| Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1956 |
| 2025 host city | Cobourg, Ontario |
| 2025 arena | Cobourg Community Centre |
| 2024 champion | Danielle Inglis |
| Current edition | |
The Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts is the Ontario provincial curling championship for women's curling. The tournament is run by CurlON, the curling association for Southern Ontario. The winning team represents Team Ontario at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The first women's provincial championship occurred in 1956 in North Bay, and was known as the "all-Ontario ladies' curling championship". It pitted the winners of three regional women's curling associations (the Ontario Ladies' Curling Association, covering Southern Ontario, the Northern Ontario Curling Association, covering Northeastern Ontario and the Western Ontario Ladies' Curling Association, covering Northwestern Ontario) against each other in a two-day, double round-robin series. [1]
In 1960, the tournament expanded to four teams, with the winner from Eastern Ontario added to the event, and was reduced to a single round robin. The winner represented Ontario at the Eastern Canadian Championship that year. [2] Each provincial tournament in Eastern Canada would be referred to as "Dominion Silver 'D' competitions, after the Dominion supermarket chain became a sponsor. [3] The tournament went back to a double round robin the following year [4] (with four teams), with the winner going on to represent Ontario at the first official national championships, the 1961 Diamond D Championship. After a Quebec team from Noranda qualified as the Northern Ontario representative in the 1963 championship, the Ontario Ladies Curling Association voted to limit the event to just Ontario teams going forward. [5] In 1964, the field was expanded to six teams, with the addition of two more Southern Ontario qualifiers. [6] Due to a governing body dispute, Southern Ontario teams were barred from the 1968 tournament, leaving just three entries (Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario and North-Western Ontario) to play a double round robin. [7] The event remained a three-team event until 1972 after the dispute with the Southern Ontario Ladies Curling Association was resolved in 1971. [8] The three Southern Ontario teams were added back, making the event a six team, single round robin event once again. [9] This six team round robin format lasted until 1987, [10] when the field was expanded to a ten team round robin. During this time, the event was known as the Ontario Lassies from c. 1975 to 1982 following the sponsorship of Macdonald Tobacco, and then as the Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts in 1982, following the sponsorship of Scott Paper.
Until 1991, the team with the best round robin record won the provincial championship. In 1991, a three-team playoff was introduced, with the top team earning a bye to the final. [11] A page playoff was added in 2003, which involved adding a fourth playoff team. The event was re-named the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2007 when Scott Paper was sold to Kruger Inc.
In 2015, Northern Ontario earned its own direct entry to the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and so the Ontario Hearts would thus be a championship for teams from Southern Ontario only. The event remained a ten team event with a four team page playoff until 2017, when it was reduced to eight teams with a three team playoff. In 2018, the event adopted a 12 team triple knockout format for the first time, followed by a page playoff. In 2019, it returned to eight teams with a three team playoff. A last minute decision by CurlON added a ninth team for the 2020 event. The 2021 event was cancelled for the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. CurlON appointed a team to represent the province at that year's Hearts. The 2022 event was suspended due to the new provincial regulations caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and CurlON appointed a team again for the second straight year. An eight-team provincial championship was still held in 2022, but in April that year, well after the national championship, with the winner earning a bye to the 2023 provincial championship. In 2023, the event was expanded to twelve teams.
National champions are indicated in bold. Teams from Northern Ontario are indicated in italics, as prior to 2015, Northern Ontario did not have their own provincial championship. National champions get an automatic bye into the following years' national championships, so they cannot defend their provincial championship. A national championship has been held since 1961, although the provincial women's championship has been held since 1956.
A playoff was added in 1991. Runners up from Northern Ontario in italics.
Beginning in 1986, the national Tournament of Hearts champion automatically earned a berth for the following years' national championship as "Team Canada". The first Ontario team to play as "Team Canada" at the Hearts was Marilyn Darte in 1987. Northern Ontario was granted their own team in 2015 (see Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts). A Wildcard entry was added in 2018, which was expanded to three entries in 2021. Two of these entries became prequalifying entries in 2024.
Jennifer Ann Hanna is a Canadian curler from Nepean, Ontario. She curls out of the Ottawa Curling Club. She was a finalist in both the 1998 Canadian Junior Curling Championship and the 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts.
