The Eye Opener - Day 4

"

"

"

## ! ## CanadaĘźs Kevin Martin (left) and Thomas Ulsrud of Norway are leading the pack with 5-0 records and on a collision course tonight at at the Fords Worlds.

! ##

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 2

The EYE OPENER EDITOR Larry Wood ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Komosky INFO-CURL QUOTIDIEN: Normand Leger PHOTOGRAPHER: Mike Burns Jr. PUBLISHED BY: The Times&Transcript

Draw to the Button Competition Participating curling clubs in the Maritimes have held competitions to determine their representative at the “Draw to the Button Competition. Qualifying round on Friday, April 10th at 1 p.m. at Curling Beausejour Inc. The finalists will compete during the fifth-end break at Friday night’s 7:30 p.m. playoff game.

Autograph Session – Proudly sponsored by Hansen Signs Former world champions and the 12 participating teams will be available for autographs in The Patch each day until Thursday, April 9. On Saturday, April 11th, 10 of the 12 teams will be on hand. Bring your cameras for a lasting memento.

Schedule: Tuesday, April 7 — 6-7 p.m. SUI / USA / SCO / GER Wednesday, April 8 — 6-7 p.m. CAN / CHN / FRA / JPN Pin Trading and Map of the World Pin Draw – Proudly sponsored by Lounsbury Group Visit the Pin Trader booths in the Patch.

Show us where you’re from! Find the world map located in the Keith’s Patch and stick a pin on your home town, get an entry from the

Information Booth, and enter the draw to win a wonderful prize. The draw will be made during the page playoff game (draw 18) on Friday evening, April 10.

Up Close and Personal – Proudly sponsored

by InColor, Aliant and Coca-Cola Come and meet teams, media and international personalities in the relaxed setting of the Keith’s Patch. Participate in live, informative interview with former world champions, Team Canada, TSN media and other special guests.

Asking questions of these guests involves audience participation, so join us for what promises to be an informative and fun event.

Tuesday, April 7 6-7 p.m.

Up Close and Personal Peja Lindholm, Sweden • 1997, 2001, 04 World Champion Randy Ferby, Canada • 1989, 2002, 03, 05 World Champion David Smith, Scotland • 1991 World Champion Wednesday, April 8 6–6:30 p.m.

Up Close and Personal Team Canada

Npodupo Spdlt" Npodupo/ Ebot mf gfv ef mĂ–bdujpo"

Usbotmbujoh uif Xpsme Œ Upvu vo npoef ‰ usbevjsf Usbotmbujoh uif Xpsme

60

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 3

The German tandem of Andreas Kempf (left) and Andreas Lang bear down on their brushes in a game Monday against Canada.

Big guns go eye-to-eye Martin, Ulsrud poised for classic showdown

By LARRY WOOD Eye Opener Editor

L

ook out for fireworks tonight at the Coliseum!

The Canadians and Norwegians, ploughing an undefeated collision furrow at the Ford World men’s curling championship, will go head-on at 7:30 p.m.

The prospect of this battle of the undefeated, of course, hinges on Switzerland’s Ralph Stoeckli, who could toss a mean monkey SEE wrench into the proceedings earlier today by spoilSCORES, ing the winning record of Page 13 either leader. The Swiss, struggling at 2-and-3, face Canada at 10 a.m. and Norway at 3 p.m. today.

Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud survived a pair of tight fits on Monday to extend his winning

streak. The Norsemen scored a 10th-end deuce to nudge John Shuster’s Minnesotans 7-5 in the morning round, then shaded China’s winless Fengchun Wang of Harbin 7-6 in the afternoon.

By contrast, Kevin Martin’s Canucks blitzed Jiri Snitil’s Czechs 10-4 in the afternoon and then kept their composure in a 6-4 late-shift assignment against Germany’s Andy Kapp.

Discussing the merits of each other, Martin noted that Ulsrud would rather draw than hit “so, obviously, we’ll be trying to make him hit”.

“Yeah,” replied Ulsrud, an habitual quipster with a penchant of hearty guffaws. “I’d rather draw than hit but I have another problem when I go to play Martin because he’s a great hitter and a great drawer. But I’ve figure out what may be his weakness. I’m going to make him guard!”

Yup. Chuckle. Guffaw.

Scotland’s David Murdoch, meanwhile, remained a game off the leading pace at 4and-1 heading into his pair today. The Scots

thumped Kelle Kiiskinen of Finland 7-2 and Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi 7-5.

“Hans (icemaker Wuthrich) has done an amazing job of turning a sauna into a curling rink,” said Murdoch. “The ice is fantastic.

We’re making all our tough shots now and being consistent with our draws and that gives us confidence in the ice.

