THUNDER BAY, Ont. — The title sponsor of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Curling Canada insist their relationship is rock solid as some curlers wonder about changes they've seen this year.
Kruger Products, formerly known as Scott Paper, is in its 44th year of sponsoring the Canadian women's curling championship.
The company, which ceased its sponsorship of provincial and territorial women's championship to back a Girls Rock program, has curtailed a jewelry program beloved by competitors.
The gold four-hearts pendant that was awarded to a first-time provincial or territorial champion was coveted in the women's curling community as a rite of passage.
A diamond added to the pendant for each subsequent Hearts appearance increased its prestige. Curlers graduated to a tennis bracelet when their pendant was full.
But that is no more. Competitors can buy a pendant for over $1,000.
"Everyone feels pretty sad about it," said Nova Scotia third Jill Brothers.
"We have a rookie here. I said 'we're winning this for your pendant' earlier this year, and now it's like 'no, you don't get one."'
Those changes combined with the sudden appearance of a Red Rose Tea logo on the arm of competitors at this year's Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., had curlers wondering about the future of a partnership of over four decades.
"It's been around one year longer than I've been alive," Brothers said. "We brag about that all the time.
"There's a little bit of anxious moments that, will they stay with us?"
Red Rose Tea's status as a "prestige" sponsor of the Hearts this year was not announced before the tournament.
"I'd never seen anything on our jackets, another sponsor. Right now, we have Red Rose, so it was a bit shocking," said Northwest Territories skip Kerry Galusha playing in her 18th tournament.
But Kruger's chief marketing officer Susan Irving said the corporation's commitment to the national championship is steadfast, and pointed to the recent announcement that the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be played in Mississauga, Ont.
"We are the longest-standing sponsor of women's sports in Canada and we proudly support the Scotties Tournament of Hearts," Irving said.
"We've also just invested to deepen our sponsorship by sponsoring the Girls Rock program.
"We are no longer the sponsor of the provincial and territorial curling championships. We continue to be the title sponsor of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and we're streamlining our funds to be the title sponsor of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, as well as Curling Canada's new program, which is Girls Rock."
Irving would not elaborate on contractual terms of the sponsorship agreement with Curling Canada.
Their investment in Girls Rock, which is a free female-led curling and mentorship program to encourage participation, was announced as a two-year commitment.
"We know girls drop out of the game and it's important to get new curlers into the game," Irving said.
The jewelry prize at the national championship remains. Teams winning the Tournament of Hearts will continue to receive four-heart gold rings with a diamond, runners-up the same with a ruby, and third place with an emerald. Subsequent wins and podium finishes increase the size of the gem.
"The pendants and the bracelets were for the provincials and territorials. Now that we're not the title sponsor, we are not continuing with the prizing of jewelry," Irving said.
"We are continuing the rings as the national sponsor of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts."
Curling Canada chief executive officer Nolan Thiessen stated the company's relationship to the national women's championship is strong.
"We have the longest-standing partnership with any property in amateur sports in Canada, and Kruger Products is committed to continuing our partnership," Thiessen said in a statement.
"Kruger Products is also invested in Girls Rock, a women led initiative that shows our investment in being a leader in gender equity and invests in the future of our sport."
The Canadian women's curling championship will be 65 years old in 2026.
The tournament called the Scott Tournament of Hearts from 1982 to 2006 became the Scotties Tournament of Hearts after parent company Kruger purchased the assets of Kruger Products from Kimberly-Clark.
The company's sponsorship of provincial and territorial championship was important to small provinces like Nova Scotia, Brothers said.
"Maybe in some of the bigger provinces, they had larger sponsors on top of the Scotties dollars anyway," she said. "We didn't, so we had to go dig for some money this season to find that."
The jewelry was the brainchild of Robin Wilson, a two-time Canadian champion and Scott Paper manager, who along with her teammate and sister Dawn came up with the concept of the Tournament of Hearts.
Galusha's team had pendants made for both 15-year-old daughter Sydney and 16-year-old teammate Ella Skauge after their N.W.T. win.
"I didn't think Sydney would care being 15 and she doesn't wear a lot of jewelry, but when I told she wasn't getting one, she was upset," Galusha said. "She's always seen my jewelry and how we wear it with pride. A lot of curlers don't take their necklace off, ever."
Saskatchewan skip Nancy Martin didn't receive a pendant for her first Hearts trip in 2021, because her team, and others, were hand-picked to represent their provinces and territories in Calgary's COVID-19 bubble.
The 53-year-old skip had her pendant made with a diamond this year to represent her second appearance at a cost of almost $1,800.
"A bunch of the women got together and we reached out to the company that was making them, and we got one made," Martin said. "I've been chasing that pendant a long time."
Colleen Jones appeared in 21 Hearts. Once her pendant and bracelet were full, and diamond earrings were awarded to her, she joked in 2002 she was considering piercing her navel to make room for another.
The 65-year-old, who will coach Nova Scotia's men's team at next month's Montana's Brier in Kelowna, B.C., lamented the loss of the pendant and bracelet tradition.
"It meant a lot to the curlers to receive first the pendant and then a diamond every time you came back," Jones said. "Every time you look at it, you see the hard work that you did.
"Kruger has done so much for women's curling and they're still contributing, but the personal side of that very special jewelry trophy piece was just outstanding."
— With files from Gregory Strong.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
