Hey hey, the gang was all there

TORONTO – The donations continue to arrive as a final first-year total of $68,083 was announced for the Capital One Charity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation.

24 celebrity curling skips joined 72 other curling fundraisers in early June for the inaugural event, which will return next year on June 2-4, 2011 at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club.

Donations that continue to be collected will go toward next year’s event fundraising total. Contributors are invited to send an inquiry email to: sickkidsbonspiel@rogers.com

The list of curling superstars who appeared at the event included world champions Glenn Howard (Coldwater, ON) and Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg, MB) and their teammates; world champion Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, AB) as well as 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue (St. John’s, NL) and the 2010 Olympic sensation from the United Kingdom, Eve Muirhead (Blair Atholl, Scotland).

Who else do you recognize in the photo above? (click on image to increase size)

Information on the June 2011 event will be posted to the event website in the coming months. Apparently inquiries are coming from as far as Texas. Who might that be, we wonder?

[The Curling News photo by Anil Mungal]

Bernard and her Calgary women’s team will take on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic men’s champions from Edmonton, Team Kevin Martin, in one of the two event semifinals played January 22, 2011 at Casino Rama just outside of Barrie, Ontario.

The other semi will feature the 2010 defending champions, Team David Murdoch of Scotland, against the new world men’s champions from Edmonton, Team Kevin Koe. The two semifinal winners will compete in the final on January 23.

The Skins Game is a three-match, made-for-television competition featuring four teams in a unique style of play. Money – a total of $100,000 – is the key to scoring, and teams must either score two or more points with the hammer or steal a point to win a “skin”. The total amount of money earned determines the winner.

All three matches will be televised live in High-Definition on Canada’s TSN (The Sports Network).

“We’ve never had the opportunity to take on such a high calibre of men’s teams so we jumped at the chance to participate in the TSN Curling Skins Game,” said Bernard in a news release. “The venue, format and interaction with the fans will definitely make for a fun weekend of curling. But watch out guys – we are playing to win.”

Team Bernard is only the second women’s team to compete in the Skins Game. Two years ago, Winnipeg’s Team Jennifer Jones battled Glenn Howard at Casino Rama and were crushed, scoring just a single skin over the eight-ends of play.

Bernard’s inclusion means Team Howard will not compete in the 2011 event. Howard, who resides in nearby Midland, has been invited to the three previous Skins Games and enjoys a large local following.

It also guarantees another summer and fall of off-ice debate, regarding the ability of female curlers to compete with their male opponents. Here’s an excerpt of a recent interview between Canwest News and Team Martin third John Morris:

CANWEST: If your team, the men’s Olympic champs, played 100 games against women’s champ Anette Norberg of Sweden, how many would you win?

MORRIS: Oh, I’m going to get myself in trouble for this answer, I bet. I would say 90.

CANWEST: Why such a disparity? Why such dominance by the men?

MORRIS: Well, you can compare it to (the gender difference) in tennis or golf. First of all, the sweepers are a lot better in men’s curling. And being able to throw the rock really hard can be a big weapon. So, the advantage of sweeping and the advantage of throwing the rock harder would be enough to unbalance the scale, I guess.

The Curling News has blogged live from all three previous Curling Skins Games, providing exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes and photos. You can catch up on previous coverage via our blog archive, during the months of January in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

After all, you never know what you’re going to see at the Skins Game. Like this.

[Anil Mungal photo copyright 2010 The Curling News. No reproduction is permitted]

Norberg (top) and Team Ostlund (below)

When news of her Olympic team breakup came just two weeks ago, legendary Swedish women’s curling skip Anette Norberg indicated she would stay involved with her sport, and seek to nurture young talent for the future.

Norberg has taken that one step further. The two-time world and two-time defending Olympic women’s champion has formed a new team and will embark on yet another run for gold at Sochi 2014.

Norberg has joined forces with Team Cissi Ostlund, the young Swedes who lost the bronze-medal game at this year’s 2010 Ford World curling championship to hosts Canada, skipped by Jennifer Jones.

Ostlund had lost the 2010 Swedish finals to Team Norberg, but the veterans declined to compete at the worlds, preferring to focus entirely on Vancouver 2010. Ostlund and company, the 2008 world junior silver medallists, did a great job in their first adult worlds appearance and the future clearly beckoned.

But so did Norberg, who despite decades of competition and a jammed trophy case – she’s also captured seven European championship titles in her career – just doesn’t want to quit. Norberg will be 47 in 2014.

“I would like to help build a competitive Swedish team, and these girls are already well on the way,” said Norberg in a statement.

Norberg had spoken to Reuters shortly after her Olympic team breakup and gave hints that her winning confidence is still very high.

“(My team’s retirement) doesn’t really make much difference,” said Norberg at the time. “If I continue playing, I will carry on as before. I still haven’t made a decision about the future, but if I decide to continue I’m sure I can win another gold medal.”

Norberg had also spoken highly of her apparent heirs, telling Svenska Dagbladet that “There is nothing to prevent Cecilia Ostlund from being as good as we are… (if) all four stay together and make the effort required, they have absolute potential and possibility.”

Norberg now joins forces with Ostlund, Sara Carlsson and Lotta Lennartson, the girlfriend of Swedish Olympic men’s skip Niklas Edin, to represent the Karlstad Curling Club. Former Ostlund teammate Anna Domeij has left the squad and will reportedly take a break from high-performance competition.

[Anette Norberg photo by Anil Mungal, copyright The Curling News 2010. Team Ostlund photo by Victoria Times Colonist]

Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club played host

TORONTO – They came, they curled (and played golf, tennis and croquet) and now they’ve departed… and the SickKids Foundation is a lot richer for it.

24 celebrity curling skips joined 72 other curlers/fundraisers and, together with a fine collection of event sponsors, raised over $65,000 for charity at the Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation.

Not bad for a first-time event, which had an initial hope of some $30,000 in monies raised.

“We are delighted with the response from the participants and our sponsors,” said co-chair Jeff Steski. “We were also pleased to announce the return of the event next year, on June 3-4, 2011.”

Capital One marketing honcho Ian Cunningham confirmed his company’s continued support next season.

“We’ve been involved in the sport for three full years now,” said Cunningham. “And one thing that continues to impress us is the people.

“Curlers and curling fans are fantastic, they love to give their time and effort for great causes and we love to work with them.”

Funny? You should see the pics before this one

What turned into a multi-sport weekend in T.O. finally ended when Laura Crocker’s team upended L’Equipe Brenda Nicholls (funny photo at left) to capture the title. The second event went to the Glenn Howard foursome, while Geri-Lynn Ramsay and friends earned third event honours.

In the Odyssey White Ice Challenge, event qualifiers attempted to putt a golf ball down a sheet of ice into a carved-out button. 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue came closest, stopping the ball directly on the tee line… albeit in the 12-foot rings.

In addition to major sponsors Capital One, The Dominion and Callaway Golf, the event was supported by Campbell’s, iShares, Mackenzie Investments, Bruno’s Fine Foods, DELSO Group of Companies and Paulin, plus a host of team sponsors, including The Curling News.

As U.K. Olympic ice queen Eve Muirhead declared, “It’s for the kids!” And it certainly was.

[The Curling News images by Anil Mungal. Click on an image to increase size. See event website later today for additional images]

The new era of curling/golf cross promotion has begun

Prior to the release of today’s incredible Tiger Woods curling footage (link below) there already was a connection between the golf legend and the Roaring Game.

U.S. curling athlete Bill Todhunter won bronze at the 2007 world men’s championship with Team Todd Birr. Later, Todhunter was curling with Beau Welling, a USA Curling board member from South Carolina… who happens to design golf courses.

“Beau was curling with me in Green Bay,” Todhunter recalled. “It was his second bonspiel. We were talking curling and golf and he sent a text message to Tiger to remind him about the Ailsa Craig.

“Tiger’s response was something like, ‘it’s funny how I already know that’”

Todhunter eventually met Woods, and the two discussed curling for about 10 minutes.

So, what’s the Ailsa Craig, you may be asking? As faithful blogreaders know, we wrote about Tiger’s recent experience with the Craig at the British Open, here and here.

Now for today’s news.

This morning, a video promo was released by Electronic Arts, and the unthinkable has finally happened: Tiger went curling.

