The Curl PEI Tankard Provincial Men’s Curling Championship gets underway today and wraps up by Tuesday afternoon, while the new Future Tankard junior developmental event goes Saturday and Sunday, with both events taking place at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. Six teams, including the top-seeded Adam Casey rink, ranked number eleven in the nation, are taking part in the Tankard, with the winning team advancing to the pre-qualifier round for the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier, which takes place February 28 – March 8, 2015 in Calgary, AB.

Due to road conditions, Friday Tankard opening draw times have been changed (twice), to 2pm & 6:30pm. Other draws in the event will remain at their originally scheduled time.

The Future Tankard, with three teams signed up, is a developmental event for junior curlers who may one day compete in the Tankard, and takes place on the same weekend and at the same location. Competitors from the Pepsi Junior Men’s Championship are invited to attend. Future event participants will be paired up with an adult team, invited to the meal and the opening ceremonies, and will play three games over the weekend. Opening Future Tankard draw is Saturday at 3:30 PM.

Curl PEI has partnered with BellAliant Community One to bring  live curling action from the Curl PEI Tankard Provincial Men’s Curling Championship.  All Tankard games from sheets one and two at the three sheet club will be webcast exclusively on Community One.

BellAliant Community One has already provided livestream coverage this season from the Curl Atlantic Championship in Charlottetown, along with several curling events in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Island curlers will provide the play by play and colour commentary.

Amy Duncan, Executive Director of Curl PEI says that this new partnership for online coverage “puts PEI in the same league as the other provinces, most of which have either webstream or TV coverage of their major provincial championships.”

To access the webcasts, click on the graphic below, or visit: live.streamit.ca/?player=2223

Live end by end Curlcast results from both events will be available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard. Note that there are separate results websites for the Tankard and the Future Tankard, because they play a different number of ends (10 ends for Tankard games, 8 for the Future Tankard).

Click for end by end Tankard results

Click for end by end Future Tankard results

The website for both events is peicurling.com/tankard20142015/

Tankard Modified Triple Knockout Opening Draws

Friday February 6 at 1 PM (revised time):
Ice 1: Tyler MacKenzie vs Robert Campbell
Ice 3: Blair Jay vs Jamie Newson

Friday February 6 at 5 pm (revised time):
Ice 1: Tyler Harris vs winner Jay/Newson
Ice 3: Adam Casey vs winner MacKenzie/Campbell

Future Tankard Round Robin Draw
Saturday Feb. 7 at 3:30 pm:
Ice 1: Devin Schut vs Alex Gallant
Sunday Feb. 8 at 11 am:
Ice 3: Alex Gallant vs Leslie Noye
Sunday Feb. 8 at 3:30 pm
Ice 1: Devin Schut vs Leslie Noye

Here is the Modified Triple Knockout Tankard Draw.  Four teams are seeded in the draw based on cashspiel winnings at designated events this season. The winners of the A, B, and C qualifying games will advance to the two game qualifying round. Teams can qualify in more than one section. In the event that a team wins all three sections, they will be declared Tankard champ without a qualifying round. If a team wins any two of the sections, they will play in both games CH1 and CH2, and win the title if they take either, while their opponent would have to win both. If there are three separate section winners, the team that played in the most section finals would have a bye to game CH2, and the other teams would square off in CH1, with the winner advancing to CH2. If teams are tied in games played, the earliest qualifier would advance to CH2.

Here is the game schedule, including the round robin draw for the Future Tankard.

*revised draw times

PEI Tankard Team Rosters

Click for previous years’ websites and winners

Future Tankard Rosters

The Suzanne Birt rink from the Charlottetown Curling Complex beat their clubmates the Kathy O’Rourke team by a 10-4 score in eight ends this afternoon to win the PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women’s Curling Championship, sponsored by Kruger Products, at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. It’s Birt’s 8th PEI women’s title. This time she was playing with third Shelly Bradley, second stone Michelle McQuaid, and lead Susan McInnis. Peter Gallant coaches Team Birt.

File photo (L-R): Suzanne Birt, Shelly Bradley, Michelle McQuaid, Susan McInnis

The runner-up O’Rourke team includes Robyn Green, who throws fourth stones, Meaghan Hughes, who tosses third, lead Tricia Affleck, alternate Stefanie Clark, and coach Al Ledgerwood. O’Rourke, who was also runner-up last year, throws second, and calls the game. Both skips are Summerside natives. The winning Birt rink will now advance to the national 2015 Scotties in Moose Jaw SK, Feb. 14-22.

O’Rourke won the A event in the modified triple knockout round, while Birt took the B and C, eliminating defending champion and clubmate Kim Dolan in the latter. The fourth team in the event, skipped by Lisa Jackson out of the Cornwall Curling Club, didn’t manage to pick up a win.

