Selecting Teams for the Brier and the Scott
As I watch the Brier this week, it strikes me that there are several teams that really, to be blunt, are nowhere near as good as the others. In fact, they are nowhere near as good as some of the teams that were eliminated in other provinces. I would much rather see the second, even third, place teams from Alberta, Ontario, and BC than watch games involving the to-date winless teams from PEI, Nova Scotia, or the Territories.
The divergence in quality seems especially striking this year, with truly excellent teams at the Brier.
The problem, though, is how else might the Canadian Curling Association choose teams to compete at the Brier. Surely they do not wish to keep good teams from small provinces from participating, and surely they do not want to use money-winnings or curling stats as decision variables. And if that is correct, then I see no change that might be seen as either reasonable or fair.
The only possible change might be to lump Northern Ontario with either Ontario or possibly the Territories and give the previous year's winner a berth at the Brier. I'd like that, but I'm not sure it would get strong support.
Addendum: I can't believe I didn't think about this earlier, but of course it is impossible for more than one team to be winless through the entire round robin. Duh.
Labels: 2010 Tim Hortons Brier
posted by EclectEcon @ 12:57:00 p.m.
2 comments
2 Comments:
The Brier is what it is: a NATIONAL championship. Teams from each province have the chance to go to the Brier. Same with the Scotties, except they have a returning Team Canada every year.
The top teams from anywhere have a different forum for playing each other. It's called the World Curling Tour. There are some great events on the WCT. You should try to see them http://www.worldcurlingtour.com/ Some of these events have several teams from Alberta and Ontario playing the same event.
It's great that there are WCT events, but it's also great that here in Canada any team that puts in the work and has luck on their side can participate in a National Championship. I would hate to see that tradition fall by the wayside simply because some provinces are harder to get out of than others.
I fully understand what you are saying and why, which is why I said "...I see no change that might be seen as either reasonable or fair." I cannot imagine there would be any changes.
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