CORNWALL, Ontario – The Cornwall Curling Centre was packed for the start of the Shorty Jenkins Classic on Thursday, Sept. 14.
This is Cornwall’s second year hosting the curling tournament and the competition runs from Thursday until Sunday.
Each day is $20 to enter and the Semi-finals and finals will be broadcast live across the country on CogecoTV Channel 11 on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.
Six different countries and 33 different teams are competing this weekend, including world class curlers.
“We really have a who’s who of curling here in Cornwall this weekend,” said Kevin Baker, one of the organizers. “We were even going to the airport in Ottawa yesterday to pick up some of our competitors.
Last year’s winning team in the Men’s Division will have to try to defend their title without the help of their team captain.
Brad Gushue will not be competing with his team this weekend due to an injury he sustained last weekend.
The athletes will be competing for a bigger prize this year. Thanks to sponsorship from the World Financial Group, the purse at this year’s classic is nearly $89, 000.
The Shorty Jenkins Classic is an annual event and is one of the early competitions in the World Curling Tour season.
The tournament is held in honour of Clarence W. “Shorty” Jenkins (1935-2013), a world class curler famous for his pink cowboy hat.
