Glenn Howard

Early Life and Career

Glenn Howard was introduced to curling by his parents, Bill and Barbara Howard, who loved all sports. He started curling at 10 years old, joining his older brother Russell at the Midland Curling Club, where his father worked as the icemaker and manager.

Glenn made it to the Ontario Junior Championship twice (1980 and 1981), losing both times in a tiebreaker. He curled on the University of Waterloo Warriors team during his postsecondary education. As the skip, he led the Warriors to three consecutive Ontario University Athletics Association (OUAA) championships.

During his early professional curling career, Glenn often teamed with his older brother, Russ. In 1986, Glenn won his first Ontario Tankard title as a third on the team Russ skipped. After Russ moved to Moncton, New Brunswick in 2000, Glenn remained in Ontario and began skipping his own rink.

The Brier King

Glenn Howard holds the record for competing in the most Briers (Canadian men’s national curling championship) with 19. He has also played more games at the Brier than any other curler (218). Howard has won the Canadian curling championship four times (1987, 1993, 2007 and 2012). He has finished with silver seven times (1986, 1992, 1994, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011) and bronze three times (1989, 2009, 2013).

Howard’s first Brier win came when he was only 23 years old. His first two trophies came curling as a third for teams skipped by his brother, Russ Howard. Reflecting in 2021 on what this national championship meant to him, Glenn said, “The Brier is one of the most iconic sports events in curling history and obviously in my life. I just love going to the Brier.”

For his final two Brier titles, Glenn skipped the winning teams. He has competed in the Brier in five different decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s. In the 2015–16 curling season, Howard added Wayne Middaugh to his team, which also included Howard’s son, Scott. Middaugh left the team midseason due to a skiing injury, and Adam Spencer replaced him. This Howard team won the 2016 Ontario Tankard.

In an October 2022 interview with the Toronto Sun, in reference to his longevity and how he was still curling competitively at age 60, while his brother and other top curlers had retired in their early fifties, Howard said, “I still can’t see myself sitting at home, watching it on TV… I’m not ready for that.” However, he also conceded, “It’s coming to an end fairly soon, I think… The body is starting to tell me. But you never know. I’m still having fun.”

World Championships

Glenn Howard is a four-time world champion (1987, 1993, 2007 and 2012). His first title came in 1987 as a member of his brother Russ’s team, which was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1991. Glenn’s most recent title came in 2012, when he skipped the Canadian team to a victory over Scotland, 8–7.

Coaching

At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Glenn Howard coached the Great Britain Women’s Curling Team, skipped by Eve Muirhead, to a berth in the semifinals, where they lost 5–3 to Japan and finished fourth. On the experience of coaching Muir for three years, Howard told the Toronto Sun, “That was interesting because I realized I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot about myself as a coach. It isn’t cookie-cutter. Because you’ve been a decent curler or had a good career, it doesn’t make you a good coach. I learned a lot about coaching, and I learned that you see things a lot differently from the coaches’ bench.”

In October 2022, it was announced that Howard would become the new coach of Team Jennifer Jones out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. “From my perspective, Jennifer Jones is the GOAT [greatest of all time],” Howard told the Toronto Sun. “There’s no question in my mind she’s the greatest female curler of all time. To have an opportunity to join forces with her is unbelievable.”

Personal Life

Glenn Howard and his wife, Judy, live in Tiny, Ontario, near Penetanguishene. His brother is Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion Russ Howard. Glenn’s son, Scott, and daughter, Carly Howard, both curl competitively. In 2015, Scott joined Glenn’s team. “I just treat him like a teammate, and I try not to do the fatherly thing, and he treats me like a teammate,” Howard told the Toronto Observer. “He’s my son still and I’m his dad, but on the same token, we’re teammates and that’s how I want it to be.”

When not curling, Howard works as a consultant for Brewers Retail Inc. In 2008, he made a guest appearance on the CBC comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie in the episode “Jihad on Ice.”

Honours

• Inductee (Team Canada 1987), Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1991)
• Member of the Midland Sports Hall of Fame (2008)
• Member of the Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame (2013)