“This is what we were looking for, four wins in our first five games. We know we’re better finishers than starters so the fact we’re 4-and-1 means we’re doing something right.

“The last few big events we’ve always lost a couple early. But we need to make sure we have some wins on the board with Norway and Canada coming up on the last two nights of the round robin.”

On that score, Stoeckli has that same tough assignment today.

“We’re in deep do-do,” said the Swiss skip. “We’ve lost a couple of games by last rock that we were supposed to win. I had a couple of chances to tack up scores tonight and I never made them. That way you don’t deserve to win.”

And now . . .

“All we can do is stay positive and do our best. Every team is beatable and once we can put our percentages up we can beat all of them. That’s the only way we can look at it.

“But it isn’t the easiest way to get your self-confidence, playing Canada. I don’t feel very comfortable with draw weight and that’s bad when you’re the skip. I just don’t have the touch out there.”

France’s Thomas Dufour clicked with the hammer in the 10th to ditch the Swiss 6-5 Monday night after Stoeckli stopped Denmark 9-6 in the morning.

“We’ve had had three games like that and two easy ones,” said Ulsrud following his win-streak extension. “We haven’t been too sharp. But they don’t give any grapes for how you look out there. It’s as long as you win. And this keeps us alert. When you’re 5and-0 you’re starting to feel good. Maybe we’re saving our best shots for Tuesday night.

PLEASE SEE WORLDS P11

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 4

$ ! $!# #

$ $ ! #

# # ( $ ## # !

(

$ & ) # !

# $ $ $ $ #$

# !#) ' # $

)

' $ !'

$ !# $ $ & # %#

! # & # ! $! # ! #

! $(

* # !

$& ! ## # !

) !

! & ! #

# $ #$ $ $

$& * $

# $ !#)

& # !# $

# $

! # ! ! #

! $

# $ $& $ $ !'

60

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 5

U

4]` ]c` Q][^ZSbS [S\c O\R Sfb`O a^SQWOZa dWaWb ca ]\ZW\S Ob eee ^WhhORSZWUVb Q][

<TeeL <L^_L ?LWLO^

<TeeL < r_P^ ?LWLOP^ DWaWbSh \]ca Oc eee ^WhhORSZWUVb Q][ ^]c` \]b`S [S\c Q][^ZSb Sb \]a a^{QWOcf 2W\S 7\ BOYS =cb O\R 2SZWdS`g AOZZS u [O\US` Q][[O\RSa u S[^]`bS` Sb ZWd`OWa]\ / `SUWabS`SR b`ORS[O`Y ]T >2; @]gOZbWSa :W[WbSR >O`b\S`aVW^ caSR c\RS` ZWQS\aS C\S [O`_cS RS Q][[S`QS S\`SUWab`{S RS >2; @]gOZWbSa :W[WbSR >O`b\S`aVW^ cbWZWa{S a]ca ZWQS\QS

60

6 Tuesday, April 7 2009

EDITOR Larry Wood ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Komosky INFO-CURL QUOTIDIEN: Normand Leger PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Burns Jr. PUBLISHED BY: The Times&Transcript

The Wood file

French skip Thomas Dufour has already qualified for the Olympics.

Frenchmen committed to improving their game, curling’s profile back home

A

36-year-old ski guide from Chamonix in the French Alps, Thomas Dufour is the latest in a sparse line of mountain men bent on directing a spotlight on the sport of curling in France.

He has an excellent chance of being the most successful, too, in that he’s skipped two straight six-game winners at the world men’s curling championship and the average French win output over 28 world appearances is roughly 2.6.

To boot, only one French skip in history — Pierre Boan of Megeve in 1973 at Regina — has won seven matches at a Worlds renewal and nobody else has won six . . . or five, for that matter.

Representing a nation with a spotty record in producing competitive entries, Dufour put his current batting order together three years ago and has been anything but a laughing stock ever since. In fact, his French team has a lock on a berth in the 2010 Olympic tournament.

“We have come from nowhere,” he says.

“Like, no ice and no stones to speak of in France any more. So we are very proud to go to the Olympics but it’s not the only goal.

Yes, we want to have a chance for a medal in Vancouver. But we want to go further. We want the curling to improve in France.”

Until Dufour and his mates — Tony Angiboust, Richard and Jan Ducroz — came along, there never was much threat of improvement ever transpiring.

“We hope if we make some results people will get more interested in curling,” he says.

“In France, the Olympics is very big but the world curling championship and the European curling championship, they are noth-

ing.”

Dufour argues that France isn’t really considered a winter sports nation.

“In the Alps you can find good skiers and good ski teams and the French hockey team is not too bad.”

But after that? Nothing.

“We won’t get far with this project on our own, though,” says Dufour. “We need support and we need to generate interest. We hope this will develop if we can get an Olympic result.

