The 2008 Continental Cup of Curling

Continental Cup of Curling

The Continental Cup of Curling is a curling tournament held annually between teams from North America against teams from the rest of the world. Each side is represented by six teams , and compete using a unique points system. The tournament is modeled after golf's Ryder Cup...

was the 6th edition of this event and was held from December 18–21, 2008 at the EnCana Arena in Camrose, Alberta

Camrose, Alberta

Camrose is a city in central Alberta, Canada, amid some of the richest farmland in the prairies. It is a relatively small city which originally grew up along a railroad and now grows along Highway 13. Camrose is a scenic community with many parks, leading to its moniker "The Rose City"...

. It was the first edition of the Continental Cup in which teams outside of North America and Europe competed, due to the outstanding performance of the Chinese teams in the previous year's men's

2008 World Men's Curling Championship

-Draw 2:April 5, 19:00-Draw 3:April 6, 09:00-Draw 4:April 6, 14:00-Draw 5:April 6, 19:00-Draw 6:April 7, 09:00-Draw 7:April 7, 14:00-Draw 8:April 7, 19:00-Draw 9:April 8, 09:00...

 and women's world championships. To reflect the expanded participation, the team opposing North America was renamed from "Team Europe" to "Team World". The World Curling Federation

World Curling Federation

The World Curling Federation is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation , when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made...

 named the six rinks representing Team World. The Canada Cup of Curling, Tournament of Hearts

2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

The 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling tournament was held February 16-24, 2008 at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. The winner was the 2005 champion team from Manitoba, under skip Jennifer Jones. In winning, they became the first team since Kelley Law's...

 and Brier

2008 Tim Hortons Brier

The 2008 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's men's curling championship, was held from March 8 to 16, 2008 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Skipped by Kevin Martin, Alberta defeated the defending champion, and reigning World Champion Glenn Howard and Team Ontario. The final pitted arguably the top...

 winners automatically qualify as the Canadian rinks in Team North America, while the American contingent in Team North America are represented by their men's and women's champions. The event was won by Team World by a score of 208-192, with the winning points scored in the fourth end in the men's featured skins game.

The prize purse was $88,400 (CAD

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

); each member of the winning team received $2000, while each member of the losing team received $1400.

The Continental Divide, the entertainment centre, was located at the adjacent Border Paving Arena.

The ice technician is Tim Yeo.

Scoring

Each match is worth a different number of points, with a total of 400 available in the event.

Broadcast

TSN

The Sports Network

The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...

 televised every draw of the Continental Cup, with the men's team games and the women's feature skins games on tape-delay (while broadcast live on TSN2

TSN2

TSN2 is a secondary feed of the Canadian English language Category C specialty channel TSN, owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc., a joint venture of Bell Media and ESPN...

) and the remainder of the draws live.

Teams

Team North America was coached by   Jim Waite and captained by   Russ Howard

Russ Howard

Russell W. "Russ" Howard, ONL is a Canadian curler and Olympic champion, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, but originally from Midland, Ontario. His home club in Moncton is Curling Beausejour...

. Team World was coached by   Peja Lindholm

Peja Lindholm

Peter "Peja" Rutger Lindholm is a Swedish curler. He is a three-time world champion skip, winning in 1997, 2001 and 2004. He is also a two-time European champion and a former world junior champion .Lindholm announced his retirement from curling following the 2007 European Curling Championships...

 and captained by   Pål Trulsen

Pål Trulsen

Pål Trulsen is a Norwegian curler from Hosle in Bærum, and was the 2002 Olympic curling men's champion....

.

