Christie's RV Classic begins at Soo Curlers on Friday

The Northern Ontario Curling Tour is making its first of two stops in the Sault this weekend at the Soo Curlers Association.

The Christie's RV Classic will begin on Friday at 12:45 p.m. and will conclude on Sunday with the championship final at 4 p.m.

This event marks the fourth of six spiels on the NOCT, now in its second year of existence, which culminates with the NOCT Championship March 17-19 at Soo Curlers. The fifth event is scheduled for February 3-5 in Blind River.

Twenty-one teams will battle for a share of the $9,200 in available prize money. The teams are grouped into four divisions with each division winner along with three wild card teams advancing into Sunday's playoff round.

Teams on the NOCT are battling to accumulate enough points to gain a spot into the 16-team Tour Championship. Points are awarded based on earnings and round robin victories.

With a diverse field of men, women, mixed, juniors and seniors all competing against each other, a gender scale has been developed to even out the points amongst all competitive teams.

The men will remain even while senior men will multiply their points by 1.3, junior men by 1.4, mixed by 1.5, ladies by 1.6, senior ladies by 1.7 and the junior ladies by 1.8.

A round robin victory credits a team with 100 points AND $50 while 1,000 points is gained for every $1,000 earned.

The eventual Christie's RV Classic champion will win $1,800 while the runner-up nets $1,250. The semi-final losers collect $850 each while the quarterfinals losers earn $600 each.

Quarterfinal action is scheduled for Sunday at 9 a.m., the semi-finals at 12:30 p.m. and the final at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for the weekend and are available at Soo Curlers.

Earlier this year, Sudbury's Chris Johnson captured The Rock Curling Company Classic, the first event of the year in Sudbury in October. Ottawa's Willie Jeffries took the Labatt Classic in North Bay before Sudbury's Jordan Chandler won the NorthernTel Mobility Open in Haileybury.

Lemieux was the top local entry in Sudbury and North Bay by qualifying for the playoff rounds in both events. In North Bay, Lemieux dropped the semi-final game to the eventual champion. Eric Harnden also qualified in North Bay. Al Belec advanced to the semi-finals in Haileybury but fell to Chandler.

The NOCT, which was won last year by Haileybury's Rob Gordon, was formed by Sudbury's Tim Phillips, North Bay's Mark Brown and Englehart's Stephen Chenier.

To visit the NOCT website, which includes the complete draw schedule and results, click here.

*** THE TEAMS:

POOL A

Tim Phillips (Sudbury) Al Belec (Sault Ste. Marie) Vicky Barrett (SSM) - senior ladies Brad Jacobs (SSM) - junior men's Greg McLellan (SSM)

POOL B

Chris Johnson (Sudbury) Eric Harnden (SSM) Llyod Bigras (Sudbury) Mark Brown (North Bay) Mike Sagle (SSM) - senior men's

POOL C

Jordan Chandler (Sudbury) Rob Gordon (Haileybury) Brian Fawcett (New Liskeard) Brenda Johnston (Sudbury) - senior ladies Al Harnden (SSM)

POOL D

John McClelland (North Bay) Dan Lemieux (SSM) Al Gemmell (Blind River) Lance Loach (New Liskeard) Steve Decary Kevin Rutledge (SSM)

*** NOCT SEASON STANDINGS:

1. Jamie Morphet (Sudbury) 3,920 points 2. Tim Phillips (Sudbury) 3,650 3. Chris Johnson (Sudbury) 3,600 4. Jordan Chandler (Sudbury) 3,450 5. John McClelland (North Bay) 3,050 6. Willie Jeffries (Ottawa) 3,000 7. Dan Lemieux (SSM) 2,450 8. Rob Gordon (Haileybury) 2,050 9. Kent Wood (North Bay) 1,950 10. Eric Harnden (SSM) 1,850 11. Al Belec (SSM) 1,800 12. Vickey Barrett (Sudbury) 1,680 13. Lloyd Bigras (Sudbury) 1,650 14. Brain Fawcett (New Liskeard) 1,500 15. Al Gemmell (Blind River) 1,400 16. Joe Scharf (Thunder Bay) 1,350 (Tour Championship cut) 21. Brad Jacobs (SSM) 450 28. Greg McLellan (SSM) 150

***