Krista Lee McCarville is a Canadian curler from Thunder Bay, Ontario. McCarville is a four-time Northern Ontario junior champion, the 2003 Winter Universiade silver medallist, a four-time Ontario provincial champion, a four-time Northern Ontario provincial champion, and a two-time Canadian national medallist.
Dawn Kathleen McEwen is a Canadian retired curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the long-time lead for the Jennifer Jones rink, who became Olympic champions, winning gold for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. McEwen is a two-time world champion in curling, having won with Jones at the 2008 World Championships and again at the 2018 World Championships. In 2019, McEwen was named the greatest Canadian female lead in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.
The Ontario Tankard is the Southern Ontario provincial championship for men's curling. The winner represents Team Ontario at the Montana's Brier. The tournament is overseen by CurlON.
Rachel Catherine Homan is a Canadian international curler and the reigning women's world champion in 2024. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion, a four-time Canadian national champion, and two-time World Champion, all as a skip. She was also the skip of the Canadian women's curling team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Tracy Fleury is a Canadian curler from Sudbury, Ontario. She joined the Rachel Homan rink as skip for the 2022–23 season, and now plays third on the team. With Homan, she won the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and later the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship representing Team Canada. In 2021, she led her team to a silver medal at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. She has competed at the Canadian national championship seven times and was the Northern Ontario women's junior champion skip from 2005 to 2007.
Heather Nedohin is a Canadian curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. She is a Canadian former and World Junior champion, two-time Tournament of Hearts Champion and a two-time World bronze medalist. She is married to three time World Champion David Nedohin. She currently coaches the Kerri Einarson rink.
Emma Kathryn Miskew is a Canadian curler. She is a two-time World and four-time Canadian champion curler as a member of the Rachel Homan rink. She was Homan's longtime third until 2022 when she moved to second, when Tracy Fleury was added to the team. In addition to their World and Canadian championships, the Homan team represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Lisa Colleen Weagle is a Canadian curler from Ottawa, Ontario. Weagle was the lead on the Rachel Homan team from 2010 until March 12, 2020, when the team announced they would be parting ways with her. She then joined Team Jennifer Jones for two seasons until the team disbanded on March 15, 2022. She now plays lead on Team Laurie St-Georges from Quebec. Weagle was known for her ability to make the eponymous "Weagle" shot, which the Homan rink had used in high frequency while she was a member of the team.
Jamie Ann Sinclair is an American-Canadian curler from Osgoode, Ontario and is a three-time U.S. National Champion. Her United States Curling Association membership is through the Charlotte Curling Association in Charlotte, North Carolina where she has a number of personal connections. She grew up in Manotick, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa.
Laura Walker is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta. She is a two-time Canadian University champion, a national junior champion, world junior silver medallist and world mixed doubles bronze medallist. Walker is originally from Scarborough, Ontario.
Penny Barker is a curler from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. She currently skips her own team out of the Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre in Moose Jaw. She is a two-time Saskatchewan Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial champion, winning the event in 2017 and 2022.
Amanda Gates is a Canadian curler who currently coaches the Abby Deschene rinks on the World Curling Tour. Gates used to play with Team Tracy Fleury and in 2015, Team Horgan became the first women's team in the history of women's curling to represent Northern Ontario at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. In Gates' first appearance at the Scotties, she won the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award.
Sarah Wilkes is a Canadian curler from London, Ontario. She is currently the lead for Team Rachel Homan, the 2024 Scotties and World Champions. She previously won the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts with Team Chelsea Carey.
Sarah Potts is a Canadian curler. She currently plays lead for the Krista McCarville rink. Potts is a four-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts medallist, winning silver representing Northern Ontario in 2016 and 2022 and bronze representing Ontario in 2010 and Northern Ontario in 2023.
Susan Froud is a Canadian curler from Loretto, Ontario.
Jennifer Wylie is a Canadian curler from Sudbury, Ontario.
Jenna Enge is a Canadian curler, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario. She currently plays second on Team Penny Barker. She formerly played for the Tracy Fleury rink and in 2015, Team Horgan became the first team to represent Northern Ontario at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Danielle Sicinski is a Canadian curler from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. She currently plays lead on Team Penny Barker. With Barker, Sicinski has won two Saskatchewan Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial titles in 2017 and 2022.
Christie Gamble is a Canadian curler from Regina, Saskatchewan. She currently plays third on Team Penny Barker.
Canadian women's provincial and territorial curling championships | |
|---|---|
