2008 World Championships
Sursee, Switzerland  -February 2-9, 2008

2008 World Champions Norway
photo courtesy of CurlIT CLICK HERE for hundreds of event photos
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Saturday Feb 9th - Day 8 - Medal Day  -  updated 2.03 pm

Gold medal game

It took an extra end but Norway overcame Korea to repeat as world champions. In a match-up of teams with the highest and the lowest shooting statistics during round robin play, Norway rose to the occasion shooting a team high 63% in their 5-3 win.

Ahead 3-2 in the 6th, Norway skip Rune Lorentsen faced one Korean stone top 12 on the center line, protected by a cluster of 3 short guards. He chose to pick out the shot stone, to deprive Korea of any chance to score 2 and win in 6 ends. It was a risky shot with the rings open for a draw, but he executed perfectly, sitting one. Korea promoted a stone for the steal point when Lorentsen flashed on a second takeout for the win.

In the extra end, Korea 2nd Yang Hyun Cho played a nice draw to the 4 foot behind a long guard, but Geir Arne Skogstad immediately removed it. That was Korea's best chance at a second steal, as they failed to find the 8 foot with their last 4 stones. Norway cleared the front and took 2 when Korea's last draw was short.

"We always have a 'Plan B' in our strategy," explained Norwegian coach Thorald Hognestad. "And they executed the plan one hundred per cent. We cannot play equal with able-bodied curlers, there are always misses. We call every shot so if we miss, there is a good alternative result.

"During the week you see our shooting percentages were low. But we won the worlds last year, and now we win again. We play wheelchair curling for wheelchair curlers, not for able-bodied strategy."

Bronze medal game

Canada carried question marks into their bronze medal game against USA. Would they be able to lift their game after losing 4 straight, including an agonising last rock miss in the semi-final loss to Norway? Or would USA, ever-confident and already succeeding beyond public expectations, be hungrier for the win?

Canada had the hammer and blanked the first end, choosing not to draw into an empty house. In the second, sitting shot in the four foot with a USA stone sitting 2nd guarded back 8, Canada guarded shot, but had to settle for one when their second point draw was long.

In the 3rd a long series of takeouts of shot stones at the back of an otherwise empty house ended with a Canada miss and Augusto Perez had only to draw to the rings for USA's second point and a 2-1 half-time lead.

The 4th began with the first seven rocks leaving a cluster on the center line. Ina Forrest's attempt to clear the front promoted a USA rock to the button, still guarded. USA added another guard, and another when a long raise/tap back failed to improve the situation for Canada. Two further failed Canadian raise tap-backs promoted one more USA stone in the rings for a steal of 2.

In the 5th, Canada, down 3, got an early stone into the rings and then tried to guard it. By the time Darryl Neighbour came to throw, he was facing 3. He executed a perfect hit and roll for shot behind a tight guard, and with last rock Canada seemed to have a good chance to score 2 and get back in the game. Perez had other ideas as he made an angle raise to pick out Canada's shot stone and sit four, which all counted when Darryl missed his last shot.

The teams shook hands after lead stones in the 6th, USA winning 8-1 and taking their first ever world championship medal.

"Holy cow," USA Skip Perez declared. "This is totally amazing."

Perez began the tournament skipping from 3rd.  "I've had a rough week. For some reason I was off all week, and I promised the guys I would pull it off today. And I finally made a few good shots. (My team) pulled it out while I was shooting real bad. They're the reason we were here today."

Jimmy Joseph told blogger Brianne Puleo, “We finally got a medal! We are very satisfied with our performance, and there are many more medals to come. Next year we are going for gold! It feels great!”

USA lead Jaqui Kapinowski was recruited by Joseph at a wheelchair racing event and had only been curling, at any level, for four months. "We have a new curler, she's only been playing a few months," noted Perez. "That's a warning shot for next year. Next year we win the silver, and then we get the gold in Vancouver."

