Big names, upsets and the coronation of Snow White – there’s a lot to live up to.
The last time Okotoks played host to the women’s provincial championship – then known as the Scott Tournament of Hearts — was Feb. 1998 at the Okotoks Curling Club. (Okotoks will again be hosting the competition from Jan. 22-26, 2020).
In 1998, Cathy Borst won her third provincial title at the expense of Susan O’Connor, a 20-year-old skip who enjoyed a Cinderella run to the final.
Okotoks’ biggest name in curling Shannon Kleibrink was knocked off in the semifinal of the 1998 provincials.
Borst went on to win her only national title, the Scott Tournament of Hearts, two weeks later in Regina.
Below is an excerpt from the Feb. 4, 1998 edition of the Western Wheel:
Borst bombs O’Connor
By John Barlow
Cathy Borst gave Susan O’Connor a rude welcome to Okotoks Sunday, crushing the former junior champion 9-2 in the final of the Provincial Scott Tournament of Hearts.
Borst clinched her third provincial title in four years and earned a berth in the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Regina, disposing of the upstart O’Connor in six ends.
“We have been playing really well,” said Borst moments after winning her second consecutive trip to the nationals. “We have been on a good run, we are a very solid team.”
Borst’s rink which included third Heather Godberson, second Brenda Bohmer and lead Kate Horne, went through the provincial playdowns without a loss (15-0) including an unblemished record at the Provincial Scott Tournament of Hearts which were held in Okotoks last week.
O’Connor, playing in her first provincials, may have done Borst a favour by upsetting favoured Shannon Kleibrink in the semi-final.
Kleibrink, favoured to meet Borst in the final fell 6-5 to the surprising O’Connor in the semi-final on Saturday.
However, the Cinderella O’Connor never challenged Snow White in the final.
Borst scored three in the first, but put the game away with steals of two in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an insurmountable 9-1 lead at the break.
“To steal two in the fourth – that was big, that was the turning point,” said Borst, who has won the provincial title in 95, ’97 and now ’98.
In the fourth end Bohmer set up the steal with a dandy double take-out. After O’Connor made a sensational shot to have shot rock Borst answered by somehow working her stone through a maze of guards and into the four-foot to steal two.
O’Connor, who struggled during the final, missed a hit and roll in the fifth giving Borst three. The Calgary skip also missed a scoring opportunity in the second end when her draw for two was long and she had to settle for one.
“We are very disappointed,” said Judy Pendergast, O’Connor’s third who was third on Cheryl Kullman rink that won provincials in 1996. “We are disappointed we did not have a good game. We did not play our best, we had some bad luck, but that is curling.”
Borst said there were several missed opportunities by both teams, but she is satisfied with the win and confident heading to Regina.
Borst said she is expecting a lot of herself in Regina as this will be her fifth trip to the nationals.
At the Scott Tournament of Hearts, which begin Feb. 21 in Regina, Borst will be playing many familiar foes.
Many of the participants in the national championship also competed in the Olympic trials in Brandon including Saskatchewan’s Sandra Schmirler who will be returning from the Winter Olympics in Nagano just days prior to the event.
Akin to the excellent on-ice product, off the ice the 1998 provincials were deemed an incredible success at the time – from athletes, organizers to curling officials.
The event drew more than 1,800 visitors to Okotoks, according to the Feb. 4, 1998 edition of the Western Wheel, along with both print and broadcast coverage across the country.
Below is another excerpt from the Feb. 4, 1998 edition of the Western Wheel:
Simply the Best
By John Barlow
Simply put — it was the best ever.
Athletes, coaches and fans alike were calling the 1998 Provincial Scott Tournament of Hearts held in Okotoks the most enjoyable event in the tournament’s history.
“The tournament committee did a fabulous job,” said champion Cathy Borst at the closing ceremonies. “The volunteers were so good to us. They treated us like queens.”
More than 140 volunteers and 16 committees were needed to put the tournament together and tournament chairperson Eileen Jewitt said everyone’s hard work certainly paid off.
“Everything went so well,” said Jewitt trying to contain her excitement. “This is a great feeling, it is just wonderful.”
The key for the athletes was the fact many of the tiny details which can be the most distracting were taken care of — rides, meals and even rubber knobs for the ends of curling brooms.
“They didn’t miss a detail,” said Borst. “This is the best tournament I have ever been to, and I mean that.”
From Friday to Sunday the Okotoks Curling Club was jam packed with local curling fans who were having their first opportunity to watch a provincial championship in Okotoks since the junior championship in 1985.
The Provincial Tournament was so well organized and so well attended it surely will not be another 10 years until Okotoks hosts another curling event of this magnitude.
“I am sure the curling club and the volunteers are willing to come back and do this again,” Jewitt said. “This is an excellent facility and I am sure Okotoks will be looked at to host another event.”
The work of the people of Okotoks and the surrounding area communities did not go unnoticed by the curling hierarchy.
Don Petlak, president of the Southern Alberta Curling Association, said, “This has been the best provincial tournament, ever.”
Indeed the eight teams and coaches who travelled from across Alberta to participate also noticed.
Jewitt said every team made an effort to congratulate the volunteers prior to leaving.
Borst, who took time out after her 9-2 win in the final to get pictures taken with all of the volunteers, said she will be making a return visit to Okotoks.
“We had never been to Okotoks before,” said Borst. “But, the Town of Okotoks was great, we will certainly be back. It was a real treat.”
The 2020 Alberta Scotties are Jan. 22-26 at the Okotoks Recreation Centre. For more information go to okotokscurling.com.