“I’m pretty sure something can happen from this, we can get more people involved. There are players and teams who can have long careers in curling. We want people to go to the ice rink and ask, ‘How can I play curling, what can I do, where can I find a club?’ I think there are people who will want to play and they have to be given the opportunity, with the help of the sports authorities.”

Dufour and his cohorts certainly lead the French league in commitment.

Two years ago, they travelled to Montreal and spent the Christmas holidays and some time thereafter training for the team’s first Worlds as a unit.

“We really wanted to perform well,” Dufour recalled at the 2007 show in Edmonton.

“We’ve been giving a lot of time for curling. We are just sick and fed up with losing games too easy. We want to have fun on the ice and play good games. If we lose and we play well and we are close — OK, we lose.

But we decided there’ll be no more shaking hands every time after six ends. We are tired of that. We either try to improve or we just stop curling.”

Oh yes, and . . .

“We also would like to be at the Worlds

LARRY WOOD

every year — and we haven’t been there so often.”

Matter of fact, the French had been around the scene only five times since 1993. Back in the youth stages of the Worlds, France was represented at every men’s gathering from 1966 through 1982. They even staged an Air Canada Silver Broom world championship at Megeve in 1971. But the promotion failed to put a dent in the apathetic French outlook toward the sport.

And that apathy continued until Dufour and his gang, products of a fair junior program, showed up at Montreal. A couple of years earlier, Quebec’s Guy Hemmings offered to head up a teaching program in France and was politely rejected by authori-

ties, without much thanks.

“I was playing a club game at Lachine one night, my phone rang, I answered it and they told me three of them had come to town basically to play against Montreal competition and they needed a coach,” recalled Dan Rafael, who has since become China national-team coach.

“I said, ‘OK, fine, you called the right guy because I know everybody in the game around here’. So I fixed up some games for them, they played at different clubs, in a lot of tournaments, 64 games in all. Plus practice which, for them, was three to four hours a day.”

PLEASE SEE WOOD P11

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 7

60

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8

Profile: Germany HOME CLUB: FUSSEN CURLING CLUB (FUSSEN)

FACTS

Andy Kapp SKIP

Born: So Bavaria. nthofen, Age: 41 Residence Family: W: Unterthingau. daughte ife Ute, r son Ben Lena (8), ja daughte min (6), r Anne (5 Employm ). frozen fo ent: GM Won: Tw od store. o junior titl German German es, 11 m titles, sil en’s ver medal at Worlds, 2007 th German ree O trials win lympic gold meds, two Euros. als at

Andreas Lang THIRD Born: Schwenningen.

Age: 29.

Residence: Schwangau.

Family: Single.

Employment: Sales engineer.

Years curling: 13.

First major success: 1999 German junior champion.

Won: Silver medal at 2007 Worlds, bronze medal at 2008 Euros.

THE COUNTRY Population: 83,160,331 Area: 357,021 km sq Location: Bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Status: Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8 and OECD. It is a major economic power with the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest in purchasing power parity. The country is recognized as a scientific and technological leader in several fields.

Motto: “Unity and justice and freedom”.

Capital City: Berlin Principal Products and Industries: Of the world’s 500 largest stock market listed companies measured by rev-

Holger Hohne SECOND Born: Fussen.

Age: 38.

Residence: Fussen.

Family: Wife, Sabine; daughter Mia (8), son Linus (4).

Employment: Optometrist.

First major success: 1992 Euros, gold medal.

Won: 1992 and 1997 Euros, bronze at 1994, 1995 and 2005 Worlds, silver in 1997 and 2007 Worlds.

enue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 companies are headquartered in Germany.

GERMANY AT THE WORLDS 2008 — Andy Kapp, Fussen (5-6) 2007 — Andy Kapp, Fussen (10-6) 2006 — Sebastian Stock, Oberstdorf (4-7) 2005 — Andy Kapp, Fussen (8-5) 2004 — Sebastian Stock, Oberstdorf (7-4) Last championship: None.

DID YOU KNOW n Germany’s first global curling appearance was in the 1967 Scotch Cup world men’s championship at Perth, Scotland.

Andreas Kempf LEAD Born: Waiblingen.

Age: 41, Residence: Grafenberg.

Family: Partner Susanne Bader.

Employment: Financial manager, Doblinger Group.

First major success: 1998 German men’s champion.

Won: Bronze in 2005 Worlds, silver in 2007 Worlds.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 9

Profile: U.S.A. HOME CLUB: DULUTH CURLING CLUB (DULUTH)

FACTS

John Shuster SKIP

Born: Ch Age: 26 isholm, Minn.

Residen ce: Chish Minn. olm, Family: F ia Marshall ncee Sara Employm.

