Howard, Martin and Gushue secure top three seeds for season’s second Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event
GUELPH, ONT., December 7, 2009 – The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling announced today the section groupings and draw schedule for The National, the second leg of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. from January 6-10, 2010.
Featuring a $100,000 (CDN) purse, The National is one of the last major international curling events prior to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The tournament will be contested just six weeks prior to the start of the opening ceremonies in Vancouver. Featuring 18 of the world’s top foursomes, the field for The National will include Canada’s yet to be determined Vancouver 2010 representative.
Team Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) will enter the event as the tournament’s top seed. The opening draw of the tournament is set for Wednesday, January 6 at 8:00 p.m. and will feature Howard, reigning Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.), reigning World Championship gold medallist David Murdoch (Lockerbie, Scotland) and defending champion Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.).
The National features three sections of six teams. Teams were systematically allocated into sections based on their standing in the Capital One Order of Merit rankings. (Note: Number in bracket denotes Capital One Order of Merit seeding).
| Section A | Section B | Section C |
| (1) Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) | (2) Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.) | (3) Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) |
| (6) Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.) | (5) Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) | (4) Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) |
| (7) Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.) | (8) Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) | (9) David Murdoch (Lockerbie, Scotland) |
| (12) Ted Appelman (Edmonton, Alta.) | (11) Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) | (10) Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) |
| (13) Dale Matchett (Bradford, Ont.) | (14) Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) | (15) Sean Geall (New Westminster, B.C.) |
| (18) John Shuster (Duluth, Minnesota) | (17) Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) | (16) Jason Gunnlaugson (Beausejour, Man.) |
Following the conclusion of round robin play, the top eight teams, regardless of their section grouping, qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, January 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The tournament’s semi-finals are set for later that same evening at 7:00 p.m. ET while the event’s final will be contested on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Individual tickets and ticket packages for The National are currently on sale to the public. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phoning (519) 837-5630.
The draw for The National is as follows. **All times local Eastern standard time. Schedule subject to change.
As part of its exclusive agreement, CBC will air live playoff coverage of the first three men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events. CBC will also broadcast the men’s and women’s finals of the 2010 Grey Power Players’ Championship.
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