Bruno Van Bewer dribble vers les Bisons

Depuis l’âge de sept ans, la vie de Bruno Van Bewer tourne autour du basketball.

“Ma mère m’a inscrit dans un camp, et je suis tombé en amour avec le sport,” explique-t-il. Capitaine des Olympiens du Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, c’est alors qu’il évoluait au sein de l’équipe manitobaine aux Jeux du Canada l’été dernier qu’il a été approché par l’entraîneur des Bisons.

Il a donc commencé à assister à plusieurs entraînements de la formation de basketball avant que l’offre lui soit confirmée.

“Ils m’ont vu jouer et ils ont vraiment aimé. Après un bout de temps, ils m’ont dit qu’ils aimaient mon style et avaient une place pour moi dans leur équipe. C’est comme ça que ça s’est déroulé.”

The best hockey I knew was the first

“Nothing is as good as it used to be and it never was. The ‘golden age of sports,’ the golden age of anything, is the is the age of everyone’s childhood.” — Ken Dryden

I grew up in Winnipeg, in a small suburban enclave called Morse Place. Not exactly the centre of the hockey universe, but it was home. A little working-class pocket in the north part of the city. Terry Sawchuk, the great Detroit goaltender was probably our best known hockey export.

Dad worked in an iron foundry, and mom ran the house like a general. My older sister excelled at school and her choir singing. We weren’t poor, but let’s just say there was very little money left over after dad brought home the paycheque.

We didn’t have much, but we, or rather I, had the rink. The community club had one glorious sheet of outdoor ice with real boards, an old streetcar converted into a clubhouse, and a pot-bellied stove that tried to keep your toes from freezing. And yet … it was magic.

Courir New York … avec un inconnu

L’on sait l’amour que porte Robert Tétrault pour les défis.

Un triathlon à pieds nus, le World Marathon Challenge ou encore un semi-marathon dans des bureaux, le Franco-Manitobain a prouvé maintes fois qu’il aimait repousser ses limites.

Dans son combat pour la mise en place d’un dépistage universel du cytomégalovirus (CMV) chez le nouveau-né, le père de famille se rend de province en province pour courir des 527 kilomètres à raison d’un marathon par jour, pendant plusieurs jours.

Alors il paraît peut-être évident de la souligner, mais l’une des raisons pour laquelle Rob Tétrault continue de courir après tout ce temps, et bien c’est qu’il aime ça, la course à pied.

Brandon resident‘s volunteer journey grounded in giving kids sport opportunities

Brandon resident Scott Kirk’s volunteering journey with Sport Manitoba started in 2019 when he applied to serve as mission staff for the Western Canada Summer Games.

Since then Kirk has volunteered in multiple provincial and national competitions in summer and winter, taking on various essential roles.

“Mission staff are the conduit between host society and the teams,” he explains. “We make sure the games run as smoothly as they can. Our goal is to make sure coaches, managers and athletes can focus on the sport while we deal with everything else that may pop up along the way.”

“Everything else” ranges from logistics to problem-solving. Last summer Kirk found himself co-ordinating meals when scheduling conflicts left athletes without their lunches.

‘Extreme’ workouts drive spike in ‘rhabdo’ cases among young N.L. women, says doctor

ST. JOHN'S - Intense workouts and social media pressure are driving a spike in rhabdomyolysis cases in young women in Newfoundland and Labrador, a physician with the province's health authority said Thursday.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said it confirmed about 20 cases in the eastern part of the province in the past six months. Doctors typically expect to see a few cases a year, said Dr. Richard Barter, the clinical chief of emergency medicine in the authority's eastern urban zone.

"The cases that we've seen have been exclusively exertional rhabdomyolysis, and this is when a person takes their physical workouts to an extreme level," Barter said in an interview.

Rhabdomyolysis, or "rhabdo," occurs when muscle tissue is severely damaged and breaks down, leaking enzymes and other substances into the blood. The painful condition can cause urine to turn the colour of black tea and it can lead to kidney damage, Barter said.

Accessible, inclusive sports giving elementary-age phys-ed students a lesson in empathy

Beaverlodge School phys-ed teacher Jordan Adam has launched a new inclusive sports program to expose students to lesser-known activities and spark discussion about accessibility.

End the ban: France backs return of intellectually disabled athletes to Winter Paralympics

LANS-EN-VERCORS, France (AP) — On a well-groomed, snow-covered slope in the Montagnes de Lans ski area near the French city of Grenoble, a group of Alpine skiers take aggressive lines through the gates. Their trajectories are precise, the tempo is fast and the technique polished.

Among this competition squad are world champions — some with multiple medals to their names.

Yet none will line up in the starting gates at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games, where more than 650 athletes will compete in 79 medal events from March 6.

The reason? They have cognitive disabilities and are not eligible to compete.

