Joseph Mark Frans (born July 1, 1975 in Grimsby, Ontario) is a Canadian curler from Guelph, Ontario. Frans is most notable for being a two-time provincial champion and for being suspended from competitive curling for cocaine usage.

Career

Frans obtained fame as a curler in 1991, when he won the provincial school boys championship and the provincial junior mixed championship while curling in Smiths Falls, Ontario. In 1993, Frans won the provincial junior championship while playing in

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

. At the

1993 Canadian Junior Curling Championships The 1993 Pepsi Canadian Junior Curling Championships were held in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Men's Teams Standings Results Draw 1 Draw 2 Draw 3 Draw 4 Draw 5 Draw 6 Draw 7 Draw 8 Draw 9 Draw 10 Dra ...

, his team would finish with a 6-5 record. In 1994, Frans would win a second straight provincial championship, this time with Bradford, Ontario. At the 1994 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, he skipped the Ontario team to a 4th place finish (7-4 record), just out of the playoffs. Frans later joined up with another provincial junior champion, John Morris, playing as his vice. The team played in the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, finishing with a 5-4 record. The following year, they won a provincial men's championship. At the 2002 Nokia Brier, the team lost in the final to Randy Ferbey's Alberta rink. The following year, the team lost to Ferbey once again in the Canada Cup final. Morris left Ontario following that season, and Frans joined up with Wayne Middaugh, playing as his second. The team won the 2005 provincial championship, qualifying them for the

2005 Tim Hortons Brier The 2005 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta from March 5 to 13. The tournament consisted of 12 teams, one from each province, plus a team representing the Yukon and Northwest T ...

. It was at the 2005 Brier, that Frans was randomly selected to have his urine tested. After the Brier, it was announced that Frans had tested positive for cocaine, which Frans denies using. Nonetheless, Frans was banned from competitive curling for two years. It was the first positive drug test in curling history.http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Curling/2005/06/08/1076791.html At the 2005 Brier, the team finished with a 6-5 record. Frans curled 81%, fourth among seconds. Frans would return in 2007, skipping his own team. The 2007 John Shea Insurance Canada Cup Qualifier being one of his first major events. In 2009, Frans qualified for the 2009 provincial championship, where he and his rink lost in the semi-final to Peter Corner. He qualified again in 2010 and finished with a 6-4 record. In 2011, he joined the Corner rink and played second. For the 2012–13 curling season, Frans returned to skipping. He replaced Dale Matchett, who skipped the team of Ryan Werenich (son of the legendary Ed Werenich), Jeff Gorda and Shawn Kaufman since the fall of 2005. Matchett retired from competitive play.

References

External links

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Ontario Curling Tour Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frans, Joe Curlers from Ontario 1975 births Living people People from Grimsby, Ontario People from Smiths Falls People from Huron County, Ontario People from the Regional Municipality of Halton Sportspeople from Guelph Doping cases in curling Canadian male curlers Canadian sportspeople in doping cases Canada Cup (curling) participants 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people