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Jamie Brannen
Curler
Born	(1975-09-02)September 2, 1975 Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	September 23, 2022(2022-09-23) (aged 47) Upper Kingsclear, New Brunswick
Team
Curling club	Capital Winter Club, Fredericton, NB
Curling career
Member Association	New Brunswick
Brier appearances	6 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Jamie Robert Alexander Brannen (September 2, 1975 – September 23, 2022) was a Canadian curler and a six-time New Brunswick Tankard champion.

Early life

Brannen was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, the son of Robert Brannen and Cindy Clark Murray. He grew up in Chipman, New Brunswick and graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in Computer Science.

Curling career

Brannen won the 2007 New Brunswick Mixed Championship with teammates Heather Munn, Nick Munn and wife Lesley Hicks. The team represented New Brunswick at the 2008 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, where he skipped the team to a 4–7 record.

Brannen won his first New Brunswick Tankard in 2016 as lead for Mike Kennedy with teammates Scott Jones and Marc LeCocq where they went a perfect 8–0. At the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa, the team finished in tenth place with a 3–8 record. The next season the team defended their provincial title and finished 1–10 at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier. The following season, Kennedy and LeCocq left the team and Jones moved up to skip with Brian King and Robert Daley joining the team at second and lead respectively. The team finished 3–4 at the 2018 Papa John's Pizza Tankard, failing to qualify for the playoffs. The team lost the semifinal the following season at the 2019 NB Tankard to James Grattan. He was the alternate for Terry Odishaw and Team New Brunswick at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier and the team finished with a 3–4 record. Brannen left the Jones team and joined Grattan for the 2019–20 season. On the tour, they picked up a win at the Jim Sullivan Curling Classic and played in the 2019 Tour Challenge Tier 2, finishing 1–3. Later that season, the team won the 2020 New Brunswick Tankard and represented New Brunswick at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, Ontario. After starting 1–2, they upset higher seeds Ontario's John Epping and British Columbia's Steve Laycock to sit in a good spot going into their final two games. Unfortunately, they would lose both of those games, finishing the round robin at 3–4, missing the playoffs.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Grattan was invited to represent New Brunswick at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, which they accepted. One member of Team Grattan, Paul Dobson, opted not to attend the event due to travel restrictions. He was replaced by Jonathan Beuk of Ontario. At the Brier, the Grattan rink had a strong start, defeating higher seeds Mike McEwen and Brad Jacobs to sit at 4–1 with three games left. They then, however, lost their last three games, just failing to qualify for the championship pool, like in 2020.

Brannen was a member of the New Brunswick team at the 2021 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, playing second on a team skipped by Grattan. The team went on to have a 7–3 record, but lost both their playoff games, including the bronze medal game against the Northwest Territories.

During the 2021–22 curling season, Team Grattan picked up Darren Moulding to play third for this team, after Moulding had been cut from the defending Brier champion Brendan Bottcher rink. This meant that the team would have five players. After winning the 2022 New Brunswick Tankard, the team represented the province at the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier. At the Brier, Brannen would be the team's alternate, and only played in two games. The team finished the Brier with a 3–5 record.

Personal life

Brannen was married to Lesley Hicks Brannen and had two children. He was the executive director of Brannen Consulting.

On September 24, 2022 it was announced that Brannen, along with his father Bob, had died that weekend.

Teams

References

1. ^ "Jamie Brannen". Telegraph Journal. 26 September 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
2. "Curling community mourns loss of curling champ, his dad". Telegraph Journal. 25 September 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
3. Jamie Brannen meurt subitement à l'âge de 47 ans (in French)
4. ^ "2020 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
5. "WCT Recap: Grattan, Gim win Jim Sullivan Classic". TSN. December 8, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
6. "BRIER CAPSULES: Breaking down the field for the Brier in Kingston". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
7. "2020 Tim Hortons Brier Statistics". Curling Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
8. @Devin_Heroux (30 Jan 2021). "JUST IN... New Brunswick has cancelled its men's provincial curling championship. @JamesGrattan has accepted invite. Still waiting to firm up his lineup. This will be Grattan's 14th Brier appearance. #cbccurl" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. "Tim Hortons Brier begins Friday!". Curling Canada. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
10. Ted Wyman (March 4, 2021). "BRIER BREAKDOWN: A team-by-team look at the expanded field for the Tim Hortons Brier". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
11. Ryan Horne (March 9, 2021). "Jimmy the Kid has New Brunswick in the mix at Brier". TSN. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
12. "2021 Tim Hortons Brier: Scores, schedule, standings". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
13. "After mid-season firing, Darren Moulding ready for showdown with former team". Sportsnet. March 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
14. "Darren Moulding joins James Grattan's New Brunswick rink following Team Bottcher exit". CBC. December 22, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
15. "New Brunswick curler Brannen passes away at age 47". TSN. 24 September 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
16. "Jamie Brannen Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved October 4, 2020.

External links

• 1975 births
• 2022 deaths
• Canadian male curlers
• Curlers from Nova Scotia
• People from Windsor, Nova Scotia
• People from York County, New Brunswick
• People from Queens County, New Brunswick
• Curlers from Fredericton
• University of New Brunswick alumni