Issue 9 ? Sunday, February 7, 2010 ? An Offi cial Publication of the Canadian Curling Association. Smiles from the isle P.E.I. advances to its first Scotties final by outgunning Ontario For tickets call 902.629.6625 or order online From left, P.E.I.?s Tricia Affleck, Kathy O?Rourke, Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay rejoice after topping host Ontario 10-6 in Saturday night?s semifinal at the Essar Centre. ? History in the making? Page 2 The ? Envelopes, please! Page 5 For decades, our full event pass has been the best value of any ticket for any Canadian sports championship. A favourite among curling fans who relish the excitement of 21 draws spread over 9 incredible days. It?s the Big Ticket for the big time curling fan and you can choose any seat in the house. End zone ... side view ... up high ... down low ... it?s up to you. Save up to 30% compared to single draw walk-up prices at time of event. (Including all taxes and service charges) ? Sportsman nod for Scott Page 11 $ 359 Canad ...

Page 2 HeartChart Soo showdown Team Canada goes for Scotties three-peat today against Island interlopers Larry Wood HeartChart Editor It?s the kind of championship matchup no one could have predicted. The defending champion versus a team featuring a 21-year-old last rock thrower representing a province that has not only never won the Scotties Tournament Of Hearts, but has never placed a team in the ? nal. ?Pretty amazing right now,? said Prince Edward Island skip Kathy O?Rourke in the wake of Saturday night?s convincing 10-6 victory over home-province favourite Krista McCarville and her Thunder Bay aggregation. Today?s Final 2:30 p.m. ? Canada (Page One-Two winner) vs. Prince Edward Island (semi? nal winner) Pretty amazing, indeed. One night earlier, P.E.I. was afforded suf? cient opportunities to defeat the defending champs, but lost on account of a mediocre 60-per-cent shooting performance on last rocks. On Saturday, the Islanders bene? ted from a total turnaround from 21-year-old Er ...

Sunday, February 7, 2010 Jones gang avoiding ?Canadian idle? Team Canada stayed busy during day off Todd Kimberley HeartChart Associate Editor Among the visitors this past week at the Essar Centre was Rex Goudie of Canadian Idol. As for Jennifer Jones? two-time defending Scotties champs? They were determined on Saturday not to be Canadian idle. By virtue of its 8-5 victory over Prince Edward Island in the Page One-Two playoff game on Friday night, Jones? Team Canada rink earned a berth in this afternoon?s 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship ? nal at 2:30 p.m. ET ? and a rare Saturday off. This is the Jones crew?s sixth straight appearance at the Canadian women?s curling championship, but they haven?t taken the direct route to the ? nal since 2005, when they edged Kelly Scott?s British Columbia out? t 8-7 in the Page One- Two game, then clipped Jenn Hanna?s Ontario rink 8-6 in the national championship showdown. ?The biggest thing when you have a day off is to keep yourself ...

Page 4 HeartChart Great granite! One sublime Scotties JIM CRONIN HeartChart Columnist What a wild nine days at the Essar Centre! I?m sure visions of curling rocks will be dancing in my head at least for the next couple of days with the conclusion of the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts today in Sault Ste. Marie. As one of the more than four hundred local volunteers who worked on the Scotties I consider myself privileged to have been a part of this great curling event. Here are some of my personal observations looking back on the past nine days. ? Where were the fans early in the week? It was disappointing and a bit embarrassing to watch the TSN national television coverage and see so many empty seats. After all this tournament featured some of the top women Healthy and Vibrant Communities curlers in the world...not just Canada. In fact, there were at two skips who have both Canadian and world championships on their resume. The lack of early fan support can?t be blamed on poor communi ...

Sunday, February 7, 2010 Heartstoppers, heartwarme rs and heartaches LARRY WOOD HeartChart Editor Time again to apply the wrapping to another Scotties, a Tournament Of Hearts renewal that de? nitely has had its moments. Lessee . . . picturesque location along the St. Mary?s, some sunny days, a ? rst-class facility at the Essar Centre, a load of great volunteers. All right. ?Nuff said, right? The top two teams have been determined and it?s time for the annual Scotties Tournament Hearts and Heartaches Awards as chosen by your favourite daily journal (with input from several and sundry CIMCO Refrigeration welcomes all participants and fans to the... With over 4,500 ice surfaces installed worldwide, CIMCO is proud to be recognized as the world leader in the design, engineering, manufacture, installation and servicing of artificial ice rink systems. spies and assorted insiders . . . also outsiders . . . and a proviso that none of these selections should be taken too seriously and none are aw ...

