2004 McCain TSN Skins Bathurst, NB December 3 - 5th, 2004 HISTORY OF THE McCAIN TSN SKINS GAME The skins concept in curling began in 1985 over a conversational cocktail. Jim Thompson, at that time VP Programming for TSN, was swapping stories with veteran curling promoter (and then Executive Director of the Air Canada Silver Broom), Doug Maxwell. "What can we do that will be new for the game and give curling a lift?" they mused. And out of that conversation grew curling’s version of The Skins Game. It turned out to be an instant success, both with the curlers involved and television viewers. So much so that today it pulls one of the largest curling audience of the year for TSN. In 1989, McCain Foods (Canada) entered the picture and began a unique long-term partnership. The money at stake since that first year has escalated to the point where the Skins is now the richest curling event in Canada. In 1989, the prize money equaled $50,000 and reached $150,000 for the celebration of the Skins 15th year held in Gimli, Man. Four teams compete in the McCain TSN Skins Game. The previous year Skins winner automatically gets a berth in the Skins Game and the winner of the Brier takes a spot. The other two teams are determined by who wins the McCain SuperSpiel in Florenceville and Grand Falls, N.B. and McCain SuperSpiel West in Portage la Prairie, Man. Some of the prominent winners throughout the years of the Skins include Ed Werenich, Russ Howard, Kevin Martin, Wayne Middaugh, Glenn Howard and Randy Ferbey. For some curlers winning the Skins was a harbinger of future success - 1989 Mark Dacey was the Skins champion; he was runner-up in the 2003 Brier and is the 2004 Brier champion. The Bathurst Curling Club is pleased to be hosting the sixteenth annual McCain TSN Skins game on the weekend of December 3 - 5 2004. Two teams have already been selected to participate, the Wayne Middaugh team and the Mark Dacey team. Rules: 1. The CCA Rules of the Game apply, except as modified below (including the four-rock rule). 2. To begin the competition, each team selects one player to draw closest to the button, with sweeping allowed. The team whose stone is closest to the button wins a bonus of $2,000 and is ranked #1. The next closest is ranked #2, and so on. In each game, the higher-ranked team has the choice of either (a) last rock in the first end, or (b) stones. In any shootout (rule #7), the higher-ranked team has choice of first or last draw to the button. 3. All games are 8 ends. 4. Total prize money is $150,000, including the winners bonus of $16,000 and the $2,000 closest-to-the-button bonus (rule #2). 5. A skin is won by (a) taking two or more points when holding last rock; or (b) stealing the end. All money not won in an end is carried over to the next end. 6. Blanking an end results in a team losing last rock in the next end. 7. If the money at stake in the 8th end is not won, each team plays one draw to the house, with sweeping allowed by the playing side only. The team whose stone is closest to the button wins the end and the money. 8. Prize money won determines the game winner. In the event of a tie in money won, each team has one draw to the house, with sweeping allowed by the playing side only. The team whose stone is closest to the button wins the game. 9. Each team is allowed 60 minutes to complete its shots in an 8-end game. There are NO time-outs. A team's clock starts when an opponent's rock comes to a stop, or passes the back line, and the opposing team leaves the house. A stone that has been released within the 60-minute time period continues in play until it has come to rest. there is a period of dead time at the completion of each end. The umpire will advise teams when to start play for the next end. Any coach that travels with the team are only allowed to access the ice area and/or meet with their respective teams at 4th end break. During play, they must sit behind the glass upstairs. The 4th end break is 10 minutes in length. 10. If a team runs out of time, the opposing players may play their remaining shots, in rotation, until the game is completed or their time expires. 