Howard, Stoughton and Gushue top Tim Hortons Brier field
HALIFAX, March 3, 2010 – The Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto, gets
underway Saturday, March 6 at the Metro Centre in Halifax.
It marks the sixth time that the city has staged the Brier. Only Toronto
has hosted the championship more often. However, Halifax joins Calgary as
six-time hosts and the only cities to hold the Brier under four title
sponsors (Macdonald Tobacco, Labatt Breweries, Nokia and, for the past six
years, Tim Hortons, Canada¹s largest quick service restaurant chain), since
the inaugural Canadian men¹s curling championship in 1927.
Once again, TSN will provide exclusive and comprehensive coverage of the Tim
Hortons Brier, televising all morning, afternoon and evening round robin
draws, plus the playoffs. The semi-final is scheduled for Saturday, March
13 at 7:30 pm AT/6:30 pm ET, while the final will be on Sunday, March 14 at
8:00 pm AT/7:00 pm ET. It¹s the eighth consecutive year that the Brier final
has been contested in Eastern prime time, beginning, incidentally, in 2003
in Halifax.
Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ontario, the 2007 Canadian and world champion,
will be making his 12th Brier appearance. The 47-year-old skip is a
three-time Canadian and world champion, having also played third for brother
Russ Howard when winning in 1987 and 1993. At last year¹s Brier in
Calgary, his team finished third to Alberta¹s Kevin Martin, then lost the
Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials final to the recent Olympic gold
medallist last December in Edmonton. Ontario has nine Brier titles.
Two-time (1996, 1999) Brier winner and 1996 world champion Jeff Stoughton of
Winnipeg will once again represent Manitoba, which has won a leading 26
Briers, after not competing in the inaugural event in 1927. The
46-year-old Stoughton, last year¹s Brier runner-up, provided his province
with its last victory in 1999 and will be making his eighth Brier
appearance. His team also finished third to Martin at the Trials.
Newfoundland and Labrador¹s Brad Gushue of St. John¹s, who won Olympic gold
in 2006 in Turin, Italy, along with third Mark Nichols and lead Jamie Korab,
will be making his seventh Brier appearance while seeking his first win.
The 2001 world junior champion finished the runner-up in 2007 in Hamilton,
losing the Brier final to Glenn Howard. The 29-year-old skip will be trying
to win just a second Brier title for his province since Jack MacDuff pulled
off a shocker in 1976 in Regina. Gushue made his Brier debut in 2003 in
Halifax.
Alberta, second to Manitoba with 24 Brier wins, will be represented by
Edmonton¹s Kevin Koe, making his Brier debut. It will be the first time
since 1999 (skip Ken Hunka) that the province¹s fortunes will be skipped by
someone other than Kevin Martin or Randy Ferbey.
Amongst Koe¹s rivals is his brother, Yellowknife¹s Jamie Koe, skip of
Northwest Territories/Yukon, who makes his fourth appearance in the Brier.
It¹s only the third time in Brier history that two brothers will have faced
each other as skips. In 1942, Donald Campbell of British Columbia competed
against Gord Campbell of Ontario at the Brier in Quebec City. Then, last
year, New Brunswick¹s Russ Howard battled Glenn Howard of Ontario in
Calgary.
The host province, Nova Scotia, will be skipped by Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc of
Halifax, a former provincial junior champion also making his Brier debut.
Nova Scotia has three Brier wins. The first victory, by Halifax skip Murray
Macneill, came at the inaugural Brier of 1927 in Toronto. The province¹s
second win came in 1951 in Halifax by Kentville¹s Don Oyler, while Halifax¹s
Mark Dacey defeated Alberta¹s Randy Ferbey at the 2004 Brier in Saskatoon.
Completing the field are British Columbia¹s Jeff Richard of Kelowna, New
Brunswick¹s James Grattan of Oromocto, Northern Ontario¹s Brad Jacobs of
Sault Ste. Marie, Quebec¹s Serge Reid of Jonquière, Prince Edward Island¹s
Rod MacDonald of Charlottetown and Saskatchewan¹s Darrell McKee of
Saskatoon.
Making a special appearance for the Opening weekend will be the Olympic gold
medal-winning Kevin Martin team from Edmonton. Martin, a four-time (1991,
1997, 2008 and 2009) Brier winner and 2008 world champion, along with third
John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert, went through unbeaten
at the Vancouver Olympics with a perfect 11-0 mark, capped by a 6-3 victory
over Norway¹s Thomas Ulsrud last Saturday in the final. They¹re also the
only team in history to go undefeated in two consecutive Briers – 2008 and
2009.
Martin¹s team will appear for a two-hour autograph session, Friday, March 5
from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Metro Centre, open free to the public.
They¹ll also attend a press conference at the arena and be special guests at
Friday¹s Opening Banquet and the Keith¹s Patch later that evening.
