada who teaches us so many things we don’t know. Some little things and some mental things.”

The key to defending the title, said Wang, will be “teamwork”.

“We will have to try everything and not be afraid,” she said.

Other Olympians stepping into the Iplex hacks include Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont (Angelina Jensen skipping), who booted Jones out the exit door a year ago in the bronze-medal tiff at Gangneung, Korea, but was 4-5 at Vancouver; Japan’s Moe Meguro (3-6), Russia’s youth-

ful Liudmila Privivkova team of Moscow (3-6) who won the 2006 world junior title, Ger-man veteran and former world champion and Olympic demo gold-medallist Andrea Schoepp of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (3-6) who is playing in her 17th world championship, and rocket-launching Scottish youngster Eve Muirhead (3-6) of Dunkeld.

Winner of the world junior title the last three years, two of them as skip, the 19-year-old Muirhead isn’t fazed by knocking heads with relative long-in-the-tooth strategists.

“I’m getting lots of experience I can bank,” admitted Muirhead

on Friday.“But I think I’ve been around

long enough to know you can’t go out there shivering-wreck scared, it’s not going to get you anywhere. You just have to relax and enjoy it. I think I’ve handled the pressure pretty well.

“All in all, it (the Olympics) didn’t go that well and I was ini-tially annoyed, but if you sit back and look at the big picture, you realize you have to know how to win and how to lose. It’s some-thing that will come with time.”

Please see WOOD, Page 3

LARRY WOODTankard Times Editor

Two clear faves, but...

Chinese skip and defending champ Bingyu Wang


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Maybe even this week. There’s a definite feeling some of these teams will be looking to im-prove their lot of so-so Olympic performances. In some European countries, you understand, poor results lead to disappearing acts.

“I don’t think a lot of the teams had a good Olympic showing so I’m assuming that they’re all going to be up and ready to play well,”

Canada third Cathy Overton-Clapham told Jim Bender of Sun Media. “And they all like playing in Canada so, we’re going to have our hands full.”

Some of the rookie skips in the field really are less-than-rookies, too.

Switzerland’s Binia Feltscher won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics playing third for Mirjam Ott. Since taking over her own team, she’s been around the top of the heap in her own bailiwick. And the betting is her unit won’t fare any worse than her old skip at Vancouver who lost the bronze-medal tilt but still struggled mightily throughout.

Feltscher is in the Worlds field because of her win in the Swiss championship. Ott was unable to compete in her national event due to her participation in the Olym-pics.

“We have been the No. 2 team in Switzerland all year,” said Feltscher. “We just hope we can win a medal but, if not, this participation will help us in the future.”

Erika Brown of the U.S. has won silver at the Worlds, play-ing third for Lisa Schoeneberg in 1996. This will be Brown’s first Ford Worlds skipping assignment but she’s no stranger to teeheads.

Norway’s Linn Githmark isn’t new to the skipping position, ei-ther. She directed the 2004 world junior champ.

Sweden’s 22-year-old Cecilia Ostlund of Karlstad won silver at the world junior in 2008, losing the final to Muirhead.

Latvia’s Iveta Stasa-Sarsune is the one blatant rookie in the field. In fact, Lativa never before has fielded a team in a world curling championship — men’s, women’s or junior.

“It’s never a weaker event,” Canadian second Jill Officer told Sun Media. “The teams are representing their countries for a reason and I think half the field is Olympic teams and the other half, aside from maybe Latvia, are teams with international experi-ence. So, it’s going to be tough, regardless.”

Skip Jones joined the fourth estate for the Olympics, reporting for Yahoo.com.

In that role, she was able to scout some of the teams she’ll be facing this week.

WOOD From Page 3

Teams look to improve

on Olympics

Germany’s Andrea Schoepp is competing in her 17th World Championship.

Page 4 Eye Opener

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WHERECredit Union Iplex, Swift Current, SK.,

Seating capacity, 2,400.

SPONSORFord Motor Company of Canada is title

sponsor. Monsanto Canada Inc., is present-ing sponsor.

HISTORYThe World women’s championship began

in 1979 in Perth, Scotland, and has been held every year since. This will be the 31st edition of the event, which was last previously held in Saskatchewan at Moose Jaw in 1983.

