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It was announced today that there will be a Team Canada in the 2015 Brier - winner of 2014 Brier in Kamloops. The bottom team will be relegated to a qualifying event the week prior.

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Time to reinvent the wheel I suppose. Also time to start curling in Nunavut.

JH

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So if your province finishes last the year prior, does that mean you play another event just prior to the brier to see if you can advance? Even after you just won your province?

So how much more time off will be needed for teams in this position? If the CCA is adding time are they also adding financial compensation?

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so i assume that northern ontario will also start at the scotties that year?

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To Unreg and Misty yes to everything except I don't know about the compensation. These criticisms were all pointed our in previous threads and of course the CCA listened carefully to all of them...

JH

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First Mixed doubles and now this?

woe to the CCA the first time a powerhouse province sends a weak team who finishes last. Can you imagine the hue and cry if the likes of Martin, Koe, McEwan or Howard had to play in a prequalifying round?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Unregistered
First Mixed doubles and now this?

woe to the CCA the first time a powerhouse province sends a weak team who finishes last. Can you imagine the hue and cry if the likes of Martin, Koe, McEwan or Howard had to play in a prequalifying round?

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The more I dwell on this announcement the more ludicrous and poorly thought through it becomes.

So now some team will have to play who knows how many more games against how many more teams. And all not their fault (presumably they aren't repeat provincial champs) but that of another team who had a bad Brier.

This is what happens when your manager isn't a curler, coaches have too much input into the system and the executive is a bunch of yes men.

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I pretty much agree with the "nay" comments mentioned here. If they were going to alter tradition anyway, I think they would have been better off to simply have two pools or some format like that and include everyone. Like a previous poster said, can't wait till the relegated team is Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan!

JH

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If I'm reading this correctly...It might be difficult in the future to convince a weaker province to host a Brier, knowing that there is a chance you may not have a team representing your province on the ice that week.

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quote:

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Originally posted by johnnysmoke
If I'm reading this correctly...It might be difficult in the future to convince a weaker province to host a Brier, knowing that there is a chance you may not have a team representing your province on the ice that week.

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The whole point of a national championships is to give every province a chance to compete in it. Whether or not a province can contend or not should not be an issue. There will always be 3 or 4 teams on the bottom, thats the way a championship is, someone has to be on the bottom. Besides there's always the story arc of some lesser team having a great week.

We shouldnt be punishing the teams that wind up on the bottom we should be figuring out a way that they to can be more competitive.

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frankly the people on here that bitch about having to always see that team on 2 or 3 losses..i really doubt any of you could do any better

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I am totally in favour of a Team Canada. As a former Brier Player I love the Team Canada concept. The Brier becomes stronger,more marketable and it is a deserved perk for a Team that wins it the year before. I have been on Teams that have finished near the bottom and near the top at the Brier.I like the Team Canada addition especially since I am now a fan and no longer a competitor. It gives fans another great team to watch and why not. As for relegating teams I disagree and would have added Team Canada and left all other provinces as is for a total of 13 Teams.Tweek the draw and if need be go five sheets instaed of 4. It can be done. The country is well represented from coast to coast to coast.

I cannot imagine winning a purple heart and not playing the week. For many curlers this is a life time achievment and for the CCA to have them play a second round because last years team struggled is ridiculous and not fair. It's just wrong.I cannot imagine a Brier without Quebec,PEI,New Brunswick or Nova Scotia or any other Province for that matter. The equal access argument for two more teams from the North is fair but until the numbers of players increases and the talent increases the access argument sending three teams doesn't fly for me.

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sorry, last comment should be 2 or 3 wins

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quote:

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Originally posted by Curl401
I am totally in favour of a Team Canada. As a former Brier Player I love the Team Canada concept. The Brier becomes stronger,more marketable and it is a deserved perk for a Team that wins it the year before. I have been on Teams that have finished near the bottom and near the top at the Brier.I like the Team Canada addition especially since I am now a fan and no longer a competitor. It gives fans another great team to watch and why not. As for relegating teams I disagree and would have added Team Canada and left all other provinces as is for a total of 13 Teams.Tweek the draw and if need be go five sheets instaed of 4. It can be done. The country is well represented from coast to coast to coast.

I cannot imagine winning a purple heart and not playing the week. For many curlers this is a life time achievment and for the CCA to have them play a second round because last years team struggled is ridiculous and not fair. It's just wrong.I cannot imagine a Brier without Quebec,PEI,New Brunswick or Nova Scotia or any other Province for that matter. The equal access argument for two more teams from the North is fair but until the numbers of players increases and the talent increases the access argument sending three teams doesn't fly for me.

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Last edited by Curl401 on 11-03-12 at 12:31PM

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As someone, like 401, who has had the good fortune and honour to play in a Brier I want to add my opinion to the fray.

I like the idea of Team Canada and completely disagree with the B pool, pre-Brier qualifier for many reasons.

