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Issue 3 – Saturday, January 10, 2015 • An Official Publication of the Canadian Curling Association.

CATCH US If You

Can!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Canada in controlSweeting helps lead the charge

Friday was an interesting and successful day at the World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by SecurTek Monitoring Solutions, for Val Sweeting, the 2014 women’s Canada Cup champion and runner-up at last year’s Scotties.

First, the Edmonton skip made a last-rock draw to the edge of the button to tie Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 4-4 and give Team Canada a split of the morning team matches. Then she made two nearly perfect draws to the button to fire the Canadian women to a 3-0 sweep in their afternoon singles matches.

Her team of third Lori Olson-Johns, second Dana Ferguson and lead Rachelle Brown added one and a half points to Canada’s two-day total of 15, giving them a nine-point lead over Team Europe halfway through the four-day competition.

“I was very first and very last so both felt like a lot of pressure,” Sweeting said of her shots in the

singles event, which is a skills competition. “But the (sweepers) judged them well. We weren’t sure what to expect going in so to get that first one was good. The energy out there is crazy.”

Sweeting beat Margaretha Sigfridsson 19-16, Rachel Homan beat Anna Sidorova 20-11 and Jennifer Jones defeated Eve Muirhead 20-14.

So impressive were the women that Mike McEwen said the reaction of the men watching was “Hol-lee, you want to play the guys for us?”

The Canadian men were humbled in the afternoon singles, giving up 2.5 of the three available points, but they came back strong in their two evening team matches.

John Morris, 2010 Olympic gold medallist with Kevin Martin and now skip of Team Canada, with third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen, got a single in the first and stole

three in the second to cruise to a comfortable 8-3 win over Niklas Edin of Sweden.

“We wanted to come back strong and get the momentum back and build up into the weekend,” Morris said.

Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic champion, with third Ryan Fry, second E. J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, counted two in the second and three in the sixth to roll to a 6-5 victory over former two-time world champion David Murdoch of Scotland.

“In the firth we got a really good break when Dave missed his last shot,” said Jacobs. “He had a double for three there. We got aggressive; trying to lay two buried and put a lot of pressure on him. We just nosed it and left him shot for three. We got lucky and you need breaks and we got them.”

Canada’s Val Sweeting (left) was on fire Friday. It wasn’t quite as good a day for Anna Sidorova and her European teammates.

10 a.m.Mixed Doubles

Sheet A — Scott Andrews/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Europe) vs. Matt Wozniak/Val Sweeting (Canada)

Sheet B — Christoffer Svae/Anna Sloan (Europe) vs. Dawn McEwen/Mike McEwen (Canada)

Sheet C — David Murdoch/Eve Muirhead (Europe) vs. John Morris/Kaitlyn Lawes (Canada)

2 p.m.Team

Sheet A — Eve Muirhead (Europe) vs. Rachel Homan (Canada)

Sheet B — David Murdoch (Europe) vs. John Morris (Canada)

Sheet C —Anna Sidorova (Europe) vs. Jennifer Jones (Canada)

6:30 p.m.Team

Sheet A — Niklas Edin (Europe) vs. Mike McEwen (Canada)

Sheet B — Margaretha Sigfridsson (Europe) vs. Val Sweeting (Canada)

Sheet C — Thomas Ulsrud (Europe) vs. Brad Jacobs (Canada)

TODAY’S MATCHUPS

See CUPPage 15

2015 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling - Morning Cup

At WFG, our mission is to help every Canadian have a better financial future. To learn more about how one of our independent financial professionals can make a difference for your family, contact your local WFG office today.

World Financial Group Canada Inc. (WFG) is a financial services marketing company whose affiliates offer a broad array of financial products and services.

©2014 World Financial Group, Inc. 2915CN/12.14

WorldFinancialGroup.com

On behalf of World Financial Group Canada Inc., I wish to extend a warm welcome to the 2015 World Financial Group Continental Cup. As part of an organization that offers people from all walks of life an opportunity to build their own legacy by becoming a financial entrepreneur, it is equally remarkable to athletes of such high caliber champion a legacy of their own.

With the Season of Champions underway, World Financial Group of Canada Inc. is honored to welcome all the curling participants and remains a proud title sponsor of the Continental Cup. Our congratulations go out to all the competitors who’ve worked tirelessly to mark themselves as some of the best curlers, not just in Canada – but also around the world.