Movement, proper sleep crucial for brain health

Winter in Winnipeg has a way of forcing us indoors.

Short days. Long nights. More sitting. More screens. Less movement. More “I’ll get back on track in spring.”

That seasonal slowdown doesn’t just stiffen joints and pad waistlines. It quietly affects the brain, too.

When most people think about Alzheimer’s or dementia, they picture something that shows up late in life — 70s, 80s, maybe a parent or grandparent.

An American skier is fighting to open up the last Winter Olympic sport off limits to women

MILAN, Italy (AP) — Annika Malacinski remembers the moment the door to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics was slammed shut.

On a flight from Munich to Denver, she bought airplane Wi-Fi to join a conference call with the International Olympic Committee, certain that Nordic combined competition would at last be opened up to female athletes.

“Then the decision came: ‘no.’ No explanation, no discussion. Just ‘no,’ and then they moved on to the next topic,” she told The Associated Press from her training base in Norway. “I cried for eight hours straight on that flight. When I arrived in Denver, my eyes were swollen shut. It felt like my world had crashed.”

That was in June, 2022. And despite an ongoing campaign led by Malacinski, an athlete from Colorado now aged 24, her sport remains the last to exclude women – even as Milan Cortina is showcasing the highest level of female participation in Winter Games history at 47%.

Local boxer earns invite to international tournament in Spain

Kicking Isaiah Rock out of the gym used to be a common occurrence for Jerome Peters.

Rock had a poor attitude, didn’t listen, and on at least one occasion, turned a friendly sparring session into an actual fight.

“The first time I kicked him out, I said ‘Don’t come back. Stay away from the gym for two weeks,’” said Peters, the owner of Power Boxing Club on Sargent Ave.

“Then, two weeks later he walked back in with his equipment like nothing happened.”

Canada’s Fleming uses ‘rewired’ brain to push for Olympic biathlon spot

Biathlete Jasper Fleming sees the world differently.

After being diagnosed with severe dyslexia around Grade 3, Fleming worked with a tutor to "rewire" his brain.

“I essentially learned to use my brain in a way that it just fits for me," he said. "So the way that I learn, the way that I perceive the world, is totally unique to me."

Now the 20-year-old Canadian is harnessing his unique approach as he competes on the biathlon World Cup tour and pushes for a spot in the 2026 Olympics.

Puppy Sphere yoga chain rolls out ‘mood-boosting’ first classes in Winnipeg

Winnipeg yogis seeking to do a downward dog while surrounded by dogs are in luck: puppy yoga is here.

Toronto-based company Puppy Sphere began offering weekend yoga classes at Yoga Public (280 Fort St.) earlier this fall.

Each class consists of a 45-minute yoga flow led by a certified instructor, while puppies from local rescues and breeders roam the studio. The class is followed by a 30-minute wind-down that includes refreshments and canine cuddles.

Puppy Sphere founders Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo said the classes began selling out almost immediately, which led them to add Thursdays to the schedule. The entrepreneurs are actively looking for a Winnipeg studio of their own.

Ski jumper Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes takes to the air again for Canada

CALGARY - Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes has returned to ski jumping after a hiatus of two and a half years.

Boyd-Clowes laid down Canada's final jump of the mixed team event at the 2022 Winter Games for bronze and the country's first ever Olympic medal in the sport.

The four-time Olympian is back in the air again. Boyd-Clowes competed in a pair of September competitions and provisionally qualified for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

"It's new and fresh and exciting. I took a long break and wasn't sure whether I would jump again and now I'm doing it," Boyd-Clowes said.

St. Boniface residents drained after demolition of Happyland pool

As demolition continues at one outdoor pool in St. Boniface, a city councillor hopes to take a second look at extending the life of another one.

Rogers wins gold, sets Canadian record in hammer throw at world championships

TOKYO - Camryn Rogers set the tone early in the women's hammer throw at the world athletics championships Monday with an impressive opening toss of 78.09 metres.

Good enough for a world title. Not good enough for Rogers.

The 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C., put the competition out of reach with her second throw of 80.51 metres to claim her second straight world championship gold medal in dominant fashion.

Rogers's winning throw broke her own Canadian record and is the second longest ever behind the world record of 82.98 set by Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk in 2016. Rogers's previous personal best was 78.88 metres.

Proposed $250-K grant would bolster community centres amid volunteer shortage

A city funding hike could help community centres pay for staff and programming as they struggle to find volunteers.

A proposal calls for the city to give the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres a new $250,000 programming and wage subsidy grant, starting in 2026, pending city council approval in next year’s budget.

“We are now … struggling to find volunteers that want to invest as much time as they once did. We’re really looking for additional funding so that we can hire support to help each of the community centres do the right programming,” said Lora Meseman, executive director of the community centre council.

