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This will be the seventh time Calgary has played host to the Tim Hortons Brier, and the fourth time it’s been played at the Saddledome — the three previous visits to the Saddledome (curling capacity: approximately 19,000 seats) produced Alberta champions: Kevin Martin in 1997 and 2009, and Randy Ferbey in 2002. Calgary previously played host in 1948, 1961 and 1980.
The 1997 Brier featured the single-game attendance record for the event: 17,024.
The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier will also be notable as it will feature, for the first time, both a Team Canada entry — the winner of the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier in Kamloops, B.C. — as well as a pre-qualifying round that will determine the final 12-team field for the main round robin. Fifteen teams (the 14 Member Associations and Team) will be eligible to compete in the Tim Hortons Brier. Four teams will compete in the pre-qualifying round just before round-robin play begins to determine the final two entries. The format will be announced at a later date.
While I only purchased the Classic Package for this event, (final draws, ties, and all finals), I did go to several draws during the week and purchased individual tickets. It was a viewing of amazing curling and a great time.
Excellent value compared to most other sporting events today.
Entertainment between ends in the final weekend could have been much better - except for the 9 yr old drummer. He was fantastic. The dance group left a lot to be desired. Best entertainment was Brier Bear and Slider doing their own thing. For us, there was too much sitting. We'd go to a specific game again, but not for 3 days in a row. We're used to being much more active.
The event was excellent entertainment value. The concept of adding a "Team Canada" provided a return champion and someone for non-curlers to cheer for. A returning champion who does not qualify in the usual manner is given a huge advantage, however. The elite teams are already switching personnel without regard for provincial or territorial boundaries to try to give themselves a leg up for the Olympic trials. That is fine. It creates excellent competition for the tournament tour. The Brier could comprise men whose residence qualifies them to compete to represent their home province and it would be up to the provincial governing bodies to determine what team should represent their province. Team Canada is at the Brier at the expense of representation from all of the provinces. It was a shame that Nova Scotia was not represented this year. And next year, that province faces an uphill battle again to try to qualify for the big show. And if Northern Ontario had won this year, we would have had 3 teams from Ontario next year. Great for an Ottawa-hosted Brier, but smelling of "fix" to the rest of the country. This year's speil started on Thursday to accommodate the prequal. A draw to accommodate representation from all across the country could easily fit within a Thursday evening start to a ten day Brier, ending with at 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd set of semifinals with the winners playing for the tankard. That could cut the finals to two draws as a further accommodation.
Caliber of curling was awesome, love the new young teams coming up the ranks!pat
Had a great time attending the playoff weekend from Fri-Saturday. First time at the Brier and would totally go again
This brier was the best. Shot making was high end, even from the teams who didn't make the final. Loved that PEI team, hope to see a lot more of them in the future.
I will go every year when it is in Calgary. I introduced friends who had never watched curling before and they had a great time. And don't forget about the Brier Patch which is always a great time.
best brier ever, everything was amazing from the curling to the hospitality; the entertainment in the patch was fantastic...a lot of fun for all
The event was well done. Times were good, excellent venue.
The Brier rocked!!! A ton of fun! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An excellent event, well organized and would recommend this to anyone.
Event was great. It did appear that a lot of cost cutting had been implemented which did have an impact on the event. For example, no live singer for the National Anthem for all but the final game was in poor taste.
It was great to watch the younger players-- PEI. This rink has a long and promising future in this sport. Great to see so many "green" rider fans with their jerseys. Although the team that I was cheering for did not win In the end, the plays were superb, shots "heart stopping ", and an excellent effort was made by all.
Had a great time watching some good curling, enjoying good live music in the Brier Patch and meeting people from all over Canada!
The week started with the relegation round that was poorly advertised and attended (<500) even though it was free. The games over the week were good with usually one or more games per draw coming down to the last rock in the last end. It would have been nice to have some tie-breakers but the top four teams gave us some great games and a terrific final. Appreciated seeing the teams at the autograph sessions and it was great that those teams in the Patch made themselves available for pictures. It showed great sportsmanship. That is very important when supporting a team.
Oh my gosh the best moment for me was the last rock that skip Simmons played to win for Team Canada. YEAH!!!
Great curling. Great people around us. Tons of great curling shots.
Once again the brier had some of the best curling of the year. Many of the world's best curlers going head to head and if the best overall team didn't win, the best team of the day certainly did and with Team Canada winning, a large percentage of the fans went home happy. I would have given the brier five stars for the curling but not for the entire event. As always the brier is more than just curling. There are the people of the brier from the pin traders, the volunteers and the brier patch. It was the brier patch that failed to make the grade. There were at least two nights where the patch was full and people who had come from the curling with tickets could not get in as the venue was full. The desire to make money from people who did not attend the games caused people who did attend the games either to wait outside in the cold or in many cases, to leave. Not what the patch should be like. Once inside the patch did live up to its expectations. Also I wish TSN would learn how to film the event without having camera men on the ice that always got in the way of someone. There were as many as 5 cameras on the ice making viewing difficult. If hockey can do it why can't curling.
The event was put on really well and ran seamlessly. Great to have it in Calgary again!
