December 2, 2009
ST ALBERT, ALBERTA, CANADA

The World Curling Federation (WCF) and the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) have announced that the World Financial Group Continental Cup 2011 has been awarded to St. Albert, Alberta.

The unique international curling competition, featuring Team North America versus Team World, will take place from 13-16 January 2011 at Servus Credit Union Place in the Performance Arena which has seating for approximately 2,000 and is currently home to the St. Albert Steel of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Edmonton Drillers football team. The City of St. Albert, with a population of 58,000, is located just north of Edmonton – around 20 minutes drive from the capital of Alberta.

The 2011 event will mark the seventh edition of the ‘Cup’, which began in 2002 in Regina and has been compared to golf’s Ryder Cup. Currently, Team North America and Team World are tied at three wins each.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the WCF and the CCA had committed to a long-term continuation of the Continental Cup and that World Financial Group would become the title sponsor, beginning in 2011. TSN, the exclusive television network for the CCA’s Season of Champions, will provide extensive coverage of the event.

“The World Curling Federation, along with our partner the Canadian Curling Association, is pleased to be returning to the province of Alberta for the 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup,” said Les Harrison, President of the World Curling Federation. “Due to tremendous government and sponsor support, as well as a strong fan base for curling, St. Albert will be an excellent host in a great facility for the most elite teams in the world to showcase our sport in a variety of disciplines.”

“It is really nice to see the continuance of the Continental Cup for the long term,” said CCA Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. “The support of World Financial Group as a new title sponsor and the consistency of the broadcast coverage are going to be a huge shot in the arm for this event. It is fitting that St. Albert, a community in the heart of one of the hotbeds of curling in this country, has been selected as the first host site of this event in the post-2010 era.”

The Continental Cup competition involves 12 teams (three men’s and three women’s for both Team World and Team North America) in a four-day event, featuring regular Team curling, Mixed Doubles, Singles, Mixed Skins and Skins games. Each segment awards points for wins (or ties), with the first side to reach 200 points declared the winner.

The 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto, moves to a new time slot in the curling calendar: mid-January - as opposed to the previous six editions which were staged in November or December.

“The membership of the St. Albert Curling Club is thrilled to be hosting the 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling,” said Mike Howes, Host Committee chair.

“World Financial Group is very excited to become the lead sponsor of the 2011 Continental Cup,” said Rick Williams, President, World Financial Group of Canada. “Our commitment to sponsoring the event is an example of our commitment to supporting curling in Canada, which began four years ago with our sponsorship of the Randy Ferbey team. The participation of teams from across the globe parallels our reach as a global financial distributor - to help individuals and families become financially independent. We look forward to working with the Canadian Curling Association, the World Curling Federation and the Host Committee in order to make this a very successful event.”

Additional information:

• Full Event ticket packages will go on sale in mid-February 2010.
  
• At the inaugural Cup in Regina in 2002, Team North America pulled out a final stone victory when Canada’s Kevin Martin defeated Sweden’s Peja Lindholm in the final men’s skins game to win 207-193.
  
• In 2003, Team World (then Team Europe) turned the tables with a 208-179 victory in Thunder Bay. In 2004 in Medicine Hat, before a record four-day crowd of 42,317, it was North America’s turn again, with a 228-172 win.
  
• The 2006 renewal, staged in Chilliwack, British Columbia, featured all of the medal-winning teams from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, as Team Europe pulled even with a 229-171 victory.
  
• In 2007, the Cup returned to Medicine Hat, and once again, North America prevailed, 290-110, this time clinching the Cup in record fashion on Saturday evening, prior to Sunday’s final women’s and men’s skins games.
  
• In December 2008, the Cup was contested in Camrose, Alberta and won by Team World, which evened the score at three victories each with a 208-192 tally.
  

Over the years, the world’s finest curlers have participated in the Continental Cup, including skips such as Norway’s Pål Trulsen, Thomas Ulsrud and Dordi Nordby, Sweden’s Peja Lindholm, Elisabet Gustafson and Anette Norberg, Scotland’s David Murdoch, Hammy McMillan, Rhona Martin and Jackie Lockhart, China’s Bingyu Wang, Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott, Germany’s Andy Kapp and Andrea Schöpp, Canada’s Kevin Martin, Jennifer Jones, Kelly Scott, Glenn Howard, Brad Gushue, Colleen Jones and Randy Ferbey and Debbie McCormick of the United States.