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Randy S. Ferbey (born May 30, 1959) is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
retired curler from
Sherwood Park Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is located adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary, generally south of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Trail), ...
, Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time
World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. He currently coaches the
Rachel Homan Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curler. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion, a three-time Canadian national champion, and the 2017 world champion, all as a skip. She was also the skip of the Can ...
women's team. Born in
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Ferbey notably popularized the system of having the skip throw third rocks, when he skipped the team nicknamed "the Ferbey Four", a team with which he won four Briers (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) and narrowly missed winning the 2004 final after giving up a 7–3 lead to Mark Dacey. Others teams in both men's and women's curling have adopted the system of not having the skip throw last stones, such as the Margaretha Sigfridsson rink, who would win winning an Olympic Silver and numerous World silvers and Europeans golds by skipping while throwing lead stones, and Jim Cotter throwing last rocks for John Morris who would together reach the finals of both 2014 Olympic Curling Trials and 2014 Brier. The Ferbey Four also popularized the " numbered zones", when calling out the weight of various draw shot

Many consider the quartet together at its peak from 2002–2006 to be either the best team or very near to the best team in curling history. Nedohin's often near perfect shotmaking (regularly having games in the high 90s), Ferbey's extremely aggressive shot calling, and the stellar brushing and front end stones of Marcel Rocque and Scott Pfeifer (nicknamed Huff and Puff for their tireless work on the broom) made them an incredibly difficult challenge for every opponent. All together, he has played in eight
Brier Briar, Briars, Brier, or Briers may refer to: * Briar, or brier, common name for a number of unrelated thorny plants that form thicket People * Brier (surname) * Briers, a surname * Briars (surname) Places * Briar, Missouri, U.S. * Briar, ...
s, six
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, four Continental Cups, skipped in two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships, won three
Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...
s, and two TSN Skins Games. In In 2019, Ferbey was named the greatest Canadian male
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...
in history in a
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poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers. As he threw third stones for most of his career, Ferbey was considered a third rather than a skip as his position.


Career


Early years with Pat Ryan

Ferbey participated in his first
Brier Briar, Briars, Brier, or Briers may refer to: * Briar, or brier, common name for a number of unrelated thorny plants that form thicket People * Brier (surname) * Briers, a surname * Briars (surname) Places * Briar, Missouri, U.S. * Briar, ...
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 thus crowned Canadian champions defeating Eugene Hritzuk of
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
8–7 in the final. At the 1988 Worlds, Team Ryan won the silver medal, losing in the finals to Eigil Ramsfjell of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
5–4. As defending champions at the 1989 Brier, Team Ryan would not disappoint, capturing their 2nd Canadian championship defeating
Rick Folk Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
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 Curling Canada (formerly the Canadian Curling Association (CCA)) is a sanctioning body for the sport of Curling in Canada. It is associated with more than a dozen provincial and territorial curling associations across the country, and organizes C ...
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 Patrick Hürlimann (born 9 July 1963) is a Swiss curler, Olympic champion, and Vice-President of the World Curling Federation (WCF). He received a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.Pat McCallum Patrick McCallum (born September 6, 1969 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadians, Canadian Curling, curler. Record He was Alberta's Junior Runner-Up in 1988, losing out to Mike Sali, of Calgary. In 1989, he was NACA (Northern Alberta Curling Associ ...
, and
Greg Muzechka Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people * Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...
. Although they did make it to the final four teams at the 1990 Alberta Championships, failing to make the
1990 Labatt Brier The 1990 Labatt Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held from March 4 to 11 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Ed Werenich of Ontario defeated Jim Sullivan of New Brunswick to win his second Brier. The runner-up finish by New Bruns ...
in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.


The "Ferbey Four"

After playing his last season with Ryan in 1997 where he played in the
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
playdowns, Ferbey teamed up with a young David Nedohin in 1997 with Carter Rycroft and
Pat McCallum Patrick McCallum (born September 6, 1969 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadians, Canadian Curling, curler. Record He was Alberta's Junior Runner-Up in 1988, losing out to Mike Sali, of Calgary. In 1989, he was NACA (Northern Alberta Curling Associ ...
. After a reasonably successful season, reaching the Semi-Finals of the World Curling Tour Championship, and winning the Edmonton Superleague, Ferbey picked up Scott Pfeifer, bumping Rycroft to lead. In 1999, Rycroft left the team to play with Ferbey's main rival, Kevin Martin. Rycroft was replaced by Marcel Rocque. The Ferbey Four that would dominate the Brier for the next few years was complete. Ferbey made his return to the Alberta provincials in 1999. While they didn't win, they did return in 2001 with a bang. They went on to win the Alberta final against Kevin Martin, 6–4, and then won the
2001 Nokia Brier The 2001 Nokia Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held March 3–11 at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. It was the very first Brier to be sponsored by Nokia. The theme of the event was the 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...
as well beating
Kerry Burtnyk Kerry Burtnyk (born November 24, 1958) is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up in Reston, Manitoba. He is a two time Canadian champion skip, and the 1995 World Champion skip. He is currently the coach of the Darcy Robertson rin ...
of
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...
8–4 in the final. 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. In 2002, Team Ferbey won their second straight provincial final, defeating Mike Vavrek 6–5. Ferbey then went on to win his fourth Brier, the 2002 Nokia Brier, which was his team's 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. After defeating Jamie King 10–3 in the 2003 Alberta final, Ferbey and his team would return to the Brier, in 2003 in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
. In the finals, they beat the home-town favourites Mark Dacey 8–4 in the finals. At the
2003 Ford World Curling Championship The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and Doubles curling, mixed doubles championships, as ...
, his team won their 2nd world title, beating Ralph Stöckli of Switzerland 10–6 in the finals. The team won their fourth provincial title in 2004, defeating the
Kurt Balderston Kurt Balderston (born c. 1963) is a Canadian curler from Sexsmith, Alberta. Career Balderston is a former Canadian Mixed champion, having won the 1992 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. Since then he has played in four national mixed champi ...
rink in the final, 8–5. The 2004 Nokia Brier was a blip on his team's 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 Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...
, 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, they once again won the Alberta championships, for a record fifth time, defeating the Jamie King rink 8–6 in an extra end. The team once again won the 2005 Canadian championships, setting a record, as his team became the first to win four championships as a team. The final was against
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...
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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
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. Many attribute Ferbey's success during this time to the boycott that other major teams of the early 2000s had of the Brier, to play in Grand Slam events. Ferbey did not boycott the Brier, and as a result, played in very few Grand Slam events. This however could only possibly be applied to his 2002 and 2003 Brier wins, as his first Brier title in 2001 was before the emergence of the official Grand Slam circuit with all top teams involved in provincial playdowns, and his final Brier title in 2005 was after the conflict had been resolved and player's boycott lifted with all now participating in provincial playdowns. After Ferbey's run of 4 Brier wins from 2001–2005, Ferbey rink failed to win another provincial title, as Kevin Martin's rink would win the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 provincial tournaments; from 2007 onwards with a new team with young guns Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy as his front end, and former rival John Morris as his third. The Ferbey four would still remain one of the top teams in the country however, as they would win three Grand Slam events in their career, but Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard would supplant Team Ferbey as the two dominant teams in the country over this quadrennial. David Nedohin would lose his edge as the games top shooter over this period as well. One of the big disappoints for the team was their failure to qualify for the Olympics. After winning their first Brier, the team went 5–4 at the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, missing out on the playoffs or a tiebreaker by just 1 game. In 2005 after winning their final Brier, they finished just 4–5 at the Trials that year. In 2009, the team had another disappointing
Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
, finishing 3–4.


