As CTVOlympics reports, it’s another week come and gone on the World Curling Tour.

Digging deeper, one might agree with Lydon Little that BC teams shouldn’t be overlooked heading into the pre-Trials “Road to the Roar” next month in Prince George.

Particularly Kelowna’s Bob Ursel, who has made it to two finals in his two events this season, and who won yesterday’s playoff matches in Vancouver by scores of 7-1, 6-1 and 7-1.

And yesterday’s victory by Jennifer Jones (Calgary Herald photo by Christina Ryan) indicates she has indeed shrugged off last year’s fourth-place worlds finish in Ganeneung, Korea.

She’s been an outright winner in all three tournaments since: last fall’s Grey Power Players’ Championship; the Eurotour opener in Oslo, Norway (beating Olympic champ Anette Norberg) and now the first women’s Grand Slam of the season (beating world champ Bingyu Wang).

Jones has also overtaken the struggling Shannon Kleibrink – now oh-fer in three tournaments this fall – in the Order of Merit standings.

Meanwhile, Brad Gushue’s run of tournament wins came to an abrupt halt, but not before he defeated Kevin Martin for the second time this season. The Gushues ended up losing a C-qualifier to – guess who? – ex-teammate Chris Schille.

As for Martin, and Glenn Howard, neither team has won an event this season. Hmm.

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2006 Olympic champion Anette Norberg is the 2009 Re/Max Women’s Masters champion after defeating Swedish rival Stina Viktorsson by an emphatic 8-4 score in the final at Basel.

Semi-finalists were USA Olympic representatives Debbie McCormick and Switzerland’s Fabienne Fuerbringer, while the quarter-finalists included Vancouver-bound Eve Muirhead of Great Britain and Germany’s Andrea Schoepp.

The Norberg victory follows a runner-up finish two weeks earlier in Oslo, when they were defeated in the championship final by Canada’s Jennifer Jones.

Jones and an impressive group of teams – including 2006 Olympic medallists Mirjam Ott and Shannon Kleibrink – are down to their last lives at Calgary’s Trail Appliances Grand Slam event in Calgary, which wraps up on Monday.

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The call went out right here, on The Curling News Blog, last Wednesday.

It was a curling casting call, you may recall, for the Calgary area, seeking curlers with various retro-outfits and equipment for a TV featurette on The Roaring Game.

Calls also went out to the Southern Alberta Curling Association and even the Kevin Koe men’s team, who of course showed off their own retro look last season.

The Crowsnest Films shoot featured Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones along with the local hired help, and today’s feature in the High-River Times tells more of the tale.

And we’ll have even more – including exclusive behind-the-scenes visuals – in the weeks to come, right here at The Curling News Blog!

[High-River Times photo by Alyssa Burnham]

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Remember this TV ad? Of course you do. Looks like it would be fun to film, right?

Well, today we can announce a new Calgary curling casting call. For Jennifer Jones… and for you!

Crowsnest Films of Calgary is shooting a series of short films for Bravo Television in advance of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Curlers are wanted, and needed, for a TV shoot taking place this coming Saturday, October 3, just a few kilometres outside of Calgary.

Interested people have to be prepared for a possible 8-10 hour day where they can watch the entire process, get fed, support Jennifer and be on camera as an essential part of the story!

They are looking for the following:

• 8 men (under 60, over 18)
• 8 women (under 60, over 18)
• 4 senior men (over 60)
• 4 senior women (over 60)

Vintage curling sweaters, plaid coats, team jackets circa 1950s thru 1970s would be appreciated. Old corn brooms would be a welcome accessory as would patches, pins or serious tams!

Interested parties can contact Jessica at 403-966-1027 and via email at jcopple@gmail.com. Please indicate which category you would fit into and you will be contacted as to where and when you will be needed!

So what are you waiting for?

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It’s no surprise that the Canadian Curling Association has made another leap into the digital world.

Season of Champions TV was announced today and premiers live, online, on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:00 pm MT/9:00 pm ET.

It’s the latest innovation by the CCA to use Internet technology to bring the curling community closer to its championship events and the competitors. The strategy includes the on-going development of the curling.ca website, which underwent a dramatic facelift in July 2008, the seasonofchampions.ca website, with comprehensive information on all of the Season of Champions events, plus live scoring from each championship or event utilizing the CCA’s CurlCast program.