Assistan ent: t Duluth C manager, urling Clu First majo b. cess: 20 r suc0 men’s ch 3 U.S. Won: Go ampion. ld at 2007 W medal Universit orld Games, y b medal at ronze Olympic 2006 G 2010 US ames, Olympic trials.

Jason Smith THIRD Born: Robbinsdale, Minn.

Age: 25.

Residence: Duluth, Minn.

Family: Single.

Employment: Bartender, Duluth Curling Club.

Years curling: 10 First major success: 2005 U.S. junior champion.

Won: 2010 US Olympic trials.

THE COUNTRY Population: 306,154,706 Area: 9,826,630 km sq Location: The country is situated mostly in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific.

Status: The U.S. is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world.

Motto: “God's help, the love of the people, Denmark's strength.”

Capital City: Washington Principal Products and Industries: The economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It is the largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per

Jeff Isaacson SECOND Born: Virginia, Minn.

Age: 25.

Residence: Gilbert, Minn.

Family: Single.

Employment: School teacher.

Years curling: 11 First major success: 2005 U.S. junior champion.

Won: Gold medal at 2007 World University Games, 2010 US Olympic trials.

capita are relatively low. The leading export commodity is electrical machinery, while vehicles constitute the leading import. Chemical products represent the leading manufacturing field.

THE U.S. AT THE WORLDS 2008 — Craig Brown, Madison, Wis. (5-6) 2007 — Todd Birr, Mankato, Minn. (8-5) 2006 — Pete Fenson, Bemidji, Minn. (7-5) 2005 — Pete Fenson, Bemidji, Minn. (8-4) 2004 — Jason Larway, Seattle, Wash. (2-7) Last championship — 1978: Bobby Nichols of Superior, Wis. DID YOU KNOW n The U.S.’s first global curling appearance was in the three-team 1961 Scotch Cup world men’s curling championship in Scotland.

John Benton LEAD Born: Afton, Minn.

Age: 39 Residence: Saint Michael, Minn.

Family: Wife, Carrie.

Employment: Senior engineer, Fairview Health Services.

First major success: 2009 U.S. men’s championship.

Won: 2009 U.S. men’s title, 2010 US Olympic trials.

10 Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Info-curl quotidien

L

e curling a traversé bien des périodes depuis son invention et c’est grâce aux modifications des règlements, aux nouvelles techniques et stratégies et aux conditions de la glace qu’il est devenu un sport bien plus intéressant pour les spectateurs.

Les frères et cousins Richardson ont remporté le premier championnat mondial de curling en 1959 pour le Canada et 50 ans plus tard, ils sont présents à Moncton pour savourer leur célébrité et également pour promouvoir ce sport qui leur a permis de placer le nom de Richardson à l’avant plan dans les médias. Les quatre membres de l’équipe championne étaient Ernie, Garnett (Sam), Wes et Arnold Richardson. « C’est fantastique de voir le curling aujourd’hui, a dit Wes Richardson. Le Canada a eu de très bonnes équipes et nous sommes ici pour appuyer notre formation canadienne à ce championnat. C’est tout un honneur pour nous d’être à Moncton et les invités de la Fédération mondiale de curling. Nous sommes encore tous

Par Normand Léger

là 50 ans après et nous avons témoigné bien des changements.

Les conditions de la glace sont excellentes aujourd’hui parce qu’on fait la glace pour le curling alors que dans notre temps, on jouait sur toute sorte de surface, même extérieure. Le calibre de jeu est excellent et s’est amélioré Lʼéquipe Richardson a remporté le premier championnat mondial de curling en 1959. De gauche à droite: Lillian, Arnold, Arlene et Wes Richardson. de beaucoup. » dit Arnold. Il y a eu plusieurs changements majorité des équipes sont très compétitives.

L’équipe Richardson a toujours joué avec dans la fabrication de la glace et à l’avantage Selon Wes, le curling lui a permis de se des balais alors qu’aujourd’hui, tous jouent du sport au fil des années. Les pierres sont avec une brosse. « J’ai toujours cru que le balai développer comme personne et il est flatté de était bien mieux que la brosse, mais après avoir voir que 50 ans plus tard, les gens se rappellent également plus développées et l’ajout de détecteurs électroniques pour la ligne de jeu ont encore de leur formation. surveillé quelques parties ici, je crois que la éliminé l’erreur humaine. Je suis content Arnold Richardson a fait remarquer que la brosse est mieux aujourd’hui. » d’avoir pu assister aux parties du 50e anformation devait se rendre aux Jeux Âgé de 79 ans, Wes, qui habite Hawaï, niversaire. Je dois dire que j’ai pris ma reolympiques de 1964 alors que le curling desouligne que le jeu est bien plus intéressant traite du curling compétitif en 1968 et je n’ai vait être un sport de démonstration. « Malpour les spectateurs aujourd’hui en raison des pas lancé de pierre depuis 1978. Je n’ai pas heureusement, on n’a pu y aller parce qu’ils modifications dans les règlements. Il ajoute n’ont pas pu trouver personne pour faire de la l’intention de reprendre à jouer,» a-t-il terque le curling est joué dans un nombre considminé en riant. glace pour le curling et le tout a été annulé, a érable de pays aujourd’hui et que la grande

