The Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award is the sportsmanship award at the annual

Scotties Tournament of Hearts The Scotties Tournament of Hearts (''french: Le Tournoi des Cœurs Scotties''; commonly referred to as the Scotties) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Associat ...

, held to crown the Canadian women's

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

championship. When

Scott Paper The Scott Paper Company was the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of sanitary tissue products with operations in 22 countries. Its products were sold under a variety of well-known brand names, including ''Scott Tissue'', ''Cottonelle'', ...

took over sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Curling Championship in 1982, they decided to present an annual award for sportsmanship. From 1982 to 1997, the award had a different name each year, as the convention was to name the annual award after an individual from the host region who exemplified sportsmanship and dedication to curling. In 1998, the decision was made to honour

Marj Mitchell Marjorie Mitchell (August 27, 1948 in Glen Ewen, Saskatchewan – October 18, 1983 in Regina, Saskatchewan) was a Canadian curler. She was the skip for the winning team at the 1980 World Curling Championships, and the 1980 Canadian Lad ...

each year. Mitchell curled for

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and captured the national and

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1982. Mitchell died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1983.

Scotties Tournament of Hearts Sportsmanship Award winners prior to 1998

Prior to 1998, the Sportsmanship award at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was named after a notable individual in the curling community where the tournament was held that year.

Winners of the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award

Starting in 1998, the Sportsmanship Award at the annual Scotties Tournament of Hearts was permanently renamed the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award in honour of Mitchell, a Saskatchewan curler who died of cancer in 1983.

References

{{reflist Awards established in 1982 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Women's curling in Canada 1982 establishments in Canada Sportsmanship trophies and awards Curling trophies and awards