Canadian Mennonite University women's basketball team wins fifth straight title
The Canadian Mennonite University women's basketball team shined in competition again this season, going undefeated en route to a fifth consecutive Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference championship title, defeating the No. 2 seed Providence University College Pilots 73-48 in the MCAC final in February. 12.
“It's always good to get something done like this and get it done with so many great kids on the team, and with the many things that happened this year — a lot of injuries and stuff — it was a lot of fun,” Blazers coach Joe said. said Di Curzio, who celebrated 10 years with the team this season.
The local speed skater won three golds and two silvers. Figure skater wins gold medal
In February, two local skaters were able to take the podium at national competitions.
Sophia Pepper, a 17-year-old long track speed skating phenom, won five medals at the Canadian Winter Games: gold in the 500 metres, 1,000 metres, and the women's mass start, as well as two silver medals in the 1,500 metres. and the women's team pursuit, which she shared with Manitoba teammates Robyn Sallee, Lindsay Smart and Skylar Van Horn.
“I'm proud to bring some medals back to Manitoba,” Pepper said.
The long track speed skating events were held at Halifax Oval in Halifax, NS, while the majority of the Games events were held on Prince Edward Island.
Across the country, in Calgary, 16-year-old Davey Howes put in a golden bid to become Canadian men's novice figure skating champion. Howes also topped the podium at the 2023 Skate Canada Challenge event in Regina, Sask., at the end of January.
Photography by Emma Honeybone
Throughout the 2023 bowling season, which takes place between June and September, members at St. John's Lawn Bowling Club invites all ages to participate in this ancient summer sport.
Lawn bowling isn't just for seniors
St. John's Lawn Bowling Club is an attraction this year for its initiative in expanding the sport of bowling to a wider audience of all ages.
“All I'm after is to get more young people into the sport,” said Ben Hochman, the park's bowling coach. Although the number of players dwindled over the years, he continued to promote the sport and encourage as many local children as possible to try it. He mentioned that there is a stigma surrounding the matter, and an image directed at older people. He wanted to get away from that.
“I can still picture the kids’ faces,” Hochman said. “I know they can't become members (yet), but it's all about exposing them.”
During the regular season (early June to late September), St. John's meets four times a week – Mondays and Wednesdays in the evening (7 to 8:30 p.m.), and Tuesdays and Fridays during the day (10 to 11:30 p.m.). I be). Drop-in registrations are welcome.
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In August, the brand-new National Bank Tennis MB Hub, in west St. Paul, hosted the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger tournament, attracting national and international talent. The centre, which already includes five completed courts, has been in the works since 2016.
Hosted by the West St. Paul International Championship
The new National Bank Tennis MB Hub in West St. Paul hosted the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger tournament, which ran from August 13-19, attracting the best national and international talent to brand-new outdoor courts.
“It's an exciting time, having these world-class players here,” Tennis Manitoba Executive Director Mark Arndt said in the lead-up to the tournament. “This is what a world-class facility does. It's absolutely amazing.”
The project, which includes six brand-new outdoor courts (five of which are completed at press time, with work on a sixth set to be completed in the spring of 2024), costs approximately $1.45 million, and has been in the works since 2016. Currently Also in the midst of a capital campaign to build four indoor courts at the center, which is located next to the Access Center at 48 Holland Road.
Grant Park graduate reaches new heights at Pan Am Championships
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Transcona's Alex Tiegley (pictured) won bronze in the 17-19-year-old boys division at the Canadian National Junior Diving Championships, held in Montreal on October 29.
Transcona resident Alex Tigle, 17, won a gold medal at the Pan Am Junior Diving Championships, held in Lima, Peru this summer.
Tiagli, who graduated from Grant Park High School this year, scored 294.93 points in the championship, jumping from a height of 15 meters to stand on top of the podium. The fact that it was the first time the competition had been held made the success even more enjoyable.
The South Osborne wheelchair basketball athlete competes on a global scale
Bethany Johnson originally started playing wheelchair basketball in high school, after suffering an injury that weakened her ability to walk. She is now competing in world championships and leaving her mark on the sport as a whole.