Un banc des médias construit par des bénévoles Les spectateurs au Colisée de Moncton auront certainement remarqué le banc des médias qui se trouve à l’extrémité de la glace.

Cette structure imposante a été construite par des bénévoles et les 11 personnes responsables de sa construction ont mis cinq jours à la monter et environ cinq semaines pour construire ses différentes composantes.

Le responsable de la construction, Glen Morrison, est bien fier du projet fini et spécialement de ses ouvriers qui ont réalisé une œuvre tout en surmontant un nombre intéressant de défis.

Le coût des matériaux a été d’environ 7 500 $ avec l’achat de 75 feuilles de contreplaqué, 10 000 vis et plusieurs montants de 2 X 4 en

plus de poutres de 2 X 6 et 2 X 8. Il a fallu 550 heures/personnes pour sa construction sur et hors site. « Nous avions des charpentiers, des rénovateurs et des gens qui aiment travailler le bois, a dit Morrison. Je dois les remercier pour leur travail sans arrêt. Nous avions certains défis; cette structure était comme construire une maison à cinq niveaux sur une colline. Il fallait également trouver un moyen de supporter la structure dans le passage de 14 pieds de large sous la structure, construire des marches dans des endroits étroits et serrés et faire courber la structure pour qu’elle s’installe bien au-dessus des sièges.

Nous avons eu à faire bien des calculs et des plans parce que nous avons construit certains éléments à

l’avance. » Morrison a souligné que, entre autres, Brian Henderson a grandement aidé lors de la construction et que l’un des ouvriers, Peter Trenholm, avait pu bénéficier du banc lors des cérémonies d’ouverture parce qu’il est membre des Sussex Ave Fiddlers, un groupe de musiciens qui s’est manifesté lors du spectacle. Les outils spécialisés utilisés lors de la construction étaient la propriété de Brian Powers et le groupe a pu prendre avantage des connaissances de Scott Gillis, un fabricant d’escaliers.

Le prochain défi viendra dimanche prochain alors que le banc sera démonté dans une journée afin de préparer le Colisée pour le hockey. « Je crois qu’il sera possible

Le banc des médias a exigé 550 heures /personnes de travail bénévole et est étalé sur 5 étages à lʼextrémité du Colisée. de le faire, il y a très peu de clous mais d’habitudes, c’est plus facile à dans la structure, ce sont tous des enlever que d’installer », a conclu vis. On verra bien lundi prochain, Morrison.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 11

Wood From Page 6

% & $ $

"

$ $ $ "

" " " " #'' $

! "

" "

Dufour and his mates rented an apartment in Montreal and played and practised regularly at the Longue-Pointe and Boucherville curling clubs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We spent a lot of money on this,â&#x20AC;? admitted Dufour back then.

Rafael admitted he was hyped by the French commitment and â&#x20AC;&#x153;poured all my experience â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 30 years worth â&#x20AC;&#x201D; into itâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not lack of ice, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not lack of talent but a lack of experience,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re kidding yourself if you think these guys donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know the game. They are a super-aggressive team.

They love playing that way. They only play an open game if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re running out of time.â&#x20AC;?

You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear Dufour saying much about tactics. He prefers a modicum of self-deprecation. All the better to set you up for the big fall, mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;dear. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are a brand new team,â&#x20AC;? he said in Edmonton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a lot of experience. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play so well sometimes. We never know what to expect. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a surprise the way we play. Normally we have this complex that when you get on the ice we are too nervous because we think we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong.â&#x20AC;?

No longer. That was 2007. This is now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the guys on the team are pretty good ski racers but not good enough for the World Cups or the French ski team,â&#x20AC;? Dufour recalls of the old days when he and his buddies got into the sport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had some friends who were playing curl-

Worlds From Page 3 Martin might have close out Kapp in the eighth end with a three-count looming until the German skip executed a raise slash double with his last rock to stay within two points. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What a shot he makes there,â&#x20AC;? said Martin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had some rocks problems the first four ends but we figured that out. Ten tough ends doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt.â&#x20AC;?

