Coverstory: The Brier Tankard

This is a new thing I'm starting here with Club Seals. Each month, I'll do a special feature thing on something cool. This month... you guessed it! The Brier Tankard!

This month was the Brier, Canada's (and perhaps the worlds) most elite curlers battle it out to say they're better than everyone else. But the Tankard, that big trophy they hand out at the end of it all, is old and has quite a history behind it. So, in honor of The Brier, this month's coverstory is on the Brier Tankard.


The Tankard is actually as old as the Brire itself. The very first Brier was in 1927, under the title sponsership of Macdonald Tobacco Company. That was the very first time that shiney sterling silver cup was ever handed out. The silver cup itself was hand crafted in, where else, Great Britain. To make that cup today would cost over $17 000 US.

Each year, the names of the winners were engraved on a sterling silver heart which was mounted on the base of the trophy. Once there were 27 hearts, there was no more room for more, so a single silver plaque was mounted on the back, which housed the names of another 23 championship teams. After fifty year, and fifty Briers, Macdonald ended its sponsership and the Tankard was retired... or was it?

Fastfoward 21 years. Labbatt's brewing company had been the guys in charge ever since the Tankard was retired, but now, they finally call it quites, and their ugly, yellow, beer mug statue went with them. A new title sponser, Nokia, steps in, and brings back that classic old Tankard. This time it's bigger and badder. With an expanded base, and 71 silver hearts of each winning team since 1927... a resoration project which cost the CCA nearly $10 000. But man, it's worth it.

The revival of the Tankard was huge, and even after Nokia ended its sponsership, Tim Hortons (who is the current title sponser) is keeping the Tankard as curling's top prize.

When the Tankard returned to curling, it was greeted by one of the most dominant teams the world's ever seen. The first three years of its return, Randy Ferbey and his team from Alberta won the championship. After being defeated in the finals in 2004, ruining their streak, they rebounded in 2005 to hoist the trophy for the fourth time in five years. Although Randy Ferbey has a reputation for being, well, a jerk, he must've done something right to win that many times. By the expression on his face in that picture as he counts his fingers, it seems he may have lost count.

The first ever team to have their names inscribed on the trophy were the 1927 champions from Nova Scotia, Murray Macneill, Al MacInnes, Cliff Torey, and Jim Donahoe.


And of course, the newest team to have their names printed forever in curling history, is this year's Brier in Regina, the Cinderella team from Quebec, skipped by Jean-Michel Menard (MENARD!)