A star-studded field of curling celebrities has been confirmed for the third annual Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation, taking place June 1-2, 2012 at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club.
This unique curling tournament (“bonspiel”) offers participants the chance to play alongside Olympic and world champion competitors. And there are still some entries left for this year’s event.
In just two years, the Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel has welcomed 54 superstar curling athletes from around the world, 200 recreational participants and numerous corporate partners. Meanwhile, nearly $145,000 has been raised for SickKids Foundation – the fundraising arm of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, one of the world’s foremost paediatric health-care institutions and Canada’s leading centre dedicated to advancing children’s health through the integration of patient care, research and education.
“We are pleased to release our list of curling stars for the 2012 Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation,” said event organizing committee member Jeff Steski. “We are a month away from the big event and the names of these world-class competitors are sure to close our last few remaining entries into the event.”
Three members of the 2012 world men’s championship team – four-time world champion Glenn Howard and two-time world champion teammates Brent Laing and Craig Savill – lead the list of celebrities. Fourth member Wayne Middaugh, who has two additional world titles at skip and second position, is expected to make an appearance at the event.
“It’s going to be fun to have all the boys there for this one,” said Howard, who lead his team to the championship trophy less than a month ago in Basel, Switzerland. “We don’t get together too much in the off-season as we owe our jobs and families a lot of time. But this event is a big one and it’s well worth our time to support such a great cause.”
Joining the world champions are international stars Eve Muirhead and Anna Sloan of Scotland, Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland, Cissi Ostlund and Sara Carlsson of Sweden, U.S. men’s skip Heath McCormick and for the first time ever at a curling charity event, two members of Team Russia: skip Anna Sidorova and lead Ekaterina Galkina.
Other first-time event celebrities include Tracy Horgan and Ryan Fry of Northern Ontario, Quebec’s Pierre Charette and Ontario legends Mike Harris and Marilyn Bodogh.
Other returning stars include Winnipeg World Curling Tour skip Mike McEwen, Reid Carruthers of Team Jeff Stoughton, E.J. and Ryan Harnden from Team Brad Jacobs, Crystal Webster, Erin Carmody and Gerri-Lynn Ramsay of Calgary, Heather Smith-Dacey and Teri Lake of Halifax, Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg’s Team Jennifer Jones and Ottawa’s Rachel Homan and Alison Kreviazuk.
“Due to limited space and the success of last year’s fundraisers we are asking this year’s participants to have a minimum goal of $500 in funds raised per household,” said Steski. “As in the past, the top 10 fundraisers are recognized and given first opportunity to choose their celebrity skip, and all who raise over $1,000 have the opportunity to choose from the remaining positions.”