KAMLOOPS, February 29….Pat Simmons and Kevin Martin have advanced to a second tiebreaker Saturday morning to determine the second place finisher in the men’s Section A of the Strauss Canada Cup.

Friday evening at the Interior Savings Centre, Simmons defeated Mike McEwen, 8-6, while two-time Cup winner Martin edged Jeff Stoughton, 8-7 in an extra end.

Along with the men’s second tiebreaker between Martin and Simmons, the Page 1 vs 1 games will also be contested at 8:30 am PT/11:30 am ET, live on CBC-TV, as Cheryl Bernard plays Stefanie Lawton and Kevin Koe meets Brad Gushue.

The winners advance to Sunday’s finals at 9:00 am PT/12 Noon ET, live on CBC-TV, while the losers go to Saturday evening’s semi-finals.

Saturday afternoon, the Page 2 vs 2 games will be held at 1:30 pm, with Jennifer Jones battling Kelly Scott, and Glenn Howard taking on the winner of the morning tiebreaker.  The winners also advance to the semi-finals.

The winners of the Strauss Canada Cup not only receive $25,000, but more importantly, also become part of the pool of 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams eligible for the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, which will determine Canada’s representatives for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The winning teams also earn berths into the 2008 Continental Cup in Camrose, Alberta as members of Team North America and return as the defending Canada Cup champions when the event moves to Yorkton, Saskatchewan next year.  

-30-