Tim Hortons Brier
The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier, is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by the Canadian Curling Association (CCA). The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut shop chain.
The Brier has been held since 1927, traditionally during the month of March. The winner of the Brier goes on to compete as Team Canada at the World Championships of the same year. The Brier is regarded by most curlers as the world's premier curling championship. Many Canadian teams feel it is more of a privilege to win the Brier than the World Championship.[citation needed] The Brier is by far the best supported curling competition in terms of paid attendance, attracting crowds far larger than even those for World Championships held in Canada.
For the first fifty years, the Brier was sponsored by Macdonald Tobacco (later RJR Tobacco Company and now part of JTI-Macdonald Corporation). The name "Brier", in fact, came from a brand of tobacco being manufactured by Macdonald at the time (a brier being a small shrub whose roots are commonly used to make tobacco pipes ).[1] Macdonald was also responsible for introducing both the Brier Tankard (originally named the British Consols Trophy after a brand of cigarettes), and the now famous heart-shaped patches awarded to the tournament winners. The patches were modeled after a small tin heart pressed into the centre of Macdonald tobacco plugs, along with the slogan “The Heart of the Tobacco.” The same heart appeared on tins of Macdonald pipe tobacco. Later, when other national championships were developed, many took the heart as their identifying symbol as well.[2]
Labatt became the title sponsor of the Brier in 1980, and remained so until 2000. Nokia Canada was the title sponsor from 2001 to 2004. On September 10, 2004, the CCA announced that Tim Hortons would be the new title sponsor, beginning with the 2005 Tim Hortons Brier in Edmonton, Alberta. Since that time, Monsanto has also been an important sponsor.[3]
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[edit] Qualification and eligibility
The Brier is currently contested by 12 teams: most provinces are represented by one team while Ontario sends two teams (Ontario and Northern Ontario). The territories send one team. Teams qualify for the Brier through their respective provincial championships, which are held every year and are open to any Canadian men's curling team consisting of Canadian citizens. The formats for these championships vary from province to province but most entail a series of club, municipal, district and/or regional playdowns prior to the provincial championship.
Unlike the Canadian women's championship the defending champions do not automatically qualify for the Brier and must re-enter their provincial championship. Most provincial associations now automatically qualify their respective champions for the provincial championship, but until recently that was often not the case.
[edit] Winners
[edit] Macdonald Brier
[edit] Labatt Brier
[edit] Nokia Brier
Brier | Winning province | Winning team | Finalist province | Finalist team | Host |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Alberta | Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | Manitoba | Kerry Burtnyk, Jeff Ryan, Rob Meakin, Keith Fenton | Ottawa |
2002 | Alberta | Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | Ontario | John Morris, Joe Frans, Craig Savill, Brent Laing | Calgary |
2003 | Alberta | Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | Nova Scotia | Mark Dacey, Bruce Lohnes, Rob Harris, Andrew Gibson | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
2004 | Nova Scotia | Mark Dacey, Bruce Lohnes, Rob Harris, Andrew Gibson | Alberta | Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
[edit] Tim Hortons Brier
Brier | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Host | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winning Province | Winning Team | Runner Up Province | Runner Up Team | Second Runner Up Province | Second Runner Up Team | ||