Without further ado, here is the link.

The Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation is getting closer (June 4-5) and the first celebs are due to arrive in town Wednesday night, June 2, when Scottish stars Eve Muirhead and Anna Sloan arrive at the airport.

On that same night, a special Wine Auction in support of the bonspiel and the Mike Weir Foundation will be taking place at Centro in midtown Toronto.

Bonspiel Co-Chair Peter Steski will welcome up to 40 guests for an amazing evening, and there are still a couple of table spots left. Here’s what participants are in for:

• 6:00pm – cocktails/appetizers

• 7:00 – three-course dinner with a main course of beef tenderloin, accompanied by three 95 point-plus Australian shiraz wines: 2003 Dead Arm, 2001 Elderton Command and 2002 Elderton Command (values between $225 and $275 per bottle)

• Wine Auction featuring Penfolds Grange, Solaia, Insignia and Harlan Estate

The evening also offers a $100 charitable tax receipt against the $250 cost. “It’s a great deal,” said Steski. “The minimum value alone is at least $400 a person.”

Wine appraisals are by Ken Lewis of KDL Food and Beverage Consultants Inc.

Anyone interested in Wednesday night’s winefest can contact Steski directly at 647-287-7311. RSVPs are required.

The new faces of curling in "Long Bay, Canada"

As we’ve known since last fall, and first revealed back in February, a new half-hour TV comedy based on the 2002 curling movie Men With Brooms has been brewing.

Yesterday, Canada’s CBC-TV announced their fall show lineup and MWB is one of only two new shows featuring next season.

What’s more, the new edition of Brooms stands a good chance of capturing eyeballs, as it will air Monday nights immediately following the results show of Battle Of The Blades, last season’s runaway hybrid hit of ex-hockey players in figure skates.

Incidentally, Blades is a property of iSport Media and Management, rights-holders to the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event series. But we digress.

There’s all kinds of media today on the new Brooms, such as this brief Q&A with original movie maestro Paul Gross – now executive producer, narrator and occasional cameo guy – and some of the new stars (click on photo to increase size).

The Globe and Mail also kicks in with this piece, from which we quote (with editing for accuracy):

Gross said he had an eerie sense of déjà-vu walking back into the curling rink outside Hamilton, where production took place for the pilot.

“When I first went back into the curling rink, I got this Pavlovian reaction, and I thought, God I’m exhausted … because that’s how I felt making the movie most of the time. I was exhausted,” Gross added.

“But the series has a lovely sort of charm. I thought the pilot was fantastic and the script was really funny. Funnier, actually, than the movie in parts.”

We also like these quotes from producer/writer Paul Mather, from Canadian Press:

“It’s set in the same small town, it’s got the same kind of spirit of the movie but what I keep saying is, it’s a little bit like ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, ” says Mather.

“We’re not going out of our way to reinvent anything but we’re not matching the art design of the original film. We’re taking some license with that.”

Hmm. We smell a Photoshop contest coming on… captain Jean-Luc Picard gone curling, perhaps?

You can read much, much more from Gross, Mather and others directly from the set of Men With Brooms in our first fall print edition of The Curling News, which will be published in late October.

The Best Ever? Team Norberg in Vancouver

Two Olympic gold medals are enough.

It may not be a shock to many curling followers, but yesterday’s news conference in Sweden still managed to draw gasps of surprise as it marked the official end of the road for one of the greatest women’s curling teams in history.

Team Anette Norberg, twice world champions and also Olympic champions in 2006 and 2010, have called it quits. Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindahl (Norberg’s sister) and Anna Le Moine announced their retirement, and only skip Norberg will soldier on, although possibly in an off-ice role.

The decision came following the return of the athletes to everyday life with their families and careers.

“It takes too much energy to be on top” a teary-eyed Lund told the assembled media in Stockholm. “The energy it takes to stay on top does not seem reasonable to spend right now.”

“It’s been a very difficult decision to make,” said Le Moine, who left the door open for a future return to competition. “Right now it feels like I’ve quit, but it is possible that I can come back in the future.”

Norberg herself will continue with the sport, but she was vague on whether she would be assembling a new team or moving into a coaching role.

