The World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing, is equal parts entertaining and competitive. There’s no team that embodies that fun and light-hearted spirit more than Thomas Ulsrud’s Norway team.
Their exuberant demeanor always catches the attention of curling fans around the world and Ulsrud once again brings that to Canada for his ninth straight World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Service Experts. Ulsrud is joined in London, Ont., at The Sports Centre at Western Fair District by third Torger Nergård, second Christoffer Svae and lead Håvard Vad Petersson.
Ulsrud needs no introduction in the world of curling. He’s been to the world men’s championship 11 times as a skip, winning the event in 2014 and losing in the final in 2015. He’s also claimed the bronze medal thrice (2006, 2008, 2009).
But the Norwegian team’s influence goes beyond curling. In 2010 they garnered worldwide attention for wearing their bright and colourful pants at the Olympic Winter Games. Although it’s also worth noting the team made an exceptional run to the Olympic final and earned silver medals after a loss to Canada’s Kevin Martin.
Ulsrud was also at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, losing in a tiebreaker match to Great Britain’s David Murdoch, who happens to be Team World’s captain at the upcoming World Financial Group Continental Cup this Jan. 11-14.
Team Ulsrud is one of 10 men’s and women’s teams that will use this event as a warm-up for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
But his team’s path the Olympics was not solidified until the 2017 European Curling Championships in November. The Norwegian Curling Association announced Ulsrud must qualify for the playoffs in order to play as Team Norway at the Olympics. If Ulsrud finished outside the playoff picture, his team would have played a best-of-five series against upcoming Norwegian team Steffen Walstad.
Ulsrud’s 6-3 round robin record at the European Curling Championships was fourth overall and just enough to qualify him for the European playoffs and the Olympics.
The World Team at the World Financial Group Continental Cup consists of Ulsrud (Norway), Niklas Edin (Sweden), Peter de Cruz (Switzerland), Satsuki Fujisawa (Japan), Silvana Tirinzoni (Switzerland) and Anna Hasselborg (Sweden). Two-time (2006, 2009) world men’s champion David Murdoch (Scotland) is the Team World captain and 2013 world men’s champion Fredrik Lindberg is coach.
There are still tickets available for the 2018 World Financial Group Continental Cup in London, Ont. Go to www.curling.ca/2018continentalcup/tickets/ for more information.