Capital One Canada Cup begins Wednesday in Cranbrook

The Canadian Curling Association’s Season of Champions officially gets underway with the Capital One Canada Cup of Curling, November 30-December 4 at the Recreation Complex in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The Capital One Canada Cup winners (men’s and women’s) will become the first two teams to qualify directly into the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings (Canadian Curling Trials), December 1-8 in Winnipeg. The winners of the Trials, of course, will then represent Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The women’s field includes reigning Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Amber Holland of Kronau, SK; defending champion and two-time Canada Cup winner Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon; four-time Canadian and former world champion and Cup winner Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg and 2006 Olympic bronze medallist and two-time Cup winner Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary. They are joined by Chelsea Carey of Morden, Manitoba, Rachel Homan of Ottawa and Heather Nedohin of Edmonton. The men’s field is headed by the reigning Tim Hortons Brier and Ford World champion Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg; defending Canada Cup champion and three-time world champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater, ON; 2010 Olympic gold medallist, four-time Brier, former world champion and three-time Cup winner Kevin Martin of Edmonton and former world champion and Cup winner Kevin Koe. Challenging them will be Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Steve Laycock of Saskatoon and Mike McEwen of Winnipeg, the World Curling Tour’s leading money winner last year and this year. TSN (RDS in Quebec) will provide live coverage of the women’s and men’s semi-final games on Saturday, December 3 and both finals on Sunday, December 4. The Capital One Canada Cup, presented by St. Eugene Golf Resort Casino, is now in its ninth year and has undergone a significant format change for the 2011 renewal. Seven men’s and seven women’s teams, rather than the previous 10, will compete in a round robin, with the first place teams advancing to their respective finals, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals to determine the other finalist. The total purse money is $70,000 each for men and women, with the winning teams receiving $26,000. In addition to berths into the 2013 Trials, the winners will also receive invitations to the 2012 Capital One Canada Cup, November 28-December 2 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan as defending champions, and the 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto, January 10-13 in Penticton, British Columbia. Since its inception in 2003, the Canada Cup has been won by some of the country’s most successful curling teams. On the men’s side, Kevin Martin (2005, 2006, 2009) and Randy Ferbey (2003, 2004, 2007) are both three-time winners, while Kevin Koe (2008) and Glenn Howard (2010) also emerged victorious. On the women’s side, Shannon Kleibrink (2005, 2009) and Stefanie Lawton (2008, 2010) are two-time Canada Cup winners. The other winners were Sherry Middaugh (2003), Colleen Jones (2004), Cathy King (2006) and Jennifer Jones (2007). The Canada Cup was staged in Kamloops, British Columbia from 2003 through 2008. In 2009, it was played in Yorkton, Saskatchewan before moving to Medicine Hat, Alberta in 2010. The 2011 Capital One Canada Cup gets underway with three draws daily, Wednesday through Friday, at 9:00 am, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm MT. Any required tiebreakers will be played Saturday at 8:00 am, followed by the women’s semi-final at 1:00 pm and the men’s semi-final at 6:00 pm MT. On Sunday, the women’s final is at 9:00 am MT/11:00 am ET, while the men’s final starts at 1:30 pm MT/3:30 pm ET. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 250-426-SEAT (7328) or 1-866-580-SEAT, in person at the Cranbrook RecPlex Box Office or by visiting www.curling.ca/tickets. Up-to-the-minute draw results will be available at www.curling.ca. 2011 CAPITAL ONE CANADA CUP OF CURLING NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 4, RECREATION COMPLEX CRANBROOK, BC MEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second and lead) Team Howard, Coldwater & District Curling Club, Coldwater, ON Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing, Craig Savill Team Jacobs, Soo Curlers Association, Sault Ste. Marie, ON Brad Jacobs, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden, Scott Seabrook, coach Tom Coulterman Team Koe – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB Kevin Koe, Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft, Nolan Thiessen Team Laycock, Granite Curling Club, Saskatoon, SK Steve Laycock, Joel Jordison, Brennen Jones, Dallan Muyres, coach Lyle Muyres Team Martin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert, coach Jules Owchar Team McEwen – Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB Mike McEwen, B.J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld, coach Chris Neufeld Team Stoughton – Charleswood Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB Jeff Stoughton, Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers, Steve Gould, alternate Garth Smith, coach Norm Gould 2011 CAPITAL ONE CANADA CUP OF CURLING NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 4, RECREATION COMPLEX CRANBROOK, BC WOMEN’S TEAMS (listed in order of skip, third, second and lead) Team Carey – Morden Curling Club, Morden, MB Chelsea Carey, Kristy McDonald, Kristen Foster, Lindsay Titheridge, coach Dan Carey Team Holland – Kronau Curling Club, Kronau, SK Amber Holland, Kim Schneider, Tammy Schneider, Heather Kalenchuk, coach Merv Fonger Team Homan, Ottawa Curling Club, Ottawa, ON Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew, Alison Kreviazuk, Lisa Weagle, coach Andrea Ronnebeck Team Jones – St. Vital Curling Club, Winnipeg, MB Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Joëlle Sabourin (replaces Jill Officer), Dawn Askin, alternate Jennifer Clark-Rouire, coach Janet Arnott Team Kleibrink – The Glencoe Club, Calgary, AB Shannon Kleibrink, Amy Nixon, Bronwen Webster, Carolyn Darbyshire (replaces Chelsey Matson), coach Daryl Nixon Team Lawton – Granite Curling Club, Saskatoon, SK Stefanie Lawton, Sherry Anderson, Sherri Singler, Marliese Kasner, coach Rick Folk Team Nedohin – Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, AB Heather Nedohin, Beth Iskiw, Jessica Mair, Laine Peters