The Tim Hortons Brier is back with teams from across Canada convening in London, Ont. to vie for the chance to represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship.
Held at Budweiser Gardens, the Tim Hortons Brier hosts the county’s top curlers with 18 teams competing on the sheet.
The event kicks off on March 3 and runs until March 12.
The last time London hosted the brier was in 2011 to sold-out crowds. For the upcoming 2023 event, organizers are hoping to add more family fun with a family festival leading up to the big event.
“We’re going to have a festival outside Covent Garden Market [and] maybe a band playing,” Peter Inch, the vice chair of hosting told CTV News London in October. “We might march the band right down King Street.”
Team Northern Ontario and Team Ontario are both for the province of Ontario, while all other provinces and territories are represented by one team.
There are also three wildcard spots.
Team Canada will also be at the event, represented by St. John's Curling Club in Newfoundland, and composed of Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, EJ Jarnden, Geoff Walker and coached by Caleb Flaxey.
This team entered the tournament in a wildcard spot in 2022 and was able to best the competitors to become the new Team Canada representatives.
“The Canadian men’s curling championship began in 1927 in Toronto and has been contested each year since, with the exception of the war years, 1943, 1944 and 1945,” according to Curling Canada. “After being held in Toronto from 1927 to 1939, the Brier went ‘national’ in 1940, staged in Winnipeg.”
According to Curling Canada, Manitoba has claimed the highest number of victories with 27 Briers, followed by Alberta with 26. Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and the three Territories have yet to win.
CTV News Kitchener has a pair of tickets to giveaway. Click here to enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the semi-final and final draws on Sunday, March 12.
A full schedule of games and ticketing information is available here.
