FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 16, 2005

Toledo’s Lazar headed to Olympic Trials for Curling

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) – Toledo’s Mark Lazar is one step closer to becoming an Olympic curler, as his team will competed in the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Curling starting on Saturday at the Madison Curling Club in McFarland, Wis.

Lazar is a member of the Wes Johnson rink based out of Seattle. The Johnson rink qualified for the Olympic Trials after finishing 4-2 at the Challenge Round held in January in Eveleth, Minn. The team secured the ninth spot and goes into the Trials as the No. 7 ranked team, as determined by peer-seeding.

Lazar, 27, began curling while a student at Bowling Green State University while looking for a physical education course to take to satisfy a graduation requirement. Now he’s competing among the elite curlers in the U.S. He joined Johnson’s squad this year and hopes to continue with the team on to Torino, Italy, next February for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

The 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials also will serve as the World Trials to choose the USA’s entrants at the 2005 Ford World Curling Championships. Ten men’s and 10 women’s team will take part in a round robin. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals on Feb. 25. The Page Playoff System will be used to determine the finalists. The No. 1 ranked team will play the No. 2 ranked team. The winner advances to the final while the loser advances to play the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 4 ranked teams to determine the second finalist. The men’s and women’s finals will take place Feb. 26.

Highlights from the 2006 U.S. Olympic Trials will be aired on the College Sports Television Network at a date to be announced soon.

Curling became a full-medal sport at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The 2006 Olympic Games will take place Feb. 10-26, 2006. The 2010 Olympics will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics and AmerAust Technologies as well as by General Motors, Chevron-Texaco and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling, rickp@curlingrocks.net, 715-344-1199