On behalf of our associates, staff and families, I wish every participant the best of luck during what promises to be an incredible season of curling!

Richard WilliamsPresident

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Good luck, good sportsmanship, and good curling.

Darrell JonesPresident and CEO SecurTek Monitoring Solutions


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Hebert finds there’s life

AFTER MARTINBy JOHN KOROBANIKMorning Cup Assistant Editor

For eight years Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy formed the extremely dependable

front end for the Kevin Martin team that won virtually everything available in men’s curling.

But the two entered a strange new world this year, one where winning hasn’t come as easily. Yet they have found there is life in the post-Martin era, one where the future holds much promise, includ-ing perhaps another shot at an Olympic gold medal.

The pair joined another veteran skip, Calgary’s Kevin Koe, who also recruited second Brent Laing, a move that shuffled Kennedy, a superb shot-maker at second, up one spot to third. Both Kennedy and Hebert agreed the move has resulted in a lot of adjustments for all four members of the new team.

“A huge adjustment,” said He-bert, who is here this week playing with Mike McEwen’s team in the World Financial Group Continen-tal Cup. “Playing with two new players me and Marc had never played with before. At the same time me and Marc aren’t playing

the front end any more. That’s been a big adjustment, too, Marc playing third and me having a new teammate on the front end.”

Plus there’s the difference in styles between the two Kevins. With Martin they had a skip who, as Hebert put it, “had been through everything, Briers, Olympics, and he was the leader of the team.”

Martin knew what he wanted, almost shot by shot it seemed, sometimes before the game even started.

“The one thing with Kevin Martin is he always knew what he wanted to do and he called the game he wanted,” said Kennedy, a Brier all-star second four times and World Curling Tour MVP in 2008. “For the most part there was very little input. There didn’t have to be because Kevin knew the game so well.

“The new Kevin, everyone has input and we’ve discussed a lot so it’s been different in that sense.

“Although they’re a lot different, there’s still a lot of similarities when it comes to their talent, shot-making ability and ability under pressure. A lot of that is very similar.”

See HEBERTPage 16

Ben Hebert is filling in this week with Mike McEwen’s team.


660News CURLING 5x5.indd 1 14-10-29 9:32 AM

Thursday, January 8

1 Women’s Team Competition (3 points) 1.5 3 1.5

2 Mixed Doubles Competition (3 points) 2.5 3 0.5

3 Men’s Team Competition (3 points) 3 3 0

Friday, January 9

4 Women’s Team Competition (3 points) 1.5 3 1.5

5 Singles (6 points) 3.5 6 2.5

6 Men’s Team Competition (3 points) 3 3 0

Saturday, January 10

Sheet Mixed Doubles (3 points)

7 ATeam Canada

1Team Europe

7 BTeam Canada

1Team Europe

7 CTeam Canada

1Team Europe

Sheet Women’s Team Competition (3 points)

8 ATeam Canada

1Team Europe

8 BTeam Canada

1Team Europe

8 CTeam Canada

1Team Europe

Sheet Men’s Team Competition (3 points)

9 ATeam Canada

1Team Europe

9 BTeam Canada

1Team Europe

9 CTeam Canada

1Team Europe

Sunday, January 11

10 Skins 15

11 Skins 15

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Curling’s most unique event is returning to the Entertainment Capital of the World, it was

announced Friday by the Canadian Curling Association in partnership with USA Curling.

The World Financial Group Continental Cup set an attendance record in 2014 in Las Vegas — the first time curling’s version of the Ryder Cup had been staged outside of Canada — attracting an event-record 51,215 over four days to the Orleans Arena.

The 2016 renewal of the event, which is part of the CCA’s Season of Champions, will run Jan. 14-17 at the same facility, which is attached to the Orleans Hotel and Casino.

“After what took place in 2014 in Las Vegas, we knew we had to bring this event back as soon as possible,” said Canadian Curling Association Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. “It was a gamble that paid off, thanks to the combination of a wonderful facility, our amazing Canadian curling fans who packed the arena, and the hard

work of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition (RTWGC), which was one of the driving forces behind bringing the event to Las Vegas in the first place, and making it so successful.”