11. An umpire makes any measures required and is available to clarify any rule. An umpire's time-out is called, and the time clock is stopped, on all such occasions. Prize Money Breakdown: End Semifinals: Final: 1 $1,500 $ 3,000 2 $2,000 $ 4,000 3 $2,500 $ 5,000 4 $3,000 $ 6,000 5 $4,000 $ 8,000 6 $5,000 $ 10,000 7 $6,000 $ 12,000 8 $8,000 $ 16,000 ADD DRAW TO THE BUTTON BONUS: $ 2,000 (Middaugh) ADD WINNER'S BONUS: $ 20,000 TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $150,000 Past Champions: Year Skip: Winnings: Host Site: 2003 Wayne Middaugh $88,000 Gimli, MB 2002 Randy Ferbey $79,500 Grand Prairie, AB 2001 Glenn Howard $77,200 Barrie, ON 2000 Greg McAulay $66,100 Fredericton, NB 1999 Wayne Middaugh $58,900 Whitehorse, YK 1998 Kevin Martin $50,450 St. John's, NL 1997 Kevin Martin $46,900 Cranbrook, BC 1996 Wayne Middaugh $64,800 Sault-Ste. Marie, ON 1995 Wayne Middaugh $45,750 Halifax, NS 1994 Ed Werenich $45,750 Saskatoon, SK 1993 Russ Howard $37,000 Ottawa, ON 1992 Russ Howard $37,300 Quebec City, QC 1991 Russ Howard $42,250 Calgary, AB 1990 Ed Werenich $38,750 Charlottetown, PEI 1989 Mark Dacey $28,000 Winnipeg, MB Teams: 2003 Canadian Champion 2003 McCain TSN Skins Game Winner Mayflower Curling Club, Halifax, NS St. George's Curling Club, Toronto, ON Position Name Position Name Skip Mark Dacey Skip Wayne Middaugh Third Bruce Lohnes Third Graeme McCarrel Second Rob Harris Second Joe Frans Lead Andrew Gibson Lead Scott Bailey 004 McCain SuperSpiel West Winner 2004 McCain SuperSpiel Winner Ottewell Curling Club, Edmonton, AB Coldwater Curling Club, Coldwater, ON Position Name Position Name Skip Kevin Martin Skip Glenn Howard Third Don Walchuk Third Richard Hart Second Carter Rycroft Second Brent Laing Lead Don Bartlett Lead Craig Savill _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Semifinal #1 - Mark Dacey vs. Glenn Howard Saturday, December 4 - 1pm et/10am pt Rink 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Dacey $ - - $ - - $ - $10,500 Howard - - $ - - $ - $ $21,500 End-by-end Recap: End 1: Dacey put two counters on the button behind cover and left Howard with no choice but to attempt a raise that didn't work. Dacey stole the $1,500 skin. End 2: Howard made an open draw for one, which forced a carry-over of $2,000 and returned the hammer to Dacey for the third end. End 3: With Howard sitting in steal position, Dacey's last shot wrecked on a guard and gave away the $4,500 skin. End 4: Dacey got the $3,000 skin when Howard's last rock rolled too far off the button and left Dacey couting two with no need to throw the last stone. End 5: Dacey tried to force a carry-over by guarding Howard's shot rock, and left his opponent with nothing but high-risk options. Howard's shot ended up wrecking on the traffic in front, which may have been his best play. Dacey got the hammer back, but the $4,000 skin carried-over. End 6: With Howard couting one on the edge of the button, he tried to hit and stick for two, but his shooter rolled too far and gave Dacey a chance to hit and stick for two and the $9,000 skin. Dacey, though, wrecked his shot on a guard and Howard stole the money. End 7: Howard's rub and roll ended up rolling too far, leaving Dacey with an open draw for two and the $6,000 skin. His draw was more of a gentle tap-back, but it was good enough. End 8: Dacey was lying two heading to skip stones, looking for an $8,000 steal and the win. Dacey drew to the back of the four-foot to lie three, before Howard tapped in to take shot rock. Dacey tried to come in agian, but his shot over-curled and wrecked on a guard. Howard followed with a tap-in for two and the win. REPORT FROM TSN: Howard advances to McCain TSN Skins final Canadian Press 12/4/2004 BATHURST, N.B. (CP) - Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., racked up $21,500 to defeat Mark Dacey of Halifax Saturday in the first match of the 2004 TSN McCain Skins curling tournament. Dacey finished the day earning $10,500. After making a delicate tap back in the seventh end to stay alive, Dacey racked up front with his final stone in the eighth giving Howard a wide open draw for two and the final skin worth $8000. "The last rock picked," said Dacey. "You know you'd like to have it come down to great shot making and skill. The rock was gliding pretty good, it was on a good line, and then all of a sudden it had no chance at all and was all over the guard. Congrats to their team and I hope they do well but you know it just feels (bad) when it's a bad break that costs you." Things looked pretty good for Dacey moments earlier. After picking up two, and the $6000 skin in the seventh end to close the gap on Howard, Dacey had a chance to close the door on the Ontario skip with his first shot in the eighth