It all starts October 7 with a two-hour live webcast from Edmonton – home to December’s Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, aka the Olympic Curling Trials.

Edmonton media personalities Jim Jerome (a famous Patch host) and Jackie-Rae Greening (she of many Edmonton host committees) will host seven of the eight skips who have qualified for the Roar: namely Kevin Martin, Kevin Koe, Randy Ferbey, Jennifer Jones, Shannon Kleibrink, Cheryl Bernard and Stefanie Lawton.

Ontario’s Glenn Howard is unavailable due to work commitments.

The athletes will appear in a live forum, when curling fans will have the opportunity to submit questions online, by simply by logging on to the Season of Champions website. CCA is strongly recommended that fans pre-register their questions.

“The Canadian Curling Association continues to want to reach out to our fans and showcase our events the best way possible,” explained Greg Stremlaw, CEO of the Canadian Curling Association.

“We have made it a priority to not only embrace information technology as a very important tool within our business, but also to use it to help bring curling enthusiasts closer to the best curling events and athletes in Canada.”

Another innovation for the 2009-10 season will be the introduction of AtThePatch.ca, a website dedicated to capturing all the fun and excitement of the infamous Keith’s Patch. This site, which will launch in early November, will feature entertainment information, Up Close and Personal interview sessions and everything else that makes Keith’s Patch the legendary party central for Season of Champions events.

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This busy weekend of curling continues with Monday’s finals of the Sandra Schmirler Charity Classic in Regina.

Among the quarterfinalists are Calgary’s Heather Rankin (photo above) who takes on 2007 world champion Kelly Scott on Monday morning.

Our friend Pal Trulsen kept his time warp going all the way to the semifinals in Oslo, where he finally lost to heir apparent Thomas Ulsrud. In the final, Sweden’s youthful Oskar Eriksson – second and fourth at the last two world junior championships – upset Ulsrud for the men’s victory.

We’re expecting the Swedes to update their team blog sometime on Monday… probably with a headline like Vi vann! or perhaps Helige Gud! Vi slog dem alla!

The women’s crown went to Canada’s Jennifer Jones, who took out a variety of strong teams including defending Olympic champion Anette Norberg in the final. Both Oslo Cup finales ended in 5-4 scorelines.

Elsewhere in Canada, the big story is that Brad Gushue won his third tournament in a row, beating Ian Fitzner-Leblanc in the final of the Appleton Cashspiel in Halifax. The Gushues took out Canada’s 2009 world junior rep Brett Gallant in one semi, while Fitzner-Leblanc defeated 2004 Brier champ Mark Dacey in the other.

KW Fall Classic in Kitchener saw Toronto’s Julie Hastings defeat Stoney Creek’s Karen Bell 4-2 while Bradford’s Dale Matchett beat Jake Higgs of Harriston 8-7 to win the men’s crown.

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Dawson Creek in British Columbia has been awarded the hosting rights to the 2010 Grey Power Players’ Championship.

The season’s final Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event is scheduled for the EnCana Events Centre in Dawson Creek from April 13-18.

The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling, the World Curling Tour and iSport Media and Management also announced that Grande Prairie, Alberta has secured the hosting rights to the 2011 championship.

After hosting the six-day event in 2009, which attracted 40,125 spectators and featured championship wins by Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey and Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones, the 2011 Grey Power Players’ Championship will return to the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie on April 12-17.

Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie are just 133 kilometres apart.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing the 2010 Grey Power Players’ Championship to Dawson Creek as well as returning the event to Grande Prairie in 2011,” said Wendy Kane, Executive Director of the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling.

“Last year’s tournament in Grande Prairie was a great success and we’re looking forward to putting on an even bigger show in the next two years.”

The 2010 Grey Power Players’ Championship will feature a separate men’s and women’s draw consisting of the world’s top 13 ranked teams from the 2009-10 season as well as curling’s gold, silver and bronze medallists from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

“We’re elated that Dawson Creek was selected to host a premier international sporting event such as the Grey Power Players’ Championship,” said Dawson Creek Mayor Mike Bernier. “This is another great opportunity for Dawson Creek to showcase our great city to the rest of Canada. This world class event will have significant positive social and economic impacts to the community and is a real win-win for Dawson Creek.”

