1981 Labatt Brier
The 1981 Labatt Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship was held from March 1 to 8, 1981 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The total attendance for the week was 67,257.
| 1981 Labatt Brier | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Arena | Halifax Metro Centre |
| Dates | March 1–8 |
| Attendance | 67,257 |
| Winner | Manitoba |
| Curling club | Assiniboine Memorial CC, Winnipeg |
| Skip | Kerry Burtnyk |
| Third | Mark Olson |
| Second | Jim Spencer |
| Lead | Ron Kammerlock |
| Finalist | Northern Ontario (Al Hackner) |
« 1980 1982 » | |
Team Manitoba, who was skipped by Kerry Burtnyk won the Brier tankard as they defeated Northern Ontario, skipped by Al Hackner in the final 5–4. Manitoba advanced to the final after beating Saskatchewan in the semifinal 5–4. This was Manitoba's twenty-first Brier championship and the first of two skipped by Burtnyk. At 22 years, 3 months, and 15 days, Burtnyk became the youngest skip to ever win a Brier surpassing Hec Gervais' record by nearly five years when he won the 1961 Brier.
The Burtynk rink would go onto represent Canada in the 1981 Air Canada Silver Broom, the men's world curling championship on home soil in London, Ontario where they lost in the semifinal to eventual champion Switzerland.
The event set a record for the most extra end games in a single Brier as fourteen games went to an extra end breaking the record of eleven set in 1976. This remains a record and would only be matched in 1990.