THUNDER BAY – Twenty-four years ago, the last time the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was contested at Fort William Gardens, Krista McCarville was 13 and sweeping up trash as a volunteer at the event.
A quarter of a century later, in 2021, the seven-time provincial champion hopes to sweep away Northern Ontario’s 32-year-old national women’s curling championship drought, doing it on home ice.
On Tuesday, officials from Curling Canada made it official, awarding the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts to Thunder Bay.
The event will take place from Feb. 19 to Feb. 28.
McCarville, a finalist at the 2016 Scotties, said it’s about time, adding she's determined to be in the field.
“Of course, it puts a little bit of pressure on, because we want to be curling in this. We don’t want any other team in Northern Ontario to be here. This is our city. We want to be here curling. Ideally it would maybe be best to be Team Canada curling,” McCarville said, moments after the announcement was made at Fort William Curling Club.
“We’re going to do our best this year and if we’re in the play-downs next year I’m absolutely going to give it my all and we’re really excited.”
Teammate Ashley Sippala, who was in Grade 3 when the 1996 Scotties were held in Thunder Bay, said it would be a dream come true to be one of the teams in the mix next year.
“To now get the chance to play in that, along with the memories from when you were little, is super amazing. It’s a great curling community and exciting for everyone.”
Sippala teared up at the thought of taking part in 2021, should Team McCarville make it through what’s expected to be a competitive play-down.
“I’ve got two young kids, so they could come and watch, which would be super exciting, and family members who always support us behind the scenes, it’s closer for them to come watch. That would mean the world to us to be able to have that here,” Sippala said.
Team McCarville coach and two-time world champion curler Rick Lang, the co-chair of the local bid committee, said it’s a great day for the sport in Thunder Bay.
“People don’t understand, who haven’t been to one, how big an event it is. It’s going to be huge for Thunder Bay. I don’t think you have to be a curler to really enjoy this event. It’s going to really impact our community in such a great way,” Lang said. “I think energy-wise and spirit-wise and obviously economically.”
According to Community Economic Development Commission CEO Eric Zakrewski, the 2021 Scotties will have a $7 million economic impact on Thunder Bay, returning $18 for every one of the $400,000 put up by the city to land the bid through the municipal accommodation tax.
That’s good business, said Mayor Bill Mauro, adding he’s thankful Curling Canada accepted the application.
“And that doesn’t even quantify the free publicity, the 70 hours of televised coverage from the city of Thunder Bay that you’re going to get,” Mauro said.
More than 1,200 people have committed to purchasing tickets to the 2021 Scotties, with more than 800 signing up to volunteer.
It’s a big reason the city was chosen, said Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson, a Thunder Bay native.
“This is a dream come true for me,” she said.
Henderson, who said she’s quite confident the soon-to-be 70-year-old Gardens will be a great venue for the Scotties, said the bid committee did its job, up against other communities, which she did not name, to land the event.
“This bid, it was professional. It was extremely thorough and well done and the committee just knocked it out of the park in terms of helping us understand volunteerism, tourism, the people – all of those other things. It was an incredibly good bid.”
Tickets are expected to go on sale in the next month.