In fact, it was the first complete game of the week for the Canadians. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m relaxed, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m comfortable,â&#x20AC;? said Martin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The big thing on a week like this is staying relaxed, staying calm and getting enough rest so youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve conserved some energy for the end.â&#x20AC;?

Among those concerned with a finishing number is Denmarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ulrik Schmidt, who needs a few more wins to assure his nation of an Olympic Games berth next February in Vancouver.

Denmark climbed into a traffic jam Monday at 2-and-3 along with Germany, Japan and the Swiss.

And the Danes remained in the hunt with a clutch 7-3 conquest of France in the afternoon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say qualifying for the Olympics has much to do with the fund our sport will get,â&#x20AC;? Schmidt said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so im-

ing and we got on the ice and played with them.

We liked the game, we liked the team effort. We were used to individual sports like skiing but not team sports. So when we got into curling and the team aspect we found it very interesting.

The team checked in with current Canadian coach Andre Ferland at Trois-Rivieres in January and returned in March to prepare for this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Coliseum stint.

And the preparation for the Olympics will require even more time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want as many tournaments and practices as we can get, wherever we can find some ice, possibly in Switzerland â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we go there often,â&#x20AC;? says Dufour. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And we will probably spend some weeks practising and playing in Canada in the autumn or early winter. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the planning stage right now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Time is a big question for us. The federation is going to help us a lot with funding. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an irony here. Always, in the years before, I was asking my guys to take days off for curling and now they have arranged days off for next year and I may be the guy with the problem.â&#x20AC;?

In the summer season Dufour works in security at a tourist resort â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Les Gorges de Diosax â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a 3.5 km-long canyon featuring endless waterfalls, precipitous cliffs, spectacular scenery and walking tours. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The season runs through October,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Olympics, and you know Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to find a way.â&#x20AC;?

Hopefully, he and his mates will find a way, too, where curling in concerned in their home country.

All together now, Vive Le France!

portant for curling in Denmark because we get such fantastic television coverage during the Olympics. We get all our games televised and between Olympics they show none on national TV. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, for promoting the sport itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tremendous for us.â&#x20AC;?

Denmark is not a winter sports nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll only be curlers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team already has qualified â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two other athletes, a couple of snowboarders or something like that, so that means the Winter Olympics in Denmark is curling,â&#x20AC;? said Schmidt.

There has been another payoff to all this, too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have three curling rinks today and prior to Nagano we had one sheet of ice,â&#x20AC;? said Schmidt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those rinks would not have come without the Olympics, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure. We have another, a fourth rink coming up. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really popular. Membership is not huge but there are a lot of pay-and-play curlers and the clubs are running well.â&#x20AC;?

So how many wins will Denmark need to reach safe ground? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not good at math,â&#x20AC;? said Schmidt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have to win our next game, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all I know.â&#x20AC;?

France finished Monday at 3-and-2 alongside John Shusterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Americans who took advantage of a wide-open last-rock gas from Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Riu Lui to escape with an extra-end steal and a 9-8 win. China remained winless.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 12

Règles gÊnÊrales Les billets 50/50 seront vendus au coÝt de 1,00 $ chacun.

Des billets 50/50 seront vendus pour tous les tirages, y compris durant les sĂŠries ĂŠliminatoires, au complexe ColisĂŠe-Agrena de Moncton.

Des billets 50/50 peuvent ĂŞtre vendus dans la section ÂŤ Rendez-vous Âť.

Un montant ĂŠquivalant Ă 50 % des ventes brutes de billets sera attribuĂŠ.

Tous les gagnants doivent avoir au moins 18 ans pour pouvoir rĂŠclamer un prix.

Les prix seront remis aux gagnants sous la forme dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;un chèque. Les chèques seront ĂŠmis le premier jour ouvrable du tournoi.

Les profits seront distribuĂŠs aux clubs de curling de la rĂŠgion de Moncton aux fins de dĂŠveloppement des programmes une fois que tous les coĂťts dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;impression et les autres coĂťts associĂŠs au tirage 50/50 auront ĂŠtĂŠ dĂŠterminĂŠs.

Les bĂŠnĂŠvoles qui vendent des billets 50/50 durant un tirage ne seront pas autorisĂŠs Ă acheter des billets.

Les ventes de billets 50/50 commenceront 30 minutes avant le dĂŠbut de

chaque tirage et vers la fin du sixième bout.

Le billet 50/50 gagnant sera tirĂŠ par un spectateur choisi au hasard, et le tirage aura lieu en prĂŠsence dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;au moins deux membres du comitĂŠ organisateur.

Le numĂŠro du billet 50/50 gagnant sera inscrit sur le tableau dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;affichage principal Ă proximitĂŠ du comptoir de billets 50/50, de mĂŞme que dans la zone ÂŤ Rendez-vous Âť, le plus tĂ´t possible après chaque tirage.