and final end. "One team would get an end going real well and then all of a sudden the other team would make a great shot and the roles were reversed," said Howard. "That's what happened at the end. I thought we had a great end going and then (Dacey's third stone) Bruce (Lohnes) made a triple and all of sudden we were behind he eight ball." Dacey then tried to put a rock on the top of the four-foot but came up strong allowing Howard to freeze his first stone in for one. "Fortunately Mark came deep on his first one to give me an opportunity to score my deuce," said Howard. "That was huge. He throws that top four and I'm grasping to get one. They had to sweep it to get by and it ended up deep and I was able to kind of tap and roll on top and got fortunate." After Dacey's final stone seemed to pick something up and hit a guard Howard was able to draw in for two and the win. Howard faces the winner of Saturday's late semi-final, between Edmonton's Kevin Martin and defending champion Wayne Middaugh of Toronto. Both Howard and Dacey wound up winning three skins during the match. Dacey drew first blood with a steal in the opening end for $1500. After a carry over in the second Dacey rubbed a guard with his last rock allowing Howard to steal the third and get on the board with $4500. Dacey didn't have to throw his final rock in the fourth to pick up a $3000 skin after Howard's double takeout attempt only managed to remove one stone. After another carry over in the fifth, Howard took control winning $9000 with a steal in the sixth when Dacey's final rock caught another guard. "I think the rocks are a little bit different," conceded Howard who said the ice was in great shape. "There are a few subtleties to them where sometimes they back up and sometimes they curl. That makes it a little bit more difficult. We're really so pleased to be able to win the first (game) and get in the last game for so much more money. It doesn't matter who we're playing we've got a tough game tomorrow." Middaugh heads into tonight's game already having pocketed $2000. He finished first in a draw to the button competition held prior to the opening game. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Semifinal #2 - Kevin Martin vs. Wayne Middaugh Saturday, December 4 - 7pm et/4pm pt Rink 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Martin $ - - - $ - $ $ $24,500 Middaugh - $ - $ - - - - $ 7,500 End-by-end Recap: End 1: With Martin sitting two buried in the four-foot, Middaugh fails to remove them with his final rock. Martin steals the skin. End 2: After some missed opportunities, Middaugh executes a perfect hit-and-roll for a deuce and his first skin of the game. End 3: Martin draws against two and needs some backing to lie one and barely force the carryover. End 4: With Martin lying one, Middaugh throws big weight and picks out the shot stone to earn two more skins. End 5: After a near miss by Middaugh, Martin plays the tap-back to perfection to earn the skin and close the gap. End 6: Drawing against four opposition rocks, Middaugh uses some backing to force the carryover. End 7: After a triple-kill by Walchuk, Martin draws to the four-foot for a deuce, a skin and a berth in Sunday's final. End 8: With Martin sitting on the button, Middaugh fails to convert on a circus shot, giving the final skin to Martin. Semi-Final Report: Martin, Howard to face off BATHURST, N.B. (CP) - Kevin Martin of Edmonton and Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., both advanced to the final of the 2004 McCain TSN Skins game Saturday night. Martin reached the final with an exciting win over defending champion Wayne Middaugh of Toronto. Martin captured $24,500 in the match, compared to $7.500 for Middaugh. "It was a heck of a game," said Martin. "That's what skins are all about. "It comes right down to the last couple of ends. Wayne has won this thing a ton of times so we knew it would be tough." Howard racked up $21,500 to defeat Mark Dacey of Halifax in the other semifinal. Dacey finished with $10,500. Middaugh looked like he might finish off Martin in the seventh end but the game took a drastic turn with a triple takeout from Martin's third Don Walchuk. "They made the triple and we were in trouble right from there," Middaugh said. "The worst part was there was no way out." Martin agreed the triple takeout was a big shot but he said it was Walchuk's next shot that made the difference. "The more important one