“I will continue to work with curling, and helping young talent,” Norberg said. She added that the age gaps in the sport are a concern to her, and the idea is to help assemble a future team which can continue on without her.

Lund and Le Moine also expressed interest in sharing the knowledge they have gained over the years. Among other things, they want to show young women who, in other sports, usually stop competing after their twenties – that it is possible to combine curling with career and family responsibilities.

As The Curling News Twitter feed revealed last week, Swiss rival Mirjam Ott and her team are not retiring, and will continue on, and target a berth at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Ott lost the gold to Norberg four years ago in Turin, and just missed a rematch with the Swedes in Vancouver when she missed her final shot of her Olympic semifinal against Canada’s Cheryl Bernard.

Lund spoke exclusively to The Curling News shortly after Monday’s news conference.

“It was a hard decision, but the right one for me,” Lund said.

“I am very grateful that I have so many favourite curling memories. Of course the two Olympic gold medals, just the fact that it is the Olympics and due to the long, and sometimes tough journey the team had along the way to get there. On top of the podium, I almost can’t believe it.

“The Continental Cup is the most fun of it all. Best teams, best ice, best format to play in. Skins… wow, we like it. And for me personally, playing mixed doubles with Paal Trulsen was so much fun. I admire him for his skills as skip.

“To all my friends from the other teams and the ‘curling family’… I will miss you all. You will always have a special place in my heart.”

Swedish readers can see a news story here, and also view video interviews with Norberg (here), Lund (here) and Le Moine (here).

Be sure to catch the next print edition of The Curling News, scheduled for late October 2010, for an in-depth review of Team Norberg’s decorated career, and their place in the pantheon of world curling and the Olympic movement. Subscribe here.

[Anil Mungal photo is copyright The Curling News 2010]

All hail Eve Muirhead's "Guitar Face"

Capital One – one of the sport of curling’s BFFs – announced today that it is sponsoring the new charity event in Toronto June 4-5.

As we’ve pointed out in recent days, the Capital One Charity Bonspiel offers single-entry participants the chance to curl alongside Olympic and world champion competitors, while raising funds for SickKids Foundation, the fundraising arm of Toronto’s world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children.

“The SickKids Foundation benefits countless children in our community, and we are proud to support them in their efforts,” said Ian Cunningham, Chief Marketing Officer of Capital One in a news release. “Curlers and curling fans are big supporters of charitable causes, and this mix of curling stars and recreational players will make the Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel a memorable event.”

The news release also confirms what The Curling News heard a week ago: that Olympic curling heroine Eve Muirhead of Scotland, who grabbed world silver last month in Swift Current, Sask., will be coming to the event.

Muirhead joins 23 other celeb curling athletes, including Brad Gushue of Newfoundland & Labrador, Randy Ferbey of Alberta and multiple members of world champion teams (like Glenn Howard and Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones). There’s also a whack of great Canadian and provincial champions taking part, too.

The Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel is scheduled for June 4-5 at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club… and the news release also talks about a presenting sponsor, who happens to be another curling BFF: The Dominion.

The weekend kicks off with a junior curling clinic on June 4, hosted by the Capital One Rocks & Rings educational program. The celebrity
competitors then meet their “new” teammates at an evening mixer.

Saturday, June 5 features the Celebrity Bonspiel, which includes three four-end curling games, followed by the event finals and the closing
dinner.

Fundraising inquiries are welcome at: sickkidsbonspiel@rogers.com

And hey: if you’re looking for More Muirhead, she is back from the legendary summer bonspiel in Ober (that’s Oberstdorf) and, on very little catchup sleep, she’s already made another public appearance.

Yesterday, she promoted this summer’s Piping Live, the world’s largest bagpipe festival, which takes place at Glasgow in August. The Scotsman photo shows Eve honking away (is that a piper’s Guitar Face?)… and you can read about the gig here and watch Eve in video action here.

Toronto will soon be All About Eve

Big news is about to be revealed with regard to the new celebrity/charity curling event scheduled for June 4-5 in Toronto (see previous post).

The Curling News has learned that the phenom from Scotland –  2010 Olympian and world silver medallist Eve Muirhead – has been added to the roster of skips.