Rookie skip Gerry Austgarden had to bear the weight of a fifth consecutive loss as the Americans celebrated. Canada continually changed their line-ups throughout the round robin, finally settling on Gary Cormack at lead, Ina Forrest at second and Gerry skipping at third. "We've been trying different combinations," said Austgarden. "We just need more time to play together. We need to learn about each player a little more."

Team leader Wendy Morgan had offered no more than a hope of making the playoffs before the tournament began, and by that criterion the campaign was a success, though despite their Paralympics gold medal in Torino in 2006, Canada has yet to make the World's podium in three tries under coach Joe Rea.

Guaranteed a spot as hosts at the 2010 Paralympics, Canada can afford to take a long term view on team development. "The trip home will be a little longer without a medal around their neck, especially given how hard the team worked and how close they came," said program director Gerry Peckham. "We have lots of work to do, but there's lots to build on. The destination is 2010. This was just a single step in the journey."

Tens of thousands of Canadian curlers in hundreds of Canadian curling clubs will still be hoping for some wins along the way.

Scroll down for draw details.

Final Standings
(click on team for team members)

Friday Feb 8th - Day 7 - Page Playoffs  -  updated 3.40pm (pst)

Page Play-off

Canada were always playing catch-up in the Page 1/2 game against Korea. Korea took 2 with the hammer in the opening end and it took a pressure draw by Darryl Neighbour to the four foot facing 5 in the 2nd to keep them in the game. The teams exchanged singles the next two ends, Canada choosing to draw in for one in  the 4th rather than blanking the end. Were they better off down 2 with the hammer in 5, or down 1 without? It didn't matter because Korea blew the game open with 4 in the 5th.

Korea had 3 in the house behind a long guard after thirds stones. Darryl attempted a takeout that crashed, Korea hit the only Canada stone in the house, and Canada would have been forgiven if they'd had a flashback to the Torino final end, when their skip did the best he could with a last stone draw to try and cut down the damage. He sat shot on the button, but left it open, and Hak Sung Kim, shooting an astounding 88% for the game, didn't miss. His takeout gave Korea 4 and they won 7-2.

Despite a very respectable 58% game, Darryl Neighbour was outscored by Korea skip Hak Sung Kim by 30%, as his team shot a combined 65%.

Norway coach Thoralf Hognestad had predicted two wins today and his team got off to a good start, taking 3 in the second against USA after giving up a steal of 1 in the 1st. With all the play at the edge of the 12 foot, USA skip Perez missed two takeouts that allowed Norway an open draw for their 3rd point. The teams exchanged singles the rest of the way, with both skips failing to take advantage of well placed front stones with their final draws. Norway won 5-3 and progressed to face Canada n the semi-final.

USA coach Steve Brown told blogger Brianne Puleo: "I really thought our team played a very good game, but the Norway skip made a couple of great shots that kept us from the victory. Our focus now is the bronze medal."

USA skip 'Goose' Perez told the WCF "That game was lost in the second end. After that we had to play risky shots. Anyway, we gave the (defending) gold medallists a fight."

Semi-final

Canada played an unchanged line-up with Gary Cormack at lead and Gerry Austgarden skipping at third in their semi-final match against Norway. Both sides began with multiple misses, before Canada managed to add a second stone in the house with Austgarden's second rock. Norway skip Rune Lorentsen's attempted takeout ticked the target, and Darryl Neighbour drew in to sit 3. Norway's final stone draw was short but Canada failed to add a fourth when their last  rock draw failed to reach the house.

The second end began promisingly for Canada, with Gary Cormack putting 2 in the house, Ina Forrest guarding them on the center line, and then coming in to sit 3. Norway's Skogstad executed a double take-out and stick to sit 1. Gerry threw a takeout but Canada missed their final 3 takeout attempts and Norway added a draw, took 2 and were back in the match.

In the 3rd Darryl had to ride to the rescue again. Facing 4 with a Norway stone top of the button, he threw a perfect hit to take 1 for a 4-2 half-time  Canada lead. In the 4th, Canada got a stone in the 4 foot early and guarded it for a steal of 1 to go ahead 5-2.

