Ontario Tankard | |
---|---|
Established | 1927 |
2026 host city | Elmira, Ontario |
2026 arena | Woolwich Memorial Centre |
2025 champion | Sam Mooibroek |
Current edition | |
The Ontario Tankard is the Southern Ontario provincial championship for men's curling. The winner represents Team Ontario at the Montana's Brier. The tournament is overseen by CurlON (formerly the Ontario Curling Association).
Northern Ontario has its own provincial championship, known as the Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship.
This championship is not to be confused with the Silver Tankard, historically also known as the Ontario Tankard (and until 1937 a Brier qualifier).
Since 2017, the qualification has varied from year to year:
Between 1972 and 2016, the event usually had 10 teams: Two teams from each of the four OCA regions, and one winner each from an eastern and western challenge round. When Ontario won the previous Brier, that team would be added to the field for the following season. In 1999, when Ontario had not only won the previous Brier, but an Ontario team also won the 1997 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, the field was expanded to 12 teams, giving them an automatic berth.
The format of the Tankard has differed each year from 2018 to 2023:
Since 2024, the event has been a triple knockout followed by a four team page playoff.
From 1972 to 1981, the tournament was a strict round robin affair, with the team with the best record being crowned champion (a tiebreaker would be held if necessary). From 1981 to 2000, the tournament consisted of a round robin followed by a three team playoff. In 2001, the playoff was replaced with a four team page playoff.
Listed below are the list of Ontario's representatives at the Brier that year. Brier champions indicated in bold. From 1927 to 1931, Toronto had a separate entry at the Brier.
From 1927 to 1931, teams representing Ontario at the Brier were selected from the winning club at the Ontario Silver Tankard, a double rink event which has taken place since 1875.
Brier | Brier representative team | Winning Club | City | Host site | Brier Rec. | Brier Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1927 | Bob McKenzie, Bill Watson, Mel Hunt, Harry Watson | Sarnia Curling Club | Sarnia | Toronto [6] | 3-4 | T4th |
1928 | Vic McWilliams, Ed Brower, John Brandon, Bob Hamilton | Granite Curling Club | Toronto | Toronto [7] | 6-3 | 4th |
1929 | Frank Carew, Walter Reesor, Frank Williams, Dick Butler | Lindsay Curling Club | Lindsay | Toronto [8] | 4-5 | 6th |
1930 | H.A. Bruce, Wesley Binkley, M.A. Humber, J.W. Lloyd | Stratford Curling Club | Stratford | Toronto [9] | 3-6 | T9th |
1931 | Ed Brower, John Rennie, John Brower, Bob Hamilton | Granite Curling Club | Toronto | Toronto [10] | 7-3 | 2nd |
There was no Brier from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. Listed here for those years are the winners of the British Consols, the usual Brier qualifying event.
A playoff was added to the event in 1981. [48] The 2021 Tankard was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.
The Brier, known since 2023 as the Montana's Brier for sponsorship reasons, is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The Brier has been held since 1927, traditionally during the month of March.
Robert Wayne Middaugh is a Canadian curler. Born in Brampton, Ontario, Middaugh resides in Victoria Harbour, Ontario. He is the only player to have won the Canadian Men's Curling Championship at three different positions: skip (1998), third (2012), and second (1993). He was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2020. He currently coaches the Anna Hasselborg rink from Sweden.
Glenn William Howard is a retired Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight, from 2006 to 2013. He has made 20 Brier appearances, playing in a total of 227 games, the third most of any curler. He has won a career 14 Grand Slams, won the 2001 TSN and 2013 Dominion All-Star Skin Games and the 2010 Canada Cup of Curling.
Curling Ontario is the governing body of curling in Southern Ontario. Northern Ontario is governed by the Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA). The Curling Ontario sends a team to represent Team Ontario at all major Canadian Championships. The NOCA sends a separate team to all of these events.
Edward Werenich is a Canadian curler from Holland Landing, Ontario. Nicknamed "The Wrench," Werenich has been known to be a colourful and outspoken character. Outside of curling, Werenich worked as a firefighter.
The Viterra Championship is the Manitoba men's provincial curling championship. The tournament is run by Curl Manitoba, the provincial curling association. The winner represents Manitoba at the Montana's Brier, the Canadian men's championship.
The SaskTel Tankard is the annual provincial championship for men's curling in Saskatchewan, with the winner representing the province at the Montana's Brier, the national men's championship. The bonspiel, which is organized by CURLSASK, the provincial curling association, is also known as the SaskTel Provincial Men's Curling Championship. SaskTel became the title sponsor in 2004; the Tankard was previously known as the Macdonald Tankard (1927–1979), the Labatt Tankard (1980–1994), the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Tankard (1995–2003), and the SaskTel Mobility Tankard (2004–2006).
The Ontario Women's Curling Championship, formerly the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts is the Southern Ontario provincial curling championship for women's curling. The tournament is run by Curling Ontario, the curling association for Southern Ontario. The winning team represents Team Ontario at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Michael McEwen, nicknamed "Magic Mike McEwen" is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who grew up in Brandon, Manitoba. McEwen won six Grand Slams in his career before his team qualified for their first Brier, Canada's national championship in 2016. He is noted as one of the top curlers using the Manitoba tuck delivery today.
Richard Moffatt is a Canadian curler from Ottawa, Ontario. In 1999, he became only the third curler to skip an Ottawa-area team at the Brier.
Mathew Robert "Mat" Camm is a Canadian curler from Cornwall, Ontario. He currently plays third on Team Scott Howard. Camm is originally from Rockland, Ontario.
The 1979 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship was held from March 4 to 10, 1979 at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. For the second straight year, the total attendance for the week set a then-record where 89,081 attended the event. This was the last Brier where the round robin would determine the champion without a playoff.
The 1927 Macdonald Brier Tankard, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held March 1–3 at the Granite Club in Toronto. This edition of the Brier would be the first, with it also being the first time it was hosted in Ontario, and the first time it was hosted in Toronto's Granite Club.
The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario.
The 1928 Macdonald Brier Tankard, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held February 28 to March 2 at the Granite Club in Toronto.
Jason Camm is a Canadian curler from Rockland, Ontario. He currently plays second on Team Scott Howard.
Toronto was represented at the Macdonald Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship with a separate entry from 1927 to 1931.
The 1940 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 4 to 7, 1940 at the Winnipeg Amphitheatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was the first Brier to be held outside The Granite Club in Toronto as the Brier became more of a national event as it would travel around the country. Winnipeg was chosen to host the event after an invitation from the Manitoba Curling Association, and due to Manitoba's dominance at the Brier up to that point.
Thomas Ramsay was an English-born Canadian curler. He skipped the Northern Ontario team to a Brier championship in 1950.
The 1993 Ontario Tankard, the southern Ontario men's provincial curling championship was held February 9–14 at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens in Trenton, Ontario. The winning rink of Russ Howard, Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh and Peter Corner from the Penetanguishene Curling Club would go on to represent Ontario at the 1993 Labatt Brier in Ottawa, which they went on to win. The team then went on to win the 1993 World Men's Curling Championship for Canada.