2011 | Manitoba | Jeff Stoughton Jon Mead Reid Carruthers Steve Gould |
Ontario | Glenn Howard Richard Hart Brent Laing Craig Savill |
Newfoundland and Labrador | Brad Gushue Mark Nichols Ryan Fry Jamie Danbrook |
London, Ontario |
2012 | Ontario | Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Brent Laing Craig Savill |
Alberta | Kevin Koe Pat Simmons Carter Rycroft Nolan Thiessen |
Manitoba | Rob Fowler Allan Lyburn Richard Daneault Derek Samagalski |
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
2013 | Edmonton, Alberta | ||||||
2014 | TBA |
[edit] Most Brier wins as skip
Three people have won the Brier four times as skip:
- Ernie Richardson (1959, 1960, 1962, 1963)
- Randy Ferbey (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005)
- Kevin Martin (1991, 1997, 2008, 2009)
[edit] Top 3 finishes table
- Starting in the 2011 Tim Horton's Brier event in London, ON Bronze Medal games will be played between the losers of the Page 3-4 playoff and the semifinal games, with Bronze Medals awarded to the winner
Province | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manitoba | 27 | 13 | 14 | 54 | |
Alberta | 25 | 18 | 8 | 51 | |
Ontario | 10 | 18 | 11 | 39 | |
Saskatchewan | 7 | 15 | 15 | 37 | |
British Columbia | 4 | 12 | 14 | 30 | |
Northern Ontario | 4 | 5 | 11 | 20 | |
Nova Scotia | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | |
Quebec | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
New Brunswick | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | |
Yukon/ Northwest Territories | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Toronto | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
Prince Edward Island | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
[edit] Awards
[edit] Hec Gervais playoff MVP award
- 2012 - Wayne Middaugh, Ontario
- 2011 - Jon Mead, Manitoba
- 2010 - Kevin Koe, Alberta
- 2009 - Kevin Martin, Alberta
- 2008 - John Morris, Alberta
- 2007 - Glenn Howard, Ontario
- 2006 - Jean-Michel Ménard, Quebec
- 2005 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2004 - Mark Dacey, Nova Scotia
- 2003 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2002 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2001 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2000 - Bryan Miki, British Columbia
- 1999 - Jeff Stoughton, Manitoba
- 1998 - Graeme McCarrel, Ontario
- 1997 - Kevin Martin, Alberta
[edit] Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award
- 2012 - Scott Manners, Saskatchewan
- 2011 - Jim Cotter, British Columbia
- 2010 - Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc, Nova Scotia
- 2009 - Dean Hicke, Saskatchewan
- 2008 - Gerry Adam, Saskatchewan
- 2007 - Mark Whitehead, NWT/Yukon
- 2006 - Jean-Michel Ménard, Quebec
- 2005 - Randy Dutiaume, Manitoba
- 2004 - Daniel Lafleur, Quebec
- 2003 - Bob Jenion, Manitoba
- 2002 - Mark Lang, Saskatchewan
- 2001 - Paul Flemming, Nova Scotia
- 2000 - Bryan Miki, British Columbia
- 1999 - Gerald Shymko, Saskatchewan
- 1998 - Toby McDonald, Newfoundland
- 1997 - Vic Peters, Manitoba
- 1996 - Brian Rafuse, Nova Scotia
- 1995 - Rick Folk, British Columbia
- 1994 - Mark Noseworthy, Newfoundland
- 1993 - Trevor Alexander, NWT/Yukon
- 1992 - Jim Armstrong, British Columbia
- 1991 - Rick Lang, Northern Ontario
- 1990 - Craig Lepine, British Columbia
- 1989 - Bert Gretzinger, British Columbia
- 1988 - Thomas Hakansson, Nova Scotia
- 1987 - Jim Armstrong, British Columbia
- 1986 - Bill Campbell, Jr., Nova Scotia
- 1985 - Daniel Hildebrand, Manitoba
- 1984 - John Helston, Manitoba
- 1983 - Jim Armstrong, British Columbia
- 1982 - Mark Noseworthy, Newfoundland
- 1981 - Mel Watchorn, Alberta
- 1980 - Wayne Hamilton, Newfoundland
- 1979 - Wayne Matheson, Prince Edward Island
- 1979 - Dave Durrant, Nova Scotia
- 1978 - Peter Murray, New Brunswick
- 1977 - Joe Power, Jr., Newfoundland
- 1976 - Jim Ursel, Quebec
- 1975 - Harvey Mazinke, Saskatchewan
- 1974 - Larry McGrath, Saskatchewan
- 1973 - Mel Watchorn, Alberta
