As we continue looking back at our top stories of 2020, we get to story #14 - what would ultimately be the last major event held in Moose Jaw for the year; The 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Announced in 2018 and taking place in February, the 10-day tournament brought thousands to Moose Jaw and had an economic impact of nearly $10 million dollars. It was the second time the tournament had been held in the city in the last 5 years.

Mayor Fraser Tolmie touted the event as a huge success.

The Kerri Einarson rink from Manitoba won the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts at Mosaic Place. Corey Atkinson photo

"You do want to set yourself apart and you do want to raise the community profile, and it is a community effort. I've said this before, we're no longer a destination for the baseball team on 'The Simpsons'. We're a great place to live,we're proud of who we are as Moose Javians. We gotta be proud of who we are, and I'm proud to be mayor of this city."

"I'm very happy, there were some good things to come out of this. The highest amount of money raised in the Sandra Schmirler Telethon, $38,000 donated to our own local hospital, and 400 volunteers in our community which is all great for the city of Moose Jaw. I'm at a loss for words to say how good the curling was. The competition level was extremely high and it was great to watch."

Manitoba's Kerri Einarson ended up winning the tournament, beating Ontario's Rachel Homan 8-7 in an extra end.

During the tournament's duration, Tolmie said it wasn't tough at all to find tourists who were already planning return trips to the notorious city.

Team Saskatchewan, skipped by Robyn Silvernagle, finished the tournament with a 6-5 record

"It was great to see the downtown full, great to hear the compliments of our community, not only from the organizing committee and Curl Canada but from also the people
who were visiting here."

Maddie Kelly, marketing and office manager for the Scotties, moved to Moose Jaw during the summer of 2019 to help plan the event.

"I think a lot of the tournament's success is because of Moose Jaw and our volunteers and the building," she said.

"The building has been amazing and just everybody that’s come together to make it happen just knows what they are doing and they are doing a great job."

The 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is set to run Feb. 20 to Feb. 28, 2021 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.