| John Kawaja | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 27, 1961 (age 63)[ citation needed ] |
Curling career  | |
| Member Association |  Ontario |
| Brier appearances | 6 (1983, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997) |
| World Championship appearances | 2 (1983, 1990) |
Medal record | |
John W. Kawaja (born April 27, 1961[ citation needed ] in Chandler, Quebec) is a Canadian curler. He is a two-time Brier and World Champion.
Kawaja moved to Ontario as a youth, and became a high-profile skip (he won the 1980 Ontario junior championship), but it was not until his move to the Ed Werenich rink that he finally started to win championships. In 1983, Kawaja won his first provincial championship, playing second for Werenich. The team not only won the provincial championship, but they won the Brier and the World Curling Championship as well that year. Kawaja is the youngest player to have ever won the Brier (21 years old). In 1984, the team repeated their provincial championship, but lost in the Brier final to Michael Riley's Manitoba rink. Kawaja was promoted to the third position for Werenich, and in 1990 won his third provincial title. The team followed up with another Brier and World Championship. Kawaja won two more provincial titles with Werenich in 1995 and 1997. He and Ed Werenich formed the nucleus of teams that won more money than any curling team in the 1980s and 90s.
Kawaja was named to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1991. [1] In 2009, Kawaja and his 1983 world champion team (Werenich, Paul Savage and John Kawaja) were inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. [2]
Kawaja retired from curling in 1997. After working with Bata Shoes to work on a curling shoe design, he moved on to work with Adidas after retiring from curling. He later became president of the Taylormade golf company. [3] He resides in San Diego, California.
Russell W. "Russ" Howard, CM, ONL is a Canadian curler and Olympic champion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, but originally from Midland, Ontario. He lived in Moncton, New Brunswick, from 2000 to 2019. Known for his gravelly voice, Howard has been to the Brier 14 times, winning the title twice. He is also a two-time world champion, winning in 1987 and 1993. He has also won three TSN Skins Games in 1991, 1992, and 1993, and participated in two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships in 2000 and 2001. He won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He played in two Canadian Senior Curling Championships in 2008 and 2009 finishing with a silver medal both of those years. Russ Howard was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently a curling analyst and commentator for TSN’s Season of Champions curling coverage.
Robert Wayne Middaugh is a Canadian curler. Born in Brampton, Ontario, Middaugh resides in Victoria Harbour, Ontario. He is the only player to have won the Canadian Men's Curling Championship at three different positions: skip (1998), third (2012), and second (1993). He was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2020. He currently coaches the Anna Hasselborg rink from Sweden.
Kevin Martin, nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart", is a Canadian retired curler originally from Lougheed, Alberta and residing in Edmonton. He is an Olympic, World and four-time Canadian champion and a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame. He is considered by many commentators and former and current curlers to be the greatest curler of all time. He is also known for his rivalries with Randy Ferbey/David Nedohin, the best Alberta provincial rivalry ever as the two teams were generally regarded the best in the world from 2002 to 2006; his rivalry with Jeff Stoughton, perhaps the most famous all prairies rivalry ever which spanned over 2 decades from 1991 to 2014; with Glenn Howard from 2007 to 2014, perhaps the best two team rivalry in Canadian curling history, and his rivalry with Sweden's Peja Lindholm from 1997 to 2006, perhaps the best ever men's Canada-Europe rivalry.
Glenn William Howard is a retired Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight, from 2006 to 2013. He has made 20 Brier appearances, playing in a total of 227 games, the third most of any curler. He has won a career 14 Grand Slams, won the 2001 TSN and 2013 Dominion All-Star Skin Games and the 2010 Canada Cup of Curling.
Richard Hart is a Canadian curler from Pickering, Ontario. He is a Brier and world champion, as well as an Olympic silver medallist.
Ronald Charles Northcott,, nicknamed "The Owl", was a Canadian three-time national and world curling champion and a Hall of Fame member.
Edward Werenich is a Canadian curler from Holland Landing, Ontario. Nicknamed "The Wrench," Werenich has been known to be a colourful and outspoken character. Outside of curling, Werenich worked as a firefighter.
The Ontario Tankard is the Southern Ontario provincial championship for men's curling. The winner represents Team Ontario at the Montana's Brier. The tournament is overseen by CurlON.
A. Paul "The Round Mound of Come Around" Savage is a Canadian curler, world champion and Olympic medallist.
Joseph Mark Frans is a Canadian curler from Guelph, Ontario. Frans is most notable for being a two-time provincial champion and for being suspended from competitive curling for cocaine usage.
Jason Gunnlaugson is a Canadian curler currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Michael McEwen, nicknamed "Magic Mike" is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who grew up in Brandon, Manitoba. McEwen won six Grand Slams in his career before his team qualified for their first Brier, Canada's national championship in 2016. He is noted as one of the top curlers using the Manitoba tuck delivery today.
Graeme McCarrel is a Canadian curler from Brampton, Ontario. He is a former Brier and World Champion.
Ian J. Tetley is a Canadian curler from Oakville, Ontario. He is a three-time Brier and World Champion.
Reid Carruthers is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carruthers was the 2011 world champion—winning gold as a second on Jeff Stoughton's team—as well as an eight-time provincial champion, the 2003 junior provincial champion, and the 2008 Manitoba provincial mixed champion. He coaches the Kerri Einarson women's team.
Charles A. Sullivan, Jr. is a Canadian curler from Saint John, New Brunswick. He is a former World Junior curling champion.
The 1983 Labatt Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 6 to 13 at the Sudbury Arena in Sudbury, Ontario.
Neil Gordon "Harry" Harrison was a Canadian curler from Newmarket, Ontario. He was a six-time provincial champion, and two-time Canadian and World champion. He is considered to be one of the best leads of all time. He is recognized as having revolutionized the position with the use of the corner guard.
Connor Njegovan is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He currently plays lead on Team Reid Carruthers.
The 1997 Nokia Cup, southern Ontario men's provincial curling championship was held February 4-9 at the Guelph Memorial Gardens in Guelph, Ontario. The winning rink of Ed Werenich, John Kawaja, Pat Perroud and Neil Harrison from the Churchill Curling Club would go on to represent Ontario at the 1997 Labatt Brier in Calgary, Alberta. It was Werenich's 10th and final provincial title of his career, which included World Championships in 1983 and 1990.