- 1972 - David Sullivan, New Brunswick
- 1971 - Bob Pickering, Saskatchewan
- 1970 - Ed Steeves, New Brunswick
- 1969 - Bill Piercey, Newfoundland
- 1968 - Charles Piper, Jr., Nova Scotia
- 1967 - Douglas S. McGibney, British Columbia
- 1966 - George F. McCharles, Newfoundland
[edit] Shot-Of-The-Week Award
- 2011 - Jeff Stoughton, Manitoba
- 2010 - Richard Hart, Ontario
- 2009 - Glenn Howard, Ontario
- 2008 - Glenn Howard, Ontario
- 2007 - Dean Joanisse, British Columbia
- 2006 - Mark Dacey, Nova Scotia
- 2005 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2004 - Jay Peachey, British Columbia
- 2003 - Bruce Lohnes, Nova Scotia
- 2002 - David Nedohin, Alberta
- 2001 - Kerry Burtnyk, Manitoba
- 2000 - Peter Corner, Ontario
- 1999 - Guy Hemmings, Quebec
- 1998 - Guy Hemmings, Quebec
- 1997 - Kevin Martin, Alberta
[edit] Ford Hot Shots
[edit] Top Attendance Records
# | Brier | Venue | Total attendance |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2005 | Rexall Place, Edmonton | 281,985 |
2 | 2000 | Saskatchewan Place, Saskatoon | 248,793 |
3 | 2009 | Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary | 246,126 |
4 | 2002 | Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary | 245,296 |
5 | 1999 | Skyreach Centre, Edmonton | 242,887 |
6 | 2004 | Saskatchewan Place, Saskatoon | 238,129 |
7 | 1997 | Canadian Airlines Saddledome, Calgary | 223,322 |
8 | 2012 | Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon | 177,226 |
9 | 2008 | MTS Centre, Winnipeg | 165,075 |
10 | 2003 | Metro Centre, Halifax | 158,414 |
11 | 2001 | Civic Centre, Ottawa | 154,136 |
12 | 1989 | Saskatchewan Place, Saskatoon | 151,538 |
13 | 1998 | Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg | 147,017 |
14 | 1994 | Centrium, Red Deer | 130,625 |
15 | 1993 | Civic Centre, Ottawa | 130,076 |
16 | 1996 | Riverside Coliseum, Kamloops | 127,746 |
17 | 2006 | Brandt Centre, Regina | 125,971 |
18 | 1995 | Metro Centre, Halifax | 121,896 |
19 | 1992 | Agridome, Regina | 121,555 |
20 | 2011 | John Labatt Centre, London | 113,626 |
21 | 2010 | Metro Centre, Halifax | 107,242 |
22 | 2007 | Copps Coliseum, Hamilton | 107,199 |
23 | 1982 | Keystone Centre, Brandon | 106,394 |
[edit] Perfect games
A perfect game in curling is when a player scores 100% on all their shots in a game. Statistics on shots have been kept since 1985.
[edit] Games played leaders
Rank | Player | Province(s) | Games played |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Glenn Howard | Ontario | 182 |
2 | Russ Howard | Ontario New Brunswick |
174 |
3 | Kevin Martin | Alberta | 139 |
4 | Bernie Sparkes | Alberta British Columbia |
129 |
5 | Rick Lang | Northern Ontario | 121 |
6 | Pat Ryan | Alberta British Columbia |
120 |
6 | Ed Werenich | Ontario | 120 |
8 | Jeff Stoughton | Manitoba | 113 |
9 | Mark O'Rourke | Prince Edward Island | 111 |
10 | Brad Gushue | Newfoundland and Labrador | 108 |
10 | Brent Laing | Ontario | 108 |
12 | Craig Savill | Ontario | 108 |
13 | Al Hackner | Northern Ontario | 106 |
14 | James Grattan | New Brunswick | 105 |
15 | Garnet Campbell | Saskatchewan | 101 |
15 | Wayne Middaugh | Ontario | 101 |
17 | Randy Ferbey | Alberta | 100 |
17 | Peter Gallant | Prince Edward Island | 100 |
[edit] See also
- Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship
- United States Curling Men's Championships
- Scotties Tournament of Hearts (national women's championship)
[edit] References
- ^ http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/curling/clips/2790/
- ^ http://www.curling.ca/start-curling/the-history-of-curling
- ^ Claire Mellor, "Monsanto curls up with Brier organizers ", Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia), March 12, 2010.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Hortons Brier |
Wikinews has related news: Canadian teams vie for spot at the World Curling Championship |
[edit] Further reading
- Bonspiel! The History of Curling in Canada at Library and Archives Canada
- SOUDOG'S Curling History Site
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