is when he makes that soft, hack weight, hit and roll (to be) buried in seven, that's the game winning shot," said Martin. "I know the triple is fancier but that isn't the one that won the game. "I just had to hit an open rock and then lob one down to the four foot with backing, I didn't have to make anything once Walchuk made his terrific shot." Martin, won this event in '97 and '98, took the opening skin worth $1,500 when Middaugh missed a double raise takeout. Middaugh, who is the event leader in most final appearances (10) and wins (four), made a nice hit and roll in the second to take two and win $2,000. After Martin drew to some backing for one and a carryover in the third, Middaugh came back with a big hit for two and $5,500 in the fourth. The game started to turn in Martin's favour in the fifth end when he played a nice tapback to take two and increase his winnings to $5,500. Middaugh was forced to draw to the button for one and a carryover in the sixth, setting up Walchuk's heroics in the seventh. Martin added one more skin in the eighth when Middaugh failed to convert on a difficult raise takeout with his final stone. "We were flat right from the word go," said Middaugh. "We were lucky actually to get up. "It was just a matter of time and time caught up to us." Sunday's final will be a matchup between Canada's top-ranked curlers. Martin is No. 1 with 97.80 points with Howard second with 97.53. "We've had a good start to our season," said Martin. "And Glenn's had a good start to his... and to play each other in the final game I expect it to be a heck of a game." In the first semifinal, Dacey made a delicate tap-back in the seventh to stay alive, then racked up front with his final stone in the eighth giving Howard a wide-open draw for two and the final skin worth $8,000. "The last rock picked," said Dacey. "You know you'd like to have it come down to great shot making and skill. "The rock was gliding pretty good, it was on a good line, and then all of a sudden it had no chance at all and was all over the guard. Congrats to their team and I hope they do well but you know it just feels (bad) when it's a bad break that costs you." Things looked pretty good for Dacey moments earlier. After picking up two, and the $6,000 skin in the seventh end to close the gap, Dacey had a chance to close the door on the Ontario skip with his first shot in the eighth and final end. "One team would get an end going real well and then all of a sudden the other team would make a great shot and the roles were reversed," said Howard. "That's what happened at the end. I thought we had a great end going and then (Dacey's third stone) Bruce (Lohnes) made a triple and all of a sudden we were behind he eight ball." Dacey then tried to put a rock on the top of the four-foot but came up strong allowing Howard to freeze his first stone in for one. "Fortunately Mark came deep on his first one to give me an opportunity to score my deuce," said Howard. "That was huge. "He throws that top four and I'm grasping to get one. They had to sweep it to get by and it ended up deep and I was able to kind of tap and roll on top and got fortunate." After Dacey's final stone seemed to pick something up and hit a guard, Howard was able to draw for two and the win. Both Howard and Dacey won three skins during the match. Dacey drew first blood with a steal in the opening end for $1,500. After a carryover in the second Dacey rubbed a guard with his last rock allowing Howard to steal the third and get on the board with $4,500. Dacey didn't have to throw his final rock in the fourth to pick up a $3,000 skin after Howard's double takeout attempt only managed to remove one stone. After another carry over in the fifth, Howard took control winning $9,000 with a steal in the sixth when Dacey's final rock caught another guard. "I think the rocks are a little bit different," conceded Howard who said the ice was in great shape. 