Moose Jaw’s bid to get Scotties back ‘hit it out of the park’

After just a five-year break, Moose Jaw was ready to host another Scotties Tournament of Hearts — and it made that abundantly clear to Curling Canada.

“(Organizers) put in the best bid, simple as that,” said Al Cameron, Curling Canada’s director of communications. “It’s a competitive process and we get bids from across the country and we’re looking for the bids that make the most sense for the host community as well as Curling Canada and Moose Jaw’s bid hit it out of the park on both counts.”

Moose Jaw was named the host city of the 2020 Scotties in October of 2018. It had just hosted the tournament in 2015, when Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and her rink earned the right to don the maple leaf once again as Team Canada.

“I wasn’t surprised (it came back to Moose Jaw so quickly) because they did such an outstanding job,” Jones said Tuesday. “And what a tremendous facility we have to play in, so I was pretty excited when we heard that — and (there are) obviously a lot of great memories for us.”

The 2015 Scotties had the 11th-highest attendance ever for the tournament, with 70,047 fans making their way to Moose Jaw to watch curling’s best. After Tuesday night’s draw, 30,428 fans had taken in this year’s event.

Cameron said when Curling Canada made the announcement that the Canadian women’s championship tournament would be making its return to the Friendly City, he could tell it was the right choice.

“I was here for the news conference that announced the event and I can tell you there was a lot of excitement that people were feeling at that announcement. They do love that event here in Moose Jaw,” Cameron said.

One of the big reasons Curling Canada elected to return to Moose Jaw so quickly is Mosaic Place and how the rink is laid out.

“Clearly there’s a lot of community support,” Cameron said. “(Mosaic Place) is outstanding and one of my favourites that we go to just because of the way it’s set up with the Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre right next door for the Heartstop Lounge. There’s so much space backstage and it’s comfortable for the players.

“It’s convenient with a lot of restaurants downtown so there’s a lot going for this facility and the city of Moose Jaw.”

There was some concern that having the Scotties back after just five years could have led to volunteer burnout. But Cameron said those fears were quickly put to rest.

“We were confident based on talking to the host committee people here that they were ready and they were ready to embrace it from a volunteer standpoint as well,” Cameron said. “Saskatchewan is curling country, that’s no secret. (There’s) just amazing support from here in the community.”

Ontario skip Rachel Homan was also at the 2015 Scotties as Team Canada. She said the cheering fans make the Friendly City a special place in which to play.

“It doesn’t matter what time it is, these fans make it look like it’s a night draw. We love coming to Saskatchewan and the fans are amazing and they cheer for good shots and it’s electric in here,” Homan said.

Jones also agreed the fans were a major reason the 2015 event was so successful.

“(There was) hospitality everywhere we went. From the arena to the volunteers to the hotel and the restaurants, everybody was just so excited that we were here. We felt like stars for a week and what a privilege that is,” Jones said.

The 2020 edition is also proving to be a hit, building off the success in 2015.

“It’s the same great building, same great hotels, same great restaurants downtown and the same great curling fans, so not much has changed from that perspective,” Cameron said.

The 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is to be held in Thunder Bay, Ont.