The World Curling Federation (WCF) is mourning the death of 95-year-old George Clifton Thompson, known as Clif, who passed away June 3, 2008 in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

Thompson served as World Curling Federation president from 1982 to 1985, when the organization was known as the International Curling Federation. He earlier served as Canadian Curling Association president in 1979, and was eventually inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.

Born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1913, Thompson worked at the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company in Kapuskasing, Ontario until 1978.

Thompson was on the forefront of curling’s attempt to rejoin the Olympic family when me met IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, in December 1984 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Curling eventually became a demonstration sport at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Winter Games and returned to Olympic medal status with the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

In 1980 Thompson initiated a senior curling league in Stroud, Ontario. The league commenced with 14 curlers and has grown to nearly 100 members. Thompson continued to play an active role in the league,  promoting all the aspects of curling – skills, rules, etiquette and camaraderie – and hosted clinics.

The Stroud Curling Club honoured Thompson by renaming the Clif Thompson Senior Curling League and providing members with a special crest.

“Clif came to the Brier (Canadian men’s championship) in Hamilton in 2007,” said Warren Hansen of the Canadian Curling Association.

“I hadn’t seen him in years. He was sharp, and we had a long conversation. He was very interested in recent developments in the sport.”

Clif Thompson was predeceased by his wife Helen in August of 2006. He is survived by his children Nancy, Ross and Rick, their spouses, and his grandchildren.

The roster for Team World has been confirmed for the 2008 Continental Cup of Curling.

The Continental Cup of Curling will hold its sixth edition, December 18-21 in Camrose, Alberta, Canada and will feature six World teams (three male and three female) combined in a unique challenge event against six North American teams.

Previously known as Team Europe, Team World will feature two squads from China for the first time. Bingyu Wang led her women's team to a silver medal at the 2008 Ford World Women's Curling Championship in Vernon, Canada last March while Fengchun Wang's foursome finished fourth in their international debut at the recent 2008 World Men's Curling Championship in Grand Forks, USA.

Joining the Chinese will be men's teams skipped by David Murdoch of Scotland and Thomas Ulsrud of Norway, and women's teams led by Anette Norberg of Sweden and Mirjam Ott of Switzerland.

Murdoch and Ulsrud finished first and second at the 2007 Le Gruyère European Championships and also finished second and third at the 2008 Worlds, behind champion Kevin Martin of Canada.

Norberg captured the 2007 European women's crown while Ott claimed bronze at the 2008 Ford Worlds.

"The WCF is extremely proud to include two teams from the Pacific Curling Federation in the Team World roster for the 2008 Continental Cup," said WCF president Les Harrison.

"The men's and women's teams from China are the first from their region to ever qualify to play in the Cup. The teams will now make Team World truly representative of the rest of the world outside North America as both are eager to demonstrate that the Pacific Zone has improved their skills to compete at the highest levels of world play."

Two curling legends will guide Team World in Camrose: Paal Trulsen of Norway, the 2002 Olympic Champion skip, is the Team Captain while Sweden's Peja Lindholm, a three-time world champion skip, will serve as coach.

"I am honoured and excited by this challenge," said Lindholm, who retired from competition in January.

"As a former player, three times, in the Continental Cup, I know how special it is and I look forward to coming back again.

"I know Paal really well and he knows me. We are good friends and we respect each other. We also shares the same values so I am sure our teamwork will be excellent."

Lindholm claims to be ready to deal with communication issues that may arise among team members who speak up to five different languages.

"Paal and I need to inform everyone, especially the rookies how the format works and what to expect during the week," said Lindholm.

"It is important for them to understand that this is like nothing they ever played before.

"An important function for us is to enable a communication forum among our players, before and during the event so we can share experiences and learn from each other within the team."

Patterned somewhat after golf's Ryder Cup, the Continental Cup of Curling is a four-day competition involving Team games (72 points), Mixed Doubles (36 points), Singles (32 points) and Skins games (260 points). The first side to score 201 points is declared the winner.

North America holds a 3-2 lead in championships since competition began in 2002. The Continental Cup of Curling is a joint venture of the World Curling Federation, Canadian Curling Association, and United States Curling Association.

