Moose Jaw Will Host Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Nick Murray

Moose Jaw is booked to host the world’s most famous women’s curling national championship in 2020.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be played Feb. 14-23 at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Sask., it was announced today by Curling Canada. The event was held in Moose Jaw only three years ago, and was heralded as a great success, drawing in 70,047 spectators. Making it the 11th best attended Scotties in the event's history.

“Curling and Saskatchewan go hand in hand" said Maureen Miller, Chair of Curling Canada’s Board of Governors “and we saw first-hand in 2015 how Moose Jaw supports the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, so I know this was an easy decision for Curling Canada’s events team." She added that "Mosaic Place is a superb facility, and there is a dedicated group of volunteers and fans in Moose Jaw who will make the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and overwhelming success.”

In addition to hosting the 2015 Scotties, Mosaic Place also played host to the 2012 Canada Cup of Curling, which broke attendance records for the event, and the 4,500-seat facility is perfectly suited to hosting the crown jewel of Canadian women’s curling.

Mayor Fraser Tolmie was likewise thrilled about the announcement. “Moose Jaw has a passion for championship curling. This is the second time we have been chosen to host the Scotties in our world-class facility, Mosaic Place, and we are very excited to extend our hospitality and provide some world-class curling!”

Mosaic Place opened in August 2011, featuring a hockey arena that, in addition to its seating bowl, features 21 private suites and 132 club seats. Attached to the same building is the eight-sheet Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre, which will host the popular HeartStop Lounge entertainment area.

It will be the sixth time the Scotties Tournament of Hearts has been played in Saskatchewan. The 2015 edition at Moose Jaw featured Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones winning her fifth Scotties title; Jones also prevailed seven years earlier at Regina.

Regina also hosted in 1998 (won by Alberta’s Cathy King) and 1982 (won by Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones), while B.C.’s Julie Sutton took the 1991 Hearts title in Saskatoon.

Prior to the Tournament of Hearts format, previous Canadian women’s championships were played in Saskatoon in 1972 (won by Saskatchewan’s Vera Pezer) and in 1962 at Regina (won by B.C.’s Ina Hansen).

For fun, I’ve added some pics I took at 2015’s event.

Team Ontario skip Julie Hastings scrutinizing a shot

Stefanie Lawton’s Team Sask playing against Rachel Homan’s Team Ontario

Tracy Horgan’s Northern Ontario rink turned some heads in 2015