Muirhead and 2009 world junior champion teammate Anna Sloan will both be jetting across the Atlantic to the event, which supports the SickKids Foundation.

The pair join a field including Brad Gushue, Randy Ferbey and three-quarters of teams Jennifer Jones, Glenn Howard and Brad Jacobs, plus many more.

Muirhead is en route to this weekend’s legendary Bavarian Open Mixed in Oberstdorf, Germany and could not be reached for comment.

Co-organizer Peter Steski played coy, saying “We have a few exciting announcements still to come about this event.”

It will be Muirhead’s third trip to the Greater Toronto Area since last fall. In September, her British Olympic squad captured the Ontario Curling Tour Championship at Oakville, and in October her team returned to win the inaugural Three Nations Cup event at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre.

For a quick look at the extent of the young starlet’s growing fame, check this out.

[Eve Muirhead photo by Anil Mungal, copyright 2010 The Curling News]

Hogtown-bound: Ferbey, Jones, Gushue and Howard

April is not only the month for various world curling championships; it’s also the traditional time of year for celebrity charity events.

Some of these events – like the House of Hearts in Duluth, MN – are still growing. Some, like the Spinal Tap, are still new to the celebrity aspect. Others are struggling a bit, and could use a refresh… and sadly, some legendary events – like the Heart to Heart in Thunder Bay – are long gone, if not forgotten.

Now there is a new event coming to metro Toronto, but it’s not slated for next April.

The event, as yet unnamed, takes place in just a month, on June 4-5 and get this: it’s almost full. A week ago there were 18 individual spots remaining, and as of last Thursday that had shrunk to just eight spots.

And all of this without much promotion. Until now, of course.

The list of celebrities is impressive. As the Facebook page indicates, current curling superstars Brad Gushue, Glenn Howard, Randy Ferbey and three-quarters of the NEW Team Jennifer Jones will be there… as well as future stars Rachel Homan, Brad Jacobs and the budding (spudding?) PEI starlets Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay.

And many more, of course. It’s all in support of the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children, and specifically their SickKids Foundation. And the principals behind this effort are Toronto’s Kevin McCafferty and the Steski brothers, Peter and Jeff.

“We thought it was time for a different kind of celebrity charity curling event, held in June, after the celebs had a chance to decompress from a long season,” said Jeff.

“There’s just one day of four-end curling games. In fact, there is just as much golf and socializing as there is actual curling.”

According to older brother Peter, a former vice-president of the World Curling Players’ Association, there may be additional skip announcements coming soon.

“You nevah know,” said Peter. “It’s a nice mix of talent, but the key is how the market will react. So far we seem to be doing extremely well across the board.”

The curling component takes place at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, and the opening dinner will be preceded by a junior clinic facilitated by the Capital One Rocks and Rings program.

So… how to get involved in this thing?

You can check out the Facebook page, or go directly to this download link for the Entry Form. You can also send an email enquiry to: sickkidsbonspiel@rogers.com

Whether you are participating or not, please consider downloading this Pledge Form and helping out with fundraising.

More info to come!

[Photo montage by Anil Mungal]

Jones (left) and Overton-Clapham in Korea

If you shut down your computer early last night, preferring to attempt – once again – to engage Season 3 of Lost, then you missed the big news.

Jennifer Jones has shaken up her curling team, again, this time dumping third stone Cathy Overton-Clapham. The official team news release is published here; the Canwest story can be seen here; and Canwest author Al Cameron blogs his thoughts here (internet mouth-breathers: HA!).

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Sun was the first out of the gate with Overton-Clapham’s thoughts, which you can read here, closely followed by the Free Press, which called up former curling beat writer Paul Wiecek for the job.

So, what’s our view? And whom do we think will be the new third?

One can be both surprised and yet unsurprised by this development. Yes, this is the first time Jones has made such a move as current (three-time) defending Canadian champion, and there’s more than just next year’s STOH national on tap… the squad will also compete in the Canada Cup and Continental Cup competitions.

“Who we gonna get?” “Dunno, but let's keep reading...”

And yet, one wonders how things could have stayed the same. Overton-Clapham is 41 while the others are younger; she has struggled with a chronic knee injury; and the next Olympic Winter Games are four long years away.

