TORONTO – The 2012 Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel in support of SickKids Foundation is pleased to announce the names of the celebrity athletes taking part in the Capital One Rocks & Rings Junior Clinic, as well as the names of two popular curling heroes who have joined the third annual event.

Four celebrity skips will be on the ice on Friday afternoon for the Capital One Rocks & Rings Junior Clinic. This is the third time that the Bonspiel, which begins play Friday evening, has kicked off the weekend with a hands-on curling clinic for Toronto’s young curling hopefuls.

The four curling stars are Heather Smith-Dacey of Halifax, Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg, Ryan Fry of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and defending Bonspiel champion Sara Carlsson of Karlstad, Sweden.

Joining them on the ice will be a special guest: recreational curling superstar Johnny “The Hammer” Chow, who is featured in “Start Curling” commercials during televised curling championships.

“This is my first time at the Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel and I’m really excited,” said Chow, who is portrayed by 17-year curler Terence Yip of Toronto. “I love the game of curling and any chance I get to spread the joy of this game is beyond awesome. I’ll be getting my crazy curling pants pressed for this!”

Another special guest boasts legendary status in the history of the Roaring Game. The Tim Hortons Brier Tankard, the trophy of Brier curling champions dating back to 1927, is on loan from the Canadian Curling Association and will be displayed during the 2012 Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel.

The trophy was last hoisted at Saskatoon in March, when the Ontario team skipped by world champion Glenn Howard defeated Alberta in the Canadian men’s championship final. Howard and teammates Brent Laing and Craig Savill will be celebrity skips at this year’s Bonspiel.

The 2012 Capital One Celebrity Bonspiel has a full roster of superstars and fundraising participants, and play begins Friday evening, June 1 at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. The event finals get underway on Sunday, June 2 at 5:30pm followed by the Closing Dinner.

Participants are requested to raise a minimum of $500 in fundraising for SickKids Foundation, while participants who raise a minimum of $1,000 have a chance to select a celebrity as their team skip.

Please visit the event website celebritybonspiel.com  for more news news, photo galleries, celebrity bios, a direct donation hyperlink and more.

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