Team	Country	Home	Skip	Third	Second	Lead
North America		Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....	Craig Brown Craig Brown (curler) Craig Brown is an American curler.Brown is one of the top skips in the U.S. He was the skip of the 2000 and 2008 U.S. champion rinks. At the 2000 Ford World Curling Championships, Brown skipped the U.S. team to a fourth place finish, losing to Finland in the final.Brown played third on the U.S...	Rich Ruohonen	John Dunlop	Peter Annis
North America		Winnipeg, Manitoba	Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (curler) Jennifer Jones is a Canadian curler from East St. Paul, Manitoba. Jones, a lawyer, is corporate counsel for Wellington West Capital and a Windsor Park Collegiate graduate.-Early success:...	Cathy Overton-Clapham Cathy Overton-Clapham Cathy Overton-Clapham is a Canadian curler...	Jill Officer Jill Officer Jill Officer is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Officer plays second for the 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion teams skipped by Jennifer Jones. She currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband Devlin Hinchey.Officer has played with Jones since...	Dawn Askin Dawn Askin Dawn Askin is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She currently plays lead for Jennifer Jones....
North America		Edmonton, Alberta	Kevin Koe Kevin Koe Kevin Koe is a Canadian curler. Originally from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, he now resides in Grande Prairie, Alberta and curls out of Edmonton, Alberta. He is the skip of the current World champion team.... *	Blake MacDonald Blake MacDonald Blake MacDonald is a Canadian curler from St. Albert, Alberta.For much of the team's history, MacDonald threw last rock for the team, while Koe held the broom. The two switched in 2009, with MacDonald throwing third rocks, but Koe still skipping. MacDonald has been playing with Koe since 2006...	Carter Rycroft Carter Rycroft Carter Rycroft is a Canadian curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. He was a member of the Canadian Olympic team, skipped by Kevin Martin that won a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics...	Nolan Thiessen Nolan Thiessen Nolan Thiessen is a Canadian curler from Edmonton. He currently plays lead for Kevin Koe....
North America		Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Stefanie Lawton Stefanie Lawton Stefanie Lawton is a Canadian curler from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After an appearance at the 1997 Canadian Junior Championships, she would go on to win the 2000 Championships with the help of her team of sister Marliese Miller , Stacy Helm and Amanda MacDonald . At the worlds that year, she...	Marliese Kasner Marliese Kasner Marliese Kasner is a Canadian curler from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan. She plays lead for her sister, Stefanie Lawton.-Career:Kasner is a two-time Canadian Junior Champion, having won the title in 2000 playing third for her sister, and winning it in her own right as skip in 2003...	Teejay Surik Teejay Surik Teejay Surik is a Canadian curler.Surik played third for Marliese Kasner at the 2003 Canadian Junior Curling Championships which they won. They then won the World Junior Curling Championships that year, defeating the U.S. in the final. Surik skipped her own Junior rink to a Saskatchewan provincial...	Lana Vey Lana Vey Lana Vey is a Canadian curler from Regina, Saskatchewan.Vey had no prior national championship experience when she was picked up to play third for Jan Betker for the 2006-07 season to replace Joan McCusker...
North America		Edmonton, Alberta	Kevin Martin Kevin Martin (curler) Kevin Martin , nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart", is a Canadian curler from Edmonton. He is a four-time Brier champion, has been to three Winter Olympics and is the gold medal winner in the 2010 Winter Olympics...	John Morris John Morris (curler) John Morris is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medalist from Chestermere, Alberta. Morris plays third for the Kevin Martin team. Morris, author of the book Fit to Curl, is the son of Maureen and Earle Morris, inventor of the "Stabilizer" curling broom...	Marc Kennedy Marc Kennedy Marc Kennedy is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medalist from Edmonton, Alberta. Kennedy currently plays second for Kevin Martin....	Ben Hebert Ben Hebert Ben Hebert is a Canadian curler, a Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medalist, 2008 World Champion and two time Brier Champion from Calgary, Alberta...
North America		Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....	Debbie McCormick Debbie McCormick Debbie McCormick is an American curler from Rio, Wisconsin. Although born in Canada, McCormick moved to Madison, Wisconsin, when she was very young...	Allison Pottinger Allison Pottinger Allison Pottinger is an American curler from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. She currently skips her own team, but is best known as having played for Debbie McCormick in multiple Olympics and World Championships. McCormick left the team in 2010. She competed in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, in...	Nicole Joraanstad Nicole Joraanstad Nicole Joraanstad is an American curler from Madison, Wisconsin. She currently plays third for Allison Pottinger.At the 2000 World Junior Curling Championships, Joraanstad played third for Laura Delaney and won a bronze medal for team USA...	Tracy Sachtjen Tracy Sachtjen Tracy Sachtjen is an American curler from Lodi, Wisconsin.Tracy Sachtjen started curling in 1982 and by 1987 had made her first US Junior National Championships. Her first appearance at the United States National Championships came in 1993 and in 1997 she won her first gold medal at the event with...
World	/	Lockerbie Lockerbie Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...	David Murdoch David Murdoch David Murdoch is a Scottish curler from Lockerbie. Murdoch and his former team of Ewan MacDonald, Warwick Smith, Euan Byers and Peter Smith were the 2006 and 2009 World Curling Champions.-Background:...	Ewan MacDonald Ewan MacDonald Ewan MacDonald is a Scottish curler. He currently plays third for David Murdoch.At his World Championship debut in 1999, MacDonald played second for Hammy McMillan. Their Scottish team would go all the way and win the gold medal defeating Canada in the final, skipped by Jeff Stoughton...	Niklas Edin Niklas Edin Niklas Edin is a Swedish curler. He is one of the top skips in Sweden.In 2004 Edin skipped his Swedish team to a World Junior Curling Championship title. In the final Sweden defeated Stefan Rindlisbacher of Switzerland. The following year he was an alternate for the silver medal winning Swedish...	Euan Byers Euan Byers Euan Byers is a Scottish curler.Byers started playing curling in 1983. He plays in first position and is right-handed...
