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:
- Winner of 2011 Canada Cup (November 30-December 4 in Cranbrook, B.C.)
- CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) leader for 2011-2012
- Winner of 2012 Canada Cup (date/site to be announced)
- CTRS leader for 2012-2013
- CTRS leader for 2011-2013 (2-year total)
- CTRS leader for 2011-2013 (2-year total)
- Pre-Trials winner
- Pre-Trials winner
- The top four teams from the 2010-11 season
- The top four teams from the 2011-12 season
- The top two teams from the 2012-13 season
- The final two teams will earn invitations based on their two-year CTRS points (2011-2013).