The 2016 World Financial Group Continental Cup will return to the format that was used for the first 10 editions, meaning four Canadian teams (two men’s, two women’s) will be joined by two U.S. teams (one of each gender) to form Team North America to take on Team World.

The 2016 edition will also mark the sixth year of title sponsorship by World Financial Group.

“WFG is honoured to continue our partnership with the CCA as the title sponsor for the Continental Cup,” said Richard Williams, President, World Financial Group Canada Inc. “Next year marks our 10th anniversary participating in curling and this year we celebrate the company’s fifth year being a title sponsor for the Continental Cup. We look forward to watching teams from home and abroad competing in a sport with such

a vast audience. As WFG continues to grow throughout North America and help families secure their futures, it is exciting that we will be able to reach so many people through the exciting sport of curling.

“We are delighted to work with the Canadian Curling Association and the Las Vegas Host Committee to help ensure that the 2016 World Financial Group Continental Cup in Las Vegas is a memorable success.”

Ticket and hotel packages will be on sale as of Sunday, Jan. 11, at curling.ca/tickets, and are expected to be in high demand based on what happened in 2014.

“We had such an amazing experience hosting the historic 2014 WFG Continental Cup, that we were determined to put on a sequel,” said Brian Krolicki, RTWGC Chairman. “We are honoured to partner with the Canadian Curling Association and USA Curling to return this special event to Las Vegas, continuing our long-established commitment to bring elite sporting events to Nevada.”

Cup going back to the desert

The CCA’s Greg Stremlaw.


Vegas gamble

Ridiculous! Crazy! It will never work!

Many people said that about the idea of taking the World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling to Las Vegas in 2014, and we all know what happened under the bright lights. It was so crazy — crazy successful, that is — that the event is headed back to the desert for another four-day run next year.

The decision was a no-brainer. Not only was the experiment in the

desert wildly successful, and due for a return visit, it also showcased the sport in a city that takes its enter-tainment seriously (where else are you going to see an erupting volcano in the middle of a city?). And that’s no small thing when you’re trying to market your event in a sports-mad country.

And — also a no small thing — it will bring the Americans back on the Continental Cup ice after a one-year absence.

“The real payoff of the calculated risk that so many diverse parties got behind in 2014 was that curling won,” said Rick Patzke, interim chief executive officer of USA Curling. “That is why feathered boas and blue suede shoes will again grace the pebbled ice, and we are pleased to be a part of this epic event.”

Canada’s decision to go it alone this season without the Americans is something of a trial balloon. We’ll see how that goes.

But right now, it doesn’t seem the

same without them. So it will be good to see them back next year.

The plan to take the Continental Cup to Vegas in the first place be-longs to Warren Hansen, the CCA’s events manager. It was an idea that was percolating around in his head for some time, and he couldn’t kick it to the curb. He was sure a curling event would work in Vegas, and against all odds he eventually ran with the idea.

He’s probably kicking himself that he didn’t do it sooner.

Consumers are always looking for something new, and the stranger the idea, the more heads are turned. Especially in Vegas, where anything goes.

So back to the desert we go. That will make it two events in three years, and who knows how many more may make it back.

Could the event find a permanent home in the desert? Well, that does sound a little bit crazy.

But sometimes a bit of crazy can be a good thing.

PAYS OFF!Curling fans and curlers are looking forward to returning to Vegas.

DAVE KOMOSKY

«

Cool ShotsAnother round of the Cool Shots

competition will be underway today. Sign up for free to play the small-scale version of the big time game. You could walk away with some really cool cash.

Two times the entertainment. Two times the fun!

A pair of great acts will be in the Patch today to entertain the crowds. First up is Trevor Panczak, Saturday afternoon between draws. Born and raised in southern Alberta, the personable musician will be showcasing his smooth country sounds.

Suite 33 takes over for the night shift, picking up the tempo and getting everyone up on the dance floor. The five gifted musicians have been a big hit in hundreds of performances – in venues extending from Western Canada to Las Vegas.

Up Close and PersonalTwo Up Close and Personal interviews are on tap today. The first

features Mike and Dawn McEwen, who are competing side-by-side for Team Canada. Mike leads the hottest team in the world this season, while wife Dawn won the 2014 Olympic gold medal throwing lead stones for Jennifer Jones.

