The Cornwall Curling Club is hosting the Provincial Masters Curling Championship, with men’s and women’s divisions for curlers age 60 and over, beginning a week from this Friday, on January 16. The event was formerly held during weekday mornings and afternoons, but was moved this year to include the weekend, with weekday draws on the Friday and the following Monday and Tuesday at 9 am and 1 pm. The Saturday and Sunday weekend draws go at 9 am, and 12:30 and 4 pm. Because of this event, there will be no morning “drop-in” or afternoon stick curling on January 16, 19, and 20, and no Sunday practice time or junior curling on January 18. Junior team practices can go as scheduled on the Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Evening draws would not be affected.
Here’s a look at the event schedule. Women’s games begin with “W”. Some games may not be needed, depending on outcome of previous games.
There are 10 men’s and two women’s teams entered, with four of the men’s, and both of the women’s rinks coming, at least in part, from the host club. Here are the entries:
Masters Men’s Team Rosters
| Skip | 3rd | 2nd | Lead | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Arsenault | Ron Giggey | Roy Coffin | Edgar Coffin | Cornwall Curling Club |
| Mel Bernard | Lou Nowlan | Earle Proude | Alan Montgomery | Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club |
| Ray Biagé | Tom Dunn | Frank Weiler | Edmond Richard | Cornwall Curling Club |
| Dale Cannon (1st) | Blair Jay (4th) | Des Arsenault | Jim Evans (2nd) | Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club |
| Barry Craswell | Bryan Sutherland | Paul Field | Alva Clarey | Cornwall Curling Club |
| Bill Hope | Craig Mackie | David Murphy | Bill Doherty | Charlottetown/ Cornwall |
| Bob Maynard | Harry Williams | Bruce Montgomery | Spike Martin | Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club |
| Matt Smith | Julien Gaudin | Shoji Yamamoto | Bill McGuire | Charlottetown Curling Complex |
| Clair Sweet | Bob Matheson | Muncey Harris | Wayne Arsenault | Maple Leaf Curling Club |
| Louis Walsh | Doug Waugh | Steven Bent | Walter Benson | Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club |
Masters Women’s Team rosters
| Skip | 3rd | 2nd | Lead | Coaches | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirley Berry | Sandy Hope | Shelley Ebbett | Arleen Harris | Butch McGee, Bill Hope | Cornwall/ Charlottetown |
| Diane MacKay | Valerie MacLean | Debbie Rhodenhizer | Fran Whitlock | Cornwall/ Montague |
Click for previous Masters championships
Defending champs are the Shirley Berry rink from Cornwall and Summerside’s Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, and the Ted MacFadyen team from the Fox. MacFadyen is not back this year, but his three teammates are, skipped by Mel Bernard. The men’s and women’s winners and runners-up (which will mean both women’s teams this year) will earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships (still haven’t found out when and where it is). The winning teams, or the highest-finishing men’s and women’s rinks that choose to attend, are invited to participate in the 2015 NVA Hotel Divison Canadian Masters Championships, March 30 to Apr. 5 at the Whitehorse Curling Club in the Yukon.
The men’s teams will play a “modified” triple knockout, advancing teams to a two game championship round on Tuesday the 20th. In the modified format, teams who qualify in the A or B sections of the triple knockout also drop down to subsequent sections, so it’s possible that a team could win all three sections. If that happens, the championship round will not be needed, and they will be declared the champion. If a team wins two sections, they will have a “double life” in the championship round, earning berths in both games, and winning the event if they take either, while their opponent would have to win both games. If there are three separate winners, the team that played in the most section finals advances to the second game, with the other two teams playing off in the semi-final. If there is a tie in the number of qualifier games they played in, the team who qualified first gets the bye to the championship final.
The women’s draw is much simpler – the two teams play a best three out of five series.
Here’s a look at the men’s draw. The teams have not yet been assigned to the draw slots:
Event website: peicurling.com/masters20142015/
Volunteers required: Games are eight ends. Masters games are NOT timed, so we will not need to provide any timers. We will, however, need a volunteer at each draw to sell 50X50 tickets at the door and around the Club. It may only be feasible to have a 50X50 at the draws that use all four sheets, so we’ll probably make a decision on the smaller draws depending on how many are there. In the past, many of the tickets have been bought by the players themselves, so we’ll try to have someone there early to sell them.
We’ll also need someone to update the scores after each end with our laptop and the CCA’s Curlcast scoring system (instructions will be provided). We also plan to sell food during the event, so volunteers (usually from the daytime curlers) will be needed to plan, prepare, and serve the meals (soup, chili, sandwiches, etc.). We would need lunch ready by 11:30am on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with sandwiches for sale from the bar after that. We probably don’t need lunch on the Monday or Tuesday due to the limited number of teams playing (to be decided). We would provide complimentary coffee before the morning draw, and muffins would be provided, perhaps for a Loonie, on the honour system (does anyone work for a company that wants to donate some donuts??).
This event does not have a banquet or opening ceremonies. The ice crew will likely require sweepers at the fourth end break.
The signup sheets – one for food, one for 50X50 and scoring, are now up.
I would appreciate your suggestions, corrections, and feedback!
– Derek MacEwen, 2015 Masters Ch’ship Coordinator