The John Shea Insurance Canada Cup Qualifier was an annual curling bonspiel held at the Ottawa and Rideau Curling Clubs in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In odd years, the event was a qualifier for the men's Canada Cup of Curling while in even years the event is the women's qualifier. It was held annually in December, and was part of the World Curling Tour.
The rotating format begun in 2006, when Ottawa hosted the JSI Women's Canada Cup Qualifier. The other qualifier was held annually at the Saville Centre in Edmonton, Alberta and was known as the Diversified Transportation Canada Cup Qualifier. In 2004, Ottawa hosted the Canada Cup East Qualifier for both sexes (the 2005 event was cancelled). Prior to this, the event had nothing to do with the Canada Cup, and was known as the Cowan Wright Beauchamp - The Championships (2001-2003) and the Welton Beauchamp Curling Classic (1992-2000) and the Labatt's Blue Light Cashspiel (1989-1991).
The purses for the event have often been quite high, and was at $100,000 at one point. The 2008 event gave away $65,200.
Mike Harris' victory in 1996 and Brad Gushue's victory in 2004 gave them berths to Canada's Olympic qualifying tournaments which they eventually won. Gushue would win Olympic Gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics, while Harris won silver at the 1998 Olympics.
The event last occurred in 2008. There was no Canada Cup in the 2009-10 curling season, cancelling the 2009 tournament. The Canada Cup returned in December 2010, the same time as the qualifiers used to be. To date, the event has not been replaced by another major tournament. The local qualifier for the 2010 Canada Cup of Curling was the Challenge Casino Lac Leamy, and there has not been local qualifiers since.
Champions Year Winning men's skip Winning women's skip 2008 - Marie-France Larouche 2007 Kevin Koe - 2006 - Jennifer Jones 2005 cancelled 2004 Brad Gushue Jo-Ann Rizzo 2003 Jeff Stoughton Brenda Nicholls 2002 Glenn Howard Janet McGhee 2001 Wayne Middaugh Elisabet Gustafson 2000Ottawa Citizen, 14 Nov 2000, pg C1 "Berth-day celebrations" Wayne Middaugh Sherry Fraser 1999Ottawa Citizen, 16 Nov 1999, pg B1 "Harris rink cashes in big / Floyd, Plaster rinks survive close calls" Mike Harris Kathy Floyd 1998Ottawa Citizen, 17 Nov 1998, pg F2 "Olson captures men's title" Mark Olson Chantal Osborne 1997Ottawa Citizen, 11 Nov 1997, pg F2 "Rideau foursome rocks in final" Rich Moffatt Alison Goring 1996Ottawa Citizen, 12 Nov 1996, pg E8 "Harris scores late win in bonspiel" Mike Harris Sherry Scheirich 1995Ottawa Citizen, 14 Nov 1995, pg E1 "Pineau rolls to Classic victory" Larry Pineau Kathy Brown 1994Ottawa Citizen, 15 Nov 1994, pg H1 "Toronto rink makes Classic defence a success" Dan Mustapic Pam Leavitt 1993Ottawa Citizen, 16 Nov 1993, pg E2 "Werenich rink takes top prize in Welton Beauchamp Classic" Ed Werenich Pam Leavitt 1992Ottawa Citizen, 17 Nov 1992, pg E8 "Harris adds title to Ottawa bounty" Mike Harris Anne Merklinger 1991Ottawa Citizen, 8 Oct 1991, pg B3 "Butler does it again, wins 2nd Cashspiel" Ted Butler Karen Fallis 1990Ottawa Citizen, 16 Oct 1990, pg B5 "Winning curlers cash in" Ted Butler Connie Laliberte 1989Ottawa Citizen, 17 Oct 1989, pg C1, "Hrtizuk swept to title, wins $12,000 cheque" Eugene Hritzuk Anne Merklinger
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