Then there’s the uncomfortable reality of recent Team Jones performances. They are a gritty, never-say-die bunch but they can’t be too happy with their world playoff record in recent years. And forget Glenn Howard’s continuing disappointment over losing the men’s Olympic Trials final: how do you think the Jones gang has felt all season, being one of the first women’s teams to be eliminated from Olympic contention in Edmonton?

However, Overton-Clapham – the most decorated curler in Manitoba women’s history – did play like gangbusters at both the Scotties  and the Ford Worlds in Swift Current. She put in magnificent performances.

In the end, all we’re left with is the team’s final event, the Grey Power Players’ Championship in Dawson Creek, which wound up last weekend – yet another thing we need to catch up on here at ye olde TCN Blog.

Team Jones went 2-0 to start their Players’ title defense and then lost 6-2 in six ends to rival Kelly Scott. The came a crushing 9-1 loss to Stefanie Lawton in just three ends, where Jones dropped a three-ender to start the match and then a whopping six-count in the third.

Jones left the ice long before the six-end minimum game requirement, prompting a letter from the World Curling Players’ Association to be hand-delivered to her before her next match (any additional disciplinary action that may have been taken is unknown).

Could it be... Kaitlyn?

The squad then dropped a steal of two to open their C-qualifier against Winnipeg’s Kerri Flett, scored one in the second and then stole a huge three in the third end, en route to an 8-4 win.

Their quarterfinal loss (6-3) to eventual champion – and professional scoreboard manager – Cheryl Bernard proved to be their last game together.

Our view is that something had to happen – fire the coach(es), even? – but the skip-plus-two decided on making a move a third position. So, who will Team Jones welcome into the fold?

Manitoba curling veteran Resby Coutts can see only three (local) replacement candidates. We think he’s missing someone fairly obvious, although to be fair she has been hanging out in Edmonton recently.

We’re talking about Kaitlyn Lawes (WCF photo at left by Andrew Klaver). The 2008 and 2009 Canadian Junior champion skip – who took bronze and then silver at the world juniors – has been playing with veteran Cathy King. With King and Raylene Rocque now retired, Lawes has been quietly looking at team options in both Edmonton and Winnipeg, and is reportedly willing to skip or play third.

First Ferbey and Gushue (yes, another thing we need to comment on) and now this. What an interesting April this has been.

Here’s a quick rundown of Team Jennifer Jones – World Curling Tour only – for the 2009-10 season:

WINNINGS: $55,078
WCT RANKING: 1
GAMES: 59
RECORD: 45-14
EXTRA ENDS: 4W, 5L
ONE-POINT GAMES: 12W, 8L
POINTS FOR/GAME: 8.63
POINTS AGAINST/GAME: 5.82
HAMMER EFFICIENCY: 0.47
STEAL DEFENSE: 0.18
FORCE EFFICIENCY: 0.66
STEAL EFFICIENCY: 0.27

(22-6 won/loss record in CCA/WCF events)

[First two WCF photos by Lee Young Gyu]

Northern lights in faraway Chelyabinsk, Russia

Did you think it was over?

Nope, this wild 2010 Olympic season is not yet done, as there are many stones being thrown in faraway Chelyabinsk, Russia, the site of the combined World Mixed Doubles and World Seniors Championships.

The venue is a mammoth winter sport training facility, the Ural Lightning Ice Palace, and no less than 11 sheets of curling ice (!!) have been created, with an enormous long-track speed skating ring wrapped around them.

Wow.

The photos of the opening ceremonies are, as we have shown you here, quite spectacular. Head to this page for more superb images, and you can click on the ones republished here to increase size.

For the World Curling Federation and the Russian Curling Federation, this is a landmark event as it is the first time that the Russian Federation has hosted a World Curling Championships. It also paves the way to the country organizing the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014.

The event has been, sadly, kicked around by a few things. First off is the Icelandic volcano. The effects of the Europe-wide airspace freeze prevented some nations from competing in the Mixed Doubles, such as Scotland, Sweden, Norway, and Korea. On the Seniors side of things, Wales, Netherlands, and Estonia are missing and the Netherlands were forced to withdraw as they had only a partial team.

In fact, it sounds like there would have been 14 sheets of ice created (!!) if all teams had been able to make it to Siberia.

