New Zealand Curling

Basel, Switzerland – The schedule of play for the World Men's Curling Championship 2012, presented by the Ford Motor Company of Canada, has been released today by the World Curling Federation and the Local Organising Committee in Basel.

New Zealand's first opponents will be Scotland – a prospect that delights skip Peter de Boer and fellow ex-pat Kenny Thomson.

New Zealand's team was confirmed in December, with the NZ Curling Association confirming the same squad that won silver at the 2011 Pacific-Asia Championship in November to qualify for this World Championship.

	Team New Zealand, pictured on the Pacific-Asia podium in China. L-R: Peter Becker (coach), Peter de Boer (skip), Sean Becker (3rd), Scott Becker (2nd), Kenny Thomson (lead), Phil Dowling (alternate) Photo: Chinese Curling Association

NZ skip Peter de Boer said when the team was named, "I know the team are excited about having a chance to gain some Olympic qualifying points, and to give ourselves at crack at 2014 in Sochi!"

"I'm looking forward to taking on the best teams in the world and showing them that NZ Curling is on the rise. I'm particularly excited about putting one over Scotland, that game should be a cracker!"

Eleven of the other top men's curling teams in the world will join New Zealand in the Swiss city from 31 March to 8 April 2012 to compete on ice which will be specially prepared for the event in Basel's St Jakobshalle.

The line-up of Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, USA and hosts Switzerland will take part in the event which is a further step on the way to qualification for the next Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

Many of the other national teams are still to be determined over the coming weeks. National Men's Curling Championships are set to take place in the USA, Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada where the winning team will head to the World Championship.

The event kicks off on the evening of Friday the 30th of March with a parade of the players through the centre of Basel.

The next day the twelve teams will start a round robin, through until Thursday 5th April. Any tiebreakers will take place on Friday 6th, with playoffs and semifinals scheduled for Saturday 7th. The medal games will be played on Sunday 8th April.

The World Men's Curling Championship 2012 in Basel, Switzerland, is presented by the Ford Motor Company of Canada. LGT Bank of Switzerland, Le Gruyère and 361° International are Main Sponsors of the event, with the City of Basel being the Official Host City.

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NZ Draw & Results	WCF official results
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