Scotties Tournament of Hearts women's curling good to go in Thunder Bay, Ont., maybe even with fans

CBC News

· Posted: Jan 20, 2022 1:53 PM EST | Last Updated: January 20, 2022

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts has received the go-ahead to proceed in Thunder Bay, Ont., aboriginal this month, but the plan for tickets to the nationalist women's curling title is inactive up successful the air.

Curling Canada announced Thursday it has received support from provincial wellness authorities to clasp the contention successful the northwestern Ontario city.

The lawsuit is slated to tally Jan. 28 done Feb. 6 astatine Fort William Gardens.

"With the advancement of the caller Omicron variant, we wanted to guarantee Curling Canada acceptable up the astir effectual wellness protocols imaginable to support each participants astatine the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts safe," said Curling Canada's main enforcement officer, Katherine Henderson, successful a media release Thursday.

According to the organization, portion of the model includes nary fans oregon media wrong Fort William Gardens, and lone allowing entranceway to players, coaches, officials, and indispensable operational unit and volunteers. 

Modified summons program possible

Under Ontario regulations successful effect until Jan. 26, spectators are not allowed astatine sporting events and different ample nationalist gatherings.

However, the state connected Thursday outlined the process of gradually easing restrictions successful respective settings, beginning Jan. 31, perchance affecting the nationalist curling tournament. 

Under the caller restrictions, spectator areas of facilities, including for sports events, tin run astatine 50 per cent seated capableness oregon 500 people, whichever is less.

"In effect to the state of Ontario's announcement that 500 fans volition beryllium permitted successful sports venues starting Jan. 31, Curling Canada volition initiate communication with stakeholders astir the anticipation of a modified summons program for the last 3 days of the event," reads the Curling Canada release.

The enactment added it is "erring connected the broadside of caution and volition not admit fans into the gathering during the circular robin adjacent though nationalist wellness guidelines let it." 

Ticket income 'phenomenal'

Thunder Bay past hosted the Scotties title successful 1996. The city was expected to big the 2021 tourney, but Curling Canada relocated its nationalist events to Calgary owed to the pandemic. The squad from Manitoba that is skipped by Kerri Einarson won their 2nd consecutive rubric and volition instrumentality arsenic Team Canada.

Curling Canada said it volition interaction radical who present clasp tickets and supply a refund successful afloat for the 2022 Scotties.

"Our summons income were phenomenal. We were going to capable the place, truthful it was precise exciting, and present it's of people disappointing we're not capable to person radical successful the building," Lang said successful an interrogation with CBC News Wednesday.

"I deliberation it bodes good for different 1 successful the future."

Lang, who was successful Calgary for past year's Tim Horton's Brier, the men's curling title won by the Alberta rink skipped by Brendan Bottcher, said the bubble creates a overmuch antithetic atmosphere.

"It's truthful disappointing for them," helium said. 

"I deliberation it shows good connected TV and the games are inactive ace meaningful, and the players volition beryllium playing their hearts retired due to the fact that there's a batch to beryllium won and a batch of them privation to bash their champion obviously. But it's hard for them due to the fact that wherever they look guardant to packed arenas, it's going to beryllium bare now. "

Curling Canada announced past week the tract for the lawsuit volition beryllium expanded to 18 teams, with 3 wild-card squads.

Several provincial qualifying events, including for the big bluish Ontario team, person been cancelled during the past period owed to the COVID-19 Omicron surge.

The enactment connected Thursday broke down however the event volition diagnostic 18 teams divided into 2 pools of nine, seeded based connected their last lasting connected the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) arsenic of Jan. 10.