Le numĂŠro du billet gagnant de chaque tirage sera ĂŠgalement annoncĂŠ Ă lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;interphone Ă la fin de chaque bout.

Tous les prix du tirage 50/50 doivent ĂŞtre rĂŠclamĂŠs au comptoir de billets 50/50 situĂŠ dans le hall principal du complexe. Chaque fois quâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;un prix sera rĂŠclamĂŠ, les bĂŠnĂŠvoles du comptoir dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;information aviseront les organisateurs du comitĂŠ 50/50, qui prendront les dispositions nĂŠcessaires pour le paiement.

Les prix pourront ĂŞtre rĂŠclamĂŠs au plus tard 15 minutes avant le dĂŠbut de la partie pour la mĂŠdaille dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;or, le 12 avril 2009.

Tous les prix non rĂŠclamĂŠs seront regroupĂŠs en un prix combinĂŠ, dont le gagnant sera dĂŠterminĂŠ par le tirage au sort dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;un deuxième billet parmi tous les billets vendus le dimanche 12 avril 2009.

Le gagnant de ce deuxième tirage 50/50 le dimanche 12 avril 2009 recevra le prix combinÊ admissible.

V & R P H 6 H H 2 X U 5 R FVN DQG 6DQG\ %HDFKH

VR UW 0R GH O 6X LWH 'D LO\ 6K XW WOH WR 9LV LW 5H Q &R OLV HX P 0L QX WH V IU RP 0R QF WR

"2 02

0 9 " 0

60

$FWXDO VXQVHW RQ RXU EHDFK

Â? 0LQXWHV IURP 0RQFWRQ ,QWHUQDWLRQDO $LUSRUW Â? NPV RI 6DQG\ %HDFKHV Â? $FUHV RI 1DWXUDO /DQGVFDSH Â? 5RRI 7RS 3DWLR ZLWK -DFX]]LÂ&#x203A;V Â? &RXUW\DUG ZLWK *D]HERV 3LFQLF DUHDV Â? ,QGRRU DQG RXWGRRU SRROV Â? 7HQQLV &RXUW Â? )LWQHVV DUHD Â? 0DLG /DXQGU\ &RQFLHUJH 6HUYLFH Â? %RXWLTXH 6SD Â? /DUJH 3ULYDWH %DOFRQLHV

9LVLW RXU ERRWK RQ WKH &DQWHHQ OHYHO IRU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ Â?

U

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 13

STANDINGS Canada (Martin) Norway (Ulsrud) Scotland (Murdoch) USA (Shuster) France (Dufour) Denmark (Schmidt) Germany (Kapp) Japan (Morozumi) SUI (Stoeckli) Czech Rep. (Snitil) Finland (Kiiskinen) China (Wang)

W 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 0

L 0 0 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 5

DRAW SCHEDULE TODAY

LINESCORES MONDAY DRAW 6 10 a.m.

Germany (Kapp) 020 301 020 01 — 9 Czech Rep. (Snitil) 202 010 200 10 — 8 S P % S P % GER 88 278 79 CZE 88 260 74 USA (Shuster) 010 100 201 0 — 5 Norway (Ulsrud) 100 002 020 2 — 7 S P % S P % USA 80 228 71 NOR 78 230 74 Scotland (Murdoch) Finland (Kiiskinen) S P SCO 63 226

020 111 02x x — 7 101 000 00x x — 2 % S P % 90 FIN 63 206 82

SUI (Stoeckli) Denmark (Schmidt) S P SUI 88 238

002 020 301 1 — 9 110 202 000 0 — 6 % S P % 74 DEN 79 233 74

DRAW 7 3 p.m.

Norway (Ulsrud) 002 102 020 0 — 7 China (Wang) 010 010 201 1 — 6 S P % S P % NOR 79 272 86 CHN 80 262 82 Czech Rep. (Snitil) 010 201 0xx x — 4 Canada (Martin) 204 020 2xx x — 10 S P % S P % CZE 56 159 71 CAN 56 189 84

Denmark (Schmidt) France (Dufour) S P DEN 72 223

002 010 103 x — 7 100 001 010 x — 3 % S P % 77 FRA 71 204 72

Finland (Kiiskinen) 202 020 010 0 — 7 Japan (Morozumi) 020 102 102 2 — 10 S P % S P % FIN 80 240 75 JPN 80 258 81

DRAW 8 7:30 p.m.

Japan (Morozumi) Scotland (Murdoch) S P JPN 79 258

102 000 100 1 — 5 020 300 020 0 — 7 % S P % 82 SCO 78 269 86

Scotlandʼs Ewan MacDonald (left) and Euan Byers share a laugh.