The 5th end again began well for Canada. Though Gary Cormack's opening draw was short, he placed his second behind it, touching the 4 foot. Norway second Geir Arne Skogstad's attempted pick nudged it aside to sit shot, but Ina Forrest threw a perfect takeout and Canada remained sitting one behind cover. Gerry Austgarden was unlucky to have a takeout jam on the Canada shot stone. Norway came in to sit 2 and while Darryl was able to remove one, his stone was open, and Norway hit and rolled for their 2. (Canada 5 Norway 4)

The final end had Canada up 1 with the hammer, and sitting back 8 with shot stone under cover after 2nds rocks. Gerry threw a top four stone behind 4 center line guards,  but Norway picked it out, but rolled open. Gerry removed that stone to sit 4. Rune Lorentsen hit to sit 1, and Darryl's takeout jammed, leaving Norway still shot but in the open edge of the 8 foot. Rune played an excellent raise tap-back on the other side of the sheet to sit 2 and Canada needed either a draw full 8 or an open takeout for the win. Darryl Neighbour, who had been facing pressure shots all day, could only tick Norway's stone with his takeout attempt, and when he rolled out, Norway stole 2 for the win.

Norway skip Rune Lorentsen threw a 79% game outscoring his counterpart by 23%. "I feel a little bit empty right now, but I will be excited soon," said Lorentsen. "I felt I kept my cool and made my shots, and then I couldn't do any more. There are misses in this game, and they can happen, so I could only watch."

Norway coach Thoralf Hognestad said: "I feel some sympathy for Canada after their great start. Korea has to work tomorrow for getting the gold, but I know that we have better strategy, so I hope for a new gold for Norway."

Norway beat Korea 5-3 in the final draw of round robin play.

Norway face Korea in the gold medal game 11 am local time Saturday, and Canada and USA have their second shot at a medal when they play for bronze at 10am.

Thursday Feb 7th - Day 6 - Tie-breaks   updated 3.26pm (pst)

USA beat Italy 6-4 in in a tie-break for the final playoff spot, earning the right to challenge Norway in the 3/4 Page playoff game. Italy opened with 2 with the hammer and then stole 1 to take an early 3-0 lead.

In the 3rd, Italy sat 3 in the 12 foot with seven stones spread across the front of the house. With no direct path to the rings, USA Skip Goose Perez was forced to attempt a triple raise tap-back - and he made it to score an unlikely single.

In the 4th Italy failed to clear the front and with USA lying shot skip Andrea Tabanelli, perhaps influenced by his counterpart's final stone raise in the 3rd, tried a raise for 2 instead of eating a steal of 1. The shot removed his own stone and gave USA a steal of 3.

In the 5th, with stones in the rings but an open centerline, the skips traded takeouts, with Italy's final stone scoring. In the 6th, each team had a rock back of the t-line close to the 4 foot. Italy, without last rock, chose not to guard, preferring to hit the USA shot stone. Had 3rd Egiidio Marchese's  takeout stuck it might have paid off, but the shooter rolled out, leaving the Italian shot stone wide open, and Jim Pierced threw a perfect hit and stick to lie 1 touching the 4 foot. Tabanelli missed a takeout, and his final draw was too long. USA scored 2 to win 6-4.

This was USA's best result in World competition and justified the public confidence of their coach Steve Brown and team leader Marc DePerno. A jubilant "Goose" Perez said, "It was a tough comeback but we held it together." Perez began the competition skipping from 3rd, but moved to last rock after Game 3. USA also took the opportunity to give their alternate, Bob Prenoveau, some experience on world championship ice, in a couple of sixth ends where they held big leads.

Read Brianne Puleo's blog post for an eye-witness account of the match and photos of the USA team.