COMPETITIONThere will be 12 teams, one

from each of the 12 qualify-ing nations. A round-robin preliminary format will be followed by a four-team Page playoff competition where the first-place team plays the second-place team, and the third-place team plays the fourth-place team. The winner of the 1 vs. 2 will advance directly to the championship final. A semi-final will be played between the loser of the 1 vs. 2 playoff match and the winner of the 3 vs. 4 playoff match. The winner of the semi-final meets the winner of the 1 vs. 2 playoff match in Sunday’s (March 28) final.

TROPHYThe Ford Women’s Curling Championship

Trophy

EVENTSSaturday, March 20: Opening ceremonies,

12 noon; Draw One, 2 p.m., Draw Two, 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 21: Draws at 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 7 p.m.

Monday-Friday, March 22-26: Draws at 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 26: Draws will depend on the necessity of tiebreakers. Either the Page One-Two playoff match or Page Three-Four playoff match will be played at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 27: Either the Page Three-Four playoff match or Page One-Two playoff match will be played at 12 noon; Semi-final match at 5 p.m.

Sunday, March 28: Bronze-medal match at 10 a.m. World final match at 3 p.m.

KEITH’S PATCHThe Keith’s Patch will open

at 11 a.m. through 1 a.m. from Saturday, March 20 through Saturday, March 27, and from 11 a.m. through 12 midnight on Sunday, March 28.

Live bands appearing during the week:

Bakersfield, Chevelles, The Hickies, Men Without Shame, Vern Michaels Band, Won-derland.

TELEVISION COVERAGETSN will provide comprehensive coverage

of the Ford Worlds including all matches involving Team Canada, the Page play-offs, semi-final and final. Coverage begins Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. CT as Canada takes on Sweden.

THE INTERNETAll editions of the Eye Opener, plus draw-

by-draw reports, results and all other Ford Worlds Brier information will be available visually at www.curling.ca or www.seasonof-champions.ca

Facts and figures from the 2010

Ford World Women’sCurling Championship


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Erika Brown is making a curling comeback of sorts.The Madison, Wis., product who now resides in Oakville, Ont., skipped in five world junior

championships back (1989-1994) and played third in her first international tournament, circa 1988.On Saturday, she’ll step on the ice at the Credit Union Iplex and skip her first U.S. champion

team in the Ford Women’s Worlds.Brown has played third five times in the Worlds, but hasn’t skipped since junior days. She was

with Lisa Schoeneberg in 1995 and 1996 when the Yanks finished runnerup to Marilyn Bodogh, then backed up Patti Lank in three Worlds (1999, 2002, 2004).

Earlier this month, she directed her current team of Nina Spatola, Ann Swisshelm and Laura Hallisey to a skin-crawling 5-4 extra-end victory over her old skip Lank in the final of the U.S. Nationals at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Hence Brown’s return to the Worlds for the first time since ’04.Continued on Page 6

A long journeyErika Brown makes her international comeback in Swift Current

Larry WoodThe Eye Opener

U.S. Skip Erika Brown hails from Wisconsin but lives in Oakville, Ont. She makes her return to international curling as a skip for the first time.

Page 6 Eye Opener

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A 37-year-old physician’s assistant, Brown played nine seasons in all with Lank and has played in 17 U.S. Nationals.

“My expectation going into the week was that we would meet Patti in the final and it would be a tight game, going 10 or 11 ends,” Brown told Terry Kolesar of Curling U.S.A.

“But, to me, it wasn’t really about who we were playing. This (a win) would feel fantastic against anybody.”

Lank’s teams have been runner-up eight times in 16 national championships since 1994. She has won the title four times. Born in Midale, Sask., she also competed in six Canadian provincial championships.

It took Brown five ends to wrestle control of the game away from her former mate with a go-ahead deuce.

“It took that long before we finally took advantage of some opportunities,” said Brown. “We were waiting and waiting. The fifth end was huge. We were happy to be back on top, and to have done something with the hammer.”

After blanking the sixth, Lank eventually was forced to hit for one and tie the count. Then Brown threw a precise takeout and

remained for an eighth-end single looking at three opposition counters.

Lank’s team was efficient at blanking the ninth end to retain the last-rock advantage heading home in the 10th. But she had to settle for the tying point and Brown was left in the 11th with a partially open hit at the back of the four-foot.

“I could see just about all of it,” said Brown. “I’d thrown that shot a lot. I felt re-ally good about it.”

And she made it.Brown is also an accomplished golfer; she

was Wisconsin State High School champion in 1990 and ’91, was on the University of Wisconsin 1994 Big Ten Championship team, and was twice the City of Madison women’s champion.

