The Scotties Tournament of Hearts ( French : Le Tournoi des Cœurs Scotties ; commonly referred to as the Scotties ) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada , formerly called the Canadian Curling Association. The winner goes on to represent Canada at the women's world curling championships . Since 1985, the winner also gets to return to the following year's tournament as "Team Canada". It is formally known as the "Canadian Women's Curling Championship".
23-515: The Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award is the sportsmanship award at the annual Scotties Tournament of Hearts , held to crown the Canadian women's curling championship. When Scott Paper took over sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Curling Championship in 1982, they decided to present an annual award for sportsmanship. From 1982 to 1997, the award had a different name each year, as the convention
46-514: A new 18-team format was introduced, in which all 14 member associations of Curling Canada field a team in a main draw of two pools, alongside the defending champions, and the three highest-ranked teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings that did not win their provincial championships. The teams are separated into two pools of nine, each playing a round-robin within their pool, with the top three teams in each pool advancing to
69-614: A second round to determine the final four teams. At the end of the second round, playoffs occur to determine the championship winner. The system used is known as the Page playoff system . 1913 marked a significant point in women's curling when both the Manitoba Bonspiel and the Ontario Curling Association began holding women's curling events. Other provinces would later add provincial women's championships, but it wasn't until
92-535: Is awarded by the media to the most valuable player during the playoffs at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The 2023 winner was Kerri Einarson of Team Canada. The Shot of the Week Award is presented by the organizing committee to the player who makes the most outstanding shot during the tournament. The award has not been presented since 2013. The Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award is awarded annually to
115-460: The Scotties brand because Kimberly-Clark already owned Kleenex . As such, the tournament was officially renamed the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2007. Until 2018, the format was a round robin of 12 teams. Starting with the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts there have been more than twelve eligible teams; therefore a pre-qualification tournament was held to trim the field to twelve. In 2021,
138-527: The 1950s that a higher level of women's curling began to occur. At this time there was a Western Canada Women's Curling Championship (sponsored by the T. Eaton Company ) but no tournament existed for the eastern provinces. By 1959, Eaton's pulled their sponsorship, giving the organizers of the Western championships an initiative to have a national championship. In 1960, the Canadian Ladies' Curling Association
161-492: The 1979 event was the first tournament to feature a playoff. Before then, the championship team was the one with the best round robin record. Robin Wilson , a member of the 1979 championship team, and a former employee of Scott Paper led an effort to get the company to sponsor the championships. It was successful, and in 1982 the first Scott Tournament of Hearts was held. The Scott Tournament of Hearts would last 25 years, and saw
184-644: The Brier , the Canadian men's championship. This first event would be called the 1961 Diamond D Championship , and it was held at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Ottawa. McKee and her rink of Sylvia Fedoruk , Barbara MacNevin , Rosa McFee won the new event, finishing with an undefeated 9-0 record. In 1969 , McKee returned to national championship, skipping the team of Vera Pezer , Lenore Morrison and Jennifer Falk to another Saskatchewan and Canadian championship. The team
207-619: The Western final, and was invited to play the Eastern Canadian champion Ruth Smith rink from Quebec in an unofficial championship in Oshawa , Ontario . McKee's team defeated the Quebec team in two matches, 11–3 and 8–5. The following season, the McKee rink once again won the provincial title. This time, the Canadian Ladies' Curling Association organized a national championship with a similar format to
230-579: The anti-tobacco policies of the Canadian Government , the Macdonald Tobacco Company pulled their sponsorship from both the Brier and the Women's championship. The Canadian Ladies' Curling Association ran the tournament without a main sponsor again for the next couple of years. 1979 also marked the first year of the Women's World Curling Championship , where the national champion would play. Also,
253-524: The best-of-three series two games to none. The games between the two teams were played in Oshawa , Ontario . The following year a tournament was organized with the same format as the Brier and was held in Ottawa . McKee won again, with a new front end of Barbara MacNevin and Rosa McFee . In 1967, Dominion Stores were unable to reach a compromise with the organizers of the tournament, and their sponsorship fell. The Canadian Ladies' Curling Association ran
