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Official 2010 Olympic curling pin

World Seniors, Mixed Doubles begin Sunday in Russia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2010

2010 World Seniors and Mixed Doubles begin Sunday in Russia; volcano delays travel for athletes

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) - The 2010 World Senior Championships and 2010 World Mixed Doubles Championship kick off Sunday at the Ural Lightning Ice Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Sharon Vukich (Seattle) will become the first U.S. athlete to compete in both competitions at the same time as she will lead her senior women's team as well as team up with fellow Seattle native Mike Calcagno in the mixed doubles competition. Vukich defended her national senior ladies title in January and looks to improve on her sixth-place finish last year in Dunedin, New Zealand. Joining her are teammates Susan Curtis (Rogers, Ark.), Mary Colacchio (Falmouth, Mass.), Betty Kozai (Seattle) and Dani Thibodeaux (Kirkland, Wash.). Kozai, 81, is the mother of Vukich and is well known at Seattle's Granite Curling Club in Seattle for defeating many of the elite and up-and-coming teams on a regular basis, earning the moniker that when they lose that they were "kozaied."

Paul Pustovar (Hibbing, Minn.) will lead the senior men's team for the second straight year as well after a silver-medal performance at senior worlds last year. Joining Pustovar are teammates Paul Pustovar (Hibbing, Minn.), Brian Simonson (Hibbing, Minn.), Tom Harms (Pengilly, Minn.), Don Mohawk (Nashwauk, Minn.) and Dale Gibbs (Woodbury, Minn.).

Practice for the World Seniors gets underway Saturday followed by the opening ceremony. Curling action begins at 10 a.m. Sunday. The U.S. men will compete in the red group with Scotland, Japan, Australia, Hungary, England, Russia and Estonia. The blue group is comprised of Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand, Italy, Wales and the Netherlands.

The U.S. senior ladies will compete against eight other nations in a round robin. Other competing countries include Canada, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland and Switzerland. Canada is the defending champion in both divisions.

In the mixed doubles competition, the U.S. team of Vukich and Calcagno will compete against 23 other teams in the third year this competition is being contested. The best finish by the U.S. to date is 15th in 2008. The teams are split into three divisions. The U.S. will play in a round robin with Canada, China, Russia, Latvia, Japan, Australia and Slovakia. Other competing nations include defending champions Switzerland as well as Czech Republic, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Korea, Austria, Hungary, Finland, Scotland, Estonia, Italy, England, Norway and Spain.

Games in both events are eight ends in length. The mixed doubles action begins at 9 a.m. Sunday and also will have its pre-event practice and opening ceremony on Saturday.

Due to the air travel snarls caused by the volcanic eruptions in Iceland, Calcagno has yet to arrive in Russia due to travel delays. If he is unable to the make the trip, the U.S. will be forced to withdraw from the mixed competition.

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, bitRail and Nike and is partnered with CurlingZone.com.

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For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 715-344-1199, Ext. 202, 608-338-9900 (cell)