As Birt won two of the three knockout round sections, she would have taken the title had she won either the 1 pm or the 6 pm games today, while O’Rourke would have had to win both. As Birt won on the first try, the evening draw is not required.

In this afternoon’s final, Birt got on the board early, using last rock advantage to draw for a deuce in end one.  O’Rourke’s last-rock-thrower Robyn Green tied it with a draw for 2 in the second end, but Birt responded by drawing for a triple in the third. Green was facing three Birt counters in the fourth end, but made her draw for a single to narrow the score to 5-3. However, Birt drew for a triple in the next end to make it 8-3 going to the fifth end break.

In end six, Green attempted to hit her own rock onto a Birt counter to stay for two, but missed, giving up a steal of 1. Green drew for a single in the 7th to make it 9-4 for Birt. In the eighth, Birt attempted to put the game out of reach with a hit and stick for two, but she rolled out and had to settle for 1. However, one turned out to be enough, as Team O’Rourke decided it was handshake time, with a six rock deficit.

The Future Scotties developmental event for female curlers under 21 was held at the same time and venue as the Scotties, with Lauren Lenentine of Cornwall going 3-0 in the round robin, Lauren Moerike of Charlottetown finishing at 2-1,  Sierra Clyke from Crapaud and the Silver Fox going 1-2, and Kristie Rogers of Cornwall finishing at 0-3

End by end curlcast results are available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard (there are separate results sites for the Scotties, and the Future Scotties, as the events have different numbers of ends).

The Suzanne Birt rink from the Charlottetown Curling Complex will have two chances today to win the PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women’s Championship title in the two game championship series, at 1 and 6 pm. at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. The Birt rink won two sections – the B and the C, of the modified triple knockout draw, and will take the title if they win either game, while  their opponents in both games, the Kathy O’Rourke rink, also from Charlottetown, who won the A section, would have to win both games.

Birt stole a deuce on a measure in the 10th end of the C final Sunday  afternoon in the C final against the defending champion Kim Dolan rink, to come from behind and win their game by a 7-6 score, eliminating Dolan from the competition. Dolan took a 4-1 lead in the 3rd end, when she made a double hit for 4. Birt narrowed the gap with singles in the next two ends, but Dolan took singles of her own in ends six and 7 for a 6-3 lead. Drawing against four Dolan counters, Birt picked up a single in end seven eight. She stole another single in nine when Dolan was light on a draw to the button attempt, to put Birt one down without hammer coming home, but two great draws in the final end gave her the win, when Dolan’s fina stone left two Birt counters.

Here’s the end by end recap of the game:

End 10: Birt makes 2 great draws. Dolan draws to cut them down to 1. Measure for steal of 2. Game over Birt 7 Dolan 6
End 9: Dolan has to draw to button for 1 but is light. Dolan 6 Birt 5 after 9
End 8: Birt draws against 4. Makes it. Dolan 6 Birt 4 after 8
End 7: Birt draws against 3, but is a bit heavy & Dolan steals 1. Dolan 6 Birt 3 after 7.
End 6: Dolan draws for 2 but is light and only gets 1. Dolan 5 Birt 3 after 6
End 5: Dolan tries to hit for 2 but misses stone. Dolan 4 Birt 3 at the 5th end break.
End 4: Birt makes tap back on Dolan stone for single. Dolan 4 Birt 2
End 3: Dolan makes double for 4 to lead Birt 4-1.
End 2: Dolan hits and rolls out for blank. Birt 1 Dolan 0 after 2
End 1: Dolan tries to hit & roll out for the blank, but misses stone. Steal of 1 for Birt. Birt 1 Dolan 0.

The winning team from tomorrow’s championship round  will advance to the national 2015 Scotties in Moose Jaw SK, Feb. 14-22.

The Kim Dolan rink from Charlottetown are last year’s PEI Scotties champs.

Four Scotties and an equal number of Future Scotties teams are taking part. Teams are seeded in the Scotties draw based on results at designated events this season.

The Scotties teams will play a modified triple knockout format, beginning at 2 pm on Friday January 23, advancing section winners to a two game championship round on Monday, January 26 at 1 and 6 PM. With the modified format, teams who win one of the triple knockout sections also drop down to compete in lower sections. In the event that a team wins all three sections, they will be declared the Scotties champs, and the Monday games will not be played. If a team wins any two sections, they will have a “double life” in the Monday championship round, and take the championship if they win either, while their opponent must win both. If there are three separate winners, the team who played in the most qualifying games has a bye to the second game. If tied in games played, the team who qualified earliest will get the bye. Games are ten ends.

The Future Scotties is a developmental event for junior curlers who may one day compete in the Scotties, and takes place on the same weekend and at the same venue. Competitors from the Pepsi Junior Women’s Championship are invited to attend. Future event participants will be paired up with a Scotties team, invited to the banquet and the opening ceremonies, and will play a three game round robin competition on Saturday and Sunday during the event. Games are eight ends, and go Saturday at 10 am and 3 pm, and Sunday at 10 am.