Brown is an accomplished golfer as well as a top U.S. curler.

She won her first State junior champion-ship (21 and under) at age 12.

Brown has studied French and Swahili, and holds degrees in political science and women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin. She recently completed graduate school in the physician assistant program at Finch University of Health Sciences.

“My first experience in a curling club,” recalls Brown, “was at eight days old when my mother brought me to the Milwaukee men’s bonspiel to watch my father play.

“He has been my coach since the begin-ning, and basically taught me everything I know about the game. He has incredible mental focus and is a great motivator.”

Steve Brown is a three-time U.S.A. cham-pion.

“He had me practicing at quite a young age (about 7),” says Brown. “In fact, because I was too small to handle the 42-pound stones we routinely substituted Kleenex boxes and ashtrays which I would toss down the sheet instead.”

Brown’s take on the game:“Curling is a very intense, strategic sport

that, like golf, can never be perfected and keeps you coming back for more.”

From Page 5

U.S.A : Brown has 17 nationals to her credit;

back for more


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The Eye Opener

While Kevin Koe’s Team Alberta swept away the competition Sunday night, TSN swept up a new audience record as the final of the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier became the most-watched broadcast in tournament history.

Preliminary data from BBM Canada confirmed an average audience of 1.6 million viewers watched Koe win his first Brier title against Glenn Howard’s previously unde-feated Team Ontario in an exciting extra-end finish.

This marks the highest audience ever for a non-Olympic Games curling broadcast on Ca-nadian television. Last year’s final attracted an average audience of 873,000 viewers.

Audience levels for the final peaked at 2.5 million viewers at 10:11 p.m. ET, as Koe’s impressive hit-and-roll shot in the dramatic 10th end forced Howard to draw for one point with the hammer, tying the game at five points apiece and forcing an extra end.

Overall audiences for the Brier on TSN averaged 631,000 viewers, a 42 per cent increase compared to last year’s average. In total, TSN delivered 66 hours of Brier cover-age live from Halifax.

TSN coverage also set records at the Scot-ties last month in Sault Ste. Marie.

The highest television audience ever recorded in the tournament’s history — an av-erage of 1.2 million viewers —watched Team Canada’s Jennifer Jones win the final.

Overall audiences for 2010 Scotties Tourna-ment Of Hearts on TSN averaged 508,000 viewers, a 27 per cent increase compared to last year’s average. TSN delivered 70 hours of live Scotties coverage.

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2010 Brier hits a new benchmarkKoe/Howard Halifax final on

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1.6 million viewers watched Kevin Koe (above) defeat Glenn How-ard (above, right) in the Halifax Tim Hortons Brier final.

Page 8 The Party Line • Your guide to what’s goin’ on


on stage

GO

OD TIMES BREWIN’ SINCE

198

2

The Season of Champions is experiencing overwhelming growth and popularity as Canada’s “roaring game” roars more than ever before. Hundreds of thousands of fans across the country have been drawn to the excitement, drama and strategy of our sport.

They’ve also discovered that curling comes with an incomparable party atmosphere!

The Party Line is a new feature this year… it’s your guide to what’s goin’ on here at the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship. We’ll be bringing it to you every day to keep you on top of all the festivities here in Swift Current.

Keith’s Patch is party central all week long, pulsating with excitement as fans, volunteers – and at times, even the competitors – gather for a roaring celebration.

The Patch features an appetizing array of food and all your favourite beverages. You can dance to the beat of a steady lineup of live entertainers. Plus, the host MC – Stuart Brown – will be leading the way with all kinds of crazy competitions and games.

So stay tuned to The Party Line and we’ll keep you in touch with every second of the fun!

It all happens in Keith’s Patch – and at 10:30 pm, the party really starts rockin’ when Men Without Shame take over the stage with a performance that keeps the curling crowds on their feet all night long.

One of Saskatchewan’s most renowned cover bands, Men Without Shame has solidified a place as one of the “Legends of the Patch”. The group has played in front of appreciative audiences at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier. This year they’re here in Swift Current to take on the “World’s”!

Men Without Shame is noted for their highly polished delivery and outlandish stage presence. Decked out in classic bell bottoms and platform shoes, these guys know what entertainment is all about.

