(by Gerard McLaughlin, Times & Transcript) The Atlantic Tour Championship, the final and biggest event on the tour schedule, starts Friday in Moncton.
The championship field features only the 16 leading teams on the tour that concluded its season two weeks ago in Halifax.
Chairman Scott Jones claims the event, once again set for Beausejour, is by far the highest profile competition on the tour.
“It’s a gathering of the best this year so that says it all,” offers Jones. “Also it’s the last key tune-up event that teams from Atlantic Canada will have to prepare for provincial playdown events. For some provinces those playdowns to the Brier will begin the very next weekend.”
Lecocq, who has two wins and a runner-up finish, heads the list of entries. Defending champion Chad Stevens is also confirmed as is Rod MacDonald of P.E.I. (second ranked on the tour), Terry Odishaw of Curl Moncton (fourth ranked), Mark Dacey of Halifax (former Brier champion), and Brett Gallant of Charlottetown (former Canadian junior champ).
The first draw of the event will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday night with the second draw set for 9 p.m. The championship then runs Saturday and Sunday.
WON’T BE IN FIELD: Missing from the Tour championship field is defending New Brunswick champion James Grattan of Gage. He’s off to Perth, Scotland, for the 2012 Ramada Perth Masters slated Jan. 5-8 at the Dewars Centre in Perth.
The Perth Masters, part of the 2011-12 World Curling Tour, is a triple knockout event.
For the first time, a spot in the Masters was awarded to the winner of the 2011 Curl Atlantic Championship, which was Grattan.
Winnipeg standout Mike McEwen, former world champion David Murdoch of Scotland and Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue are a few other rinks in the Perth Masters.
Click to read Gerard McLaughlin’s full column in the Times & Transcript.