Page 6 HeartChart Putting a face to the game The people and personalities of the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts B.C.?s Kelly Scott, left: Yikes! Team Canada?s Jennifer Jones, right: Not exactly as she planned. Ontario?s Krista McCa rville: Move those brushes! Qu ebec?s Eve Belisle: Qu?est-ce qui se passe? Manitoba?s Leslie Wilson, above: Deep in thought. Below, Stephanie LeDrew of Newfoundland: Yukking it up. Ontario?s Kari MacLean: Hu rry hard! ...

Sunday, February 7, 2010 ?Big family? means big excitement: Charlottetown preps for 2011 Scotties Larry Wood HeartChart Editor The last time the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was staged in Charlottetown, post-event reports seeping off Prince Edward Island painted a word picture of one whale of a razzlin?, dazzlin? party. Veteran observers concur. It was a Scotties to cherish, also to remember. Organizing committee chair for the 2011 renewal is Kim Dolan, who?s run more curling championships than she cares to count and is relying on the good vibes from that 1999 event, one which still is talked about on both sides of the Confederation Bridge. ?It was special because of the atmosphere that was created within the building,? says Dolan, who?s a Scotties regular as organizer and player. ?Charlottetown really embraced the event, and once they saw the whole thing ? the curling of that calibre hadn?t been seen there for a long time ? Islanders came out in droves. From left, co-chair Rebecca Je ...

Page 8 The Party Line ? Your guide to what?s goin? on your guide to what?s goin? on Three Cheers for theVolunteers! All week long - and for months leading up to the event - nearly 450 volunteers have been hard at work making sure the 2010 Scotties is the best it can be. And they?ve come through with flying colours... so let?s all share a hearty toast to our hosts! Take a Free Ride Shuttle service is available daily between the Essar Centre and HeartStop Lounge at the Soo Curlers Association. The service is provided by Tim Hortons and the City of Sault Ste. Marie. Shuttles will depart every half hour to both venues. Departure points are the main parking lot near the front entrance of the Essar Centre and front door of the Soo Curlers Association. Full schedules are posted at both departure points and online at seasonofchampions.ca ...

Sunday, February 7, 2010 It?s Simply Oh, What a Wonderful Week it?s Been! Cool Curling Comes Down to the Crunch! Competition at the 2010 Scotties has been packed with excitement all week long in the Essar Centre? and the HeartStop Lounge. Today, it comes down to a dramatic climax in both venues! Since Monday, the Cool Curlers have been fighting it out in the HeartStop for the right to compete for the cash on championship weekend. The semi-finals get underway at 12:30 pm, followed by final game action. Make sure you get your spot in the HeartStop! The Cool Curling winner takes home $600, with $300 for second and $150 for third. Page 9 A big thank you to volunteer photographer Neil MacEwan! Neil has contributed a number of great photos to The Party Line during the past week. Friday, February 4 Tina Svistunenko - ticket number 20722 - won $2,346.50 HeartStop Lounge Menu Homestyle Cooking Available 11 am ? 7 pm Provided by Rico?s Catering Todays Menu Pasta and Meatballs $6.00 Soup and Sand ...

Page 10 HeartChart Most cerebral interview ? ?Twould have to be the same Amber Holland. But what the . . .? She eats, breathes, works and lives curling. She always should be an enlightening source for the media wretches. Most humourous interview ? Shelley Nichols is some kind of quipster. Always tells it like it is, with a touch of badinage. Plain-talkin?, from-the-hip interview ? Jill Thurston. Most over-used cliche ? For the umpteenth straight year, ?the wrong side of the inch? will drive us all bananas! Most intimidating ? The more the Joneses win, the more they?re going to petrify most of the opposition. But some say Shelley Nichols shakes up her foes, big-time. Teehead gamblers ? The Spud Islanders again wasted no time launching the offence and, commendably, they played that way all game, all week. Nothing like getting the back-end youngsters used to the heat. The team exhibited an intriguing dynamic. Shooter, pound-for-pound ? How about Geri-Lynn Ramsay? A lot of clutch hitand-ro ...