Homan prepares to take on the world!

The best men’s teams in the country battled out on the ice in Edmonton last week for the Brier title. What a week it was! Our Goldline ambassadors hit a few bumps along the road, with teams Martin and Virtue failing to make it into the playoff round. Brad Gushue and his team from Newfoundland played well and made it into the page 3-4 game where they lost to eventual champion Brad Jacobs from Northern Ontario. Goldline would like to congratulate all of its ambassadors for their strong play during the week.

It's also worth noting that while he may have preferred a shot at the Brier title, Marc Kennedy (second on the team skipped by Kevin Martin) walked away as the winner of the Hot Shot competition, making Goldline ambassadors 2 for 2 at the Hot Shots! He was also named to the second all–star team based on his fine play all week. Congratulations Marc! Brad Gushue was also recognized as the second team all star skip; well done Brad!

The Brier is now history but many of the teams who played in Edmonton had just a few days to rest before starting play on Thursday in the Pomeroy Inn and Suites Prairie Showdown in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Goldline will be well represented at this event, with teams skipped by Jim Cotter (B.C.), Steve Laycock (Saskatchewan), and Brad Gushue (Newfoundland) all hoping for a chance at the title. With the Olympics less than a year away, teams are hungry to gain as many points as possible out on the tour, so as to have the best chance possible to gain a berth into the Olympic trials.

There is also a field of 18 women’s teams in Grand Prairie, including Goldline ambassadors from team Shannon Kleibrink (Alberta), team Chelsey Carey (Manitoba), and team Crystal Webster (Alberta). Best of luck, ladies!

Also starting this weekend is the women’s world curling championships in Riga, Latvia. Go Homan Go! Rachel Homan and her team from Ottawa curled incredibly well to capture the Scotties title and must be viewed as a very strong contender to win a gold medal at the worlds. TSN will be covering all of Canada’s games live on TV (okay, so maybe you don’t want to be up to watch the morning draws live, which will air at 2:30 am Eastern, but the morning and afternoon draws will be aired at 7:30/8:00 am and 12:30/1:00 pm Eastern). Check your television listings to follow Team Canada in its quest for the world championship. Goldline wishes the Homan team “Good Curling!”

In addition to Rachel, Goldline will also be keeping an eye on the Scottish team, skipped by Eve Muirhead, as well as on Debbie McCormick (a Goldline distributor in the U.S.) Good luck, ladies!