Mr. Speaker, the Ford World Curling Championships are taking place in Hamilton this week. All of Hamilton is pleased to be hosting this event. We all extend our welcome to the athletes and the visiting spectators.
Thirteen countries are represented at the championships. Along with Canada, there are also teams from Japan, Australia, the United States, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and Europe.
Canada is represented by two teams, one led by Marlin Bodogh of St. Catharines, Ontario, and the other led by Jeffrey Stoughton of Winnipeg.
In the previous world championships the Canadian men came first and the Canadian women came second.
The competition has been very exciting so far. Both Canadian teams have won their first three games and are in first place.
Curling is now an Olympic medal sport and the order of finish in these championships will help determine which teams attend the 1998 winter Olympic games in Nagano, Japan.
I wish the members of the Canadian rinks the best of luck and continued success in the competition.