4 more teams added to pre-Olympic curling trials
CBC Sports | Posted: May 26, 2017 5:05 PM | Last Updated: May 26, 2017
Tournament will be held from Nov. 6-12 in Summerside, P.E.I.
Curling Canada has announced a four-team expansion at November's Road to the Roar pre-Olympic trials in Summerside, P.E.I.
In order to avoid using too many tiebreaker mechanisms for the Olympic qualification process prior to the Winter Olympics, four teams — two on the men's side and two on the women's side — were added to the field to give more competitors an increased chance to be a part of the race.
The tournament will be held from Nov. 6-12 at Credit Union Place ahead of the Roar of the Rings, the Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled from Dec. 1-9 in Ottawa. There, the men's and women's teams will compete for the right to represent Canada at the Olympics.
"I'm very pleased that more teams will get this kind of experience," said Gerry Peckham, Curling Canada's director, high performance. "It's important that teams get a chance to perform under these circumstances — not just for this Olympic cycle, for the future as well, and I think this was the most equitable solution, not to mention the most beneficial as we look beyond 2018. This event is as much about getting teams ready for 2022 and 2026 as it is about 2018, and it's yet another reminder that the Olympic qualification process truly is the engine that drives competitive curling in our country."
The two additional teams were added based on their performance on the 2016-17 Canadian team ranking system.
The change means that Mark Bice of Sarnia, Ont., and Jamie Murphy of Halifax will be able to participate, while on the women's side both Karla Thompson and Briane Meilleur will compete.
The teams will be seeded 1 through 14 and split into two pools of seven for round-robin competition.The top-three teams from each pool will enter the playoff round for a chance to advance to the Olympic trials.
Here's an updated look at skips of the participating teams:
Men
- Greg Balsdon, Kingston, Ont.
- Mark Bice, Sarnia, Ont.
- Brendan Bottcher, Edmonton
- Adam Casey, Charlottetown/Regina
- Dayna Deruelle, Brampton, Ont.
- Matt Dunstone, Winnipeg
- Jason Gunnlaugson, Winnipeg
- Glenn Howard, Penetanguishene, Ont.
- Bruce Korte, Saskatoon
- William Lyburn, Winnipeg
- Jean-Michel Ménard, Gatineau, Que.
- John Morris, Kelowna/Vernon, B.C.
- Jamie Murphy, Halifax
- Charley Thomas, Calgary
Women
- Shannon Birchard, Winnipeg
- Nadine Chyz, Calgary
- Kerri Einarson, Winnipeg
- Tracy Fleury, Sudbury, Ont.
- Jacqueline Harrison, Mississauga, Ont.
- Shannon Kleibrink, Okotoks, Alta.
- Stefanie Lawton, Saskatoon
- Krista McCarville, Thunder Bay, Ont.
- Briane Meilleur, Winnipeg
- Sherry Middaugh, Coldwater, Ont.
- Darcy Robertson, Winnipeg
- Kelsey Rocque, Edmonton
- Karla Thompson, Kamloops, B.C.
- Julie Tippin Woodstock, Ont.