(CCA) The Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto, will be held at the Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting March 6. It marks the sixth time the city has hosted the Canadian men’s curling championship, after staging the 1951, 1966, 1981, 1995 and 2003 Briers. Halifax joins Calgary and Toronto as the only cities to have staged the Brier at least six times since it began in 1927.
When Halifax held the 2003 Nokia Brier, it was won by Alberta’s Randy Ferbey, who went unbeaten during the week, finishing with a perfect 13-0 mark after defeating the host province’s Mark Dacey in the final. The total attendance was 158,414, a Brier record for an Eastern Canada site (east of Winnipeg).
This is the 81st edition of the Canadian men’s curling championship. Since the Brier began in 1927 in Toronto, it has been played in 31 cities across Canada, from Victoria to St. John’s. Manitoba has won a record 26 Briers, while Alberta is next with 24. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Yukon/Northwest Territories have yet to win.
Nova Scotia boasts three Brier wins. The first victory, by Halifax skip Murray Macneill, came in the inaugural Brier of 1927 in Toronto. The province’s second win came in 1951 in Halifax by Kentville’s Don Oyler, before Dacey defeated Ferbey at the 2004 Brier in Saskatoon.
The Brier attendance record is 281,985, set by Edmonton in 2005 at the first Tim Hortons Brier, which eclipsed the former mark of 248,793 established in 2000 in Saskatoon.
The Brier competition involves 10 provinces plus teams representing Northern Ontario and Yukon/Northwest Territories playing a round robin, leading to the Page Playoff system involving the top four teams.
Since 1980, when the first Labatt Brier was held in Calgary and a playoff format was introduced, 19 of 30 Brier winners have gone on to win the world men’s curling championship. The winner of this year’s Tim Hortons Brier will represent Canada at the Capital One World Men’s Curling Championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, April 3-11.
PEI is represented by the team of Rod MacDonald, Kevin Champion, Mark O’Rourke, and Andrew Robinson, with 5th player Peter MacDonald, and coach Pat Aylward.
Brier tickets are available at TicketAtlantic.com