Glenn Howard to Shoot for a Third Consecutive Masters of Curling Title

WATERLOO, ONT., October 17, 2008 – Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) will shoot for an unprecedented third consecutive Masters of Curling title next month when his team faces off against 17 of the top squads from Canada, Europe and the United States at the Masters of Curling, the first leg of the men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place from November 12-16, 2008 at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Howard previously won the Masters of Curling in 2006-07 and 2007-08.  Since the inception of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series in 2001-02, no skip has won one of the series’ events in three consecutive seasons.

The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is a series of eight high-profile men’s and women’s events that feature Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields.  The top 15 ranked Canadian teams on the Capital One Order of Merit standings as of October 13, 2008 automatically qualified to compete at the Masters of Curling.

Among the 15 Canadian skips that qualified to compete in the tournament include World Champions Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Howard, Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.), Wayne Middaugh (Midland, Ont.), Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.), Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.), Greg McAulay (Richmond, B.C.) and Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.).

Joel Jordison’s (Moose Jaw, Sask.) 16th-ranked team was also added to the Masters of Curling field following the withdrawal of 14th-ranked Jean-Michel Ménard (Gatineau, Que.) who was forced to opt out from the event due to work commitments. In order to fill Ménard’s vacancy, Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series guidelines state that an invitation must be extended to the highest remaining rink in the Capital One Order of Merit standings. 

The remaining three entries in the 18-team field include Thomas Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway), Ralph Stöckli (Ittingen, Switzerland) and American Craig Brown (Madison, Wisconsin).

Tickets for the Masters of Curling can be purchased online through TicketMaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phoning (416) 870-8000.  Individuals can also obtain seats to the five-day event through the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex box office by dialling (519) 886-2375, or through the Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club by phoning 1 (866) 406-0051.

The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events are closely tied to the Canadian Curling Association’s qualifying process for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.  Through their performance in the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events, rinks can earn a significant amount of points towards securing a berth at the 2009 Canadian Trials.

Following the Masters of Curling, the 2008-09 men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series continues with The National, taking place at ExpoCité in Quebec City from December 3-7, 2008.  Winnipeg will host the men’s third event, the BDO Classic Canadian Open, from January 21-25, 2009 at the MTS Centre. The men’s 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series concludes with the Players’ Championship at the Canada Games Arena in Grande Prairie, Alta. from April 14-19, 2009.

As part of the men’s 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, the BDO Classic Canadian Open will feature the debut of the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest, where one lucky fan will win the chance to throw a rock to the button for $1 million (CDN), live on CBC Television.

The following is a complete list of teams which will compete at the Masters of Curling. Note: Team rosters and positions are subject to change prior to the start of the event.

Masters of Curling – Participating Teams

Team Howard (Coldwater, Ont.)    

Glenn Howard, Skip                

Richard Hart, Third                           

Brent Laing, Second                                               

Craig Savill, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 1st (366.550 points)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Champion (7-1)

Team Martin (Edmonton, Alta.)                          

Kevin Martin, Skip                            

John Morris, Third                           

Marc Kennedy, Second                                               

Ben Hebert, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 2nd (353.700)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)

Team Koe (Edmonton, Alta.)                                           

Kevin Koe, Skip                            

Blake MacDonald, Third                           

Carter Rycroft, Second                                               

Nolan Thiessen, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 3rd (271.200)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in finals (6-2)

Team Simmons (Davidson, Sask.)                                 

Pat Simmons, Skip                                        

Jeff Sharp, Third                           

Gerry Adam, Second                                                           

Steve Laycock, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 4th (214.750)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)

Team Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.)                          

David Nedohin, Fourth                         

Randy Ferbey, Skip                            

Scott Pfeifer, Second                                               

Marcel Rocque, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 5th (195.250)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (4-2)

Team Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.)                                                 

Kerry Burtnyk, Skip                            

Don Walchuk, Third               

Richard Daneault, Second                                               

Garth Smith, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 6th (185.125)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in semi-finals (6-1)

Team Middaugh (Midland, Ont.)                                     

Wayne Middaugh, Skip                            

Jon Mead, Third                           

John Epping, Second                                               

Scott Bailey, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 7th (184.068)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in semi-finals (5-2)

Team Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.)                                     

Brad Gushue, Skip                            

Mark Nichols, Third                           

Ryan Fry, Second                                               

Jamie Korab, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 8th (173.876)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Lost in tie-breaker (3-3)

Team Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.)                                

Jeff Stoughton, Skip                

Kevin Park, Third               

Rob Fowler, Second                                               

Steve Gould, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 9th (157.338)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)

Team Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.)

Jim Cotter, Fourth

Bob Urselm, Skip

Kevin Folk, Second

Rick Sawatsky, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 10th (142.800 points)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not qualify to compete

Team McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.)

Mike McEwen, Skip

B.J. Neufeld, Third

Matt Wozniak, Second

Denni Neufeld, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 11th (121.350)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not qualify to compete

Team McAulay (Richmond, B.C.)

Greg McAulay, Skip
Ken Maskiewich, Third

Bill Fisher, Second

Aaron Watson, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 12th (116.950)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)

Team Adams (Halifax, N.S.)

Shawn Adams, Skip

Paul Flemming, Third

Craig Burgess, Second

Kelly Mittelstadt, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 13th (107.350)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (1-4)

Team Carruthers (Winnipeg, Man.)

Reid Carruthers, Skip

Dan Kammerlock, Third

Derek Samagalski, Second

Shane Kilgallen, First

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 15th (79.616)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (1-4)

Team Jordison (Moose Jaw, Sask.)                               

Joel Jordison, Skip                            

Scott Bitz, Third                                       

Aryn Schmidt, Second                                               

Dean Hicke, Lead                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 16th (78.529)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (1-4)

Team Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway)

Thomas Ulsrud, Skip

Torger Nergaard, Third

Christoffer Svae, Second

Havard Vad Petersson, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 1st, international standings (213.600)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)

Team Stöckli (Ittingen, Switzerland)

Ralph Stöckli, Skip

Jan Hauser, Third

Markus Eggler, Second

Simon Strubin, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 3rd, international standings (98.350)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not compete

Team Brown (Madison, Wisconsin) 

Craig Brown, Skip

Rich Ruohonen, Third

John Dunlop, Second

Pete Annis, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 8th, international standings (43.350)

2007-08 Masters of Curling Finish: Did not compete

About Capital One

Located in Toronto, Ontario, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers a range of competitive MasterCard^® credit cards since 1996, when the company first introduced the Platinum MasterCard^® in Canada.  Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF).

About Insight Sports Ltd.

Insight Sports Ltd. is a leading North American sports media and entertainment company which owns, creates, aggregates and distributes sports and entertainment content across multiple platforms, including broadcast television, events, on-line, mobile, in-arena and video on-demand. Among its event assets, Insight Sports owns and operates the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling (www.worldcurlingtour.com), a series of eight high-profile men’s and women’s events that feature Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields.

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