Randy Ferbey

Randy Ferbey (born May 30, 1959 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. He is one of the best in the world, being a six time Canadian champion and a four time World Champion. However, him, and his team of David Nedohin (third), Scott Pfeifer (second) and Marcel Rocque (lead)'s shear dominance on the national and world scale does not show on the World money tour, as he is often over shadowed by fellow Albertan Kevin Martin. Martin also beat out Ferbey for a chance to go to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. (The team had a disappointing 2-4 record). The most notable thing about Ferbey's team is that, while Ferbey is a skip he throws the rocks a third would normally throw. The team's third (often called a "fourth" in this case) is David Nedohin. This arrangement is very legal, but an unusual occurrence in curling. However, because his team does this, many other teams are beginning to employ this method, and it is becoming more and more popular.

Ferbey participated in his first Brier in 1987 as a third for Pat Ryan. His first Brier would be a disappointment, as they finished with a 6-5 record. The next year however, Ferbey, Ryan and their team Alberta mates Don Walchuk and Don McKenzie won the Brier, and were thusly crowned Canadian champions defeating Eugene Hritzuk of Saskatchewan 8-7 in the final. At the 1988 Worlds, team Ryan won the silver medal, losing in the finals to Eigil Ramsfjell of Norway 5-4. As defending champions at the 1989 Brier, Team Ryan would not disappoint, capturing their 2nd Canadian championship defeating Rick Folk of British Columbia in a non-eventful 3-2 victory. It was low scoring games like this one, and by teams like Ryan's dubbed the "Ryan Express" that forced the Canadian Curling Association and World Curling Federation to implement the 3-rock rule, and later the 4-rock rule to force more offense. At the 1989 Worlds, Ferbey and Team Ryan won their first World Championships, beating Switzerland's Patrick Hürlimann in the finals. In 1990, Ferbey left the team, and was unsuccessful at attempting to make it to the Brier with his new team of Don Walchuk, Pat McCallum, and Greg Muzechka. It would be nine long years before Ferbey would return.

Ferbey made his return in 1999 at the Alberta provincials, as a third for his current team mate David Nedohin. Except for the fact Nedohin was skip, the team mates were the same as they are today. While they didn't win, they did return in 2001 with Ferbey as skip, winning not only the Alberta championship, but the 2001 Nokia Brier as well beating Kerry Burtnyk of Manitoba 8-4. This sent the team to the 2001 Worlds where they lost both their semi-final game and the bronze medal game, which they gave up to Pål Trulsen of Norway. In 2002, Ferbey won his fourth Brier, the 2002 Nokia Brier, which was his teams 2nd. They beat John Morris 9-4 in the final. This time, at the 2002 Worlds in Bismarck, North Dakota his team won the championship, beating the same Pål Trulsen, 10-5. Ferbey and his team would return to the Brier, at the 2003 Nokia Brier in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the finals, they beat the home-town favourites Mark Dacey 8-4 in the finals. At the 2003 Ford World Curling Championship, his team won their 2nd world title, beating Ralph Stöckli of Switzerland 10-6 in the finals. The 2004 Nokia Brier was a blip on his teams record. After returning to the Brier for the fourth straight year, an unprecedented feat especially considering the great number of good teams in Alberta, his team would bow out in the final. After a 10-1 round-robin record, Ferbey and his team lost out to the same team they beat the previous year, Mark Dacey of Nova Scotia, in a 10-9 game where Ferbey's team surrendered a lead. However, Team Ferbey did not give up, and their reign would not be over. In 2005, the once again won the Alberta championships, and once again won the 2005 Canadian championships. This set a record, as his team became the first to win 4 championships as a team. The final was against Nova Scotia again, albeit a different team, that of Shawn Adams. In another close game, team Ferbey pulled it out and won 5-4 in the final. His trip to the 2005 Men's Ford World Curling Championships were marked with struggles, as the team finished the round-robin with three losses - tied for first with five other teams. After having a 4-3 record, Ferbey mounted eight straight wins to win the championship over David Murdoch of Scotland in a convincing 11-4 victory. Additionally, the Ferbey rink was the first team in history to score five on any single end in the world finals — and they managed this feat twice at the 2005 Ford World Curling Championships.

All together, he has played in eight Briers, six World Championships, all three Continental Cups, skipped in two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships, and won two Canada Cups. He also is a Sales and Marketing Representative for Asham Curling Supplies.

External links

• Canadian Curling Association player profile for Randy Ferbey (http://www.curling.ca/championships/player_profiles/index.asp?id=54)
• World Statistics (http://www.worldcurling.org/Curlhome/Statistics/player.asp?Action=Show&pid=834)
• Team statistics at CurlingZone (http://www.curlingzone.com/forums/teams.php?teamid=15795&view=Profile&tp=)