If you don’t think they like to have fun, just check out their names… Mike “Stinky” B, Chris “Speedy” Smith, Irv “Pappy” Fines, Niel “Takin’ the R outta Drum” K and Carey “Shake It Twice” Brears. And, for many gigs they’re joined on stage by a giant dancing Gumby.

Get ready for the ultimate 70’s stage show when Men Without Shame kick off a wonderful week in Keith’s Patch!

Sunday, March 21 – The Hickey’s • 11:30 pm Monday, March 22 – Vern Michaels Band • 10:30 pmTuesday, March 23 – Vern Michaels Band • 10:30 pm Wednesday, March 24 – Bakersfield • 10:30 pmThursday, March 25 – Wonderland • 10:30 pm Friday, March 26 – The Chevelles • 10:30 pmSaturday, March 27 – The Chevelles • 3:00 pm & 10:30 pm Sunday, March 28 – Bakersfield • 8:30 pm

Ready to Take on the World!

Complementary shuttle buses - provided by Tim Hortons and the City of Swift Current - offer transportation between the Credit Union i-plex and destinations throughout the city.

The complete schedule will be at the Information Booth.

Take a Free RideToday bus runs begin at the Credit Union i-plex at the bottom of the hour from 10:30 am to 1:00 am


It’s Simply

The Pioneer Co-op is privileged to welcome the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championships to Swift Current. Formed in July 1936, Pioneer Co-op has become a fixture in the Swift Current Community. Pioneer Co-op has grown from a simple service station to a place that will satisfy all your shopping needs. The Pioneer Co-op is locally owned and

controlled by its members. Profit is returned to the members based on patronage. There are two major department stores, which include two service stations and the Marketplace Family Restaurant in the city and 14 rural branches. Please stop by one of our locations while in Swift Current and we would be pleased to assist you.

Sponsor of the Day

Picture Perfect is the “fan’s eye” view from Swift Current. When you’re capturing your favourite memories from the Ford World Women’s, send them in… they may just show up in The Party Line.

Email pictures to: [email protected](Please note: Cameraphone images may not be of suitable quality to reproduce.)

Hit Us With Your Best Shots!

Picture Perfect

Honorary Team Hosts

Canada Dan Corfield - Richardson International

China Shannon Doka - SaskEnergy

Denmark Jeff Parsons - Cypress Motors

Germany Zane Hansen - Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority

Japan David Cornelius - PMA Canada

Latvia Stuart Dyrland - Pioneer Coop

Norway Monte Williams - Sasktel

Russia Amy Cudmore - Peller Estates

Scotland Ron Heeg - Pharmasave

Sweden Alden Lodoen - SGI

Switzerland Trish Jordan - Monsanto Canada

United States Susan Woods - Innovation Credit Union

The Credit Union i-plex opens its doors to the world at noon today for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship – marking the start of an exciting week of action.

The colourful event features all 12 teams dressed in official uniforms,

proudly displaying their national pride. The ceremonies set the stage for the opening draw of competition at 2:00 pm.

The Host Committee extends thanks to Innovation Credit Union for providing the flags and Pharmasave for medical supplies.

The Great Tastes of the PatchKeith’s Patch is the perfect place to enjoy a beverage and a bite. Choose from an appetizing array of menus from our featured food vendors:

Extreme PitaVern’s Pizza/Extreme Donair

Soups n SuchElmwood Golf Club

Gramma Bep’s

Swift Current

Welcomes the World

The Coolest Competition in Keith’s Patch!

The competition on the ice at the Credit Union i-plex will be hot all week – in Keith’s Patch it will be extremely cool!

Cool Curling has become one of the biggest hits of the 2010 Season of Champions, attracting hundred of fans to the Patch to play the tabletop version of the roaring game.

The Cool Curlers will be at it again this week for the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship. It’s great fun with great prizes! So if you think you’ve got what it takes, grab a partner and sign up at the Patch. The competition gets underway Monday.

Twenty-four young curlers - representing clubs in Swift Current and communities throughout Saskatchewan - were selected as Junior Stars through a random draw of applicants.

Today’s feature stars are:

Team Scotland • 2:00 pm

Kyra Behm, Swift CurrentLane Larochelle, Ponteix

Team Canada • 7:00 pm

Bailey Senicar, VanguardShane Robertson, Waldeck

Page 10 Eye Opener

Danny Bracken Toll Free: 1-800-663-4063

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Who will wear the crown?

