 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(February 2012) |
The Ford Hot Shots was the annual skills competition preceding both the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's women's and men's national curling championships respectively. [1] The competition has not been held since 2018.
When Ford became a sponsor of the World Curling Championships in 1995, it also began a tradition of a skills competition preceding Canada's national championships. [2]
The change in competition format for the 2018 Tournament of Hearts and 2018 Brier led to a change in format for the Hot Shots. Fifteen teams would compete instead of individual curlers, with the winning team being awarded a cheque for $15,000 and one of four Hot Shots spectators winning the two-year lease on the Ford vehicle. [3] [4] The three finalist spectators would each receive $500 to donate to the charities of their choice. [5]
There were six disciplines that each competitor (for 2018, each team) had to do: [6]
Since 2017, the event included five new disciplines: [2]
For each shot, where the shooter rock came to rest determined how many points were earned. A rock that ended up on the button received 5 points. A rock that ended up in the 4 foot ring got 4 points. 8 foot ring, 3; 12 foot for 2; and one point if a "shot has been to have provided some sort of positive result." [7]
Until 2018, the winner of the Hot Shots received a 2-year lease on a Ford vehicle. First and Second runners-up received cash ($2000 and $1000 respectively). In 2009, the women's winner received a lease on a 2009 Ford Flex SEL FWD and the men's winner received a lease on a 2009 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4. In 2013 the lease vehicle was a Ford Fusion SE. [1]
Winning women's vehicles: [8]
| Year | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 |  Kay Montgomery |  Ed Werenich |
| 1996 |  Gerri Cooke |  Rick Perron |
| 1997 |  Sherry Fraser |  Mike Coulter |
| 1998 | Allison Franey | Greg McAulay |
| 1999 |  Marcy Balderston | Steve Gould |
| 2000 | Kelley Law | Don Bartlett |
| 2001 |  Kelley Law | Jeff Lacey |
| 2002 | Kristy Lewis | Pat Ryan |
| 2003 |  Suzanne Gaudet | Marc LeCocq |
| 2004 | Andrea Lawes | Randy Ferbey |
| 2005 | Jenn Hanna |  Mark Nichols |
| 2006 |  Colleen Jones | Steve Gould |
| 2007 |  Kelli Turpin | John Morris |
| 2008 | Jill Officer | Steve Laycock |
| 2009 | Cheryl Bernard | Craig Savill |
| 2010 | Amber Holland | Glenn Howard |
| 2011 | Jennifer Jones | Richard Hart |
| 2012 | Kerry Galusha | Wayne Middaugh |
| 2013 | Rachel Homan | Marc Kennedy |
| 2014 | Heather Strong | Kirk Muyres |
| 2015 | Heather Strong | Colin Hodgson |
| 2016 | Jennifer Jones | Brad Gushue |
| 2017 | Rachel Homan | Brad Jacobs |
| 2018 | Manitoba (Team Jennifer Jones) [3] | Northern Ontario (Team Brad Jacobs) [5] |
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet toward the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones once. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends.
Sandra Marie Schmirler, was a Canadian curler who captured three Canadian Curling Championships and three World Curling Championships. Schmirler also skipped (captained) her Canadian team to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first year women's curling was a medal sport. At tournaments where she was not competing, Schmirler sometimes worked as a commentator for CBC Sports, which popularized her nickname "Schmirler the Curler" and claimed she was the only person who had a name that rhymed with the sport she played. She died in 2000 at 36 of cancer, leaving a legacy that extended outside of curling. Schmirler was honoured posthumously with an induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and was awarded the World Curling Freytag Award, which later led to her induction into the World Curling Federation Hall of Fame.
This is a glossary of terms in curling.
David Nedohin is a Canadian curler. Nedohin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and now plays out of Sherwood Park, Alberta. He is best known as the longtime fourth for Randy Ferbey.
The Ford Fusion is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company. From the 2006 through 2020 model years, two generations of the Fusion have been produced in gasoline, gas/electric hybrid, and gas/plug-in electric hybrid variants. The Fusion was manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant in Sonora, Mexico, alongside its rebadged variant the Lincoln MKZ, and formerly the Mercury Milan, both of which share its CD3 platform.
Mark Nichols, ONL is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. He currently plays third for the Brad Gushue rink. Nichols is a former Olympic champion curler, having played third for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where the team won a gold medal. He also won a World Championship with Gushue in 2017.
Richard Hart is a Canadian curler from Pickering, Ontario. He is a Brier and world champion, as well as an Olympic silver medallist.
The Continental Cup is a curling tournament held annually between teams from North America against teams from the rest of the World. Each side is represented by six teams, which compete using a unique points system. The tournament is modeled after golf's Ryder Cup., but unlike the Ryder Cup, the Continental Cup has never been held outside of North America nor has it been a regular, biennial event. The inaugural Continental Cup was held in 2002 but was held only three times between 2005 and 2010. Since 2011, however, the Continental Cup has been an annual competition.
The 2000 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 19 to 27, 2000 at the CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia. The total attendance for the week was 54,778.
The 1999 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 20 to 28, 1999 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The total attendance for the week was 48,224.
The Ford Freestyle is a crossover utility vehicle that was sold by Ford from 2005 to 2009. Largely marketed as the successor to the Ford Taurus station wagon, the Freestyle was the CUV counterpart of the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego four-door sedans. Sharing the Ford D3 platform with the Five Hundred and Montego, the Freestyle was produced with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations and six- or seven-passenger seating.
The 1998 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 21 to March 1 at the Agridome in Regina, Saskatchewan. This was the last major tournament in which Sandra Schmirler participated in prior to her death in 2000. The total attendance for the week set a record 154,688 which broke the previous mark set in 1993 by exactly 66,666. As of 2023, this remains the attendance record for the event.
Marc Kennedy is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta.
The Ford Flex is a full-size crossover SUV or MPV that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company; a single generation was produced from the 2009 to 2019 model years. Introduced as the successor to the Ford Taurus X, the model line also functionally replaced the Ford Freestar minivan. Slightly larger than its predecessor, the Flex was sized alongside the full-sized Ford Explorer in the Ford model line, being marginally longer, yet not as tall as the Explorer.
Amber Holland is a Canadian curler from Loreburn, Saskatchewan. Holland skipped Saskatchewan's team to a national women's championship in 2011 by defeating defending champion Jennifer Jones in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and won a silver medal at the 2011 Capital One World Women's Curling Championship. She also won a national championship at the junior level in 1992, and captured a silver medal at the World Junior Curling Championships in 1993 after losing in the final.
The 1997 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 22 to March 2, 1997 at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, British Columbia. The total attendance for the week was 35,390, which was the lowest since 1990.
Allan A. Hackner, nicknamed "the Iceman", is a retired Canadian Hall of Fame curler from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was born in Nipigon, Ontario. He is a two-time Brier and World Champion skip. He is of Ojibwa descent and is a member of the Red Rock Indian Band. He is currently a member of USA Curling's High Performance Program Coaching staff.
Colin Sterling-Wyatt Hodgson is a Canadian curler originally from Lacombe, Alberta. He is the former lead for Team Mike McEwen and coaches Team Chelsea Carey.
The 1966 Macdonald Brier the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held March 7 to 11, 1966 at the Halifax Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After the Brier the year before broke attendance records, the 1966 edition only drew 11,905 fans. At the time, only the 1947 Brier drew fewer fans.
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and will go on to represent Canada at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship on home soil at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It was a record fifth Brier title as a skip for Gushue.