Ford Hot Shots

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.

History

[edit]

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]

Disciplines

[edit]

There were six disciplines that each competitor (for 2018, each team) had to do:[6]

  • The "hit and stay" (they must hit a rock on the button and not roll out)
  • The "draw to the button" (they must throw the rock as close as possible to the centre of the rings)
  • The "draw through the port" (the must throw the rock as close as possible to the centre of the rings, but go between two guard rocks in the process.
  • The "raise" (they must bump a guard rock into the rings as close as possible to the centre)
  • The "hit and roll" (they must hit a rock at the edge of the rings and roll as close as possible to the centre of the rings)
  • The "double" (they must remove two rocks with one stone, and end up as close as possible to the centre of the rings)
The "Hackner Double"
The "Schmirler in-off"

Since 2017, the event included five new disciplines:[2]

Scoring

[edit]

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]

Prizes

[edit]

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]

Winners

[edit]
Year Women Men
1995 Saskatchewan Kay Montgomery Ontario Ed Werenich
1996 Manitoba Gerri Cooke New Brunswick Rick Perron
1997 British Columbia Sherry Fraser Northern Ontario Mike Coulter
1998 New Brunswick Allison Franey British Columbia Greg McAulay
1999 Alberta Marcy Balderston Manitoba Steve Gould
2000 British Columbia Kelley Law Alberta Don Bartlett
2001 Canada Kelley Law New Brunswick Jeff Lacey
2002 British Columbia Kristy Lewis British Columbia Pat Ryan
2003 Prince Edward Island Suzanne Gaudet New Brunswick Marc LeCocq
2004 Ontario Andrea Lawes Alberta Randy Ferbey
2005 Ontario Jenn Hanna Newfoundland and Labrador Mark Nichols
2006 Nova Scotia Colleen Jones Manitoba Steve Gould
2007 Northwest Territories Kelli Turpin Alberta John Morris
2008 Manitoba Jill Officer Saskatchewan Steve Laycock
2009 Alberta Cheryl Bernard Ontario Craig Savill
2010 Saskatchewan Amber Holland Ontario Glenn Howard
2011 Canada Jennifer Jones Ontario Richard Hart
2012 Northwest Territories Kerry Galusha Ontario Wayne Middaugh
2013 Ontario Rachel Homan Alberta Marc Kennedy
2014 Newfoundland and Labrador Heather Strong Saskatchewan Kirk Muyres
2015 Newfoundland and Labrador Heather Strong Manitoba Colin Hodgson
2016 Canada Jennifer Jones Newfoundland and Labrador Brad Gushue
2017 Ontario Rachel Homan Northern Ontario Brad Jacobs
2018  Manitoba (Team Jennifer Jones)[3]  Northern Ontario (Team Brad Jacobs)[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Marc Kennedy wins Ford Hot Shots competition". Canadian Curling Association. March 2, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "New skills unveiled for 23rd annual Ford Hot Shots competition". Curling Canada. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Granger, Grant (January 27, 2018). "Perfect fit at Ford Hot Shots for winning Penticton fan". Curling Canada. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "New-look Ford Hot Shots format puts fans in driver's seat". Curling Canada. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Granger, Grant (March 2, 2018). "Northern Ontario makes fan's day with Ford Hot Shots triumph". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "Brad Gushue wins Ford Hot Shots competition". Curling Canada. March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  7. ^ http://cloudfront6.curling.ca/w2/files/2014/05/2013-2014_Ford_Season_of_Champions_Fact_Book.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  8. ^ 2017 Scotties Media Guide: Overall Records
  • ExtraEnd Magazine, 2009-10 edition, pg 20-21
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ford_Hot_Shots&oldid=1154200301"