The Eye Openermakes its fearless 2010 Worlds picks

Playoff bound . . .CANADA

St. Vital Curling Club, WinnipegSkip: Jennifer Jones; Third: Cathy Overton-Clapham; Second: Jill Officer; Lead: Dawn Askin.The skinny: Jones likes to compete for world titles in her home country. Her only previous win was two years ago at Vernon. Following a giant disappointment at the Ca-nadian Olympic trials, Jones rebounded to win another Scotties title.A follow-up world tiara could conceivably be in the cards.

CHINAHarbin Curling Club, Harbin

Skip: Bingyu Wang; Third: Yin Liu; Second: Qingshuang Yue; Lead: Yan Zhou.The skinny: Defending world champion experienced a disappointing Olympic Games and still won the bronze medal. This team is capable of running up a big winning streak, even running the table. It will depend on its start this weekend.

SWITZERLANDFlims PurePower Curling Club, Flims

Skip: Binia Feltscher; Third: Corinne Bourquin; Sec-ond: Heike Schwaller; Lead: Sandra Ramstein-Attinger.The skinny: Feltscher played the vice-skip role for veteran Mirjam Ott in an Olympic Games and a previous world championship. She also has taken her team to North American tour events. But the stars will have to align for ultimate success here.

SCOTLANDDunkeld Curling Club, Dunkeld.

Skip: Eve Muirhead; Third: Kelly Wood; Second: Lorna Vevers; Lead: Anne LairdThe skinny: Muirhead could become known as the female version of Kevin Martin. She throws rockets. She also has won three world junior titles. But she was unable to harness all that rocket-power at the Olympics. Maybe now can shake off the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Games just past they must be considered a strong contender.

Don’t overlook . . .DENMARK

This team is young yet it seems to have been around forever. Knocked Canada off the medal podium last year. Less successful at the Olympics. A tough pick.

JAPANCame within a hair of the medals at Vernon. Seems to have progressed in reverse since then. Meguro, though, can be a red-hot shooter.

GERMANYSchoepp has been to so many of these events her eyes must be glazing over. She won one, too, but it was a long time ago. Team a nice mix of experience and youth.

Spoilers at bestU.S.A.

Brown hasn’t been around for a time, but a new face was needed from below the 49th after that disastrous Olympic debacle. Could be world-beaters, could be a bust.

SWEDENYoung team showed well at the World Juniors a couple of years ago. But it’s stepping up in class. A bonus: Peja Lindholm is the coach. Stayed tuned.

NORWAYFormer world junior champ Githmark is back after an absence. It’s likely this team will need a race . . . or maybe three

Enjoying the experienceRUSSIA

Once a world junior champ and a promis-ing entity, this group has been a shambles of late with confused team members being shuffled position-to-position at will.

LATVIANew kids on the block never have competed at this level and likely will be in for a rude awakening.

Jennifer Jones: Likes home cooking


www.prairiepost.comwww.prairiepost.com

Always plan asafe ride home.

The 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship promises tobe one of the best parties to ever hit Swift Current. But before you

jump into the fun at the variousevents, make plans for

a safe ride home.

www.sgi.sk.ca

DELIVERYIt takes

to WIN.

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306-522-6833

Larry WoodEye Opener Editor

QUESTION OF THE DAY:Canadian teams have missed the playoffs (top four round-robin finish-ers) only twice in the 29-year his-tory of the world women’s curling championship. Name the skips of the Canadian teams and the years of the championships.

1. In one of these years, Team Can-ada lost in a tiebreaker. Which year and who (skip and nation) eliminated Canada from the playoffs?

2. What was Canada’s record that year and where was the champion-ship played?

3. How about Canada’s record in the other failed season and the venue?

4. Who won those world champion-ships (skips and nations).

5. Only three Swiss teams in history ever have won 10 or more games at the world women’s curling champion-ship? Who were the skips, in which years and where?