USA play Norway Friday in the Page playoff 3/4 game. Norway rested lead Lene Tystad for the final two round robin draws, playing alternate Anne Mette Samdal. With an off day today, the team should be rested and will return to their regular line-up for the playoffs. The Norway coach is upbeat about his team's chances. "I don't pay a lot of attention to our opponents," Thoralf Hognestad said. "Our team has to perform, but I have a lot of confidence for tomorrow. I'm looking for two wins, then a win on Saturday."

The Italians certainly performed above pre-competition expectations as they had to pre-qualify in order to play. The WCF media release quotes skip Andrea Tabanelli: "The first days we played very, very good curling. But we have only one woman, and it is difficult for her to play six hours each day. She's just a little tired, and we are, too."

WCF rules state that there must always be a mixed gender team on the ice, and many teams therefore include two women in their squads.

Each of the teams in the medal rounds will have multiple chances at a medal. The winner of the Korea/Canada 1/2 playoff game is assured of at least a silver medal. The loser has a second chance to win gold by beating the winner of the Norway/USA 3/4 Page playoff game. The loser of the 3/4 game will have a second chance at a medal, this time bronze, on Saturday when they play the loser of the semi-final. CLICK HERE to see the medal round draws.

Italy had won their round robin match against USA 7-5 but WCF rules forbid playoff elimination without an extra game. (See Bob Cowan below)

Bob Cowan in his Curling Today blog feels Japan were unfairly treated because their team's draws to the button in a pre-tournament tie-break decider came up 73 cms short.

He points out: "The WCF rulebook states clearly that a team tied for a place in the play-offs is not eliminated in any way other than by losing an extra game. But apparently this does not apply to ties at the bottom of the table when relegation is a possibility... (that) 73 cm means that Japan gets relegated, loses Olympic qualifying points and the country has the expense of travelling halfway round the world to play in the qualifying competition at Inverness next season."

Unless all the teams not in the playoffs are leaving Sursee early, it's hard to see why tie-break games between relegation candidates could not have been held.

Wednesday Feb 6th - Day 5 - Draws 8 & 9  updated 1.55pm (pst)

The final round robin draws presented each of the top teams the opportunity to decide their own fate. The winner of Korea/Canada would earn top spot and the hammer in the 1/2 Page playoff game, while wins by Norway and Italy would mean both would qualify. If either slipped, USA, Sweden and Switzerland could gain at least a tie-break by winning their final games.

At the bottom of the table, Scotland Japan and Russia hoped to pull themselves out of the relegation zone with a pair of wins.

Canada seemed comfortably in control of their game against Korea. Up 3 with just 3 Korean rocks to play in the final end, Canada were sitting 4 and had a stone sitting alongside the only Korean rock in play guarding the centerline. How quickly things changed.

A finesse tap back of the Canada stone in the four foot left the Korean stone frozen in front of a Canada stone, and sitting shot. Canada's attempt at a takeout crashed on the front guards, leaving one long Canada guard. Korea drew down to their shot stone, to sit 2. Canada's final stone attempt at a takeout to win the match, jammed but their shooter sat shot in the four foot with backing. Skip Hak Sung Kim's final hit and stick squeezed it out to sit 3, tie the game and earn a deserved bonus.

In the extra end, Korea placed three front stones close to the center line and then executed a hit and roll to the four foot while still having 2 guards. Canada tried to clear the front, but a missed peal replaced a guard and Korea were able to block out Canada's skip stones and steal a single for a 6-5 win.

In the afternoon, Canada played a Scots side facing certain relegation if they lost. With Darryl Neighbour shooting an uncharacteristic 40%, Scots steals in the 4th and 5th were the difference in their 5-2 win. The official scorer called the decisive shot a delicate McCreadie tap back of a Canada shot stone in the 5th.

