MEDICINE HAT, December 13, 2007…North America got out of the blocks in a hurry Thursday morning at the 5th edition of the Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto, taking place at The Arena in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The home side swept all three matches, each worth six points, to open up an 18-0 lead over Europe after the first draw.

The North American tandem of Scott Pfeifer and Debbie McCormick scored a 10-4 win over Europe’s Ralph Stöckli and Kelly Wood, while Bill Todhunter and Jennifer Jones teamed to give the hosts a second victory, 10-6 over the pairing of David Murdoch and Liudmila Privivkova. 

In the third game, North America’s Todd Birr and Cathy Overton-Clapham managed to steal a deuce in the final end when Europe’s Olga Jarkova (teamed with Andreas Schwaller) was heavy with her last draw, snatching a 7-6 win in the process.

The revamped Mixed Doubles format called for only two players per team, instead of the previous four (two throwers and two sweepers), who also become sweepers during the eight-end games.

CBC-TV will provide live coverage of the Continental Cup on Saturday, December 15 and Sunday, December 16, when the final men’s and women’s Skins Games take place.   CurlTV (www.curltv.com) is also offering event coverage to its subscribers.

The competition format involves four disciplines within the sport, each worth a designated number of points - 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. Each member of the winning side receives $2,000, while the losing side members get $1,400 each from the $88,400 total purse. 

Both sides are tied at two wins each.   North America took the inaugural ‘Cup’ in Regina in 2002 and the 2004 renewal in Medicine Hat, when an attendance record of 42,317 was set.    Europe prevailed in 2003 in Thunder Bay and last year in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Three women’s eight-end team games, each worth six points (or three points each in the case of a tie), are on tap for Draw 2, beginning at 2:00 pm MST.    North America’s Jennifer Jones faces Europe’s Liudmila Privivkova, reigning world champion Kelly Scott faces recent European Championship runner-up Kelly Wood and 2003 world champion Debbie McCormick faces off against 2007 world women’s silver medallist Angelina Jensen.

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