6. How many wins for each?

7. Name the first skip from any nation to win 11 games at the world wom-en’s championship.

8. Skipping which nation, in which year and where?

9. Who won that championship?

10. Canada has placed fourth in only four world women’s championships. Who were the skips?

11. In which years and where?

12. Who won those championships.

QofD — Colleen Jones, 1982 and 19991. Jones lost a tiebreaker in 1982 to Trine Trulsen of Norway.2. 6 wins, 5 losses at Geneva, Switzer-land.3. 4 wins, 5 losses in 1999 at Saint John, N.B.4. Marianne Jorgensen of Denmark won in 1982, Elisabet Gustafson of Sweden won in 1999.5. Gaby Casanova in 1979 at Perth, Scotland; Erika Mueller in 1983 at Moose Jaw; Mirjam Ott, 2008.6. Each won 10 games.7. Cassie (Johnson) Potter8. U.S.A. in 2005 at Paisley, Scotland.9. Sweden’s Anette Norberg10. Penny LaRocque, Colleen Jones, Jennifer Jones (twice).11. LaRocque in 1983 at Moose Jaw, Colleen Jones in 2002 at Bismarck, N.D.; Jennifer Jones in 2005 at Pais-ley, Scotland, Jones in 2009 in Gang-neung. Korea.12. Erika Mueller (Switzerland) in 1983, Jackie Lockhart (Scotland) in 2002, Anette Norberg (Sweden) in 2005, Bingyu Wang (China) in 2009.

Time out for Ford World

Women’s trivia

Answers

Photography:Michael Burns, Jr.

Associate Editor:Fred Rinne

Editor:Larry Wood

Issue 1 – Saturday, March 20, 2010 • An Official Publication of the Canadian Curling Association.

Sponsor of the day


It’s brand new for the 2010 curling season - your guide to what’s goin’ on at all the Season of Champions events. Check out The Party Line on page 9 and make sure you don’t miss a second of the fun!

A Current affair

In a very young field, two clear favourites have emerged – Canada’s Jennifer Jones and China’s Bingyu Wang. Wang is the defending champion; Jones won the title two years ago in Vernon. There remains plenty of potential for upsets in Swift Current with half the field fresh off of the Olympics.

Young field, clear favourites... a few surprises?

Page 12 Eye Opener

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2010 FORD WORLD WOMEN’S CURLING: THE PLAYING FIELD

(player’s age and total Worlds appearances, including 2010 and as a fifth player, in brackets)

JapanAomori Curling Club

Aomori

Experience factor — 13Skip — Moe Meguro (25-3)3rd — Anna Ohmiya (20-2)2nd — Mari Motohashi (23-5)Lead — Kotomi Ishizaki (31-5)Alternate — Mayo Yam-aura (25-3).Coach — Shinya AbeLast year’s record: Failed to qualify

LatviaJelgava Curling Club

Jelgava

Experience factor — 0Skip— Ivana Stasia-Sar-sune (33-1)3rd — Una Grava-Ger-mane (38-1)2nd — Ieva Krusta (33-1)Lead — Zanda Bikse (39-1)Alternate— Dace Munca (38-1).Coach — Brian GrayLast year’s record: Failed to qualify

CanadaSt. Vital Curling Club

Winnipeg

Experience factor — 14Skip — Jennifer Jones (35-4)3rd — Cathy Overton-Clapham (40-5)2nd— Jill Officer (34-4)Lead — Dawn Askin (29-3)Alternate — Jennifer Clark-Rouire (34-3).Coach — Janet ArnottLast year’s record: Jen-nifer Jones, Winnipeg 9-4, finished fourth.

GermanySC Riessersee,

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Experience factor — 32Skip — Andrea Schoepp (45-17)3rd — Melanie Robillard (27-3)2nd — Monika Wagner (45-14)Lead — Stella Heiss (17-2)Alternate— Corinna Scholz (20-1).Coach — Rainer Scho-eppLast year’s record: Andrea Schoepp, Garmish-Partenkirchen, 6-5, finished sixth

DenmarkTarnby Curling Club

Tarnby (Copenhagen)

Experience factor — 22Skip (second rock) — Angelina Jensen (36-6)3rd (fourth rock)— Mad-eleine Dupont (22-7)2nd (third rock) — Denise Dupont (25-8)Lead — Camilla Jensen (27-5)Alternate — Ivana Bratic (21-1).Coach — Renee Son-nenbergLast year’s record: Angelina Jensen, Tarnby 10-4, finished third.

ChinaHarbin Curling Club

Harbin

Experience factor — 20Skip — Bingyu Wang (25-6)3rd — Yin Liu (28-6)2nd— Qingshuang Yue (24-6)Lead — Yan Zhou (27-6)Alternate — Xindi Zang (25-1).Coach — Dan Rafael, Weidong TanLast year’s record: Bingyu Wang, 12-1, fin-ished first.