Team North America, which will comprise athletes from Canada and the United States, will be announced at a later date. Television coverage, which will be provided by The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada, will also be confirmed.

PERTH, Scotland – The World Curling Federation (WCF) has confirmed Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, as the host city for the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.

The championship, scheduled for April 18-26, will be the second-ever WMDCC ever held, following the inaugural 2008 championship at Vierumaki, Finland in February. The 2008 World Mixed Doubles Championship was captured by Switzerland (Irene Schori and Toni Müller) which defeated host Finland (Anne Malmi and Jussi Uusipaavalniemi) by a 5-4 score in the final. Sweden earned bronze, while Norway and Canada rounded out the top five.

"The World Curling Federation is delighted to bring the second World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship to Cortina D'Ampezzo," said Les Harrison, WCF president.

"The first World Mixed Doubles was a spectacular display of pure shotmaking and high-scoring action. We saw traditional curling powers struggle against emerging nations who have taken to this new curling discipline with vigour and enthusiasm. This show will be something for Cortina to remember."

The inaugural WMDCC was visited by IOC Member Peter Tallberg, who spoke favourably of the new discipline.

The 2009 World Mixed Doubles will precede the 2010 World Men's Curling Championship, which will also he held in Cortina. This will mark the first World Men's Championship ever hoted by Italy.

The 2008 World Mixed Doubles featured 24 teams (pairs). Depending upon the number of member association entries, the dates of the 2009 World Mixed Doubles in Cortina D'Ampezzo may adjust slightly. Entries are due in November, 2008. 

Test the Nation is a template for a popular TV quiz game show, which originated in the Netherlands in 2001. There are shows broadcasted throughout many countries, including Australia, Germany, the United States, Denmark, Japan, throughout the United Kingdom and the Middle East... and in Canada, via CBC-TV.

Canada recently hosted a sports show, entitled Test The Nation: Sports in which themed "teams" battled each other, with the public playing along via television and the internet. One team, Olympic and Paralympic Medallists, featured five Olympic curlers: 2006 Olympic champion skip Brad Gushue, 2002 Olympic silver medallist Don Bartlett, and three members of Shannon Kleibrink's 2006 Olympic bronze medallist squad: Amy Nixon, Glenys Bakker and Christine Keshen.

"It was a ton of fun being part of the show,” said Gushue. "There was trash talking, jokes flying around and we were treated great. It was great to be part of it."

Midway through the show, Nixon was declared the top scorer for her team. By the end of the show, the Olympic and Paralympic Medallists had won the championship. 

"There were a couple curling questions," Gushue said. "One about the Patch and one about the correct terminology for a burnt rock. One of the answer options for that was 'Gushue'. Pretty funny... I had to sacrifice a wrong answer on that one!"

The final results:

• 1st – Olympic Medallists with 74.2%

• 2nd – Refs & Umps with 73.7%

• 3rd – Sportscasters with 73.2%

• 4th – Armchair Athletes with 72.9%

• 5th – Cheerleaders & Mascots with 57.1%

• 6th – Team Extreme with 55.4%

The World Curling Federation (WCF) mourned the death of 80-year-old Dr. Donald Barcome Sr. as the former organization president was laid to rest yesterday, May 21, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.A.

Barcome passed away on May 18 following battles against various heart ailments and a cancerous brain tumor.

Barcome served as World Curling Federation president from 1988 to 1990, when the organization was known as the International Curling Federation. He earlier served as United States Curling Association (USCA) president from 1982 to 1983 and was also an active member and former president of the Grand Forks Curling Club.
 
"Don Barcome was a major figure in the development of curling, and his leadership at both the USCA and WCF helped both organizations to become better organizations," said David Garber, who served as the USCA's executive director from 1985 to 2006. 
 
A native of Wisconsin, Barcome earned a doctorate in medicine in 1954 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and moved to Grand Forks in 1965 when he became the medical director of the University of North Dakota Rehabilitation Hospital.
 
One of Barcome's sons, Don Jr., won the World Junior Championship in 1984 and also competed in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Don Jr. was also an executive member of the organizing committee for the successful 2008 World Men's Curling Championship in Grand Forks, an event for which his father was named the honorary president.

"He was one of the best friends I ever had in my life," Barcome Jr. told local media. "We had a very close father-son relationship."