(Oct 15, 2009) -- The province's premier curling tour sweeps into the city's house this weekend.
With more than $14,000 just a stone's throw away, the Barrie Curling Club is sure to be rocking.
The Essa Road facility plays host to 24 teams from across Ontario -- along with Swedish Olympic qualifier Niklas Edin -- for the fifth annual men's Ontario Curling Tour cash bonspiel, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
Sleeman Breweries has come on as the event's title sponsor, but organizers have been raising a glass for months in anticipation of what promises to be a star-studded weekend of heated battles on the sheets.
"We always have a strong field for this event, as lots of the top Ontario (curlers) are in attendance," said Ken Leach, chair of the tour committee. "But it's even stronger this year."
In addition to Edin, who has already punched his ticket to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Northern Ontario's 2009 Brier representative Mike Jakubo will compete, as well as Victoria Harbour's Wayne Middaugh, a two-time world champion, two-time Brier winner and multiple Grand Slam of Curling champion.
Middaugh and his team of third Jon Mead, second John Epping and lead Scott Bailey have yet to play an event together as a team this season due to scheduling issues, but they'll come together -- minus Epping -- this weekend.
Fifth Trevor Wall will step in, as Middaugh's St. George's Golf and Curling team looks to gather some momentum leading up to the 2010 Olympic pre-trials, taking place in Prince George, B. C., next month.
"It's kind of like a pre-season thing for us, more than anything," said Middaugh, the general manager of Port Carling Golf and Country Club. "It's a team-building thing. More than anything, we want to come out and see some positive things."
It marks the first local event for Middaugh since competing at the annual Pea Soup men's open bonspiel at the Penetanguishene Curling Club last season.
"My entire team came up for it. I think we won an AM/FM radio and a crest," said Middaugh, who is married to nationally ranked curler, Sherry Middaugh, and has two young children. "But it was the best thing for us. We got on a roll after that event. We're hoping it's kind of the same thing (in Barrie)."
Also competing will be last year's champion, Terry Corbin, of Brantford, current money leader Dale Matchett, of Alliston, and other local favourites including Barrie's Cory Heggestad, Beeton's Al Corbeil and Barrie's Garry Morgan and Greg Truscott.
"Matchett's the next up-and-comer in Ontario," said Middaugh, who was a last-minute addition to the weekend event. "They're playing more on the world stage (the World Curling Tour), which will only make them better."
According to Leach, who is also president of the local Micro-Works Major League that is coordinating the event, the bonspiel will double as a fundraiser for local junior and Special Olympics curlers.
The event opens Friday at 8:30am and wraps up with the championship game on Sunday at 4pm. |
