Norm Cowley’s Rock On curling column

Coverage will include network’s online and mobile platforms

The 2013 Alberta men’s and women’s curling championship finals will be televised nationally on one of the Sportsnet properties.

A 10-year multiplatform agreement for exclusive Canadian coverage of the Alberta, B.C., Manitoba and Ontario championships was announced on Tuesday. The coverage will include Sportsnet’s online and mobile platforms.

“We’re extremely pleased for our fans across the province and outside the province,” said Alberta Curling Federation executive director Jim Pringle. “Technically, anybody in Canada is going to have the opportunity to watch the Alberta finals or Manitoba finals or Ontario finals.

“Certainly, for our curlers and our title-presenting sponsors, it’s great news.”

The Alberta finals have been televised on Shaw TV since 2005, but that audience was limited to those with Shaw cable packages.

The NHL lockout could affect how much coverage and which properties (ie. Sportsnet West, Sportsnet One) show the championships.

Sportsnet coverage of the provincial finals, with the exception of B.C.’s, begins this winter. B.C.’s coverage starts in 2014. “Nothing is set in stone. There may be more (than just the final) in the future,” said Pringle.

Sportsnet recently purchased the Grand Slam of Curling, the elite series of men’s and women’s curling events on the World Curling Tour.

If the pants t, wear them

Edmonton’s Kalynn Park is a new ambassador for Goldline Curling, an Ontario-based curling supplies company.

Park, the 24-year-old daughter of longtime competitive curler Kevin Park, designed a new women’s curling pant that carries her first name.

An entertaining interview with Park, who is throwing second rocks for Shannon Kleibrink’s Calgary team this season, can be seen in an online feature, Cullen and a Curler, on YouTube.

Speaking of curling pants, John Morris, the third on Kevin Martin’s powerhouse crew, helped create the Mojo men’s pants line this season at Goldline.

Koe wins consecutive WCT bonspiels

Kevin Koe’s reigning provincial men’s championship rink of Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen is on a roll.

Koe stole the winning point in the eighth end to edge Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 6-5 in the final of the Cactus Pheasant Classic at Brooks on Sunday to win his second straight bonspiel.

He also defeated archrival Kevin Martin 5-4 in the semifinals.

Koe, who won $22,000 to boost his money-list leading total to $59,200 this season, and Martin were the only Alberta teams to qualify for the playoffs.

Up next

Koe will be back in action this weekend at the Red Deer Curling Classic.

Among the eight Edmonton teams are the Tom Appelman and Brendan Bottcher rinks.

Two-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport champion Laura Crocker and former provincial champs Val Sweeting and Renee Sonnenberg are among the 32 teams in the women’s field.