World		Härnösand Härnösand Härnösand is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 18,003 inhabitants in 2005. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape rises just some miles north of Härnösand...	Anette Norberg Anette Norberg Anette Norberg is a Swedish curler from Nacka. She and her team are the current Olympic women's curling champions, having won the 2010 Women's Curling tournament in Vancouver...	Kajsa Bergström Kajsa Bergström Kajsa Magdalena Bergström is a Swedish curler. The younger sister of curler Anna Le Moine, she has skipped for the club Sveg CK for the past two years....	Cathrine Lindahl Cathrine Lindahl Cathrine Lindahl is a Swedish curler from Östersund.Lindahl plays second for her sister Anette Norberg's team...	Anna Svärd Anna Svärd Anna Maria Le Moine , is a Swedish curler. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, she was the lead for the Swedish team who won the gold-medal after a thrilling final game...
World		Davos Davos Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...	Mirjam Ott Mirjam Ott Mirjam Ott is skip of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team. She has participated in several Olympic Games contests and has won numerous awards in many other curling events worldwide...	Carmen Schäfer Carmen Schäfer Carmen Schäfer is a Swiss curler, born 8 January 1981 in Davos. She plays third for Mirjam Ott.Schäfer had a fairly successful Junior career. She was the alternate on the Swiss team that won the 1999 World Junior Championships, but she did not play any games...	Valeria Spälty Valeria Spälty Valeria Spälty is a Swiss curler.Spälty started curling in 1992. She plays second for Mirjam Ott and is right-handed....	Janine Greiner Janine Greiner Janine Greiner is a Swiss curler.Greiner started curling in 1989. She plays lead for Mirjam Ott and is right-handed.- Teammates :2010 Vancouver Olympic GamesMirjam Ott, SkipCarmen Schäfer, Third...
World		Harbin Harbin Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...	Wang Bingyu Wang Bingyu Wang Bingyu is a Chinese curler. She is the skip of the national team, and throws last rocks.-Curling career:Wang began curling in 2001. By 2004, she played in her first international event- skipping the Chinese team at the World Junior B Curling Championships...	Liu Yin Liu Yin (curler) Liu Yin is a Chinese curler from Harbin. She plays third on the Chinese national team, skipped by Wang Bingyu.Liu has played internationally for China since 2002, when she was an alternate on the team at the Pacific Curling Championships when she had only been curling for two years.In 2004, she...	Yue Qingshuang Yue Qingshuang Yue Qingshuang is a Chinese curler. She currently plays second on the Chinese national team, skipped by Wang Bingyu....	Zhou Yan Zhou Yan (curler) Zhou Yan is a Chinese curler. She plays lead for the Chinese national team, skipped by Wang Bingyu.Zhou curled in her first tournament after having only curled for 2 years, at the 2002 Pacific Curling Championships. At that time she played third for the team...
World		Harbin Harbin Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...	Wang Fengchun Wang Fengchun Wang Fengchun is a Chinese curler. He is the skip of the national team.Wang was selected by the Chinese government to play the sport of curling. In China, the national team curls as their profession. By 2002, he played in his first international event- when he played third for Xu Xiaoming at the...	Liu Rui Liu Rui Liu Rui is a Chinese curler.After a slow start in the 2009 World Men's Curling Championship, Liu switched to throw 4th stones while Fengchun Wang continued to call the game and throw 3rd stones.-Teams:...	Xu Xiaoming Xu Xiaoming Xu Xiaoming is an internationally elite curler from China.His team won bronze in the Curling at the 2007 Asian Winter Games and he will be competing for China at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In Vancouver he will throw Second stones for the Chinese team....	Zang Jialiang Zang Jialiang Zang Jialiang is an internationally elite curler who trains out of Harbin, China.He made his world championship debut at the 2008 Grand Forks World Championships. Team China achieved their best result to date. In the round robin portion they achieved upset wins over Team Canada and Team Norway...
World		Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...	Thomas Ulsrud Thomas Ulsrud Thomas Ulsrud is a Norwegian curler.Ulsrud has curled professionally since 1983. In his second World Junior Curling Championship in 1988, Ulsrud skipped Norway to a bronze medal....	Torger Nergård Torger Nergård Torger Nergård is a Norwegian curler.Nergård has curled professionally since 1987 and currently plays third for Team Thomas Ulsrud. At Junior level, he played third at the 1991 and 1992 World Junior Curling Championships for Thomas Due, and skipped his own team in 1996...	Christoffer Svae Christoffer Svae Christoffer Svae is a Norwegian curler who currently plays second for Team Thomas Ulsrud.At Junior level, Svae played second for Team Thomas Løvold and won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Curling Championships "B" tournaments.Svae formally joined Team Ulsrud in 2007 having played...	Håvard Vad Petersson

* Throws third rocks

Draw 1 (December 18)

Draw 4 (December 19)

Draw 3 (December 18)

Draw 6 (December 19)

Draw 2 (December 18)

Draw 5 (December 19)

Singles

Team World wins the eight points for the greater aggregate score for singles play, 96-93.

Draw 8 - December 20

Women's Skins

Draw 7 contains the 20-point game, Draw 9 is the 30-point game, and Draw 10 is the feature game.

Draw 7 - December 20

Draw 9 - December 20

Draw 10 - December 21

Men's Skins

Draw 7 is the 20-point game, Draw 9 is the 30-point game, and Draw 10 is the feature game.

Draw 7 - December 20

Draw 9 - December 20

Draw 10 - December 21

Draw 7 - December 20

Draw 9 - December 20

Sources

Official Site