IQALUIT, Nunavut, November 10…Saskatchewan, skipped by Darrell McKee of Saskatoon, continues to lead the way at the 46th edition of the Canadian Mixed, which is being presented by First Air.

In Monday morning’s Draw 5, Saskatchewan pulled out a 9-6 win over Alberta (Tom Appelman of Edmonton), counting three in the ninth end, to move to 4-0 atop the standings.

However, right behind, at 3-0 is Manitoba, skipped by Sean Grassie of Winnipeg, after defeating New Brunswick (Scott Jones of Moncton), 8-3.

Behind the undefeated leaders sits Northern Ontario (Ian Fisher of Sault Ste. Marie), at 3-1, after an 11-2 whipping of the Territories (George Lennie of Inuvik).  In the other game, Quebec (Simon Hebert of Thetford Mines) moved to 2-1, tied with Ontario, after edging British Columbia (Greg Monkman of New Westminster), 5-4, by taking a deuce in the 10th end.  British Columbia fell to 2-2.

Play continues with draws at 2:30 pm and 7:00 pm ET today.

Upon completion of the round robin on Friday morning, the first place team will advance directly to the final on Saturday, November 15, while the second and third place teams meet in a semi-final to determine the other finalist.

Alberta has won a leading nine Mixed titles since the championship began in 1964 in Toronto, including last season, when Dean Ross of Calgary defeated Ontario’s Bob Turcotte in the final.

This marks the first time that a Canadian sport championship is being played in the territory of Nunavut, specifically Iqaluit, located about 2,000 kilometres north of Ottawa.

In addition to a Canadian title, two players from the winning team will also represent Canada at the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Championship, slated for April 17-25, 2009 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

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