Then, on Saturday morning, from 10:15 am – 11:15 am, Brier ticket holders
are invited to an Up Close and Personal session with the gold medallists at
the Metro Centre.
Halifax previously hosted the Canadian men¹s curling championship in 1951,
1966, 1981, 1995 and 2003, when won by Alberta¹s Randy Ferbey, who went
unbeaten during the week, finishing with a perfect 13-0 mark after defeating
Mark Dacey in the final. The total attendance was 158,414, a Brier record
for an Eastern Canada site (east of Winnipeg).
When Halifax staged the 2005 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, won by
Brad Gushue and Shannon Kleibrink, a then-record event attendance of 159,235
was established.
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. The first and second
place teams meet in the Page 1 vs 2 game, with the winner advancing to the
final while the loser goes to the semi-final. The third and fourth place
teams meet in the Page 3 vs 4 game, with the winner advancing to the
semi-final while the loser is eliminated.
Since 1980, when the first Labatt Brier was held in Calgary and a playoff
format was introduced, 19 of 30 Brier winners have also won the world
championship. The latest was Kevin Martin, who captured the 2008 Tim
Hortons Brier in Winnipeg and the world championship in Grand Forks, North
Dakota.
The winner of this year¹s Tim Hortons Brier, the 81st edition of the
Canadian men¹s curling championship, will represent Canada at the Capital
One world men¹s curling championship in Cortina d¹Ampezzo, Italy, April
3-11.
Once again this year, $130,000, representing Ocresting television exposure
value¹, will be distributed to the four Page Playoff teams: $40,000 each to
the winner and runner-up, $30,000 to third and $20,000 to fourth.
The entertaining and always popular Ford Hot Shots, the curling skills
competition, gets underway Friday, March 5 with the preliminary round from
1:10 pm 4:40 pm. The playoffs take place Saturday at 1:00 pm, following
the Opening Ceremonies, which start at 11:30 am.
Ford of Canada will provide the winner of the Ford Hot Shots with a two-year
lease on a 2010 Ford Taurus SEL FWD, an approximate retail value in excess
of $25,000. The second place finisher earns $2,000 while the third place
finisher receives $1,000.
The first draw of the Tim Hortons Brier begins at 3:00 pm AT/2:00 pm ET on
Saturday, March 6.
The headquarters hotel for officials, media and sponsors is the Halifax
Marriott Harbourfront (902) 421-1700 while the players are staying at The
Westin Nova Scotian (902) 421-1000.
The media room telephone number at the Metro Centre will be (902) 491-4401,
as of Friday, March 5. Up-to-the-minute draw results will be available on
the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) website (www.curling.ca
<http://www.curling.ca> ).
CurlTV (curltv.com) will also provide internet round robin game coverage to
its subscribers.
2010 TIM HORTONS BRIER, MARCH 6-14, METRO CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
(listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate and coach)
ALBERTA Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton
Kevin Koe
Blake MacDonald
Carter Rycroft
Nolan Thiessen
Jamie King
John Dunn
BRITISH COLUMBIA Kelowna CC, Kelowna
Jeff Richard
Tom Shypitka
Tyler Orme
Chris Anderson
Kevin MacKenzie
Gerry Richard
MANITOBA Charleswood CC, Winnipeg
Jeff Stoughton
Kevin Park
Rob Fowler
Steve Gould
Randy Dutiaume
Norm Gould
NEW BRUNSWICK Gage Golf & Curling Association, Oromocto
James Grattan
Steven Howard
Jason Vaughan
Peter Case
Bobby Vaughan
Dean Grattan
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR Bally Haly Golf & CC, St. John¹s
Brad Gushue
Mark Nichols
Ryan Fry
Jamie Korab
Glenn Goss
Ken Bagnell
NORTHERN ONTARIO Soo Curlers Association, Sault Ste. Marie
Brad Jacobs
E.J. Harnden
Ryan Harnden
Caleb Flaxey
Rob Thomas
Tom Coulterman
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES/YUKON – Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife
Jamie Koe
Kevin Whitehead
Brad Chorostkowski
Marty Gavin
Jon Solberg
Terry Shea
NOVA SCOTIA Mayflower CC, Halifax
Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc
Stuart MacLean
Kent Smith
Phil Crowell
Mark Robar
David MacLellan
ONTARIO Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater
Glenn Howard
Richard Hart
Brent Laing
Craig Savill
Steve Bice
Scott Taylor
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Charlottetown CC, Charlottetown
Rod MacDonald
Kevin Champion
Mark O¹Rourke
Andrew Robinson
Peter MacDonald
Pat Aylward
QUEBEC Kénogami CC, Jonquière
Serge Reid
François Gionest
Simon Collin
Steeve Villeneuve
Pierre Charette
Paul Gagnon
SASKATCHEWAN- Nutana CC, Saskatoon
Darrell McKee
Bruce Korte
Roger Korte
Rob Markowsky
Jason Jacobson
Gene Friesen