The Norway coach has said his side are seasoned competitors, and they showed their determination by bouncing back from the previous day's double loss, winning their last two draws. The morning's 9-6 defeat of Scotland was a wild one. Scotland opened with a steal of 2. Norway took 1, then stole 4, then stole 3 before giving up 4. Scotland shot 63% to Norway's 53% but Norway skip Rene Lorentsen at 71% had a 21 point advantage over Scot skip McCreadie. In the final draw Norway faced Korea, who may have been feeling emotionally exhausted after their Canada win as their team shooting percentage fell to 46%. A game of singles had Norway down 3-2 without the hammer after 5, but a steal of 1 in the 6th and 2 more on the extra saw Norway claim a 5-3 victory and the 3rd playoff spot.

Italy were in the same position as Norway at the start of play. They easily saw off Japan 8-3 in the morning, but failed to beat last place Russia in the final draw, falling 5-4. This gave an opening to USA and Sweden, who had both won their morning draws and needed to win their final games to have a chance at a tie break. Sweden fell to lowly Japan 8-6, but USA seized their opportunity, beating the disappointing host side Switzerland 9-2.

There will be a tie break between Italy and USA at 1.30 pm local time tomorrow. Italy won their Draw 5 match-up 7-5. All other positions were decided by head to head records, or by "closest to the pin" draws. Scotland thus avoided the ignominy of relegation, claiming 7th place by virtue of a 200 centimetre margin at the draw to the button game. Japan and Russia will have to re-qualify by competing in next season's 10-team World Wheelchair Curling Qualifying Tournament.

Canada continued to rotate Gary Cormack and Gerry Austgarden at skip. It will be interesting to see on Friday what coach Joe Rea decides is his strongest line-up. The experiment of Ina Forrest at 3rd with Gerry skipping from 2nd lasted a day (draws 4 and 5). Darryl Neighbour at 4th stones and Ina Forrest have played every end. Both Gary and Sonja Gaudet have played lead, but most of the time, when Gary has skipped Gerry has sat out and vice versa.

Darryl Neighbour (57%) and Ina Forrest (64%) lead overall at their positions, Ina sharing honours with USA's Jimmy Joseph who was helped by an astonishing 90% in the final draw. JIn Myung Kim of Korea (60%) was best 3rd and Korea's Mi Suk Kang and Scotland's Jim Sellar shared top spot at lead with 64%.

Team percentages in round robin play showed Korea shooting 60% with Canada second at 57%. Percentages didn't tell the full story though, as struggling Scotland shot a third best 55% while 3rd place Norway shared the worst shooting percentage (46%) yet equalled Canada's 6-3 record.

Read the WCF press release HERE

Scroll down for draw details.

Tuesday Feb 5th - Day 4 - Draws 6 & 7  updated 2.08pm (pst)

Canada and Korea guaranteed their playoff spots with two wins today. Korea Skip Hak Sung Kim shot 80% and his team shot an extraordinary combined 77% in their 6-1 win over Switzerland. He followed that with 69% shooting in the 8-4 win over Italy. (50% is considered good wheelchair curling)

Canada blanked fading Norway 7-0 in the morning draw (Gary Cormack skipping from 3rd) before a tough afternoon battle against USA (Gerry Austgarden replacing Cormack at skip and 3rd). Canada got out to an early 3-0 lead but a single in the 4th and a steal of 3 in the 5th gave USA a good chance to climb back into contention with a second win, after their 9-1 morning thrashing of Scotland. The opportunity slipped away when USA failed to put their lead stones in position in the 6th. Canada scored 2 to win 5-4.

USA coach Steve Brown, quoted on Brianne Puleo's NEWSChannel 2 Curling Blog, said "The team is working well together and demonstrating some strong play. Tomorrow's games are crucial, and I am confident that a victory is in sight."

Canada play Korea in Draw 8 in a game that is likely to decide who has the hammer in the 1/2 playoff game.

Because Italy and Norway both suffered two defeats today, five teams are still in the hunt for the remaining 2 playoff spots. Will Scotland regroup to challenge Norway, who must then face Korea? Italy seems to have the easiest route, facing Japan and Russia (both 2-5) Hosts Switzerland play Sweden in the morning draw in a game that will probably eliminate the loser, and finish against USA in what could be a decisive match-up for the last playoff spot. That is unless Norway regain the form that they displayed so often in the run-up to these championships and beat either Scotland or Korea.

