MEDIA RELEASE
Winnipeg, November 12, 2002

WORLD SENIORS TO BE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH 2003 FORD WORLDS

(Winnipeg) The World Senior men’s and women’s curling championships will once again be conducted in conjunction with the 2003 Ford Worlds in Winnipeg, it was announced today by the World Curling Federation (WCF).

The 2003 World Seniors will be played April 2-6, while the Ford World Curling Championships will run from April 5-13 at the Winnipeg Arena. The senior men’s championship, which is expected to attract a record 16 teams, will be played at the Heather Curling Club. The senior women’s event, which will also feature a record 10 teams, will be held at the St. Vital Curling Club.

“The World Curling Federation would like to thank the Heather and St. Vital Curling Clubs for their generous co-operation in agreeing to host the second World Seniors Curling Championships,” said Roy Sinclair, President, WCF. “The senior curlers from around the world are eagerly looking forward to their visit to Winnipeg. For some, it will be a sentimental return to a city which holds great memories of curling at the highest level.”

Under WCF rules, a curler who is 50 years of age or over by July 1 in the year previous to the championship is eligible to compete.

Tickets for the Ford Worlds can be obtained by calling 1-888-780-SEAT (7328). All weekly ticket packages include admission to the World Seniors.

Last season, seven men’s and four women’s teams competed for global honours in the first officially sanctioned World Seniors, held during the 2002 Ford Worlds in Bismarck, N.D. The United States, skipped by Larry Johnson of Grand Forks, North Dakota, won the men’s final over Canada, skipped by Ron Westcott of Winnipeg, while Anne Dunn of Cambridge, Ontario skipped the Canadian women to a world title over Switzerland’s Erika Müller.

The Canadian teams for the 2003 World Seniors will be determined at the Canadian Seniors, January 18-26 in Lethbridge, Alberta.

In other Ford Worlds news, the Japan women and Korean men have qualified by winning the Pacific Curling Championships last weekend in Queenstown, New Zealand. In the women’s division, Japan, skipped by Shinobu Aota, defeated Korea 8-3 in the final. In men’s, Korea, skipped by Dong Keun Lee, bested Australia, skipped by Hugh Millikin, 5-2.

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