Draw times are Friday at 2 and 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 10 am and 3 pm, with opening ceremonies at 2:15 pm Saturday, and Monday (if needed) at 1 and 6 PM.

Live Curlcast results will be available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard (there are separate results sites for the Scotties, and the Future Scotties, as the events have different numbers of ends).

There will be no admission charge to attend the event.

Event website is: http://peicurling.com/scotties20142015

The winning team from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women’s Championship will advance to the national 2015 Scotties in Moose Jaw SK, Feb. 14-22.

Here is the schedule for both events, incorporating the Future Scotties round robin draw.

Here is the modified triple knockout draw for the Scotties:

Opening draw for Scotties:

Friday January 23 at 2 pm

Ice 2: Kathy O’Rourke (Ch’town) vs Lisa Jackson (Cornwall)

Ice 3: Suzanne Birt (Ch’town) vs Kim Dolan (Ch’town)

Opening draw for Future Scotties:

Saturday January 24 at 10 am

Ice 3: Lauren Lenentine (Cornwall) vs Kaleigh Mackay (Crapaud/Montague/Charlottetown)

Ice 4: Lauren Moerike (Ch’town) vs Kristie Rogers (Cornwall)

Provincial Scotties Rosters

2013/2014 event.

Click for previous Provincial Women’s websites and winners

Future Scotties Rosters

Click for 2013/2014 Inaugural Future Scotties event

The Mel Bernard rink from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside are the 2015 Curl PEI Provincial Masters men’s curling champions, sweeping all three sections of the modified triple knockout draw in the event, taking place at the Cornwall Curling Club, making a championship round, which had been scheduled for Tuesday, unnecessary. They edged the Clair Sweet team from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary by a 6-5 score this afternoon in the “C” final of the event, stealing the final end when Sweet’s last shot, a draw to the four foot, was light.

Photo (L-R): Mel Bernard, Lou Nowlan, Earle Proude, Alan Montgomery

Bernard is curling with three members of last year’s winning team – third Lou Nowlan, second Earle Proude, and lead Alan Montgomery. Last year’s skip, Ted MacFadyen, was unable to compete due to a prior commitment, so Bernard stepped in as skip this year. The rink also recently won the recent provincial Legion curling championships. Nowlan has now won the Masters event 10 times.

Photo (L-R): Wayne Arsenauult, Muncey Harris, Bob Matheson, Clair Sweet

The runner-up Sweet team includes third Bob Matheson, second Muncey Harris, and lead Wayne Arsenault.

Sweet stole the first end in the final game, with the teams trading singles in the next two ends, and blanking the 4th, to give Sweet a 2-1 lead after four ends. Bernard grabbed a 3-2 lead with a deuce in five, but Sweet came back with a hit for three to lead 5-3.  Bernard then tied the game with a draw for two, but Sweet had the last rock advantage coming home. In the final end, Sweet was lying one or two and then put up a guard with his first shot. Bernard tried an “in-off” shot off his second stone and it worked, rolling to the four foot behind cover. Bernard then put up a guard to prevent a raise on one side, leaving Sweet with a draw to the four foot on the other side, which came up light, giving the win to the Bernard foursome.

Photo: Sweet prepares for his final shot

Meanwhile, the  Shirley Berry rink from the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs are repeat Curl PEI Masters women’s champs, winning their first three games of their best of five championship against the Diane MacKay rink, taking the title with a 9-1 score in this morning’s game at the Cornwall Curling Club. MacKay curls out of the host club, and was runner-up last year as well. Berry said that she tried to keep the game simple, minimizing rocks in play, and it worked out for her. The game was tied 1-all after three ends, but Berry pulled ahead with a stolen deuce in the fourth, and then put the game out of reach for the MacKay squad by stealing four points in the fifth end.

Photo (L-R): Butch McGee (coach), Shirley Berry, Sandy Hope, Shelley Ebbett, Arleen Harris

Other members of the winning Berry rink are third Sandy Hope, second Shelley Ebbett, and lead Arleen Harris, with coaches Butch McGee and Bill Hope. Rounding out the MacKay team are third Valerie MacLean, second Debbie Rhodenhizer, and lead Carlene Peters.

Photo (L-R):  Carlene Peters, Debbie Rhodenhizer, Valerie MacLean, Diane MacKay

The Bernard, Sweet, Berry and MacKay teams  have all earned the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships. Dates and venue for this event have not yet been confirmed. The winning Bernard and Berry rinks or the runner-up Sweet and MacKay teams if they don’t choose to attend,  are also 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.

Masters curlers are age 60 and over.