Norway coach Thoralf Hognestad said, "It's been a disappointing day, The loss to Switzerland really hurt. We are not used to playing on ice with so much curl and it is has taken us time to adjust, especially in our hitting game. Also the breaks went against us today. We could have stolen 4 against Switzerland in the 4th, but their skip's last rock ticked into shot position. But we still hold our fate in our own hands. We need to improve, but I have a good feeling about tomorrow."

Bob Cowan reminds us that unless Scotland beat Norway and Canada tomorrow, they run the risk of having to pre-qualify to play in next year's championships. Only the top eight teams automatically qualify, with two places reserved for the top two teams playing in a 10 team qualification tournament.

Read the WCF media release for Day 4

Scroll down for draw details.

Monday Feb 4th - Day 3 - Draws 4 & 5   updated 3.08pm (pst)

The top four teams pulled away from the pack after 5 draws. Canada beat Russia and Sweden to improve to 4-1, with previously unbeaten Norway who gave Russia their first win. Italy had two more wins, over Switzerland and USA, while Korea suffered their first loss to USA, then rebounded by beating the struggling Scots.

Gerry Austgarden returned from a day on the bench to skip both Canada wins, this time playing 2nd, with Ina Forrest moving up to third. The morning draw against winless Russia, was hard fought. They stole 1 in the 1st and 2 in the 5th, but were level at 4-4 after 6 ends. In the extra, Sonja Gaudet ticked a center line guard and Canada were able to get stones behind Russian draws that fell short of the house. Facing 3, Skip Andrey Smirnov's attempt to come around the front stones, was left uncovered. Darryl Neighbour executed a perfect hit and stick, blocked the path to the four foot, and Canada won 8-4. They beat Sweden 7-4 in the afternoon, taking 2 in the final end after giving up a steal in the 5th.

Previously undefeated Norway had to face a roused Russian bear in the afternoon draw, and were soundly beaten 8-3, giving up steals of 2 in both the 3rd and 4th ends. Korea faced their first lost, 3-7 to USA in the morning, but then returned to form, beating Scotland 5-3. Italy, who handed Canada their only loss, had two more wins, 7-4 over the favoured Swiss and 7-5 over USA, to join Canada, Norway and Korea at the top of the table at 4-1. 

With four draws to play before the medal rounds, Switzerland, Sweden and USA are 2 games back at 2-3, while Russia, Japan and Scotland each have only one win.

Scroll down for draw details.

Sunday Feb 3rd - Day 2 - Draws 2 & 3  - updated 3.30pm

Defending Champions Norway, and Korea remain unbeaten after 3 draws. Norway beat USA 6-3 and then gave Italy their first loss 5-4. Korea blanked Sweden 9-0 and the beat Japan 7-4. Korea have arguably had the easiest start to the tournament and will face stiffer tests tomorrow against Scotland and Switzerland.

Italy, who had to qualify through the 10 team preliminary tournament in December, have been the surprise team of the tournament so far. After blanking Canada, they beat Scotland, curling 60%. (50% is considered good). In their Draw 3 first loss, they outcurled Norway 61% to 56% although Norway skip Rune Lorentsen (67% including a meaningless final shot miss) decisively outplayed Andrea Tabanelli (52%).

Canada bounced back with two wins. Gerry Austgarden sat out both games, replaced by Gary Cormack at skip throwing 3rd. Darryl Neighbour caught fire, throwing 65% in the 8-1 victory over Japan and 71% in the 5-3 win over Switzerland. Sonja Gaudet played lead. Against Japan Canada stole 4 in the 2nd, when Yogi Yakajima failed to reach the rings with his final stone draw. In the decisive 3rd end against Switzerland, Canada sat 3, 2 rocks covered in the 4 foot, and Swiss skip Manfred Bolliger had few options other than to attempt to cut his losses with a take-out of the 3rd Canadian stone. He missed and Canada stole 3 in an otherwise tight game.

