Continental Cup matchups now set

PENTICTON, B.C., Jan. 9, 2013 — Captains and coaches for Team World and Team North America have determined their picks for the opening three days of action in the 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto. Curling’s version of the Ryder Cup, which kicks off on Thursday and runs through to Sunday at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, B.C., will feature reigning Ford world women’s champion Mirjam Ott of Davos, Switzerland, taking on defending U.S champion Allison Pottinger and her team from the St. Paul Curling Club in St. Paul, Minn., in the opening draw at 8:30 a.m. (all times Pacific Standard Time). In other opening-draw action, Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and world bronze-medallist Heather Nedohin of Edmonton will play Eve Muirhead of Dunkeld, Scotland, while world silver-medallist Margaretha Sigfridsson’s team from Skellefteå, Sweden, plays Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg. Here is the entire schedule for the first three days of the competition; matchups for the three skins-format games that could decide matters on Sunday will be determined when the respective coaches and captains (coach Rick Lang of Thunder Bay, Ont., and captain Kelley Law of Coquitlam B.C., for Team North America; coach David Hay of Perth, Scotland, and captain Peja Lindholm of Östersund, Sweden for Team World) meet again on Saturday afternoon. THURSDAY, Jan. 10 8:30 a.m. PST Women’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) Sheet B: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) Sheet C: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) 1 p.m. PST Mixed Doubles Sheet A: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) and Marc Kennedy (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Carmen Schäfer (CC Davos, Davos Switzerland) and Christoffer Svae (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet B: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) and Dean Gemmell (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Scotland) and Michael Goodfellow (Club Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet C: Team North America/Kaitlyn Lawes (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) and John Morris (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Christina Bertrup (Skelllefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) and Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) 6:30 p.m. PST Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) Sheet B: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) FRIDAY, Jan. 11 Women’s Team 8:30 a.m. PST Sheet A: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) Sheet C: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) 1 p.m. PST Singles Women Sheet A: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) Sheet C: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Men Sheet A: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstads, Sweden) 6:30 p.m. PST Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) Sheet C: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) SATURDAY, Jan. 12 9 a.m. PST Mixed Doubles Sheet A: Team North America/Natalie Nicholson (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) and Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Anna Sloan (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) and Greg Drummond (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) and Brent Laing (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Carmen Kung (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) and Torger Nergård (Snarōen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Jessica Mair (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) and Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Maria Prytz (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) and Sebastian Kraupp (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) 1:30 p.m. PST Women’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Sheet C: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) 6:30 p.m. Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet B: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet C: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) There will be a new scoring system for the 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup, with the first side getting to 30.5 points being declared the winner. There will now be 18 team games (nine men’s and nine women’s), each worth one point for a win, and one-half point for a tie. All games are eight ends and there are no extra ends.  For the six mixed doubles and six singles matches, one point will also be awarded for each victory, one-half point if tied. The six skins games (two mixed, two women’s and two men’s) now offer a total of five points per game, with the first six ends of each game worth one-half point each, while the seventh and eighth ends are worth one point each. In skins, a count of at least two with last rock or a steal is required in order to win an end.  Otherwise, the points carry over. The winning side receives $52,000 Cdn ($2,000 per member, including captain and coach), while the losing side gets $26,000 ($1,000 per member, including captain and coach). As well, the side that generates the highest points total from the six skins games will receive an additional $13,000 ($500 per player, plus captain and coach). Other information: • For ticket and other event information, visit www.curling.ca/championships/continentalcup. • TSN, the exclusive television network for the Canadian Curling Association’s Season of Champions, and French language sports network RDS/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of this year’s World Financial Group Continental Cup, from the Opening draw (Women’s Team games) on Thursday morning through to and including the final Skins games on Sunday. • The World Financial Group Continental Cup is a joint venture of the Canadian Curling Association, United States Curling Association and World Curling Federation.