First, as stated by another poster, at least one team could require as much as two full weeks off to play both events (and this would be after all the time they had needed to win their respective province/territory). And unless they're that areas defending champion, why should someone have to pay for another teams poor record?

Second, who will compensate those teams financially and for how much?

Third, there is the traditional factor. The Brier is about including all of Canada, not excluding them based on the previous years finish.

Fourth, is there really that much curling and curlers in the Yukon, NWT and Nunavit that warrant them each having a berth in the Brier? Does it not make more sense for that area, as was the practise in the past, to have one representative?

If we were talking numbers in the thousands for each area, I could understand it, but as far as I am aware we are talking far fewer than that. And to compensate them for distances to travel-which in my IMO is fair and reasonable given the far norths geographical reality-I would have no objection to the CCA injecting them with funding for their provincial championship travel costs.

Lastly, if we must have the additional teams, then so be it. Just add another day to the Brier and play everyone as we do now. And for god sakes stop gnashing your teeth and pulling your hair about the fact that someone, always, will finish last.

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quote:

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Originally posted by peteski


...You guys can cry me a river for the teams that win their province or territory and don't make the actual Brier. If you can't make it out of the qualifying event, you don't deserve to play in the brier.

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Last edited by jamcan on 11-03-12 at 05:12PM

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If the model currently used at Seniors is applied, the bottom two teams will be relegated. If one of the bottom two is the province that is hosting the next year, then 3rd from the bottom is relegated.

Often 3rd from the bottom has a decent record (ie. 4-7) and some very good teams have had off years and fallen into a record like that. Using Seniors as an example again, BC Senior Women won world titles in 2009 and 2011. This past year, Penny Ryan represented, lost a few close ones, finished 4-7 and BC will have to requalify next year.

With the additions of Team Canada, the Brier fields are going to be a notch stronger and some provinces that are traditionally near the top are going to find themselves getting relegated. This is when the noise will get louder.

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quote:

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Originally posted by peteski


I haven't looked into this, but I'm guessing they'll let the host province in automatically, the way they give a berth to the home country for the world championships and the Olympics.

I have to say I don't understand why people are so bothered by this. It improves the competition by putting in another quality team, while dropping an also-ran, but it keeps the provincial rivalry and feel. I know it will still feel like the Brier to me and not just some tour event or another slam.

You guys can cry me a river for the teams that win their province or territory and don't make the actual Brier. If you can't make it out of the qualifying event, you don't deserve to play in the brier.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Curl401


Your dilusional
Shame on you!
I have made my point so I will not make it again. If host provinces get a bye than it makes my argument even stronger as Quebec,NB,PEI,NL,Terr and NOnt are no longer in the rotation to host a Brier
As for your cry a river
Again you show no empathy for how dam hard it is to win any province any time
Have a vote across the country on this rather than the CCA boys with their goofy Red Jackets making the decisions for people that actually know how to curl
you win a province your in

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quote:

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Originally posted by jamcan


Up until now Peteski, winning your province/territory WAS your qualifying event to play in the Brier. Now I guess the gruelling marathon that can be Alta, Sask, Man and Ont just isnt good enough to deserve playing in the Brier?

Seeing as I never concern myself over the simple fact that someone has to finish last, give me one solid reason why we should change this?

Which makes for an interesting challenge that I issue to Peteski: post the last place provinces/territories and their records for the past 10 years.

Then I would like to hear from posters in those provinces just how they would feel having to play the extra round the following year.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Unregistered
The whole point of a national championships is to give every province a chance to compete in it. Whether or not a province can contend or not should not be an issue. There will always be 3 or 4 teams on the bottom, thats the way a championship is, someone has to be on the bottom. Besides there's always the story arc of some lesser team having a great week.

We shouldnt be punishing the teams that wind up on the bottom we should be figuring out a way that they to can be more competitive.

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I don't like to speculate too much about what the new scheduling will be with respect to when the qualifying round will take place and what the travel/expense impact on those teams will be. Let's see what the CCA comes up with.

And let's not forget that there already has been one qualifying tournament for the Brier: the YT/NWT qualification to determine the one representative team for the territories. That was an incredible expense and inconvenience to those competing teams and associations, considering the huge costs of flights up north!

And to everyone speculating about an AB, MB, ON team getting relegated:
The only way that would happen would be to have a very good team (anyone who wins AB, MB, ON will be a very good team) have a dreadful week at the Brier, and then the following year's champion have an even worse weekend against likely weaker opponents. Certainly possible, but I'd bet a lot on AB, MB, ON never missing a Brier under this relegation system.

Team Canada's been wonderful for the Scotties, and I really like its addition to the Brier. We may one day see a bigger field (10 provs + 3 territories + TC) if/when international curling adopts 8-end games (which could permit 4 draws a day)

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Anyone like including everybody and just having two pools? Which pool you play in can depend on last year's finish. Expand the playoffs and have the final four play a page playoff as normal. This would make up for the fewer round robin games and make all of the games at the end of the week important.

Thoughts?

JH

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