Ticket packages for the 2010 Grey Power Players’ Championship are scheduled to go on sale on November 6.

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It’s all things Swiss in today’s The Curling News Blogpost.

Why?

Well… why not?

1. Team Mirjam Ott made some waves at the end of the 2008-09 season by replacing second Valeria Spaelty with team alternate Carmen Kueng. Spaelty was the last remaining member of Ott’s 2006 Olympic silver medallist foursome, and Kung had been the squad’s dedicated alternate the last couple of seasons.

A photo of the new Team Ott, who are pretty much confirmed to represent Switzerland at Vancouver 2010, is located here. The accompanying update states the squad will be taking a full six-month leave of absence from work to focus on the drive to Vancouver, which will include six weeks of training/touring in Canada.

2. Team Ralph Stoeckli, fourth-place finishers at the Ford Worlds in Moncton, need to win a special best-of-seven playoff against 2008 European rep Stefan Karnusian to book their tickets to Vancouver. But should they win, they will not be heading to the Games with team coach Russ Howard.

Russ has confirmed his gig with the CTV Olympic broadcast consortium – which of course features the TSN curling crew – and will be doing the suit and tie thing in Vancouver. Howard might still be jetting to Switzerland in September to do some work with the squad – this is still TBD – but he definitely won’t be wearing the white cross in February.

Here’s a photo of Howard in his Swiss duds, consulting with Stoeckli and lead Simon Struebin, who just happens to be Europe’s representative on the board of the new World Curling Players’ Association (as we revealed last month).

Back in November, you may recall that TCN scored the first photo of Russ in his new coaching career.

Speaking of photos, the CCA image above (shot by Michael Burns) shows Stoeckli in a huge fist pump just as his final throw settles into the button for a big win in Moncton.

3. But there’s another Canadian coaching saga in Switzerland… two, in fact. The husband and wife team of Lorne and Chris Hamblin have been hired as Swiss Curling’s new national team coaches.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press story, Hamblin said he and his wife only wanted a chance to coach at a high level and the Swiss opportunity came along before any other. “If there had been similar opportunities in Canada,” said Hamblin, “we would have pursued that. But there weren’t.”

4. Andreas “Andi” Schwaller has hung up his boots… for now. The man who rivalled Stoeckli for Swiss skipping honours throughout this decade – winning world silver in 2001 and Olympic bronze in 2002 – has retired from competition… but perhaps only for a year, as this story would indicate.

You can also listen to a radio interview with Schwaller – in German, of course – on this page.

So, there you go. Anything else for the rest of this North American holiday week?

• CTV’s retrospective Olympic features titled “Where Are They Now?” includes Joan McCusker, and that famed 1998 Olympic championship squad …

• Sudbury, Ontario is currently hosting its annual Dominion Amethyst Curling Camp, which is previewed here and also featured here …

• Three-quarters of Team Jennifer Jones made an appearance last weekend in Blackfalds, Alberta …

• Kansas City, USA curling action takes place on Monday nights through August 31 …

• And finally, the New Zealand curling championships started today, with the finals set to wrap up on Sunday …

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Remember those loveable Curling Zombies?

They took to the streets, which is what zombies do.

They hung out at The Beer Store, which was something new.

They infatuated the Rogers TV folks during last February’s Ontario Tankard.

And believe it or not, they are still groaning their way around the country.

Fresh off this past Saturday’s screening at the CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto, our favourite undead curlers are off to St. John’s in Newfoundland. Deadspiel will make its Eastern Canadian premier at the Nickel Independent Film Festival (June 23-27) with a show date of Thursday June 25, part of the 10:00pm Late Night Horror Show.

The film is also appearing at this week’s Detroit Windsor Film Fest, on Friday, June 26, and then in west-end Toronto at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival in early July.

Another showing will take place at Montreal’s famed Fantasia Festival next month.

We’ve got a recent feature from Independent Scene right here, and a brief trailer teaser was also recently released, which you can see here.

For more on the film, consult the Deadspiel website.