The captains and coaches for Team Canada and Team Europe will be the guests for the afternoon session.

Today 1:00 p.m. Mike and Dawn McEwen 4:30 p.m. Captains and Coaches

You’ve seen them on the ice, and on television. Now’s your chance to meet face-to-face with the very best curlers in the world. Bring out your programs, shirts and anything else you’d like signed. All 12 teams will be in the Patch this afternoon to greet the fans!

Today 4:30 p.m. All Teams

Team Autographs

Junior Stars Cassiel Kobylnyk and Jaimie Warren pose with Team Canada’s Val Sweeting prior to the Friday morning draw.

Social MediaStay in touch with all the excitement of the World Financial Group

Continental Cup – whether it’s on the ice at the Markin MacPhail Centre, or at the party in the Patch. Fans will have the opportunity to communicate with the athletes, curling personalities and some of Canada’s top Olympians. Plus, we have all kinds of interactive activities and contests in store. You’ll find up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook and Twitter.

@CCAcurling & #ConCupfacebook.com/ccacurling

Choice Memorial @ChoiceMemorial@CCACurling with #rachelhoman #canadianspirit #curlingselfie #contcup #wfg

Sarah Jane Keller @sarahjanekellerEpic selfie with @nmlougheed and #TeamCanada @CCACurling #ContCup #NickWinsThings #curlingselfie

Amy Nixon @wee_nixon #curlingselfie #ContCup my daughter Kali cheering on team Canada! #curling

Tweet the ExpertTweet @CCAcurling with the hashtag #asktheexpert during the evening

draw. Stay in touch with our Twitter feed on Saturday where we will announce the expert!

Show your Canadian Spirit

Best photos of the week will win a great prize. Tweet us your photo! #canadianspirit

Curling Selfie ContestTweet your curling selfie to @CCAcurling using the hashtag

#curlingselfie for a chance at the daily prize.

Team Europe’s Niklas Edin, David Murdoch and Thomas Ulsrud share a laugh with fans at Friday’s Up Close and Personal interview.


Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud is noted for his fancy pants (top) but this week has to wear standard black as part of Team Europe.

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”

– Oscar Wilde

They know him for his curling.

They love him for his pants.

That’s possibly the legacy Thomas Ulsrud will leave behind once he has finished his most excellent adventure in international curling. His curling has been top notch, but his pants, and those of his Norwegian teammates, have been top drawer.

Ulsrud and his talented team from Oslo — third Torger Nergård, second Christoffer Svae and lead Håvard Vad Petersson — are usually hard to miss at a major curling event. They’re the ones with the garish pants. They could be wearing an eye-popping zig-zag pattern, or a sartorially splendid red, white and blue that mirrors the Norwegian national flag, or

checkered pants that look like grandma’s tablecloth. Or one of the other nine pairs of outlandish pants they wore at last year’s Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Alas, in Calgary this week for the World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by SecurTek Monitoring Solutions, they are reduced to basic black pants. It’s a team thing.

And that’s OK with Ulsrud because he knows he’ll be wearing his regular duds sometime soon.

“I would love to play in our pants,” he says, “but we’re not allowed, so this is one week we play in black. We’ll all be glad when the week is over and we can go back to wearing our pants.”

That’s not entirely true. In reality, Ulsrud and his team are tickled to be in Calgary for the Continental Cup because it is one of their favourite events.

“For the players, this is the most fun event,” he says. “This is the one we’re always looking forward to. It’s social at night and dead serious on the ice. It’s really good fun.

DAVE KOMOSKY

«

Oh my God,Ulsrud’s notwearing ‘his’

See ULSRUDPage 11

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“This has the best teams in Canada, and the best teams in Europe. The crème de la crème. There’s a different atmosphere here. Two or three weeks ago I played Niklas Edin in the European final. I lost to him in an extra end. I hate his guts (laughing). But right now he’s my best friend.”

Once Ulsrud’s team is back in their own pants, the threads will be a celebration of garish goodness.

And that’s just the way Ulsrud likes it.

“I was watching Mike (Winnipeg skip McEwen) on TV (Canada Cup) and I think they were wearing red or orange pants. That’s good. I give them thumbs up for that. Curling needs to renew itself.”

