Monday, October 28, 2002

Whirlpool Home Appliances is increasing its support of Canada’s current and emerging women’s curling stars by signing on as an official sponsor of the current Manitoba provincial champions, Jennifer Jones and her team from the St. Vital Curling Club in Winnipeg.

Jones and her team made an impressive debut at the 2002 Scott Tournament of Hearts, finishing tied for second in the round robin standings. The team also finished second on the 2001-2002 Manitoba Women’s Curling Tour and won a berth to compete in the 2001 JVC TSN Women’s Skins Game. The Whirlpool sponsorship will help the team continue its pursuit of a national, world and Olympic curling championship.

Like many amateur athletes in Canada, Jennifer Jones (skip) and her team of Dana Allerton (lead), Lynn Fallis-Kurz (second) and Kim Keizer (third) manage a career and family outside the rink and rely on support such as the Whirlpool sponsorship to pursue their curling dreams.

“Whirlpool has become an important partner to our team and to Canadian women’s curling at all levels,” said Jennifer Jones. “Whirlpool’s generous support enables us to remain focused on our goals and to train and compete at a level that is required to achieve those goals.”

Whirlpool is in its second year of support of Canadian women’s curling. Whirlpool also sponsors reigning national and former world champion Colleen Jones and her team from Nova Scotia and the Janique Berthelot team from Quebec.

The new sponsorship deal builds on the company’s support of Canadian women athletes involved in sports with a high level of participation among women. Whirlpool also proudly sponsors golfers Lorie Kane and A.J. Eathorne, as well as Canada’s Women’s National Soccer Teams.

“Whirlpool believes that its support of extraordinary Canadian women athletes will help them to accomplish their life long dreams,” says Eric Bauchet, Director, Brand Marketing, Whirlpool Canada. “We are proud to announce our support of Jennifer Jones and her dynamic team from Manitoba, who we expect will soon be making huge waves on the national and world curling scenes.”

A big draw
Women’s curling in Canada continues to enjoy an explosion in popularity. The Canadian Curling Association estimates that, between 1998 and 2002, the number of women enrolled in competitive development programs tripled. Approximately 100 women’s teams across Canada are now training for provincial, national, world or Olympic competitions. More than 190,000 Canadian women curl on a casual basis.

Whirlpool is a brand of Whirlpool Canada, the largest supplier of major home appliances in Canada. Wholly owned by Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, Whirlpool Canada also sells products under the KitchenAid, Inglis, Roper, Speed Queen, Estate and Admiral brand names.

For more information about Team Jennifer Jones, click here