Winnipeg awarded 2013 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials

The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) today announced that Winnipeg will stage the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials, which will determine Canada’s representatives for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The Trials will be held December 1-8, 2013 at the 15,000-seat MTS Centre.  Similar to the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials in Edmonton, eight men’s and eight women’s teams will compete in a round robin format, with the top three teams qualifying for the playoffs.   The first place teams advance directly to the finals, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals, with the winners also moving on to their respective finals. In making the announcement today, Greg Stremlaw, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Curling Association, said, “A few weeks ago, the Canadian Curling Association released the details of the Olympic qualification process for the sport of curling in Canada.  The culmination of this process will be the prestigious 2013 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials. “Based on the formal Request for Proposal that the CCA has now completed and the comprehensive review of all candidate bid cities, we are very pleased to announce that the City of Winnipeg has been chosen to host this world-class event.   There were six excellent formal bids in total, with both Ottawa and Saskatoon joining Winnipeg as the three short-list finalists.” “We believe that Winnipeg will do an outstanding job of hosting this event and act as the final selection of our athletes who will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.” It was also announced today that Monsanto Canada has extended its agreement with the Canadian Curling Association to continue to be the official presenter of both the Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials and the Pre-Trials. Six teams from each gender will qualify directly into the Trials, while the final two teams will emerge from a Pre-Trials competition, at a site to be announced in the next couple of months. The eight teams will be decided as follows:
  1. Winner of 2011 Canada Cup (November 30-December 4 in Cranbrook, B.C.)
  2. CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) leader for 2011-2012
  3. Winner of 2012 Canada Cup (date/site to be announced)
  4. CTRS leader for 2012-2013
  5. CTRS leader for 2011-2013 (2-year total)
  6. CTRS leader for 2011-2013 (2-year total)
  7. Pre-Trials winner
  8. Pre-Trials winner
“Tim Hortons is proud to be the title sponsor of the 2013 Canadian Curling Trials – the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings,” said Bill Moir, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, Tim Hortons.  “The Canadian Curling Trials is a world class event and we look forward to being a part of this prestigious event again in 2013.”

Greg Stremlaw, CEO, Canadian Curling Association and Rob Forbes from Tim Hortons (Photo: Michael Burns Photography)

This will mark the third time that Tim Hortons has sponsored the Trials, following the 2005 and 2009 editions.   The popular Canadian-owned company began its involvement as a Season of Champions title sponsor with the 2005 Brier in Edmonton and recently renewed its contract through 2014. TSN will provide blanket coverage of the 2013 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Monsanto, with coverage of all draws, including playoffs.  TSN will also carry approximately 20 hours of live coverage of the Pre-Trials. “Monsanto Canada is pleased to once again be the presenting sponsor of this exciting and important event in the curling calendar.  The opportunity for the very best men’s and women’s curling teams in the country to play for the right to represent our country is an experience that is second to none,” said Trish Jordan, Public and Industry Affairs Director, Monsanto Canada. “What makes it even more special is that Winnipeg is home to Monsanto’s Canadian head office and we know the passion Winnipeg and Manitoba have for the sport of curling.  Hosting this event will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase our city and we look forward to being there with our employees, our customers and other curling fans from across the country to cheer on the teams.” Winnipeg has hosted a number of major curling championships in past, including five Briers, the latest in 2008 when Alberta’s Kevin Martin won the Tim Hortons Brier while undefeated, before capturing the world men’s title in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Attendance for the nine-day event was 165,075. It also marks the second time that Manitoba has hosted the Trials.   The first time was in 1997 at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, when Saskatchewan’s Sandra Schmirler and Ontario’s Mike Harris emerged victorious, before going on to win gold and silver, respectively, at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The 2013 Pre-Trials, also presented by Monsanto, will be held November 6-10 and will comprise 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing in a triple knockout, leading to a modified Page Playoff, with two men’s and two women’s teams eventually qualifying for the Trials. The 12 Pre-Trials teams, per gender, will qualify from the CTRS as follows:
  1. The top four teams from the 2010-11 season
  2. The top four teams from the 2011-12 season
  3. The top two teams from the 2012-13 season
  4. The final two teams will earn invitations based on their two-year CTRS points (2011-2013).
Teams already qualified for either the Trials or Pre-Trials will be replaced from the CTRS.  Details will be posted on the CCA’s website (www.curling.ca). The 2011 Canada Cup in Cranbrook will be the first event to qualify teams directly into the 2013 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Monsanto. The Canada Cup field, a seven-team round robin leading to a playoff involving the top three, will be composed of the 2010 Canada Cup winners, Glenn Howard and Stefanie Lawton, who won that event last December in Medicine Hat, Amber Holland, winner of the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown and this year’s Tim Hortons Brier champion, plus the top five teams on the CTRS, as of April 30, 2011, who have not already qualified. For more information, please contact: Greg Stremlaw Chief Executive Officer Canadian Curling Association [email protected] (c) 613.799.9993