RussiaMoskvitch Curling Club

Moscow

Experience factor — 18Skip — Liudmila Priv-ivkova (23-6)3rd— Anna Sidorova (19-1)2nd — Nkeiruka Ezekh (26-8)Lead — Ekaterina Galkina (21-5)Alternate — Margarita Fomina (21-3).Coach — Olga Andri-anovaLast year’s record: Liud-mila Privivkova, Moscow 5-6, finished seventh.

NorwayStabekk Curling Club

Stabekk (Oslo)

Experience factor — 12Skip — Linn Githmark (27-2)3rd — Henriette Lovar (30-2)2nd — Ingrid Strensrud (23-2).Lead— Kristin Skaslein (24-3)Alternate — Kristin Tosse Lovseth (36-8).Coach — Kristin Tosse LovsethLast year’s record: Mari-anne Rorvik, Oslo 1-10, finished 11th.

SwedenKarlstads Curling Club

Karlstad

Experience factor — 1Skip — Cecilia Ostlund (22-1)3rd — Sara Carlsson (23-1)2nd— Anna Domeij (22-1)Lead — Lisolette (Lotta) Lennartsson (22-1)Alternate — Sabina Kraupp (23-2)Coach: Peja LindholmLast year’s record: Anette Norberg, Harnosand, 9-5, finished second.

ScotlandDunkeld Curling Club.

Dunkeld

Experience factor — 13Skip — Eve Muirhead (19-2)3rd — Kelly Wood (28-52nd— Lorna Vevers (29-4)Lead — Anne Laird (39-6)Alternate— Sarah Reid (24-1).Coach — Nancy MurdochLast year’s record: Eve Muirhead, 5-6, finished eighth.

U.S.A.Madison Curling Club

Madison, Wis.

Experience Factor – 9Skip — Erika Brown (37-6)3rd — Nina Spatola (21-1)2nd — Ann Swisshelm (42-4)Lead — Laura Hallisey (23-1)Alternate — Jessica Schultz (25-2)Coach — Bill TodhunterLast year’s record: Deb-bie McCormick, Madison, 4-7, finished ninth.

SwitzerlandFilms PurePower Curling Club Flims

Experience factor — 11Skip — Binia Feltscher (31-2)3rd — Corinne Bourquin (28-1)2nd— Heike Schwaller (41-9)Lead — Sandra Ramstein-Attinger (26-3).Alternate — Marisa Win-kelhausen (21-1)Coach — Gaudenz BeeliLast year’s record: Mirjam Ott, Davos 6-5, finished fifh.

Switzerland’s Binia FeltscherNorway’s Linn Githmark

Page 14 Eye Opener

SCORE

You Manage the Game Plan,We’ll Manage the Road Trip!

0 1 1

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Swift Current, SKS9H 3X6Phone:

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Time Draw Sheet A Sheet B Sheet C Sheet D

Today

8:30 a.m. 3 Denmark vs. China Scotland vs. Germany 1:30 p.m. 4 Sweden vs. Norway U.S.A. vs. Latvia Russia vs. Japan Canada vs. Switzerland 7 p.m. 5 Germany vs. Denmark Norway vs. Canada Switzerland vs. Sweden China vs. Scotland

8:30 a.m. 9 Sweden vs. Germany Switzerlands vs. China Canada vs. Denmark Norway vs. Scotland 1:30 p.m. 10 Denmark vs. U.S.A. Scotland vs. Latvia Germany vs. Russia China vs. Japan 7:30 p.m. 11 Latvia vs. Norway U.S.A. vs. Canada Japan vs. Switzerland Russia vs. Sweden

8:30 a.m. 15 U.S.A. vs. Sweden Latvia vs. Switzerland Russia vs. Canada Japan vs. Norway 1:30 p.m. 16 Germany vs. Latvia China vs. U.S.A. Denmark vs. Japan Scotland vs. Russia 7:30 p.m. 17 Norway vs. Denmark Canada vs. Scotland Swiss vs. Germany Sweden vs. China

Monday

Wednesday

2 p.m. 1 China vs. Germany Russia vs. U.S.A. Japan vs. Latvia Scotland vs. Denmark 7 p.m. 2 Latvia vs Russia Canada vs. Sweden Norway vs. Swiss Japan vs.U.S.A.