CLICK HERE for a WCF report on Draw 2 action

Scroll down for draw details.

Saturday Feb 2nd - Day 1  Draw 1 - updated 4.17pm

Defending champions Norway survived a final end scare when Skip Rune Lorentsen, facing 4, drew to the back of the 8 to score a single and seal a 5-3 opening draw win over Sweden. Coach Thoralf Hognestad siad there was lots of curl in the ice, but he was suprised by the official game stats that had Norway shooting just 32%. "We're fortunate that Sweden struggled even more than we did. We have a strong team," he said, "and after the lowest scoring game in our history, we are looking forward to playing USA and Italy tomorrow."

Canada were never in their match, failing to get stones into the house to pressure qualifiers Italy, who stole 5 times in a 7-0 drubbing. Some dubious calls by novice skip Gerry Austgarden didn't give Darryl Neighbour much of an opportunity to change the course of the game with his final stones. In the 4th, down 4, Canada called for and threw 4 consecutive guards attempting to protect a Gary Cormack lead stone on the button. Though Canada's overall shooting was a respectable 50%, 19 of the 46 stones they threw were scored complete misses. Sonja Gaudet sat out. Canada play Japan and Switzerland tomorrow.

Scotland fell to hosts Switzerland 7-5 and USA and Korea posted impressive wins over Japan and Russia.

Full line scores are available HERE. You can also follow the action diagrammed shot by shot, and see full statistics for each player and team HERE

Overall shooting percentages were in line with recent Worlds with Korea's 53% leading the way and only USA and Italy scoring better than 50%

Scroll down for draw details.

 Friday Feb 1st - Worlds Preview

Canada try for their first World Championship gold, after failing to medal in their last two attempts. They open against Italy, and face defending World champions Norway in Draw 6 before finishing the round robin against Scotland. Norway opens against Sweden and Scotland opens against hosts Switzerland.

Canada makes one personnel change from last year; Darryl Neighbour comes in for long-time skip Chris Daw, and will  throw 4th stones with Gerry Austgarden skipping from 3rd position. Ina Forrest, the alternate at last year's event, will rotate with Gary Cormack and Sonja Gaudet, both Paralympics gold medallists, at the front end. This is a very confident all-British Columbia squad who know and like each other, and played together while winning the Norway Open in November.

Current champions Norway had a winning season until upset by this Canada team at the Norway Open, perhaps because they experimented with spilt squads. They had a perfect round robin record at the recent Richmond BC spiel, before fading in the play-offs when they did not adjust to very swingy ice.

Scotland have a very experienced team with Michael McCreadie returning as skip. He is sure to be less nervous this time round, having finished 3rd last year. Tom Killin returns at 2nd after missing last year's championship through illness. Scotland won the Utica and Richmond spiels on their warm-up tour.

Switzerland finished second to Norway at the last Worlds, and had the same result at the early season Prague Bonspiel. They will have home fan support, which as their coach Nadia Röthlisberger pointed out, can be a mixed blessing. They play in Berne. The ice in Sursee (usually a hockey arena) has been put in especially for this championship so the Swiss will not have had any more practice on it than the other teams.

Sweden, hosts in 2007, had re-qualify for this year's event. They did so (with Italy) in a 10 team Qualifying Tournament in Scotland, and bring a new coach and new players at 2nd, 3rd and skip.

While Norway, Scotland, Canada and Switzerland will be favourites, as program director and CCA High Performance coach Gerry Peckham says. "Anything can happen in a 6 end game." USA, Japan, Russia, Korea, Sweden or Italy could get hot at the right time and ride a winning streak into the final.

Diagrammed action of every rock of every draw will be posted on the CurlIT.com website.

Scoll down for draw by draw results.

 Standings after Round Robin
(click on team for team members)

Results and draws
(times are local - for PST subtract 9 hours)
CLICK HERE for individual draw line scores