In October, she traveled to Bangkok, Thailand for the 2023 U-25 Women's World Championship, where she played for Team Canada. The team selection process took place through the U25 Women's National Wheelchair Basketball Camp in Richmond, British Columbia (August 15-19), where she and 12 other Canadian players trained and competed against players from as far away as Japan.
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On February 12, the Canadian Mennonite University women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference tournament title, defeating the No. 2 seed Providence University College Pilots 73-48 in the MCAC final.
The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club hosts the national championship
From November 19 to 25, the Canadian Everest Curling Club Championship was held in Manitoba for the first time. The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club hosted the event, an honor in which the organizers took great pride.
“The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club was thrilled to hear that we had the opportunity to host a national event,” organizing committee member Hailey McFarlane said in November.
The tournament is for recreational players from all over the country. Although the players involved did not have the time or resources to compete at a high performance level, the talent was exciting and the competition tough.
In the end, two teams from Beaumont, Alta., and Lethbridge, Alta., won first place in the men's and women's categories, respectively.
Vincent Massey brings home his first Class AAAA volleyball regional pennant
Photography by Emma Honeybone
The Winnipeg Table Tennis Training Center (545 Hervue Street) will start its first league on the weekend of January 6, 2024. It will be open to everyone, with beginner and intermediate categories, and aims to introduce a new wave of people to the sport.
The Vincent Massey Trojans boys volleyball team capped off an impressive season by winning the Manitoba Secondary Schools Athletic Association AAAA title on December 4.
The Trojans went undefeated in WWAC Tier 1 regular season competition, won five major tournament titles, then went on to defeat Dakota Collegiate in the district final in three straight sets 28-26, 25-22, 25-17.
The Year 12 players in the team were also part of the regional program last summer, after winning the national under-17 club title in June as part of the Junior Bison programme.
The win marks the first AAAA volleyball regional championship for the Fort Garry-based school.
Sturgeon Heights plays for a cause with “Pros Vs.” good and'
Photography by Emma Honeybone
To raise money and food for holiday baskets, Sturgeon Heights put on its 13th edition of “Pros vs. Joes,” a weeklong fundraising event that pits students against professional athletes in a variety of fun activities, all of which took place in the school gymnasium.
For the 13th consecutive year, Sturgeon Heights Collegiate hosted “Pros Vs.” Joes, a week-long event that pits students and teachers (“joes”) against high-level professional athletes (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Sea Bears, University of Manitoba Bisons) to raise money, as well as non-perishable items. For food baskets that are ultimately distributed to families in need in St. James throughout the holiday season.
The event raised about $15,000 in its first edition, but has “grown by leaps and bounds” since then — ultimately raising $40,000, with help from the international community, said Deborah Einarson Woods, a doctoral professor and event coordinator. Additional fundraising activity for the school depends on The amazing race.
The Winnipeg Table Tennis Training Center is hosting its first weekend league
A table tennis training center is expanding in Winnipeg. For the first time since its opening five years ago, the center, located in the Fort Garry Industrial Park at 545 Rue Hervaux, is preparing to host a weekend league in early 2024.
Although members and junior players are already using the facilities for training and coaching sessions – both in season and out of season – the weekend league, starting in January 2024, will open up the sport to everyone interested in trying it.
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The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club hosted the Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships in November. This was Manitoba's first edition of a national curling championship at the recreational level.
The sport is an affordable, year-round option that makes good use of motor skills and intense mental discipline, says Boy Riyankasimsakul, the centre's coordinator.
– With files from Cody Sellar And Tony Zerocha
Emma Honeybone
Emma Honeybone is also a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. She graduated from RRC Polytech's Creative Communications programme, with a major in Journalism, in 2023. Email her at [email protected]
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Sheldon Bernie
Community journalist
Sheldon Burney is also a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in magazines and online platforms across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Sheldon is a husband and father of two young children, and enjoys playing guitar and playing hockey when he can find the time. Email him at [email protected] Call him at 204-697-7112
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Simon Fuller
Community journalist
Simon Fuller is also a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Email him at [email protected] or call him at 204-697-7111.
Read the full biography
