The 2013 Tim Hortons Brier begins on Saturday in Edmonton and runs through the Championship Final on March 10th.
For the 8th consecutive year, Ontario will be represented by the Coldwater Curling Club skipped by Glenn Howard.
Obviously coming from Simcoe County and being wedged in age between the two Howard boys, their remarkable success in this sport has created amazing community pride dating back to the late 70’s when Russ was making a name for himself and Glenn was finishing up his high school days.
Almost 35 years later, Russ is a curling commentator and the younger Howard is on step two of a very difficult three step path to repeating as the World Champion in the sport.
The thing about the Howards, older and younger, is that they obviously love the game, but also truly respect the sport. They haven’t always won popularity contests, but I can’t think of a moment, over decades, in which they’ve done anything but keep the best interests of curling at the forefront.
At the Ontario Tankard in Barrie, Glenn Howard won the title with a win over Joe Frans. Yes, he some dips in the round robin, but when it came to the playoff round, he and his rinkmates were golden.
The Brier begins Saturday and the Coldwater Curling Club will open in Draw 2 against British Columbia.
Two weeks from now, Glenn Howard hopes to be heading to BC, specifically to Victoria for the Ford World Championships which begin March 30th.
I’m Fred Wallace