Team Ulsrud’s pants are so far out, they’re in. Curling fans think they are a hoot. During the Olympics, the Norwegians had the only unofficial Facebook page dedicated to their pants.

We all know clothes aren’t just there to cover up your private parts or keep you warm. Fashion expresses your inner self. Clothes are there to make you feel good.

So it comes as no surprise that Ulsrud, a self-employed curling instructor and event coordinator, would adopt the bizarre attire for his team. It’s typical of the man. He is not afraid to go off the beaten path. What’s more, he’s hard not to like. He is approachable, funny and honest.

As far as he’s concerned, who wants to live in a world where kitschy clothes and over-the-top outfits are taboo.

“I feel boring this week,” he laughs. “It’s all black.”

Sometimes it’s hard to know if Ulsrud is serious, And that certainly applies when he says he looked into whether the entire European team could wear outlandish pants for the Continental Cup.

“We called our pants sponsor,” says Ulsrud, “and said can you make us all the same pants, and they said they’d be more than happy to do it. But the problem is we have three

women’s teams and they all want to look good. I can’t order pants for women. They’re going to say ‘this is too big, this is too small’.

“It’s impossible. That’s why we have to play in black.”

The fancy pants happened more by accident than design. The team received the wrong uniforms just as they were preparing for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Svae went online and found some red, white and blue checkered pants, and the rest is history.

The pants have been a nice, ahem, fit for the team in more ways than one. They have been so popular they have led to a lucrative sponsorship deal with the manufacturer, Loudmouth Golf, which also supplies pants to American golfer John Daly.

But unlike Daly, who is more of a novelty act on the golf course these days, the Norwegians can actually play at the highest level.

All this begs the question, do the pants make the man, or is it the other way around? Do the brilliance of the pants blind curling fans to the team’s world-class

ability?Ulsrud finished second in the

recent European championship and is a former Olympic silver medallist. That’s some track record. But if he doesn’t think his team is getting its just due, he’s not saying.

“Looking back, it was the smartest move we ever made,” he says about climbing into the pants. “There’s so many good teams out there. We stick out from the crowd.”

This is the start of another four-year cycle for Ulsrud and his team in the buildup to the next Winter Olympics in South Korea. The team had discussed calling it quits after the Sochi Games, where they finished fifth with a 4-3 record, but after talking to family and sorting out some business details, decided to give it another go.

The team will likely scale down its cashspiel play in the coming years, but otherwise it will be business as usual.

And business as usual means that wherever they play, the pants will help them make their usual flashy entrance. And if anyone looks at them sideways, Ulsrud has one thing to tell them: “Lighten up.”

UlsrudFROM PAGE 10

“I feel boring this week.

It’s all black.” — Thomas Ulsrud

Spectators will ultimately decide what place mixed doubles has in the future of curling, but if it was left to the curlers who are playing it here at the World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by SecurTek Monitoring Solutions,the cry would go up: ‘Keep it, please!’

For if ever there was a ‘game’ that highlights the best that curling has to offer, from spectacular shot-making to intriguing strategy, mixed doubles has it in spades.

Curling officials knew they had a winner when they included the quirky discipline into the inaugural Continental Cup in 2002 in Regina where it was greeted with plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. And the approval has been there every year the event has taken to the ice.

The game is all threes, fours and fives on the scoreboard, and that translates to fan interest and thrills for the players.

“Its fun to try something new,” says Team Canada’s Emma

Miskew. “It’s very different. Yeah, it’s curling but it’s so different from playing with your team. It’s nice to go out and have fun, but obviously it’s still intense.”

The format puts rocks into play immediately, with one stone in front of the rings and another at the back of the button at the start of each end. The team with the option can choose the guard as its stone, or the rock in the rings. The opposition gets the other stone. The team with the guard shoots first.

Then, it’s on with the show. The game features all kinds of challenging, fun shots, with plenty of rocks in play.

To curling purists, it can look awfully gimmicky, with two rocks in place at the beginning of each end, and just five rocks per team being thrown.

But once upon a time the Free Guard Zone rule was believed to be gimmicky. So were pushbrooms and timeclocks. The sport is always evolving and mixed doubles is an example.

The great thing about mixed doubles is no lead is safe. Any time you start an end with a long guard and a rock on the button, you’re going to have scoring.