'There are a few subtleties to them where sometimes they back up and sometimes they curl. "That makes it a little bit more difficult. We're really so pleased to be able to win the first (game) and get in the last game for so much more money." _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Final Game - Kevin Martin vs. Glenn Howard Sunday, December 5 - 3pm et/Noon pt Rink 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Martin - $ $ $ - $ - $ $76,000 * Howard - - - - $ - - - $8,000 End-by-end Recap: End 1: Already sitting two, Howard drew onto his counter to lie three. Martin followed with a double take-out and left his shooter to count one. That forced the $3,000 skin to carry-over. End 2: With Howard sitting one, Martin made an incredible double bump through a port to claim shot rock. Howard tried to make a raise take-out, but missed, and Martin stole $7,000. End 3: With Martin lying two, he put up a guard to protect the advantage. Howard tried a raise and missed, giving Martin a $5,000 steal. End 4: With Howard counting two, Martin tapped in to claim shot rock on the back of the button. Howard had an open look for the hit, but whiffed, handing Martin a $6,000 steal. End 5: Facing four stones, Martin made an open draw to claim shot rock. Howard followed by knocking it out and claiming the $8,000 skin. End 6: Facing two stones, Martin squeezed in to take shot rock. Howard made a great draw to the button to re-take shot rock, but Martin tapped it out to take the $10,000 skin. End 7: Already counting one, Martin was a little heavy with a draw. Howard followed with a draw that barely held on to the button, but was good enough to force a carry-over. End 8: With Martin counting one, Howard tapped into the button to claim shot stone. Martin calmly picked it clean to claim the $28,000 skin and the $20,000 winner's bonus. * - Total includes a $20,000 winner's bonus. Report from TSN: Martin tops Howard to take Skins Game Canadian Press 12/5/2004 BATHURST, N.B. (CP) - Kevin Martin's Edmonton rink defeated Glen Howard's team from Coldwater, Ont., and won an impressive $76,000 Sunday at the McCain TSN Skins Game final. Martin's club also earned $24,500 in a semi-final victory over defending champion Wayne Middaugh of Toronto on Saturday, giving the rink $100,500 for the weekend. They are the first team to break $100,000 in earnings at the skins tournament. "That's a lot of money," said Martin. "You feel the pressure. There's nothing like skins for that. "The first two or three ends you know you can go up in the crowd, sit with the people, have fun and get to know everybody but when you get to the sixth, seventh and eighth ends it is stressful. It's real curling, it's fun and I love it." Howard earned only one skin, worth $8,000, in the fifth end. Martin's final shot was worth $48,000. Canada's number on ranked curler calmly went the length of the ice, settled into the hack, and proceeded to remove a Howard rock at the back of the four-foot ring to pick up the skin and the $20,000 winner's bonus. "(Third stone Don) Walchuk played excellent but he's been excellent lately," said Martin of his team's success in the final. "I think that we've got to give the edge in that game to (second stone) Carter (Rycroft). Carter played his best game of the year today and that set us up" The team's fourth member was lead Don Bartlett. It was a disappointing end to the weekend for Howard who won a total of $29,500 in the event, including $21,500 during Saturday's semi-final victory over Nova Scotia's Mark Dacey. After drawing to the button to force a carry over in the seventh end, the Coldwater, Ontario native came up just a little heavy with his final stone giving Martin the chance to win. "It was disappointing," admitted Howard. "I threw a little heavy on my last one and it was unfortunate but I couldn't get the broom in the right spot for myself all game. I felt like it was coming out okay but the results weren't that good." The game began with a carry over in the first end after Martin needed to make a double take-out and hang around for one with his last rock. Martin then made an incredible double raise through a port to sit on the button with his final shot in the second. Howard's attempt at a raise takeout just missed giving Martin the steal and $7000. With a rock buried in the third end, Howard's raise attempt was unsuccessful and Martin added $5,000 to his total with another skin. Howard came up long with the final stone in the fourth to increase Martin's total to $18,000. Howard finally got his only skin of the day when he chipped out Martin's rock in the four-foot in the fifth end. A delicate tap-back in the sixth gave Martin the game's only other skin and another $10,000. Mark Dacey left after Saturday's semi-final loss with $10,500 while Middaugh, who walked away with an additional $2000 after winning a draw to the button competition prior to the event, won $7,500 in his semi-final loss.