Scotties Tournament of Hearts: Why Canada’s women’s curling championship is called the Scotties

The term “Scotties” has become synonymous with curling in Canada for years.

The annual women’s curling championship begins today in Kamloops as Canada’s top 18 teams compete for the right to be crowned Scotties champions.

Although the tournament has existed since 1961, it was not always referred to as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. In fact, the competition has gone through a number of name changes over the years.

MORE: Scotties Tournament of Hearts 2023 results, schedule

Here are more details on why it’s called the Scotties.

Why the Canadian Women’s Curling Championship is called the Scotties

The Canadian Women’s Curling Championship has gone through five different name variations in its more than 60-year history.

The competition was initially called the Diamond D Championship and was sponsored by the Dominion Stores. In 1867, the company was able to reach a compromise with the organizers of the event, and they stopped sponsoring it.

Without a sponsor, the tournament was named Canadian Ladies Curling Association Champions for four years before contracting with the Macdonald Tobacco Company. It was called the Macdonald Lassies Championship from 1972 to 1978 when the Canadian government began pressuring its anti-tobacco policy.

It briefly went back to the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship for two years before Robin Wilson, who won the tournament in 1979, pushed for the Scott Paper Company to sponsor the event. It was successful and the first Scott Tournament of Hearts was held in 1982.

After a merger with Kimberly-Clark, the Canadian part of the Scott Paper Company was sold to Kruger Inc. The company could not further license the Scott brand, but Kruger did obtain a long-term license to Scotties, a facial tissue brand.

As a result, in 2007 the tournament was renamed after the tissue brand now known as the Scotties.

When is the Scotties 2023?

This tournament starts on Friday February 17th and runs until Sunday February 26th.

Billiards will be played from the 17th to the 23rd. The playoffs and page playoffs take place on the 24th and 25th before the semifinals and finals round out the action on the 26th.

What channel will the Scotties be on in 2023?

The Women’s Curling Championship will be broadcast on TSN, with live streaming available on TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Longtime curling announcer Vic Rauter will be in the dressing room, sharing play-by-play duties with Bryan Mudryk. Cathy Gauthier, Joanne Courtney and Russ Howard join the team as analysts.

2023 Scottie’s broadcast schedule
Date time (ET) Match channel
Friday February 17th 21 clock pool game TSN1/3
Saturday February 18th 4 p.m pool game TSN1/4
21 clock pool game TSN1/4/5
Sunday February 19th 11:30 a.m pool game TSN2
4:30 p.m pool game TSN2
9:30 p.m pool game TSN1
Monday February 20th 11:30 a.m pool game TSN1
4:30 p.m pool game TSN1
9:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3
Tuesday February 21st 11:30 a.m pool game TSN1/3
4:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3
9:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3/5
Wednesday February 22nd 11:30 a.m pool game TSN1
4:30 p.m pool game TSN1
9:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3
Thursday 23 February 11:30 a.m pool game TSN1
4:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3
9:30 p.m pool game TSN1/3
Friday February 24th 11:30 a.m Tiebreaker TSN1
4:30 p.m final 1 TSN1
9:30 p.m endgame 2 TSN1
Saturday February 25th 4:30 p.m side playoff TSN1/3/4
21 clock side playoff TSN1
Sunday February 26th 3 pm semifinals TSN1
21 clock final TSN1/3/4/5

Where will the 2023 Scotties be held?

The 42nd edition of the tournament will be held at the Sandman Center in Kamloops, BC

This is the first time Kamloops has hosted the Scotties, and the first time the tournament will be held in British Columbia since 2018, when it was held in Penticton.

What is the Scotties 2023 purse?

The 18 teams compete for a total prize money of 300,000 US dollars.

Here is the prize money breakdown for the event:

1: $100,000
2nd: $60,000
3rd: $40,000
Championship Pool (4th-8th): $15,000
Non-Championship Pool (9th-18th): $2,500

In addition to $100,000, the 2023 Scotties winner will represent Canada at the 2023 LGT World Women’s Curling Championship. This tournament will be held in mid-March and Sandviken, Sweden will host the event.

2023 Scotties odds

According to Sports Interaction, Einarson’s Team Canada, which is participating in the tournament, is the favorite to win the Scotties again. The team sits at +135 to win it all.

Here are the pre-tournament odds for all teams.

team opportunities
Canada +135
ontario +210
wildcard 1 +550
Manitoba +750
wildcard 2 +1000
Nova Scotia +1800
Northern Ontario +2000
New Brunswick +2500
British Columbia +2800
alberta +4500
wildcard 3 +6600
Northwest Territories +8000
Saskatchewan +8000
Prince Edward Island +15000
Quebec +17500
Newfoundland and Labrador +50000
Yukon +250000
Nunavut +250000

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *