Ford Hot Shots now in 18th season

For the 18th consecutive season, the Ford Hot Shots curling skills competition will be contested at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer and the Tim Hortons Brier in Saskatoon. The popular pre-event shot-making competition requires the participating curlers to execute six shots: Hit and Stay, Draw the Button, Draw the Port, The Raise, Hit and Roll and Double Takeout. Each shot is awarded points on a scale from 0-5, rating the success of each. The Ford Hot Shots consists of a preliminary round, final eight, final four and final. Four curlers per team will compete, with sweeping allowed. Ford of Canada will provide the winner of the Ford Hot Shots at both Canadian championships with a two-year lease on a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium, an approximate retail value of $13,000. The 2012 Focus has a 2.0L I4 engine and Advance Trac with ABS. It also delivers an impressive 4.8L/100km. Available all-new MyFord Touch driver connect technology fully integrates the vehicle with the digital world. Available Active Park Assist helps parallel park with ease. For the Scotties Tournament of Hearts at the Enmax Centrium, the Ford Hot Shots preliminary round is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. MT on Friday, February 17. The playoffs (Final Eight, Final Four, Final) begin at 11:00 a.m. MT on Saturday, February 18, following the Opening Ceremonies. For the Tim Hortons Brier at the Credit Union Centre, the Ford Hot Shots preliminary round will be held Friday, March 2 from 1:00 pm – 4:00 p.m. CT. The playoffs (Final Eight, Final Four, Final) take place Saturday, March 3 starting at 11:30 a.m., following the Opening Ceremonies. In addition to a two-year lease on a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium for each winner, the second place finishers will be presented with a cheque for $2,000, while the third place finishers receive $1,000. Since 1995, the Ford Hot Shots event has provided not only an exciting beginning to each championship but has proven to be an extremely popular competition for curlers and fans. Previous Ford Hot Shots winners at the Hearts are Yukon/NWT’s Kelli Turpin, British Columbia’s Sherry Fraser, Kelley Law (twice) and Kristy Lewis, Alberta’s Marcy Balderston and Cheryl Bernard, Saskatchewan’s Kay Montgomery, Manitoba’s Gerri Cooke and Jill Officer, Ontario’s Andrea Lawes and Jenn Hanna, New Brunswick’s Allison Farrell (Franey), Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt (Gaudet), Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones, Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland and last year’s winner, Team Canada’s Jennifer Jones of Manitoba. Past winners at the Brier have been Greg McAulay and Pat Ryan of British Columbia, Alberta’s Don Bartlett, Randy Ferbey and John Morris, Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock, Manitoba’s Steve Gould (twice), Northern Ontario’s Mike Coulter, Ontario’s Ed Werenich and Craig Savill, New Brunswick’s Rick Perron, Jeff Lacey and Marc LeCocq, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mark Nichols, Ontario’s Glenn Howard and last year’s winner, Richard Hart of Ontario. Ford Hot Shots On-line For the fourth consecutive year, Ford of Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Curling Association, has launched an interactive on-line version of the Hot Shots skills competition. Curling fans will have a chance to win the grand prize – a two-year lease on a new 2012 Ford Focus S 4DR, an approximate retail value of $10,326. The runner-up will receive an 11-inch 128GB Apple MacBook Air, worth approximately $1,200. The contest, which began on December 1 and ends on March 13, 2012, is open to legal residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority in the province or territory in which they reside at the time of entry. It is void in the Province of Quebec and anywhere else prohibited or restricted by law. The top two contestants (highest combined 20-game score) over the three and one-half month contest period will participate in a one-game playoff in Lethbridge, Alberta on Friday, March 23 during the 2012 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship to determine the grand prize winner. In addition, there will be other prizes awarded during each of four contest periods: December 1-31, 2011; January 1-31, February 1-29 and March 1-13, 2012. The entrant with the highest combined five-game score for each period will receive a first place prize of a Sony PlayStation 3 package, an approximate retail value of $300, while two other entrants for each period will be randomly drawn to receive a secondary prize – an 8GB Apple iPod Nano ‘Red Edition’, a $130 retail value. Similar to the Ford Hot Shots, which has been contested during the last 17 years for participating curlers at the Hearts and the Brier, each online player delivers the same six shots – Hit and Stay, Draw the Button, Draw the Port, The Raise, Hit and Roll and Double Takeout, with points awarded for the success of each shot. Unveiled in 2009, the Ford Hot Shots Online game was won by Edmonton’s Dan Sherrard in both 2009 and 2010. Last year’s winner, among the 23,804 participants, was Dave Gardener of Chestermere, Alberta, who received a two-year lease on a 2011 Ford Edge SEL FWD. All the information, including rules, regulations, eligibility, player registration and game instructions are available at FordHotShots.curling.ca.