The blimp! The blimp!

There is one other team, of note, that failed to arrive in Russia for the Mixed Doubles… and that is Canada’s husband and wife team of Mark Dacey and Heather Smith-Dacey of Halifax.

Their tale is a wild one. According to this Winnipeg Sun story, the couple were sightseeing in London and arrived at Heathrow airport to head to Russia just 90 minutes after the shutdown. D’oh!

“The WCF gave us a deadline of Monday to try and make it there, and they were going to try and re-schedule missed games,” said Smith-Dacey in an e-mail. “That night we watched the news and surfed online for other ways to get from London to Moscow. The train was showing it would take about three days, so we decided not to do that thinking the ash cloud would only interrupt our travels for one or two days max.”

As it turns out, that was another oopsie.

With the airport still closed, they spent two hours on hold with Rail Europe Friday afternoon before going to their office in downtown London.

The girls! The girls!

“When we turned up at their office, it was lined up out the door, down the street, around the corner and down the other street, about 1,000 people in line,” said Smith-Dacey, who noted the line was about the same length at the train station they went to after. “Obviously we were not the only ones trying to get out of London.”

After finding out that Eurostar railway was adding trains leaving from London, the Daceys booked tickets to Brussels (Belgium) since it was on the train route to Moscow. They got there Sunday afternoon, waited two hours to speak to an agent, and by then the train they could have got on to in Cologne (Germany) would have arrived too late to catch the overnight train to Moscow.

“Our final hope was for the airspace to get clearance on Monday and we would attempt to fly from Brussels to Moscow to Chelyabinsk,” Smith-Dacey said. “But Sunday night around 9:00 pm it was announced that the airspace would be closed until at least 7:00 pm Monday night and with that we would not be able to go.”

Incidentally, do you recognize the name of the Sun writer? It’s none other than Sean Grassie, who partnered with Allison Nimik of Calgary last year to represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles in Cortina, Italy, the site of the recent 2010 World Men’s. Grassie and Nimik won bronze. Hoe about that?

Anyway, back to those battling Daceys and their travel week-plus from hell. An earlier report out of Halifax had the couple travelling by train to Paris in hopes of finding a flight home, with planes booked out of Barcelona and London in hopes that one would work out.

“We’re fine, other than we’d rather be in Russia curling,” Smith-Dacey said Monday.

That is one big arena

Dacey said he hopes the Canadian Curling Association will consider appointing the couple to a future world mixed event. The couple are expected to arrive in Halifax today.

The second thing affecting this event is substandard internet connectivity. Email and phone contact has been a problem, which of course is a problem for the media, but the event website has found a way to update results fairly quickly, via PDF downloads. Sometimes the standings page is updated, too.

As such, we are aware that Canada’s two Seniors teams are into the playoffs with undefeated records, and the Swiss men have also qualified.

In Mixed Doubles, Russia have qualifed for the playoffs with an impressive 6-0 mark, while Russia and China are engaged in a Pacific battle in that group. In the second of three WMD groups Switzerland are undefeated at 2-0, and that’s not too surprising given that the squad of Toni Mueller and Irene Schori are the two-time defending world champions, and in fact have never lost a game at the Worlds. Yeesh.

In the third and final group, all eyes are on Spain as the pint-sized brother and sister combination of  Irantzu Garcia and Sergio Vez are at 3-1 and gunning for a playoff spot.

Only 13 and 15 years of age when they first debuted at the inaugural WMD championship two years ago, they lost last year’s Spanish final to their parents, who managed to, like their children, win a game at last year’s event, garnering a flurry of Spanish media coverage in the process.

Now, The Kids Are Alright in Chelyabinsk, and we wish them good luck the rest of the way.

Jim Armstrong (left) and Darryl Neighbour vs Germany

Jim Armstrong, the six-time Brier competitor who won Paralympic gold for Canada at the recent Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games is facing charges in Seattle, WA on allegations he tried to smuggle thousands of counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills into British Columbia.

A story published late Tuesday in seattlepi details the U.S. federal criminal complaint, in which authorities say customs agents intercepted a package of counterfeit pills meant for of Richmond, B.C. resident Armstrong on April 7. Armstrong was arrested a week later retrieving a package from a Blaine, WA post office box.

Charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods, Armstrong is accused of helping to distribute the Chinese-made pills labeled as Viagra and Cialis.

Writing the court, a Food and Drug Administration special agent based in Seattle said customs officers intercepted a box containing 2,544 tablets of fake Viagra and 260 pills of knockoff Cialis. The package was to be delivered to a private mailbox business in Blaine, located just south of the Canadian border.

The agent noted in court documents that the package had been shipped from Hyyuan, China. The drugs and packaging appeared nearly identical to the genuine article.

“Viagra and Cialis are also some of the most common drugs targeted by counterfeiters,” the agent told the court. “Many, if not most, counterfeited drugs are made in the People’s Republic of China.”

Speaking with staff at the mailbox business, investigators were told Armstrong arrived weekly to pick up boxes shipped to the address. The FDA agent concluded that Armstrong received “a very large number of parcels or boxes arriving… from various foreign countries including China and India.”

Armstrong is a retired dentist, whose debilitating knee injuries forced him to leave his practice, and his accomplished curling career. Over the past three years, he has gone from a wheelchair curling rookie to world champion (2009) and eventual 2010 Paralympic champion.

Speaking with investigators, Armstrong allegedly admitted to bringing multiple shipments of the drugs into Canada. He is alleged to have claimed he provided the drugs to another man, who in turn sold them at clubs in the Vancouver area.

Jailed following his arrest, Armstrong was released after posting bond on $20,000 bail. He is expected to return to U.S. District Court on April 30 for a preliminary hearing.

Ryan Durham is a fundraising chair for the Canadian Spinal Research Organization’s Shoot For A Cure campaign, which aims to raise awareness of wheelchair curling and find a cure for spinal paralysis. Durham’s The Dominion Spinal Tap Charity Mixed Bonspiel has raised over $350,000 over the past 19 years.

“These drugs add a quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries that they otherwise would not have,” said Durham. “Previous treatments for erectile dysfunction were quite dangerous and invasive, and the ability to feel like a normal person, to put it bluntly, cannot be understated.”

“However, it sounds like there may have been an eventual intent to traffic to able-bodied people, in bars and clubs. If that’s true, and he wasn’t duped or something, then I for one would be quite disappointed.”

[CCA photo by John Sims]

New boss Kate Caithness (WCF photo)

by Rodger Schmidt

After having quite a lot to say for most of last week about the World Curling Federation and their activities – I don’t have much to say about it today.

The World of Curling is probably going to be surprised that this organization took out their President in a well-orchestrated fix, but to anyone who has been watching this group operate over the past years what happened on that Wednesday in Cortina was not such a surprise.

It has been clear since the planes landed at the beginning of the competition that enough delegates had managed to get their knives through security. What has been less clear is why this nasty business – that quite frankly should not have been necessary – was, in fact, necessary.

One would think that an organization such as the WCF would require more than just a strong President, but also a strong Executive Committee to function effectively. The only knock on Les Harrison that has come out in discussions (in which I was present) is that he was too close to Canadian interests, and not particularly good at dealing with the IOC. Who really knows, and what this really means, is an unknown… to me, anyway.

Also sketchy in my world is the direction that the new team powered by president Kate Caithness and vice president Patrick Huerlimann intend to steer the good ship WCF, although these quotes here would indicate a new focus on bricks and mortar, ie. actual curling facilities…? A collision course with North America – and particularly Canada – in respect to marketing and the distribution of the next millions is rumored by some, but only time will tell.

My editor points me to the only quotes Harrison has given on the situation, from his home town newspaper in Moncton.

I had her (Caithness) support in December but a couple of months later she decided to run for president. It’s politics … they banded together and it was all about more European control.

More surprising in those WCF happenings was what didn’t happen. Remember all those wacky rule changes that the WCF had been proposing and pitching to their delegates over the past two years? The vote on this hefty list took place and… nothing happened. “Just kidding”, they seemed to say, “it wasn’t really as important as we thought, maybe we didn’t think is all through to the extent that is required. Sorry about all that time we wasted, we’ll try to waste less time next time”.

Of course, that was me editorializing.