Sunday

Tuesday

Thursday

8:30 a.m. 6 Scotland vs. Japan Denmark vs. Russia China vs. Latvia Germany vs. U.S.A 1:30 p.m. 7 Russia vs. Switss Japan vs. Sweden U.S.A. vs. Norway Latvia vs. Canada 7:30 p.m. 8 Canada vs. China Norway vs. Germany Sweden vs. Scotland Swiss vs. Denmark

8:30 a.m. 12 Japan vs. Canada Russia vs. Norway Latvia vs. Sweden U.S.A. vs. Switzerland 1:30 p.m. 13 Swiss vs. Scotland Sweden vs. Denmark Norway vs. China Canada vs. Germany 7:30 p.m. 14 China vs. Russia Germany vs. Japan Scotland vs. U.S.A. Denmark vs. Latvia

2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship: TOURNAMENT DRAW

Tiebreakers PlayoffsFriday, March 12

One draw — 8:30 a.m.Two draws — 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.Three draws — 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Friday, March 128 p.m. — Page Playoff 1-2 game (or Page Three-Four playoff)

Saturday, March 13Noon — Page Playoff 3-4 game (or Page One-Two playoff)5 p.m. — Semifinal

Sunday, March 143 p.m. — Championship final


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Amarula is the official spirit of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Tim Hortons Brier and Ford Wold Women’s Curling Championship.

Please visit www.amarula.com to learn more. Amarula is a rare find. Appreciate it accordingly.

The Official Spirit of Championship Curling

The creamy consistency of Amarula delights with lingering subtle flavours of vanilla, caramel, and chocolate.

Affirming its unrivaled taste, Amarula Cream was recently voted “Best Liqueur in the World” at the International Wine and Spirit Competition.

Scotland’s Eve Muirhead.

Page 16 Eye Opener

Larry WoodEye Opener Editor

He was one of the original have-lens-will-travel shooters in the world of sport.

To say nothing of, possibly, the best.The word ‘original’ is appropo, too, because no-

body prior to Michael Burns Sr., produced sports photos — and specifically curling photos — to match his pictorials for originality.

Most were so unique, in fact, that any still are easily recognizeable as Burns’s work. Unlike some examples of genuine great art, they do not require even a signature.

Burns joined the curling fraternity along about the time the Scotch Whisky Association unveiled the world curling championship, then known as the Scotch Cup.

It figured when you consider Burns was born in Edinburgh. His Scottish roots rarely failed to show through even though he immigrated to Canada when he was 11 months old.

Much better known as a horse-racing photog to that point, he was the official camera guy for Woodbine and the Ontario Jockey Club in Toronto throughout his illustrious career which spanned 60 years and some change. He started his career in 1943.

But he also became known as the nation’s official curling lensman. And the curling world became a vacant place last month when Michael Francis Donnelly Burns passed away at the age of 84.

Burns was one of the genuinely nice guys this sport has proffered over the years. He rarely was without a smile. He rarely was without a quip and a kind word.

Back in the old days, a gaggle of Brier and

Silver Broom regulars formed a society known as The Zoo. Mike’s wife Helen was anointed Queen Of the Zoo. Burns was that group’s official photographer, too.

He was the only photographer in history to win three Eclipse Awards for outstanding thorough-bred photography in North America. He also won a record seven Sovereign Awards for outstanding thoroughbred photography, his most recent honour arriving just a year ago.

He also was the Canadian government’s official photographer at five editions of the Olympic Games. He fulfilled copious similar assignments at the Commonwealth Games and Pan-Am Games. He shot National Hockey League hockey action at Maple Leaf Gardens. He shot auto racing as Mosport in addition to Indy and Formula One.

Canadian athletes of vintage who don’t have a framed Burns photo in their collection of memora-bilia number a precious few.

Relative latecomers to curling will know that the guy with the cameras at most Briers and world championships these days still carries the Burns moniker.

Michael Burns Jr., took over both the national curling and Ontario horse racing positions on his own in 1995.

The elder Burns is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.

Among other things, Burns made a signifi-cant donation of more than 30,000 negatives to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Capturing more than 30 different sports from the late 1940s to the present, these photos are available for viewing on a section of the Hall’s website — The Michael Burns Photography Collection.

It’s an impressive anthology that’s worth far more than brief inspection. It’s a memorial worthy of a life of value and distinction.

He captured the game like no otherREMEMBERING MICHAEL BURNS SR.

Michael Burns Sr.’s photography always captured the essence of the spirit of the contest, such as this memorable image of Don Walchuk’s memorable leap of victory in 1989.

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Eye Opener March 20th