Mixed doubles has been around for more than a decade, and is still suffering growing pains. It still hasn’t caught on at curling clubs but has grown to the point where there is a world championship. The first one was held in 2008 in Vierumaki, Finland.


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See DOUBLESNext page


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That’s a big step in the evolution of mixed doubles curling that may lead to the Olympics. The World Curling Federation — with the full support of the Canadian Curling Association — has applied to have mixed doubles curling as part of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

There are plenty of good reasons why the format will get a long look by the IOC. Among them:

n No extra facilities need to be built, nor a significant number of volunteers added, to accommodate the competition. It can be scheduled around the existing team

curling competition.n It involves both men and

women.n There is no one dominant

nation, so it is a wide-open competition that has potential winners from all over the world.

n And as important, if not more important than all of the above, it is reliable TV inventory. That’s a big reason the networks love curling during the Winter Olympics: it’s not weather-dependent.

Mixed doubles has proven to be a solid addition to curling’s growing list of formats. So when watching mixed doubles here in Calgary today, keep this in mind: you could be seeing future mixed doubles Olympians out on the ice.

DoublesFROM PAGE 12

Mixed doubles is wildly popular with fans and players.


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The singles skills format at the World Financial Group Continental Cup (hit-and-stay, draw the button, draw the port, raise, hit-and-roll and double takeout) wasn’t born with the event, even though most curling fans may think it was.

Actually, a version of it made its debut in the Sixties in a CBC show called Keen Ice where curlers attempted to make a series of pre-arranged shots. The pre-recorded TV games, with commentary by Glenn Bjarnason, were 30 minutes long and involved two, two-

curler teams.Canadian Curling Association

director of events operations Warren Hansen later helped put on a similar curling show with ITV in Edmonton called Destination Four-Foot. He used the concept of Keen Ice but took out all the shots that didn’t have to do with reaching the button.

It was a shots-for-points curling show, and that event structure was eventually adopted by the CCA for the Continental Cup and Hot Shots competitions at the Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties.

They reached way, way backfor singles skills format


In the other team game, Rachel Homan of Ottawa drew the button with last rock to nip Anna Sidorova of Russia 4-3.

“Clean sweep, that was good,” Homan said moments before team coach Rick Lang jumped up to kiss her cheek and say “what a great draw shot.”

The wins gave Canada three more points and increased their lead over Team Europe to 15-6 in the four-day competition. The first team to score 30.5 points wins the tournament that features

team, mixed doubles, singles and skins matches.Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was

Margaretha Sigfridsson scoring five in the first end against Olympic champion Jennifer Jones to set up an easy 9-4 victory in the morning team matches. That win allowed Team Europe to split the three morning points.

“The stones lined up well for us,” Sigfridsson said of the first end. “I don’t think Jennifer saw it on her last one. She was trying for us not to get two.”

Third Maria Prytz, throwing fourth stones, made a perfect raise double to eliminate both Canadian rocks and leave Sweden with five.

The Jones foursome tried to rally, scoring a

deuce in the second but Sigfridsson, third Maria Prytz, second Christina Bertrup and lead Maria Wennerström came right back with two of their own in the third.

It was an uphill battle from there and the reigning women’s Olympic champions from Winnipeg couldn’t come up with enough consistent shots to threaten Sigfridsson’s cosy lead.

“It’s comfortable to play the rest of the game but you never know with Jennifer, she can do really great so we needed to keep our focus,” said Sigfridsson.

Mike McEwen beat Thomas Ulsrud 7-2 and Sweeting tied Muirhead to earn Canada the split.

CupFROM PAGE 2

C o n t i n e n ta l C u p S c o r e b o a r d

LINESCORESDraw 4

8:30 a.m.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (Jones) *0 2 0 1 0 1 0 x — 4 0Europe (Sigfridsson) 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 — 9 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (McEwen) *0 2 0 2 0 0 3 x — 7 1Europe (Ulsrud) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 x — 2 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (Sweeting) 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 — 4 0.5Europe (Muirhead) *0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 — 4 0.5

Draw 5

1:30 p.m.

