MEDICINE HAT, ALBERTA, July 4…The rosters for the 2007 Continental Cup of Curling, featuring Team Europe versus Team North America, have now been confirmed.

The Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto, will hold its fifth edition, December 13-16 at the Medicine Hat Arena. Each side has won the event twice since the unique competition began in 2002 in Regina. This year’s ‘Cup’ will offer a purse of $88,400, with each member of the winning team receiving $2,000, while each losing team member gets $1,400.

Team North America consists of four teams from Canada and two teams from the United States. The Canadian contingent is composed of Kelly Scott of Kelowna, the reigning women’s world champion, Winnipeg’s 2005 Canadian champion Jennifer Jones, Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey, a record six-time Brier winner and four-time world champion and Coldwater, Ontario’s Glenn Howard, a three-time Brier winner and reigning men’s world champion.

Scott earned her Cup berth by taking the 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Lethbridge (and subsequently the 2007 world women’s championship in Aomori, Japan), while Howard won the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier in Hamilton (and also the Ford world men’s championship in Edmonton). Jones and Ferbey earned Cup berths by capturing the 2007 Strauss Canada Cup in Kamloops last March.

Scott played in last year’s Continental Cup in Chilliwack, British Columbia while Ferbey participated in the first three Cups.

The United States will send its current national champions…Todd Birr of Mankato, Minnesota, the bronze medallist at the 2007 Ford world men’s, and Debbie McCormick of Madison, Wisconsin, the 2003 world champion and a two-time Cup participant.

Pat Ryan, a three-time Brier winner, two-time world champion and reigning Canadian senior men’s champion, will be the captain for Team North America while Elaine Dagg-Jackson is the coach.

Team Europe is composed of 2006 world champion David Murdoch of Scotland, also a two-time Cup participant, Germany’s Andy Kapp, a two-time (1997, 2007) world men’s silver medallist, Switzerland’s 2006 European champion Andreas Schwaller, who was also the 2002 Olympic bronze medallist and 2001 world men’s silver medallist, Denmark’s Angelina Jensen, the 2007 world women’s silver medallist, Scotland’s 2007 world women’s bronze medallist Kelly Wood and Russia’s Ludmila Privivkova, winner of the 2006 Le Gruyère European championship.

The captain will be 2002 Olympic gold medallist Rhona Martin while Canadian-born Rodger Schmidt, who has coached Italy at a number of recent world women’s championships, will coach Team Europe.

Patterned somewhat after golf’s Ryder Cup, the Continental Cup brings together six teams representing Team North America and six teams wearing Europe’s colours in a four-day competition involving Team games (72 points), Mixed Doubles (36 points), Singles (32 points) and Skins games (260 points). The first side to score 201 points is declared the winner.

Team North America and Team Europe are knotted at two wins apiece after the first four editions. In 2002, Team North America edged Team World at the inaugural ‘Cup’ in Regina, 207-193, decided by a thrilling men’s final Skins game between Kevin Martin and Peja Lindholm, which went down to last rock.

In 2003, Team Europe turned the tables, winning 208-179 in Thunder Bay while in 2004, Team North America recaptured the title by a 228-172 score in Medicine Hat, before a record four-day crowd of 42,317.

Last November in Chilliwack, it was Europe’s turn to even the score, winning 229-171, when all of the curling medallists from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy participated.

CBC-TV will provide live weekend coverage across Canada of this year’s Cup, including the women’s and men’s final Skins games on Sunday.

The Continental Divide, the entertainment centre for the event, will be located in the Medicine Hat Curling Club.

Some of the world’s best-known teams have competed in past Continental Cups. In addition to this year’s line-up, others include teams skipped by Canada’s Kevin Martin, Brad Gushue, Kelley Law and Colleen Jones, Norway’s Pål Trulsen and Dordi Nordby, Sweden’s Elisabet Gustafson, Anette Norberg and Peja Lindholm, Scotland’s Rhona Martin, Jackie Lockhart and Hammy McMillan, Germany’s Andrea Schöpp and Finland’s Markku Uusipaavalniemi.

The Continental Cup is a joint venture of the Canadian Curling Association, the United States Curling Association and the World Curling Federation.

2007 CONTINENTAL CUP, PRESENTED BY MONSANTO

TEAM EUROPE
Captain: Rhona Martin, Scotland Coach: Rodger Schmidt, Switzerland

Women

• Denmark (Tårnby CC, Tårnby) Angelina Jensen, Madeleine Dupont, Denise Dupont, Camilla Jensen
• Russia (Moskvitch CC, Moscow) Ludmila Privivkova, Olga Jarkova, Nkeiruka Ezekh, Ekaterina Galkina
• Scotland (Dun CC, Montrose & Stirling Ice Rink Sports Club, Stirling) Kelly Wood, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers, Lindsay Wood

Men

• Germany (CC Füssen, Füssen) Andy Kapp, Andy Lang, Holger Höhne, Andreas Kempf (*Uli Kapp unavailable due to work commitments)
• Scotland (Lockerbie CC, Lockerbie) David Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith, Euan Byers
• Switzerland (CC Baden Regio, Baden-Dättwil) Andreas Schwaller, Ralph Stöckli, Thomas Lips, Damian Grichting

TEAM NORTH AMERICA
Captain: Pat Ryan, Canada Coach: Elaine Dagg-Jackson, Canada

Women

• Canada (Kelowna CC, Kelowna, BC) Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter, Renee Simons
• Canada (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, MB) Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jill Officer, Dawn Askin
• United States (Madison CC, Madison, Wisconsin) Debbie McCormick, Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad, Natalie Nicholson

Men

• Canada (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, ON) Glenn Howard, Richard Hart, Brent Laing, Craig Savill
• Canada (Granite CC, Edmonton, AB) Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque
• United States (Mankato CC, Mankato, Minnesota) Todd Birr, Bill Todhunter, Greg Johnson, Kevin Birr

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