December 31, 2004

The men's field for the Labatt MCT Championships in Ste. Anne and Steinbach, January 7-9th (2005), now is complete and is headed by the reigning Manitoba champion and the defending Manitoba Curling Tour champion.

Brent Scales and his Swan River team and Ryan Fry's foursome from St. Vital are two of the leading lights in the 24-team men's division. As in former years, the format is double knockout, and in this edition games will be played at the two Eastman curling clubs on a Friday-Sunday schedule.

The last men's berth was filled by Ryan Hyde's Portage team on money earnings, after previously-qualified John Bubbs of the Granite won the Labatt Fort Rouge Christmas Spiel last night (Dec.30th).

Among the skips in the field are four provincial men's champions -- Bubbs, Vic Peters, Dave Smith, and James Kirkness -- plus junior champions Brent Braemer, Chris Galbraith, Sean Grassie, and David Hamblin. The top three seeds, based on tour money earnings, are Bill Kuran, Dave Boehmer, and Graham Freeman.

At this point, four of the teams participating also have positions in the 2005 Safeway Select in Selkirk in February -- those of Scales, Fry, Don Spriggs, and Murray Warren.

A top prize of $7,000 in a purse of $18,000 will be the monetary target, plus a berth in the Canada Cup West qualifying bonspiel to be held in Western Canada next December. In addition, the winner advances to a playoff against next season's MCT champion for a berth in the 2006 provincial Safeway Select.

The 12-team women's division will play for a top prize of $4,000 in a purse of $8,000 plus a Canada Cup West bonspiel berth.

December 14, 2004

The women's field for the Labatt MCT Championships in Ste. Anne and Steinbach, January 7-9th (2005) will include at least seven teams that also will curl in the provincial Scott Tournament of Hearts.

The women's division of the MCT will have 12 teams this season, playing in a double knockout format, with games at both Eastman curling clubs on a Friday-Sunday schedule.

Eleven teams now are confirmed, headed by defending champion Barb Spencer of Fort Rouge. Joining her are clubmates Janet Harvey, who won the Carman Scott berth spiel, plus Joelle Duguid and Ainsley Champagne, who won their city zone titles on Sunday. Kristy Jenion of St. Vital, Linda Stewart of Swan River and Kristen Williamson of Brandon are the other Scott zone winners in the cast at Ste. Anne-Steinbach.

Others who earned positions by winning tour events or on money earnings are Patti Burtnyk of Stonewall, Liza Park of Brandon, Karen Porritt of St. Vital, and Leanne Traynor of St. Adolphe.

The women's field will play for a purse of $8,000, including a top prize of $4,000 plus a berth in the Canada Cup West qualifying bonspiel to be held in Western Canada next December.

One more position is being held open, pending results of the final event on the MCT regular schedule, the Labatt Fort Rouge Christmas Spiel, December 26-30th.

October 22, 2004

KENORA SPIEL SUSPENDED
The annual Lake of the Woods Days Inn Cash Spiel in Kenora, one of the original events on the Manitoba Curling Tour, has been suspended for this year due to ice plant upgrading at the Kenora Curling Club. The cashspiel had been scheduled for the weekend of November 5-7th.

"We have received a grant to replace the compressor in our artificial ice plant," said the event chairman Kevin Brown. "The timing is such that we have to go ahead with the work right now."

Brown made an attempt to postpone the cashspiel to later in November, but the committed teams had conflicts with other curling events.

"We appreciate the support from curlers in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario," said Brown. "No doubt the Lake of the Woods event will be back on the Manitoba Curling Tour next season."

F.M.I. -- Bob Picken, Phone 489-8642
E-mail - [email protected]

October 20, 2004

PRESS RELEASE - 2004 Casinos of Winnipeg Women's Curling Classic - Fort Rouge Curling Club - October 22 - 25, 2004. Click Here - (Word Document)
 

October 18, 2004

Upcoming on the MCT this week are the Casinos of Winnipeg Women's Classic at the Fort Rouge Curling Club (Oct.22-25) and the men's Guild Insurance Brokers Classic at the Brandon Curling Club (Oct.22-24). The women's final at Fort Rouge will be televised live on the Shaw Manitoba network (at 5 p.m. CDT on Monday, October 25th).

September 30th, 2004

With an expanded women's section and a change in timing for the tour championships, the Manitoba Curling Tour is into its 14th season, offering cash purses totaling $449,400 in 21 events.

The second and third events on the tour are the Selkirk Steeltown Classic (Oct. 1-4) and the Labatt Valour Road Cash Spiel (Oct. 7-11).  Both events have men's and women's divisions.

In response to a recommendation from the MCA Safeway Select Review Committee, the Labatt MCT Championships have been moved forward from the usual February dates to January 7th-9th, 2005. The Ste. Anne and Steinbach Curling Clubs will be co-hosts, and with four sheets of ice in each club, it will enable the expansion of the women's division to 12 teams to participate with a 24-team men's division.

"The tour continues to be linked to the Canadian Bonspiel Series of the Canadian Curling Association," advised Andy Stewart, the MCT president. "The MCT champions will be invited once again to enter the Canada Cup West qualifying bonspiel to be held in December, 2005. By winning the MCT titles last February, Ryan Fry of St. Vital and Barb Spencer of Fort Rouge earned positions in this season's Canada Cup West, to be held December 15th-19th, 2004, in Edmonton."

Fry's team also earned the MCT berth in the upcoming provincial Safeway Select in Selkirk. In order to start the process of changing to a current year's tour champion going into the Select in the future, a playoff will be held between the 2005 and 2006 MCT winning men's teams if they are eligible.

The tour championships in Ste. Anne and Steinbach will be composed of the winners of each MCT cashspiel. Teams will be added as required from non-winners which are highest in money earnings on the tour, to complete the men's and women's fields.

Five men's and one women's MCT events have been designated by the CCA as cashspiels at which Canada Cup Bonspiel qualifying points and Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points may be earned. They are the Wheat City Classic, the $50,000 Portage McCain SuperSpiel West, the $26,000 Aseneskak Casino Classic in The Pas, the $45,000 Swan River Whites' Drug Store Classic, the $28,000 Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy Cashspiel, and the $50,000 Casinos of Winnipeg Women's Classic.

F.M.I. -- Bob Picken,  MCT Coordinator.  Phone - (204) 489-8642 [email protected]  Webmaster -- Travis Roos.  Phone - (204) 622-5374  [email protected]