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| The Kärcher Canadian junior men’s and women’s curling championships, the first event in the 2005 Season of Champions, will take place in Fredericton, New Brunswick, February 5-13.
Thirteen men’s and 13 women’s teams (10 provinces plus Northern Ontario, Yukon and Northwest Territories) are set to compete. Round robin games will be played at both the Capital Winter Club and Lady Beaverbrook Rink. At the conclusion of the round robin, the first place teams advance to their respective finals, while the second and third place finishers meet in semi-finals on Friday evening.
The men’s final is Saturday, February 12 at 1:00 pm AT/12:00 noon ET, while the women’s final is Sunday, February 13 at 1:30 pm AT/12:30 pm ET. Both Kärcher Juniors finals at the Lady Beaverbrook Rink can be seen live across Canada on CBC-TV.
The winners will then represent Canada at the world junior curling championships March 3-13 in Pinerolo, Italy. Canada has won a leading 13 world junior men’s titles since 1975 and eight women’s crowns since 1988.
Among the competing men’s skips is New Brunswick’s Ryan Sherrard, the defending Canadian junior champion, who will try to become just the fourth skip to win back-to-back titles and the first since John Morris in 1998-99. |
(Jan 21, 2005) -- The Kärcher Canadian junior men’s and women’s curling championships, the first event in the 2005 Season of Champions, will take place in Fredericton, New Brunswick, February 5-13.
Thirteen men’s and 13 women’s teams (10 provinces plus Northern Ontario, Yukon and Northwest Territories) are set to compete. Round robin games will be played at both the Capital Winter Club and Lady Beaverbrook Rink. At the conclusion of the round robin, the first place teams advance to their respective finals, while the second and third place finishers meet in semi-finals on Friday evening.
The men’s final is Saturday, February 12 at 1:00 pm AT/12:00 noon ET, while the women’s final is Sunday, February 13 at 1:30 pm AT/12:30 pm ET. Both Kärcher Juniors finals at the Lady Beaverbrook Rink can be seen live across Canada on CBC-TV.
The winners will then represent Canada at the world junior curling championships March 3-13 in Pinerolo, Italy. Canada has won a leading 13 world junior men’s titles since 1975 and eight women’s crowns since 1988.
Among the competing men’s skips is New Brunswick’s Ryan Sherrard, the defending Canadian junior champion, who will try to become just the fourth skip to win back-to-back titles and the first since John Morris in 1998-99.
Challenging him again are last year’s runner-up Matthew Blandford of Newfoundland and Labrador, third place finisher, Manitoba’s Daley Peters (son of 1992 Brier winner Vic Peters) and Quebec’s Martin Crête, runner-up in 2002 and third place finisher in 2003. Prince Edward Island’s Steven Howard (son of 1987 and 1993 world champion Russ Howard) has also qualified as has Saskatchewan’s Kyle George, runner-up in the 2005 Canadian Mixed held last November in Prince Albert.
Quebec’s Marie-Christine Cantin, runner-up to Nova Scotia’s Jill Mouzar in the 2004 Kärcher Juniors, along with last year’s third place finisher, New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly of the host Capital Winter Club and Alberta’s Desirée Robertson, third place finisher in 2003, head the women’s line-up.
Attached is a media accreditation form, along with the draw. If you require credentials, please complete the form and e-mail it or fax it to Jeff Timson at 905-881-8322. You will receive a confirmation letter providing you with access to the media area within the Lady Beaverbrook Rink in order to receive event credentials.
New Brunswick has won three Canadian junior men’s championships since the competition began in 1950 in Quebec City. The province’s victories came in 1970 in Ste-Jérôme, Quebec (skip Ronald Ferguson), 1987 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (skip Jim Sullivan) and in 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia (skip Ryan Sherrard). Alberta has won a leading 13 titles.
New Brunswick junior women have claimed two titles since the inaugural championship in 1971 in Vancouver. Ironically both victories came when it was held in Alberta, in 1991 in Leduc (skip Heather Smith) and 1998 in Calgary (skip Melissa McClure). Saskatchewan leads all provinces with nine wins.
The men’s and women’s championships were conducted as separate events until being combined in 1987 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. That year, the men’s title was won by Jim Sullivan and his Fredericton Capital Winter Club team. Sullivan went on the following year to capture the world junior crown as well.
The 2005 Kärcher Juniors will mark the sixth time that New Brunswick has hosted the Canadian junior men’s championship (1952, 1973 and 2000 in Moncton, 1965 in Fredericton, 1981 in Saint John) and the fourth time the province has staged the junior women’s championship (1977 in Saint John, 1985 in Fredericton and 2000 in Moncton).
The host committee website, for event details and other information, is www.kärcherjuniors.ca
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