France (Dufour) SUI (Stoeckli)

002 100 200 1 — 6 100 011 020 0 — 5 S P % S P % 80 246 77 SUI 80 250 78

FRA

Canada (Martin) 201 011 010 x — 6 Germany (Kapp) 010 200 100 x — 4 S P % S P % CAN 80 286 89 GER 79 238 75 China (Wang) USA (Shuster) CHN

110 200 211 00 — 8 004 020 000 21 — 9 S P % S P % 88 277 79 USA 88 264 75

SHOOTING PERCENTAGES (CUMULATIVE) Skip Third Second Lead TEAM

CAN

SCO

FIN

CZE

SUI

NOR

JPN

83 86 86 88 86

76 86 85 82 82

65 77 75 84 76

70 70 75 82 74

74 67 79 85 76

83 77 78 85 79

68 80 78 80 76

GER CHN 71 78 81 88 79

65 74 79 86 77

FRA

DEN

USA

65 81 78 79 76

76 72 79 74 75

72 78 79 78 76

Draw 9 10 a.m.

A — CAN vs. SUI B — CHN vs. SCO C — JPN vs. USA D — FRA vs. GER Draw 10 3 p.m.

A — USA vs. DEN B — GER vs. FIN C — SUI vs. NOR D — SCO vs. CZE Draw11 7:30 p.m.

A — FIN vs. FRA B — CZE vs. CHN C — DEN vs. JPN D — NOR vs. CAN WEDNESDAY Draw 12 10 a.m.

A — CZE vs. JPN B — NOR vs. FRA C — FIN vs. CAN D — DEN vs. CHN Draw 13 3 p.m.

A — CHN vs. GER B — CAN vs. USA C — FRA vs. SCO D — JPN vs. SUI Draw 14 7:30 p.m.

A — SCO vs. NOR B — SUI vs. CZE C — GER vs. DEN D — USA vs. FIN

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 14

" !## "

30

60

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 15

Icemaker needs to be a cool customer

By DAVE KOMOSKY Eye Opener Associate Editor

H

eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not out of the woods yet but head icemaker Hans Wuthrich is breathing a little easier these days after a harrowing first day of competition at the Ford world menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curling championship at the Coliseum.

Wuthrich faced a critical situation Saturday as warm temperatures in the building turned the four sheets of ice into frosty highways. The frost buildup created such hazardous conditions that even some routine shots turned into an adventure for most teams.

But by Monday morning all was right with Wuthrichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s icy world again. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This morning they (conditions) were actually perfect,â&#x20AC;? said Wuthrich, generally agreed to be one of the best icemakers in the world. The reason is the temperature outside stayed cool overnight (4 degrees C). The night before it hardly cooled off at all, so we had a real problem. We couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cool off the building whatsoever.â&#x20AC;?

Wuthrich says the heat started to build Friday night when a full audience sat in on a lengthy opening ceremonies. And with little in the way to cool off the building, the situation

was ripe for disaster, especially with warm outside temperatures. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was the worst, ever, for me,â&#x20AC;? said Wuthrich, who has been making ice for Canadian and world championships for the past 15 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My brine temperature, supply temperature was minus 1.6 Fahrenheit to keep the ice frozen. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the coldest Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had it in my entire icemaking career.â&#x20AC;?

But turning the brine down that low created a whole new headache. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you have to keep the ice that cold,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you are always worried that something could happen to the machinery. Something could bust and then weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d really have a heck of a problem.â&#x20AC;?

All of which created a couple of sleepless nights for the man from Gimli, Man. Right now conditions are holding, but a new threat is appearing on the horizon in the way of increased temperatures and humidity. The forecast for the Moncton area calls for temperatures between 13 and 15 degrees C and rain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too good,â&#x20AC;? says Wuthrich. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll keep our fingers crossed. Mother Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not always right. If the weather cooperates, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have no problems. Otherwise, it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be good, at all.â&#x20AC;?

Hans Wuthrich has a handle on conditions, for now.

- * (*# ( ( # + * # ( % *# *% %% % + % ( *# %* ( ( + # #%( % % ( * #%( - *# % ( %

( # ( % ( # , # % (, # % #+ % ( ( , %( # %% - *# * ( ( # !* # (% - ( %( # (% # * ( + (-" ( * ( ( , ( # # % ( ( + ( -

).. *( % *( %$ * ( - ( # $&

- # (# # % *( % $ % # %( # (# #

- ( ( # (# # % # ( # #(- ( # # % ( + , #% 60

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 16

9KHB

Oekh mWo je j^[ (&'& J_c >ehjedĂ&#x160;i 8h_[h ! ! !!

! & " ! $

! !

%

$ ! " ! ! " ! " ! ! ! " ! !

! ! ! # ! ! ! " " !

60