The 1976 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship was held from March 7 to 13, 1976 at Regina Exhibition Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.Regina Leader-Post, 19 Feb 1976, pg 18, "Brier fever hits Moose Jaw" The total attendance for the week was 61,110. This was the final Brier in which regulation games were 12 ends in length.
Team Newfoundland, who was skipped by Jack MacDuff captured the Brier tankard as they finished round robin play with a 9–2 record. This was Newfoundland's first ever Brier title. MacDuff's rink were considered heavy underdogs in the event as their odds of winning the Brier had been put at 1,000 to 1, making the victory extraordinary.
The MacDuff rink would go onto represent Canada in the 1976 Air Canada Silver Broom, the men's world curling championships in Duluth, Minnesota. They could not replicate the Brier success however, as they finished ninth out of ten teams with a 2–7 record, which at the time was the worst finish by a Canadian team in the world championships.
British Columbia's 6–5 victory over Alberta in Draw 11 was the fifth double extra end game in Brier history and the first since . This game was one of eleven games in the tournament which went to an extra end, setting a record for most extra end games in one Brier. This would end up being a Macdonald era (until ) record and wouldn't be broken until .
This Brier also set a record for most blank ends in a single Brier as 199 ends were blanked. To date, this is the most blank ends in a single Brier. There were also two games (BC vs. Quebec in Draw 5 and Newfoundland vs. Saskatchewan in Draw 12) which tied a Brier record set in for most blank ends in one game with seven. This record would not be broken until .
Teams The teams were as follows: British ColumbiaManitobaCalgary CC, Calgary Skip: Wayne Sokolosky Third: Frank Morissette Second: John Cottam Lead: Shayne WylieBurnaby WC, Burnaby Skip: Bernie Sparkes Third: Bert Gretzinger Second: Al Cook Lead: Keiven BauerHeather CC, Winnipeg Skip: Clare DeBlonde Third: Garry DeBlonde Second: Don Finkbeiner Lead: Doug FinkbeinerNew BrunswickNewfoundlandNorthern OntarioCapital WC, Fredericton Skip: Dave Sullivan Third: Mike Flannery Second:Tom Rubec Lead: Greg GilksSt. John's CC, St. John's Skip: Jack MacDuff Third: Toby McDonald Second: Doug Hudson Lead: Ken TempletonFort William CC, Thunder Bay Skip: Rick Lang Third: Bob Nicol Second: Al Fiskar Jr.Al Fiskar Jr. is a son of Al Fiskar, Canada men's alternate and coach on Lead: Warren ButtersNova ScotiaOntarioPrince Edward IslandMayflower CC, Halifax Skip: Alf Romain Third: Doug Arnold Second: Stu Cameron Lead: Guy LaRocqueDixie CC, Mississauga Skip: Joe Gurowka Third: Bob Charlebois Second: Ray Lilly Lead: Jim McGrathCharlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Ken MacDonald Third: Keith MacEachern Second: Peter McDonald Lead: Al LedgerwoodQuebecSaskatchewanNorthwest Territories/YukonSt. Laurent CC, Mount Royal Skip: Jim Ursel Third: Art Lobel Second: Don Aitken Lead: Brian RossMoose Jaw CC, Moose Jaw Skip: Roger Anholt Third: Gord Stewart Second: Bob Hicks Lead: Bill WilsonFort Smith CC, Fort Smith Skip: Howie Brazeau Third: Jim Schaefer Second: Charles Schaefer Lead: Paul Kaeser Jr.
Map of teams
Round Robin standings Final Round Robin standings KeyBrier champion ProvinceSkipWLPFPA Jack MacDuff 9 2 81 61 72% Clare DeBlonde 8 3 69 60 79% Bernie Sparkes 7 4 74 58 80% Jim Ursel 7 4 66 53 79% Dave Sullivan 7 4 63 56 73% Wayne Sokolosky 6 5 73 65 75% Rick Lang 5 6 76 75 74% Howard Brazeau 5 6 57 71 72% Alf Romain 4 7 59 81 71% Roger Anholt 3 8 56 68 75% Joe Gurowka 3 8 66 82 78% Ken MacDonald 2 9 62 72 72%
Round Robin results All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC-06:00).
Draw 1 Sunday, March 7, 1:30 pm
Draw 2 Sunday, March 7, 7:30 pm
Draw 3 Monday, March 8, 9:00 am
Draw 4 Monday, March 8, 1:30 pm
Draw 5 Monday, March 8, 7:30 pm
Draw 6 Tuesday, March 9, 9:00 am
Draw 7 Tuesday, March 9, 2:00 pm
Draw 8 Wednesday, March 10, 1:30 pm
Draw 9 Wednesday, March 10, 7:30 pm
Draw 10 Thursday, March 11, 1:30 pm
Draw 11 Thursday, March 11, 7:30 pm
Draw 12 Friday, March 12, 1:30 pm
Draw 13 Friday, March 12, 7:30 pm
Draw 14 Saturday, March 13, 12:00 pm
Awards All-Star Team The media selected the following curlers as All-Stars.
Position Name Team Skip Jack MacDuff Third Bert Gretzinger Second Don Aitken Lead Keiven Bauer
Ross G.L. Harstone Award The Ross Harstone Award was presented to the player chosen by their fellow peers as the curler who best represented Harstone's high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.
Name Team Position Jim Ursel Skip
References