SAULT STE. MARIE, April 16, 2007…. The Canadian Curling Association today confirmed that Sault Ste. Marie will stage next year’s M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships, February 2-10, 2008.
Thirteen men’s and 13 women’s teams, representing the 10 provinces plus Northern Ontario, Northwest Territories and Yukon, will compete in the round robin, which will take place at Soo Curlers Association and Tarentorus Sports Club. At the conclusion of the round robin, the first place teams advance to their respective finals while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals. The women’s and men’s finals will be held at Soo Curlers, with both games televised by CBC-TV.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for Soo Curlers, along with Tarentorus Sports Club and the City of Sault Ste. Marie, to hold the 2008 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors,” said Host committee chairman Andre Litalien. “It will be an exciting week, as the event will coincide with the city's Bon Soo Winter Carnival, the third largest in the country, as well as the OHL All Star game at the Steelback Centre."
The city has previously staged several Canadian curling championships, highlighted by the 1990 Labatt Brier, won by Ontario’s Ed Werenich. It also hosted the 1978 Canadian women’s curling championship, 1980 Canadian junior men’s championship and 1998 Canadian Seniors.
The winners of the 2008 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors will then represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championships in Östersund, Sweden in March. Canada has won a leading 16 junior men’s titles since 1975, including nine of the last 10, and eight women’s crowns since 1988, the last in 2003.
This past season, Alberta’s Charley Thomas won his second consecutive Canadian title in St. Catharines and world junior crown in Eveleth, Minnesota. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Stacie Devereaux, who also won Canadian honours in February, earned a silver medal in Eveleth, losing the final to Scotland in an extra end.
The Canadian junior men’s championship began in 1950 in Quebec City, while the Canadian junior women’s event debuted in 1971 in Vancouver. They were conducted as separate championships until 1987 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, when they were combined.
This will mark the eighth time that a Northern Ontario city has staged the Canadian junior men’s event, but it will be only the fourth time for the junior women’s.
Saskatchewan leads all provinces with 10 Canadian junior women’s wins, while Northern Ontario has yet to capture the crown. Alberta has won a leading 15 Canadian junior men’s titles, including the last two by Charley Thomas, while Northern Ontario boasts four victories...in 1958 (Tom Tod), 1964 (Bob Ash), 1991 (Jason Repay) and 1996 (Jeff Currie).
M&M Meat Shops, Canada's largest retail chain of specialty frozen foods, is entering its third year of title sponsorship of the Canadian Juniors. The first M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors took place in Thunder Bay in 2006 at the Fort William and Port Arthur Curling Clubs, while last season’s edition was held in St. Catharines, at the Jack Gatecliff Arena and St. Catharines Golf & Country Club.
With today’s announcement, the schedule confirmed to date for the 2007-08 Canadian and World Championships season is as follows.
2007 Continental Cup, December 13-16, Medicine Hat, AB
2008 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors, February 2-10, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, February 16-24, Regina, SK
2008 Strauss Canada Cup, February 26-March 2, Kamloops, BC
2008 World Juniors, March 1-9, Östersund, Sweden
2008 Tim Hortons Brier, March 8-16, Winnipeg, MB
2008 World Seniors and Mixed Doubles, March 9-15, Vierumäki, Finland
2008 Ford World Women’s, March 22-30, Vernon, BC
2008 World Men’s, April 5-13, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Still to be announced are the sites and dates for the 2008 Canadian Mixed and Canadian Seniors.
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