Other stuff…

• Some news from Norway. First, the country has produced its first DVD on curling, a 29-minute how-to which features Pal Trulsen and Thomas Ulsrud. Second, coach Thoralf Hognestad is stepping down from the Norwegian wheelchair curling team, which he guided to two world championships in 2007 and 2008 …

• Sweden has confirmed Team Anette Norberg as their women’s Olympic rep for Vancouver 2010. Meanwhile, young hopeful Niklas Edin is still in limbo, but feels his men’s team will get the nod sometime during or after December. You can see the formal announcements here …

• According to the Vernon Morning Star, the B.C. town will host a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling men’s event in December of 2010 …

• Saskatchewan curling legends Sam Richardson and Jan Betker both make appearances in this short (1:23) video promoting Saskatchewan curling, part of the federal government’s Travel Canada promotion …

• For those of you who are suspicious of clicking on game links that we provide here – and we don’t necessarily blame you for your caution – the developers of the infamous “Brown Cow Curing” videogame (a web-based freebie) have posted some video of their effort …

• And finally, 2008 world champion Jennifer Jones teamed with new Edmonton Oliers hockey coach Pat Quinn for a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ontario …

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In today’s post: the first in a camp series, Kelly Scott’s new lead, Kevin Martin writes his own press and the weirdest curling music video EVER.

So… here’s a first in a series of posts on some of the various “curling camps” available in the off-season. Today, we spotlight the last such camp on the calendar before the “start” of the 2010 Olympic season: the Team Glenn Howard Fantasy Camp.

The second-annual camp takes place in Guelph, Ontario from September 11-13. By all reports, last year’s inaugural camp was a smash hit, complete with a special appearance from 2007 world champion women’s skip Jennifer Jones. The camp even attracted the attention of Team Brazil (photo above), who of course went on to challenge the United States for a spot in April’s Ford Worlds in Moncton.

The 2009 edition promises more for curlers of every skill level. The registration form is available from this page and there’s a special offer available from team sponsor BalancePlus.

Register by June 15 and your name will be entered in a draw to win a new pair of BP 500 Series curling shoes!

Still with the Howards, front-enders Brent Laing and Craig Savill will be teaming up with former teammates Heath McCormick and Andy Ormsby for a four-man charity hike from July 24-26.

Here’s the catch (there are two). First, the entire distance must be covered on foot and all four team members must reach the checkpoints and the finish line together, and within 48 hours.

The second challenge, and the most important part, is for each team to raise a minimum of $2,500 for designated charity Oxfam Canada. But this team, named The Hacks, wants to raise double that amount.

To contribute, head to the Oxfam Trailwalker page and click on “sponsor a hiker”, type in The Hacks, and then choose on of the four team member names to make your donation.

In other news…

• Kelly Scott has announced the name of her new lead player. If you missed the news of the dismissal of former teammate Renee Simons, here’s two links to catch up on: the first and the second. Note the 22 comments posted from readers …

• DID YOU KNOW: that Brooks may lose the Pheasant Classic, the two-year-old Tour event that has been declared the best event on said Tour?

• The final pieces of the 2009-2010 Season of Champions calendar have fallen into place, with the news that the Canadian Seniors will be in Ottawa; the CIS/CCA University Championships, presented by The Dominion, will take place at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton; and that the 2010 TSX Canadian Wheelchairs will be hosted by Kelowna …

• Did you catch the final CBC Sports curling blogpost of the season from Grand Slam host Scott Russell? Well, there you go …

• DID YOU KNOW II: that Winnipeg heat-thrower Jason Gunnlaugson has found a player for next season? The young team is into the Road to the Roar, aka the Olympic Pre-Trials qualifying spiel in Prince George, but contrary to public expectations, the Gunner did not pick up an experienced skip …

• Who loves curling? Alfaj0r loves curling …

• And so does new fan Hannah, a grade eight student in Moncton …

• And so does Jamie Jay Singh, who asks, “Say do you like curling?” And we ask: “Uh, say what?”

• Have you voted for the Curling emoticon yet?

• And finally, DID YOU KNOW III: that Kevin Martin is now a journalist? It’s true. He wrote a story about himself in the Mississauga News, check out the byline …

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