| 1976 Macdonald Brier | |
| Host City: | Regina, Saskatchewan |
| Arena: | Regina Exhibition Stadium |
| Dates: | March 7–13 |
| Attendance: | 61,110[1] |
| Winner: | |
| Curling Club: | St. John's CC, St. John's |
| Skip: | Jack MacDuff |
| Third: | Toby McDonald |
| Second: | Doug Hudson |
| Lead: | Ken Templeton |
| Coach: | Sam Richardson (unofficial)[2] |
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.[3] 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 .[4] [5]
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 .
The teams were as follows:[6]
| British Columbia | Manitoba | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary CC, CalgarySkip: Wayne Sokolosky Third: Frank Morissette Second: John Cottam Lead: Shayne Wylie | Burnaby WC, BurnabySkip: Bernie Sparkes Third: Bert Gretzinger Second: Al Cook Lead: Keiven Bauer | Heather CC, WinnipegSkip: Clare DeBlonde Third: Garry DeBlonde Second: Don Finkbeiner Lead: Doug Finkbeiner | |
| New Brunswick | Newfoundland | Northern Ontario | |
| Capital WC, FrederictonSkip: Dave Sullivan Third: Mike Flannery Second:Tom Rubec Lead: Greg Gilks | St. John's CC, St. John'sSkip: Jack MacDuff Third: Toby McDonald Second: Doug Hudson Lead: Ken Templeton | Fort William CC, Thunder BaySkip: Rick Lang Third: Bob Nicol Second: Al Fiskar Jr.[7] Lead: Warren Butters | |
| Nova Scotia | Ontario | Prince Edward Island | |
| Mayflower CC, HalifaxSkip: Alf Romain Third: Doug Arnold Second: Stu Cameron Lead: Guy LaRocque | Dixie CC, MississaugaSkip: Joe Gurowka Third: Bob Charlebois Second: Ray Lilly Lead: Jim McGrath | Charlottetown CC, CharlottetownSkip: Ken MacDonald Third: Keith MacEachern Second: Peter McDonald Lead: Al Ledgerwood | |
| Quebec | Saskatchewan | Northwest Territories/Yukon | |
| St. Laurent CC, Mount RoyalSkip: Jim Ursel Third: Art Lobel Second: Don Aitken Lead: Brian Ross | Moose Jaw CC, Moose JawSkip: Roger Anholt Third: Gord Stewart Second: Bob Hicks Lead: Bill Wilson | Fort Smith CC, Fort SmithSkip: Howie Brazeau Third: Jim Schaefer Second: Charles Schaefer Lead: Paul Kaeser Jr. |
Final Round Robin standings
| Province | Skip | W | L | PF | PA | [8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | 81 | 61 | 72% | |||
| 8 | 3 | 69 | 60 | 79% | |||
| 7 | 4 | 74 | 58 | 80% | |||
| 7 | 4 | 66 | 53 | 79% | |||
| Dave Sullivan | 7 | 4 | 63 | 56 | 73% | ||
| 6 | 5 | 73 | 65 | 75% | |||
| 5 | 6 | 76 | 75 | 74% | |||
| Howard Brazeau | 5 | 6 | 57 | 71 | 72% | ||
| 4 | 7 | 59 | 81 | 71% | |||
| 3 | 8 | 56 | 68 | 75% | |||
| 3 | 8 | 66 | 82 | 78% | |||
| 2 | 9 | 62 | 72 | 72% |
All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time .[9]
Sunday, March 7, 1:30 pm
Sunday, March 7, 7:30 pm
Monday, March 8, 9:00 am
Monday, March 8, 1:30 pm
Monday, March 8, 7:30 pm
Tuesday, March 9, 9:00 am
Tuesday, March 9, 2:00 pm
Wednesday, March 10, 1:30 pm
Wednesday, March 10, 7:30 pm
Thursday, March 11, 1:30 pm
Thursday, March 11, 7:30 pm
Friday, March 12, 1:30 pm
Friday, March 12, 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 13, 12:00 pm
The media selected the following curlers as All-Stars.[10]
| Position | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skip | |||
| Third | |||
| Second | |||
| Lead |
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.[11]