The Ontario Men’s Curling Championship begins this afternoon at the Molson Centre in Barrie.
Eleven rinks are in the field hoping to earn the right to represent Ontario at the Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship which will be in Edmonton next month.
In the field of 11 rinks, almost every rink has a recognizable name as the skip, but without question, the most prominent name belongs to Glenn Howard the skip of the Coldwater Curling Club.
Howard managed to avoid the Zone and Regional playdown process by virtue of winning the Provincials last year, a remarkable season in which Howard went all the way to capture the World Curling Championship in Switzerland.
Obviously, Howard is the favorite here, a status that might be upgraded further when you consider he’ll be playing 45 minutes from his front door and likely will have a large contingent of supporters at the tournament.
Speaking to Howard this week, he’s of the opinion, this could be the best Provincial ever, noting the committee has been very active in their preparations and very responsive to input and suggestions to enhance the experience for the participants.
In the opening draw, Howard faces Wayne Tuck of the Brant Curling Club and the defending champion admits he’s ready for all comers and the expectation from the curling community is that he’ll be playing a significant game come Sunday.
I’m Fred Wallace