Teaming up with Brad Gushue

In April 2010, Randy Ferbey announced he would be joining Brad Gushue's team effective for the
2010-11 curling season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
. Ferbey will skip the team, but throw third rocks like he had been with his former team. Previous third, Mark Nichols, will be bumped up to the second position and Ryan Fry will play lead. Jamie Korab, the past lead on Team Gushue, decided to take a year or two off. In an ironic twist, the final game played by the Ferbey four would be against Gushue in the quarterfinals of the
2010 Players' Championships The 2010 Grey Power Players' Championship was the last Grand Slam event of both the World Curling Tour and Women's World Curling Tour for the 2009-10 season. This was the eighteenth time the event took place, and the fifth time since it was swit ...
. Ferbey lost to Gushue 8–3. In their first event as a team, the rink lost to
Thomas Lips Thomas Lips (born 27 February 1970) is a Switzerland, Swiss curling, curler from Buchs, Zürich. Lips was a member of the Swiss team that won the 2006 European Curling Championships. Curling career Lips started playing curling in 1977. He won a ...
in the final of the
2010 Baden Masters The 2010 Baden Masters was held September 10-12 in Baden, Switzerland. It was the first event of the Men's World Curling Tour for the 2010-11 curling season. The total purse of the event was 26,500 Swiss francs (CHF). The winning team was the h ...
. In December 2010, Randy Ferbey and David Nedohin announced they would team up once again in an attempt to play in the
2011 Boston Pizza Cup The 2011 Boston Pizza Cup was held February 9–13 at the High River Arena in High River, Alberta. The winning team of Kevin Martin represented Alberta at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in sou ...
for a chance to represent Alberta at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier. On February 9, 2011, Randy Ferbey announced his time curling with Brad Gushue had come to an end. He stated he knew after the Canadian Open Grand Slam Event, he was done curling with them.


The final season and retirement

In the
2011–12 curling season The 2011–12 curling season began in September 2011 and ended in April 2012. ''Note: In events with two genders, the men's tournament winners will be listed before the women's tournament winners.'' CCA-sanctioned events This section lists event ...
, Ferbey teamed up with longtime teammate David Nedohin, who threw fourth stones. Ferbey skipped at third position, and Ted Appelman and Brendan Melnyk played as second and lead, respectively. They fared rather well on the World Curling tour, winning
The Shoot-Out The Saville Shootout is an annual curling tournament, held in September at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the women's tour since 2006 and is one of the first events of the year. The men's event was disco ...
and finishing second at the
Cactus Pheasant Classic The Cactus Pheasant Classic was an annual curling tournament, held in late October in Brooks, Alberta. It was part of the World Curling Tour. The purse for the event was $70,000 Cdn. It has not been held since 2013. Past champions ''Only skip's n ...
. However, they failed to qualify for the playoffs at the
2011 World Cup of Curling The 2011 GP Car and Home World Cup of Curling was held from November 2 to 6 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2011–12 curling season and the eleventh time the tournament has been held. T ...
and the 2011 BDO Canadian Open of Curling. Ferbey decided to retire from competitive curling after attempting to construct a team that might be able to qualify for the 2013 Olympic Trials, a plan which ultimately failed when Nedohin decided to form his own team. He was inducted into the
WCF Hall of Fame The WCF Hall of Fame is an international curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two ...
in 2014.


Personal life

Ferbey is a representative for Everest Funeral Concierge Service. He is married and has three children.


Teams


Grand Slam record


References


External links

*
Team statistics at CurlingZone

Brier stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferbey, Randy 1959 births Living people Canadian male curlers Brier champions Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Curlers from Edmonton World curling champions Continental Cup of Curling participants Canada Cup (curling) participants Canadian curling coaches