The Mel Bernard rink from Summerside’s Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club could win the PEI Masters Men’s title in this afternoon’s 2 pm draw (note revised time from original schedule) at the Curl PEI Provincial Masters Curling Championships here at the Cornwall Curling Club. The Bernard rink has won both the A and B sections of the modified triple knockout, and has now advanced to the C final. at 2 pm, against Clair Sweet and his rink from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary. If Bernard wins that game, he will take the title. If Sweet wins, the two teams will square off in the first of two championship round games at 9 am on Tuesday. If Bernard wins that game he would take the championship. If Sweet wins, the deciding final would go at 1 pm Tuesday.

Photo: Mel Bernard

Bernard, whose team recently won the Provincial Legion title, beat the Bill Hope rink from the Charlottetown and Cornwall clubs by an 8-3 score in C semi-final play this morning, with the teams shaking hands after Bernard took a triple in the seventh end.

Photo: Clair Sweet

The Sweet team blanked Matt Smith’s Charlottetown rink 9-0 this morning in the other C semi, taking a single in the second end, stealing a deuce and a single in the next two ends and bringing the game to handshakes with a steal of five in the fifth end.

Meanwhile, the  Shirley Berry rink from the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs are repeat Curl PEI Masters women’s champs, winning their first three games of their best of five championship against the Diane MacKay rink, taking the title with a 9-1 score in Sunday morning’s game at the Cornwall Curling Club. MacKay curls out of the host club, and was runner-up last year as well. Berry said that she tried to keep the game simple, minimizing rocks in play, and it worked out for her. The game was tied 2-all after three ends, but Berry pulled ahead with a stolen deuce in the fourth, and then put the game out of reach for the MacKay squad by stealing four points in the fifth end.

The men’s and women’s winners earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships. Dates and venue for this event have not yet been confirmed. The winning men’s and women’s rinks or the runner-up team if they don’t 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.

Masters curlers are age 60 and over.

The Shirley Berry rink from the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs are repeat Curl PEI Masters women’s champs, winning their first three games of their best of five championship against the Diane MacKay rink, taking the title with a 9-1 score in this morning’s game at the Cornwall Curling Club. MacKay curls out of the host club, and was runner-up last year as well. Berry said that she tried to keep the game simple, minimizing rocks in play, and it worked out for her. The game was tied 2-all after three ends, but Berry pulled ahead with a stolen deuce in the fourth, and then put the game out of reach for the MacKay squad by stealing four points in the fifth end.

Photo (L-R): Butch McGee (coach), Shirley Berry, Sandy Hope, Shelley Ebbett, Arleen Harris

Other members of the winning Berry rink are third Sandy Hope, second Shelley Ebbett, and lead Arleen Harris, with coaches Butch McGee and Bill Hope. Rounding out the MacKay team are third Valerie MacLean, second Debbie Rhodenhizer, and lead Carlene Peters.

Photo (L-R):  Carlene Peters, Debbie Rhodenhizer, Valerie MacLean, Diane MacKay

Both the Berry and MacKay teams have earned the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships. Dates and venue for this event have not yet been confirmed. The winning Berry team or the MacKay rink if they don’t 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.

Berry won the first game of the best of five on Saturday morning,  pickeing up four points in the seventh end in a 9-5 win, and had two four point ends in the second game, winning by a 12-4 score.

Meanwhile, the Mel Bernard rink, which includes three out of the four team members of last year’s men’s championship team, have won the “A” section of the ten team men’s modified triple knockout, giving them a berth in the championship round on Tuesday. The rink, which includes third Lou Nowlan, second stone Earle Proude, and lead Alan Montgomery, beat their clubmates from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, the Dale Cannon team (with Blair Jay throwing 4th stones) by a 5-3 score in the “A” final on Sunday morning, coming from behind with a triple in the final end.

Bernard is playing Bill Hope of Charlottetown and Cornwall, while Cannon is facing Clair Sweet of O’Leary’s Maple Leaf club in the B semi-finals, which got underway at 12:30. The winner of these games advance to the B final at 4 pm.

The C semi-final goes Monday at 9 am, with the C final following at 1 pm.

If the Bernard rink wins all three of the modified triple knockout sections, the championship round on Tuesday at 9 am and 1 pm will not be required. If a team wins two of the three sections, they will have a “double life” in the championship round, winning the event if they take either game, while their opponent would have to win both. If there are three separate winners, the team who played in the most qualifying teams will receive a bye to the second game. If teams are tied in qualifying games played, the team who qualified first gets the bye.

End by end results from the Provincial Masters will be available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard/

There is no admission charge to watch the Masters at the Cornwall Curling Club.

Masters curlers are age 60 and over.

There is no admission charge to watch the Masters, and everyone is welcome to come out and watch PEI’s most experienced curlers in action. Soup and sandwiches will be for sale at lunch time, and 50X50 draws are being held.