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NEWS RELEASE
Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard Lead Canada’s Top 16 Men’s Teams at Grey Power Players’ Championship
Season-ending Capital One Grand Slam of Curling
event the final opportunity for teams to secure a
berth into the Canadian Olympic Trials and
Pre-Trials events
GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALTA., March 26, 2009 – Reigning World Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.) and defending Players’ Champion Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) will head an elite field next month when Canada’s top 16 men’s teams from the 2008-09 season face-off against each other at the Grey Power Players’ Championship from April 14-19, 2009 at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Alta.
The 2009 Grey Power Players’ Championship features both a men’s and women’s draw. In order to qualify for the Grey Power Players’ Championship, teams must be ranked amongst the top 16 squads in the season’s Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings as of March 23, 2009.
Among those squads which will compete in the men’s draw of the Grey Power Players’ Championship include World Champions Martin, Howard, Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.), Wayne Middaugh (Midland, Ont.) and Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.). The field will also include reigning Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) as well as 2008-09 World Curling Tour event winners Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.), Ted Appelman (Edmonton, Alta.) and Chris Schille (Edmonton, Alta.).
Jean-Michel Ménard (Quebec City, Que.) and Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) each qualified for the Grey Power Players’ Championship as the 11th and 15th ranked squads respectively on the CTRS standings. However, both teams were forced to withdraw from the event due to work commitments.
With Team Ménard’s and Team Ursel’s withdrawal, Brad Heidt (Kerrobert, Sask.) and Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) were added to the 16-team field.
The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series guidelines state that in the event of a withdrawal, an invitation must be extended to the highest remaining rink in the CTRS standings. The first invitation was extended to Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), who could not accept due to work commitments. The second invitation was extended to Heidt, whose rink is ranked 18th in the CTRS standings, one spot below Jacobs. The final invitation was extended to Pat Simmons’ 19th ranked team.
The final event of the 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, the Grey Power Players’ Championship is the final opportunity for teams to earn qualifying points towards securing a berth at the 2009 Canadian Olympic Trials or the 2009 Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials event.
To date, Martin and Howard have secured two of the four automatic berths into the 2009 Canadian Olympic Trials while Koe, Ferbey, Stoughton, Burtnyk, Simmons and Middaugh have secured at least a spot in the 12-team Pre-Trials event. An overview of the standings which will determine which teams qualify for the 2009 Canadian Trials and Pre-Trials event can be found by clicking here.
Tickets for the Grey Power Players’ Championship are available online through www.crystalcentre.com or by phoning the Crystal Centre box office at (780) 538-0387.
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 men’s Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series features a total of four tournaments including the Masters of Curling, The National, the BDO Classic Canadian Open and the Grey Power Players’ Championship.
During the 2008-09 season, Howard won both the Masters of Curling and BDO Classic Canadian Open events while Middaugh took home the championship at The National.
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 events, rinks can earn a significant amount of points towards securing a berth at the 2009 Canadian Trials and Pre-Trials tournaments.
The following is a list of the 16 men’s teams which have qualified to compete at the 2009 Grey Power Players’ Championship. Note: Team rosters and positions are subject to change prior to the start of the event.
Grey Power Players’ Championship – Men’s Teams
Team Martin (Edmonton, Alta.) Kevin Martin, Skip John Morris, Third Marc Kennedy, Second Ben Hebert, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 1st (292.450 points) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in finals (5-1)
Team Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) Glenn Howard, Skip Richard Hart, Third Brent Laing, Second Craig Savill, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 2nd (285.150) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Champion (6-0)
Team Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.) Jeff Stoughton, Skip Kevin Park, Third Rob Fowler, Second Steve Gould, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 3rd (182.600) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (1-3)
Team Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) Brad Gushue, Skip Mark Nichols, Third Ryan Fry, Second Jamie Korab, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 4th (182.150) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)
Team Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) David Nedohin, Fourth Randy Ferbey, Skip Scott Pfeifer, Second Marcel Rocque, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 5th (174.200) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)
Team Middaugh (Midland, Ont.) Wayne Middaugh, Skip Jon Mead, Third John Epping, Second Scott Bailey, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 6th (163.150) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-2)
Team Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) Kerry Burtnyk, Skip Don Walchuk, Third Richard Daneault, Second Garth Smith, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 7th (154.250) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in quarterfinals (3-3)
Team Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) Kevin Koe, Skip Blake MacDonald, Third Carter Rycroft, Second Nolan Thiessen, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 8th (141.250) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in semi-finals (4-2)
Team McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) Mike McEwen, Skip B.J. Neufeld, Third Matt Wozniak, Second Denni Neufeld, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 9th (138.300) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not advance to quarterfinals (2-3)
Team Jordison (Moose Jaw, Sask.) Joel Jordison, Skip Scott Bitz, Third Aryn Schmidt, Second Dean Hicke, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 10th (102.100) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Qualified, but did not compete due to work commitments
Team Geall (New Westminster, B.C.) Sean Geall, Skip Brent Pierce, Third Kevin Recksiedler, Second Mark Olson, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 12th (89.150) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not qualify to compete
Team Schille (Edmonton, Alta.) Chris Schille, Skip (To be announced), Third Adam Enright, Second D.J. Kidby, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 13th (79.050) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not qualify to compete
Team Appelman (Edmonton, Alta.) Ted Appelman, Skip Tom Appelman, Third Brandon Klassen, Second Brendan Melnyk, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 14th (78.150) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not qualify to compete
Team Matchett (Churchill, Ont.) Dale Matchett, Skip Ryan Werenich, Third Jeff Gorda, Second Shawn Kaufman, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 16th (72.850) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not qualify to compete
Team Heidt (Kerrobert, Sask.) Brad Heidt, Skip Mitch Heidt, Third Brennan Jones, Second Dustin Kidby, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 18th (61.050) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Did not qualify to compete
Team Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) Pat Simmons, Skip Jeff Sharp, Third Gerry Adam, Second Steve Laycock, Lead 2008-09 Canadian Team Ranking System Standing: 19th (58.750) 2008 Players’ Championship Finish: Lost in semi-finals (4-2)
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