Hurry hard, C.B.
Scotties Tournament of Hearts officially awarded to Cape Breton
The second time was the charm for Cape Breton’s bid to host the national women’s curling championship.
Curling Canada made it official on Friday that the 2019 edition of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be played at Centre 200 in Sydney.
It’s news that comes not long after a failed attempt to bring the 2018 edition of the prestigious tournament to the island.
“I think we maybe took it for granted the last time,” admitted Paul MacDonald, the general manager of Centre 200.
“I know that’s hard to believe when you are going in. But we thought because of who we are and Cape Breton has success with hosting events and maybe we took it for granted we were going to win. When we didn’t, really we buckled down and I think had more involvement from more people and that’s why we are here.”
Some 900 down payments on tournament tickets really helped, too.
“That certainly caught their attention,” MacDonald said. “It’s the fact that the community was so much behind it. Our bid was very, very good in terms of the document itself and the site visit was really the cherry on the sundae.”
The support of the local business community and Baker renewed backing from the municipal and federal governments were also seen as important.
Cape Breton’s 2019 bid was “remarkable and hard to say no to,” according to Al Cameron, director of communications and media relations for Curling Canada.
“They put in an awful lot of work and the curling fans of Cape Breton really stepped up as well,” Cameron said.
“That just sent a message to Curling Canada that we had to listen to.”
Cameron said Cape Breton curling fans will be rewarded for their support with a bonspiel like the area has never seen, bringing in 16 “amazing” teams from Feb. 16-24 and featuring a 16-team field to compete for the right to represent
Canada at the world championship.
He noted the 66 hours of television coverage TSN will give to the Cormier tournament will also mean great exposure for the community.
That’s an aspect of the winning bid that pleases CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke.
“It’s going to showcase our community to the rest of Canada and the world,” the mayor said.
“We have this great sports history and heritage here, but we also have a vibrant cultural aspect to celebrate and add to the whole experience of the Scotties.
“This is going to be a spectacular time for our community.”
The tournament’s impact on the curling community should be impressive, as well.
“It’s a really big deal,” said
Rachael Baker, president of MacDonald the Sydney Curling Club.
“Members are thrilled at the thought of having this elite tournament in town.”
Seeing these athletes live is expected to spur interest in curling and perhaps membership.
“I’m delighted. I haven’t stopped smiling since I got the news.”
Gordie Cormier from the Schooner Curling Club, and a tournament bid member, called the Scotties participants great curlers and great ambassadors for the sport.
“The awareness it is going to bring to our clubs is going to be amazing,” he said.
“It is something we are looking forward to, to help people get involved in our sport and help our membership. I think it’s a great thing.”
MacDonald said that’s not as far away as some people might think, so the real work on the tournament must now get underway.
That work includes recruiting some 150-plus volunteers he called a critical component of the event.
“They need volunteers,” he said. “They will come from our community, they’ll come from outside our community. We are going to reach out to them as soon as we can.”