Scotties adds to Kamloops curling hosting prowess

Kamloops will soon host the 42nd Scotties Tournament of Hearts, featuring top curling talent from across Canada.

The event, which will be held from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26, is the last piece of the puzzle for Kamloops.

“We’ve done the world championships, the Brier — the Canada Cup, I think we had here five times. This is our last national event to make it a complete package,” said Linda Bolton, who is serving as the tournament’s vicechair for volunteers and special events.

Kamloops has twice hosted the Brier, the men’s equivalent competition, once in 1996 and again in 2014.

The Scotties, much like other large tournaments, will help put Kamloops on the map, encouraging people to later return to the city as tourists or for business.

“The cities always want to put their best foot forward and show off what they have to offer,” she said. “We have a city that offers so much. We’re a four-season capital.”

Initially, volunteer numbers were low and Curling Canada was concerned, Bolton said. But she knew that Kamloops’ volunteers would come through. And they did.

Bolton said the roster currently includes 319 volunteers, as well as 20 on the waitlist, which she said is necessary to ensure every position is covered once the tournament begins.

Volunteers will have a range of duties, including watching the doors, checking in on the athletes, checking accreditations, working at the tournament’s entertainment venue, the Patch, and organizing teams for autograph sessions.

Now, with a few days to go before the tournament begins, Bolton is busy working on the fine details, like food packages and hotels.

“Everything has to line up now,” she said.

Bolton has been to more than 20 iterations of the Scotties and although she loves curling, she won’t have much time to take it all in.

“I’m used to not watching a lot of curling, but of course, once it gets down to the finals, you want to peek and see what’s going on,” she said.

Bolton said she’s looking forward to the characters who tend to appear in curling audiences, cheering for their provinces, and for people to encounter the tournament champions in town and around Sandman Centre.

Upon hosting the 2023 Scotties, Kamloops will be just the fifth city that has hosted all four major Season of Champions events — the Tim Hortons Brier, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the World Men’s Championship and the World Women’s Championship. The others are Winnipeg, Brandon, Man., Saint John, N.B., and Lethbridge, Alta.