Singles R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (Sweeting) 0 5 5 4 5 0 19Europe (Sigfridsson) 0 5 3 5 2 1 16

R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (Homan) 0 5 5 5 1 4 20Europe (Sidorova) 0 3 2 4 1 1 11

R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (Jones) 3 3 5 3 1 5 20Europe (Muirhead) 0 4 4 3 0 3 14

R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (Morris) 0 3 0 5 5 0 13Europe (Murdoch) 5 3 5 3 5 0 21

R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (McEwen) 0 5 5 5 4 3 22Europe (Ulsrud) 5 4 4 5 5 0 23

R/T D P R H/R DT PtsCanada (Jacobs) 0 3 5 4 1 3 16

Europe (Edin) 5 3 5 0 3 0 16

6:30 p.m.

Draw 6

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (Jacobs) *0 2 0 1 0 3 0 0 — 6 1Europe (Murdoch) 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 — 5 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (Homan) *0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 — 4 1Europe (Sidorova) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 — 3 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PtsCanada (Morris) 1 3 0 2 0 2 0 x — 8 1Europe (Edin) *0 0 1 0 1 0 1 x — 3 0* — Last rock advantage

EUROPE 6 CANADA 15

COMBINED POINTS TOTAL

POINT STANDINGS

TEAM EUROPE Team Doubles Singles Skins TotalMen 0 2.5 0 2.5Women 3 0 0 3Mixed 0.5 0 0.5TOTAL 3 0.5 2.5 0 6

TEAM CANADA

Team Doubles Singles Skins Total

Men 6 0.5 0 6.5

Women 3 3 0 6

Mixed 2.5 0 2.5

TOTAL 9 2.5 3.5 0 15


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With Koe it’s more of a decision by committee with a lot more con-versation about shots and strate-gies.

“So we’ve been trying to find what’s best of our team,” added Hebert. “We don’t want to be Team Martin or the old Team Kevin Koe. We want to be the new Team Kevin Koe with our own ways. It’s been an adjustment figuring that out but we’ve had a pretty good start to the year.”

This is the second go-round for Kennedy and Koe who played on the John Morris-skipped rink 2003-06 before Kennedy and Mor-ris joined Martin.

Kennedy had a 12-year associa-tion with Martin — he worked for him for four years and curled with him for eight.

“It’s been a big adjustment just because things were the same for so long.” Kennedy said. “We’ve had to relearn a lot of things and when you start from scratch with your team’s communication it’s chal-lenging.”

It’s also been motivating and energetic and has given the pair a new breath of life.

“Sometimes things can get stale, like any team or any relationship. The one thing Ben and I have no-ticed is that now that we’re going through new things we look back a lot at things we did with Kevin. The way Kevin did things and how we’re trying to bring some of that to the new team.

“You don’t realize how much you’re learned from somebody un-til they’re not there anymore.”

Hebert said there’s a lot of things taken for granted when you play for a team so long and it’s expected things will run smoothly.

“You forget how it is playing with new guys, learning their personalities, learning how they throw and the way they call the game. But we’ve had a great time. I know we haven’t won as many events as we would like and haven’t played up to our capabilities yet but we’ve had a lot of fun.”

The transition has been a rela-tively smooth one, partly because the players are all good friends and respect each other’s abilities as curlers. Through eight events

the team has a 34-12 record and won two events, including the Karuizawa International in Ja-pan to close out the 2014 calendar year.

“I think we’re fourth right now in the world so we’re not too many shots away,” said Hebert. “Our goal wasn’t to come out of the gate and win every bonspiel. Our goal is the 2018 Olympics.

“So far it’s been good. We’ve shown moments of brilliance and we’ve shown moments of a new team. It’s just going to take a few months or maybe even a full year of curling to work out some kinks but we played a good December. Our real big goal for the year, obviously, is to play in a hometown Brier. To play in Calgary would be huge.”

The new Koe foursome has beat-en Olympic champion Brad Jacobs, John Morris and his Team Canada and veteran Glenn Howard. The one team they haven’t beaten is the red hot Mike McEwen crew of Winnipeg, who Hebert is playing with this week.

“We haven’t beat McEwen yet, those dirty dogs. I’ve going to learn a few tricks this week and hopeful-ly can take it back to my team.”

HebertFROM PAGE 4

“We don’t want to be Team Martin or the old Team Kevin Koe. We want to be the new Team Kevin Koe, with our own ways.

— Ben Hebert

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