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#1732901505125276-567: The four-heart design of the Tournament of Hearts logo, set with a .25-carat diamond. The runners-up receive the same rings, with rubies instead of diamonds, and the third-place team receives gold rings set with emeralds. Starting with the 2024 tournament , the first all-star team was entitled the Robin Wilson First All-Star Team . As of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts The Sandra Schmirler Most Valuable Player Award
299-1129: The growth and development of women's curling in Canada. It has been awarded annually since 2001. Winners Robin Wilson First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Second Team First Team Joyce McKee Helen Joyce McKee (October 29, 1933 – December 28 or 29, 1999)
322-768: The likes of many great teams. The first Tournament of Hearts was won by Colleen Jones and her Nova Scotia team. It would take her 17 years to win another, but she would cap it off with another four championships for a grand total of six championships. In 2018, Colleen Jones' feat of six championships was equaled by Manitoba's Jennifer Jones . Other great curlers at the Hearts have been Kerri Einarson and Connie Laliberte of Manitoba, Heather Houston , Marilyn Bodogh and Rachel Homan of Ontario, Vera Pezer and Sandra Schmirler of Saskatchewan, Cathy Borst , Shannon Kleibrink and Chelsea Carey of Alberta and Lindsay Sparkes and Kelly Scott of British Columbia. The new sponsorship made
345-532: The most sportsmanlike curler at the Tournament of Hearts every year. The award has been presented since 1982, and has been named in Mitchell's honour since 1998. In 2024, the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award was presented to Danielle Inglis of Ontario. The Joan Mead Builder Award, named after CBC producer Joan Mead, goes to someone in the curling community that significantly contributes to
368-533: The tournament by themselves with no main sponsor. Sylvia Fedoruk , after assuming the presidency of the Canadian Ladies' Curling Association found a title sponsor in the Macdonald Tobacco Company , the same sponsor as the Brier. Their sponsorship began in 1972 with the tournament being called the "Macdonald Lassie" championship, after the company's trademark. In 1979, under increasing pressure from
391-461: The tournament popular when it began to be televised. Today, TSN covers the entire tournament. CBC had covered the semi-finals and the finals up until the 2007–08 season. In 2013, Sportsnet and Citytv began to offer coverage of the finals of the provincial playdowns in Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta as well. As a Tournament of Hearts tradition, the members of the winning team receive gold rings in
414-598: Was a Canadian curler from Saskatoon , Saskatchewan . She was a five-time Canadian champion. Born in Asquith, Saskatchewan , McKee won her very first provincial title as a skip in 1954, before the creation of a Canadian women's championship . She won again in 1960, earning the right to play at the Western Canada Women's Curling Championship in Victoria, British Columbia . Her Saskatchewan rink defeated Alberta 14–11 in
437-433: Was created with Dominion Stores Ltd. seeking to sponsor a national championship. That year, an eastern championship occurred so that the winner could play the winner of the western championship in an invitational event. In this event , Ruth Smith and her team from Lacolle, Quebec faced off against Joyce McKee 's team from Saskatchewan (consisting of Sylvia Fedoruk , Donna Belding and Muriel Coben ) with McKee winning
460-534: Was formerly known as Scott Paper Limited when it was a Canadian subsidiary of Scott Paper Company . As such, the tournament was formerly known as the Scott Tournament of Hearts ; when Kimberly-Clark merged with Scott, the Canadian arm was sold to the Quebec-based Kruger Inc. – while Kruger was granted a license to use several Scott brands in Canada until June 2007, it was given a long-term license to
483-501: Was named after a notable individual in the curling community where the tournament was held that year. Starting in 1998, the Sportsmanship Award at the annual Scotties Tournament of Hearts was permanently renamed the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award in honour of Mitchell, a Saskatchewan curler who died of cancer in 1983. Scotties Tournament of Hearts Since 1982, the tournament has been sponsored by Kruger Products, which
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#1732901505125506-492: Was tied with Ontario in their final round robin game with a 7–1 record. They happened to play Ontario in their final game which they won, 6–5, earning them the championship. The team then changed its lineup to have Pezer skip and McKee throw second stones, and brought in Sheila Rowan to throw third stones. This team won three more Saskatchewan and Canadian national championships ( 1971 , 1972 , 1973 ). Later in life, McKee won
529-462: Was to name the annual award after an individual from the host region who exemplified sportsmanship and dedication to curling. In 1998, the decision was made to honour Marj Mitchell each year. Mitchell curled for Saskatchewan and captured the national and world championships in 1982. Mitchell died of cancer in 1983. Prior to 1998, the Sportsmanship award at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts
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