CURLING JAMAICA
Nov 2, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2024
Toronto, ON, Canada / Kingston, Jamaica – Jamaica’s national curling teams competed in the B-Division playoffs at the Pan Continental Championship in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada.
The Jamaican women’s team of Madeleine Spurgeon, Stephanie Chen, Margot Shepherd-Spurgeon and Alexandra Marriott captured the silver medal for the second straight year, defeating Kazakhstan 9-8 in Friday’s semi-final before losing to Australia 11-4 in today’s championship final.
The Jamaican men’s team of Ian Robertson, Andrew Walker, Don Johnston and Luke Samuels had an
impressive debut at the international level, advancing to the playoffs after compiling an 8-2 record in
the round robin. In the playoffs, the men’s team lost their semi-final game to Kazakhstan by a 10-3 score before a tough 8-7 loss to Hong Kong in the bronze medal game.
Overall, the Jamaican curling program put forth a strong performance this past week, especially
considering that Jamaica only entered World Curling play last year and have since defeated more
experienced and established opponents, whereas most new curling nations find it challenging to close
that gap in experience. It also provides optimism as Jamaica works toward an eventual Olympic berth in the winter sport of curling.
Jamaica Olympic Association President Mr. Christopher Samuda said: “I applaud the achievements of
Curling Jamaica which exemplify not only admirable talent but an unwavering commitment to making
history and excellence in sport. I salute your founder, Ben Kong, and President, Ian Robertson, and the team and look forward to more pioneering feats in winter sports.”
Jamaica’s next curling competition will be the “World Mixed Doubles Qualification Event” in Dumfries,
Scotland, held from December 2nd to December 7th, 2024. Jamaica will be represented by Andrew
Walker and Margot Shepherd-Spurgeon.
Women’s News and Results
Semi-Final – Friday, Nov. 1, 2024:
Jamaica 9 Kazakhstan 8 – This semi-final was another close and eventful contest between these two
teams. After Kazakhstan scored a single point with the hammer (last shot) in the opening end, a
determined Jamaica side answered back with 6 unanswered points, including 3 points in the 2nd end
alone. Jamaica then built a 9-2 after scoring another 3 points in the 6th end. Kazakhstan then stormed
back to score 3 points in the 7th end and stole 2 points in the 9th end to narrow Jamaica’s lead to 9-7.
Jamaica sealed the victory by holding Kazakhstan to a single point in the 10th and final end.
Australia defeated the Philippines 11-6 in the other semi-final on Friday. For Jamaica, that meant a
second straight year where they would face an opponent with A-Division experience in the final, as
Australia was in A-Division last season before being relegated to B-Division.
Championship Final – Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024:
Australia 11 Jamaica 4 – Jamaica held Australia to a single point in the first end without the hammer,
but were unable to score with the hammer until registering a single point in the fourth end. By then,
Australia had built a 4-1 lead and scored again in the 5th and 6th ends to take a 7-1 lead. Jamaica
answered by scoring 2 points in the 7th end and stealing 1 point in the 8th to narrow the deficit to 7-4.
Australia then put the game out of reach with 4 points in the 9th and final end.
As B-Division champions, Australia gained promotion back to the A-Division of the Pan Continental
Championships, a division that features some of curling’s top teams like Canada, China, USA and Japan.
For the Jamaican women, it was a very strong performance against an improved B-Division, and a gain of valuable experience as they continue to work towards eventual promotion to the A-Division.
Men’s News and Results
Semi-Final – Friday, Nov. 1, 2024:
Kazakhstan 10 Jamaica 3 – Jamaica began the game with an early 1-0 lead after the 1st end. However, Kazakhstan would score 2 points in five straight ends to build a 10-1 lead after 6 ends. Jamaica did manage to score single points in the final two ends before conceding the game.
Bronze Medal Final – Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024:
Hong Kong 8 Jamaica 7 – The game was closely contested in the early going, with Jamaica trailing by a score of 2-1 after the 4th end. Hong Kong then struck for 4 points with the hammer in the 5th end to take a 6-1 lead. Jamaica answered with 2 points in the 6th end and stole another 2 points in the 7th end to narrow the deficit to 6-5. Jamaica then scored 2 points in the 9th end to tie the game at 7-7, but Hong Kong scored the winning point in the final end to secure the win and the bronze medal.
The Philippines defeated Kazakhstan 9-3 in the championship final.
About Curling Jamaica: Curling Jamaica is the sole governing body of the winter sport of Curling in
Jamaica, and currently operates in Ontario, Canada, with corporate registered head offices in Toronto,
Ontario and Kingston, Jamaica. For more information, visit www.curlingjamaica.com
About The Pan Continental Championship: this tournament is organized by World Curling (formerly the
World Curling Federation) and serves as a regional qualifier for the 2025 World Curling Championships. Both the Jamaican men’s and women’s teams begin play in the B-Division. The top four teams in after the round robin will enter a playoff round, with the winner gaining promotion to the A-Division.
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For more information, please contact:
Ben Kong at ben.jamaicacurling@gmail.com