The athlete rosters for the 2007 Continental Cup of Curling, featuring Team Europe versus Team North America, have now been confirmed.

The Continental Cup will hold its fifth edition December 13-16 at the Medicine Hat Arena in Alberta, Canada. Patterned somewhat after golf's Ryder Cup, the Continental Cup brings together six teams representing Team North America and six teams wearing Europe's colours in 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 of the trophy and the majority of the CDN $88,400 prize purse.

Team Europe is composed of 2006 world champion David Murdoch of Scotland, a two-time Cup participant, Germany's Andy Kapp, a two-time (1997, 2007) world men's silver medallist, Switzerland's 2006 European champion Andreas Schwaller, who was also the 2002 Olympic bronze medallist and 2001 world men's silver medallist, Denmark's Angelina Jensen, the 2007 world women's silver medallist, Scotland's 2007 world women's bronze medallist Kelly Wood, and Russia's Ludmila Privivkova, winner of the 2006 Le Gruyère European championship.

The captain will be 2002 Olympic gold medallist Rhona Martin of Scotland while Austrian national coach Rodger Schmidt, who recently coached Italy at world championships and the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, will coach Team Europe.

Team North America consists of four teams from Canada and two teams from the United States.

The Canadian contingent is composed of Kelly Scott, the reigning women's world champion, 2005 Canadian champion Jennifer Jones, four-time world champion Randy Ferbey, who has competed in three Continental Cups, and three-time world champion Glenn Howard, who won the most recent 2007 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.

The United States will send its current national champions, Todd Birr of Minnesota, the bronze medallist at the 2007 Ford world men's, and Debbie McCormick of Wisconsin, the 2003 world champion and a two-time Cup participant.

Pat Ryan, a two-time world champion and the reigning Canadian senior men's champion, will be the captain for Team North America, while Elaine Dagg-Jackson is the coach.

Team North America and Team Europe are knotted at two wins apiece after the first four editions. In 2002, Team North America edged Team World at the inaugural 'Cup' in Regina, 207-193, decided by a thrilling men's final Skins game between Kevin Martin and Peja Lindholm, which went down to last rock.

In 2003, Team Europe turned the tables, winning 208-179 in Thunder Bay while in 2004, Team North America recaptured the title by a 228-172 score in Medicine Hat, before a record four-day crowd of 42,317.

Last November in Chilliwack, it was Europe's turn to even the score, winning 229-171, when all of the curling medallists from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy participated.

Some of the world's best-known teams have competed in past Continental Cups.  In addition to this year's line-up, others include teams skipped by Canada's Kevin Martin, Brad Gushue, Kelley Law and Colleen Jones, Norway's Pål Trulsen and Dordi Nordby, Sweden's Elisabet Gustafson, Anette Norberg and Peja Lindholm, Scotland's Rhona Martin, Jackie Lockhart and Hammy McMillan, Germany's Andrea Schöpp and Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi.

The Continental Cup is a joint venture of the Canadian Curling Association, the United States Curling Association and the World Curling Federation.