NEWS RELEASE

World Champion Kevin Martin Aims for Third Consecutive Title at The National in Quebec City

Quebec’s Jean-Michel Ménard and Martin Ferland qualify for elite event featuring eight World Championship and Olympic gold medallists.

QUEBEC CITY, November 5, 2008 – Reigning World Champion Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.) will aim to win his third consecutive title at The National next month against an elite 18-team field that features a total of eight World Championship and Olympic gold medallists, along with Quebec’s Jean-Michel Ménard (Gatineau, Que.) and Martin Ferland (Trois-Rivières, Que.), during the second leg of the men’s 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series at ExpoCité in Quebec City from December 3-7, 2008.

The all-time leader in Capital One Grand Slam of Curling victories with 14, Martin previously captured The National during both the 2007-08 and 2006-07 seasons when the event was held in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. 

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 14 ranked Canadian teams outside of Quebec and the top two ranked Quebec-based squads on the Capital One Order of Merit standings as of November 2, 2008 are eligible to compete at The National.

Among the 16 Canadian skips that qualified to compete in the tournament include World Champions Martin, Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.), 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.).

The remaining two entries in the 18-team field include Fengchun Wang (Harbin, China), China’s 2008 World Championship entry, and American Jason Larway (Seattle, Washington).

Individual, weekend and five-day ticket packages for The National can be purchased by phoning 1 (800) 900-SHOW or (418) 691-7211.  Tickets are available online by visiting www.billetech.com.  Individuals can also obtain seats to the event through the Colisée Pepsi box office. 

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.

The 2008-09 men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series begins with the Masters of Curling, taking place at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex in Waterloo, Ont.  Following The National, 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.

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

The National – 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 (436.550 points)                      

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not compete

Team Martin (Edmonton, Alta.)                          

Kevin Martin, Skip                                                                                                    

John Morris, Third                                                                                       

Marc Kennedy, Second                                                                                   

Ben Hebert, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 2nd (396.900)                               

2007-08 The National Finish: Champion (7-1)

Team Koe (Edmonton, Alta.)                                                                      

Kevin Koe, Skip                                                                                                    

Blake MacDonald, Third                                                               

Carter Rycroft, Second                                                                       

Nolan Thiessen, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 3rd (298.700)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Lost in finals (7-1)

Team Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.)                                                     

David Nedohin, Fourth                                                                                     

Randy Ferbey, Skip                                                                            

Scott Pfeifer, Second                                                                                               

Marcel Rocque, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 4th (236.650)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not compete

Team Simmons (Davidson, Sask.)                                 

Pat Simmons, Skip                                                                            

Jeff Sharp, Third                                                                           

Gerry Adam, Second                                                                                   

Steve Laycock, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 5th (222.250)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (4-2)

Team Middaugh (Midland, Ont.)                                     

Wayne Middaugh, Skip                                                                                        

Jon Mead, Third                                                                           

John Epping, Second                                                                                   

Scott Bailey, Lead                                                                                       

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 6th (219.068)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Lost in semi-finals (5-2)

Team Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.)                                                 

Kerry Burtnyk, Skip                                                                            

Don Walchuk, Third                                                               

Richard Daneault, Second                                                                                               

Garth Smith, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 7th (207.625)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)

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 (198.876)                                

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)

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 The National Finish: Lost in semi-finals (5-2)

Team Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.)

Jim Cotter, Fourth                                                                         

Bob Ursel, Skip                                                                            

Kevin Folk, Second                                                           

Rick Sawatsky, Lead                                                                           

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

2007-08 The National 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: 11th (141.950)                              

2007-08 The National Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)

Team McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.)

Mike McEwen, Skip                                                                            

B.J. Neufeld, Third

Matt Wozniak, Second

Denni Neufeld, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 12th (126.350)

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not qualify to compete

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 The National Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)

Team Ménard (Gatineau, Que.)

Jean-Michel Ménard, Skip

Martin Crête, Third

Éric Sylvain, Second

Jean Gagnon, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 14th (95.050)

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not qualify to compete

Team Jordison (Moose Jaw, Sask.)

Joel Jordison, Skip                                                                

Scott Bitz, Third                                                                                       

Aryn Schmidt, Second                                                                                               

Dean Hicke, Lead                                                                           

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 15th (89.529)

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (1-4)

Team Ferland (Trois-Rivières, Que.)                              

Martin Ferland, Skip

Marco Berthelot, Third

Phillippe Lemay, Second

Christian Cantin, Lead   

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 22nd (69.750)                   

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not qualify to compete

Team Wang (Harbin, China)

Fengchun Wang, Skip

Rui Liu, Third

Xiao Ming Xu, Second

Jialiang Zang, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 6th, international standings (69.750)

2007-08 The National Finish: Did not compete      

Team Larway (Seattle, Washington)

Jason Larway, Skip

Colin Hufman, Third

Joel Larway, Second

Bill Todhunter, Lead

Capital One Order of Merit Standing: 10th, international standings (41.279)

2007-08 The National 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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