In 2018, there were more than 17,000 community centre volunteers in Winnipeg, which “drastically decreased to 5,576” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the organization’s 2026 to 2028 business plan.

Carney surprises many with appearance at long-distance trail race

Politicians typically do most of their running on campaign trails, but Prime Minister Mark Carney surprised many people when he competed in a long-distance trail run in southern Ontario on the weekend.

Carney was entered in the 26-kilometre event in the Haliburton Forest Trail Race, an annual event held about 160 kilometres north of Toronto, which also has longer distance categories, with the longest being 100 miles (160 kilometres).

"It has a reputation as one of the harder trail runs in Canada," organizer Tegan Legge said in a phone interview, noting the course features steep hills and an occasional rock face that competitors must scramble up.

"A 'crushing course' is what we hear, but we take that as a compliment."

Searing heat draws visitors to California’s Death Valley, where it’s tough to communicate the risks

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Ray Estrada's 11-year-old grandson is used to Las Vegas' scorching summers, but he'd always wanted to experience the heat in one of the Earth's hottest places. So Estrada recently drove him to Death Valley National Park, with an umbrella, extra water and electrolytes in tow. That day, the thermometer soared to 118 F (47.78 C).

“We have to be very careful when we go out there,” Estrada told him. “If you start feeling dizzy or whatever... we’re just gonna turn back and be safe so we can do this again another time.”

The extreme temperatures in this stretch of California desert attract visitors every year, some determined to finish a grueling, multiday race, others just curious about the sizzling heat and the landscape's vast beauty. Yet despite the warnings, the heat kills one to three people annually, and park rangers respond to overheated visitors multiple times per week, making communication about heat safety a priority for the National Park Service.

But that's easier said than done.

Young swimmers look to make a splash at provincials

Young swimmers from across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are racing against the clock Friday and Saturday at Pan Am Pool as over 260 athletes compete in the 2025 Manitoba Junior Swim Provincials, hoping to advance to the ManSask Championships in July.

Should you let pets sleep next to you? (Does it even matter what the experts say?)

It turns out, our furry best friend might be our sleep enemy.

Lots of pet owners let their animals sleep on the bed with them, which usually disrupts sleep. But many would say it’s worth it.

And researchers don't necessarily disagree.

Melissa Milanak, a professor at Medical University of South Carolina specializing in sleep health, said most people at her clinic say their pets disturb them often at night.

Right To Play International asks people to play and share their stories on Wednesday

As two of Canada's most experienced Olympians, Miranda Ayim and Erica Wiebe have made careers out of playing sports at the highest levels of competition.

But some of their most formative memories are of playing as children with almost no stakes.

"We basically would have a neighbourhood-wide game of tag where we were just jumping fences from yard to yard," said Ayim, who was on Canada's women's basketball team at four Olympics.

"I don't know if our parents really appreciated that, but we felt so adventurous going from yard to yard and running but still feeling safe to do so in that neighbourhood, and enjoying that time and that feeling of freedom."

Enhanced Games perpetuate a growing problem

We appear to be entering a new golden age of steroids.

Years of scandals out of the Olympics, pro baseball, pro wrestling, and other athletic fields should have put to bed the notion that there is any athletic or cultural value in using performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs, to get an edge. With every suspension, with every prize stripped from a competitor or left tainted by the way it was obtained, the message was clear — it’s cheating, and it’s not worth it.

Some haven’t received the message. The Enhanced Games hopes to hold its first-ever event in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Enhanced Games, as the name suggests, is a multi-sport athletic competition in which athletes are openly using PEDs. The games’ website makes much ado about the close supervision the athletes will be under, overseen by medical professionals to ensure their health and safety.

Le water-polo séduit les jeunes francophones manitobains

À l’occasion de la Ligue d’hiver, le club Vortex a reçu les équipes de water-polo de la Saskatchewan les 25 et 26 janvier derniers, qui n’étaient pas venues en territoire manitobain depuis deux ans.

La Liberté est allée à la rencontre de l’équipe des moins de 14 ans dont presque la moitié des joueurs est en école d’immersion.

Jayden Del Campo, l’un des coachs du club, a notamment accepté de réaliser avec nous une entrevue en français. Il nous a confié ce qu’il appréciait dans cette activité aquatique.

“C’est l’un des meilleurs sports d’équipe. On se voit très souvent pour les entraînements donc nous sommes comme des frères. C’est ma deuxième famille. Le water-polo c’est aussi beaucoup de fun!”

Le recrutement s’en vient

Les recrutements pour composer l’équipe manitobaine des prochains Jeux de la francophonie débuteront le mois prochain. Des camps de recrutement s’érigeront un peu partout au pays afin de représenter au mieux la francophonie canadienne.

Les camps de recrutements pour les jeux de la francophonie 2025 se profilent. Ces derniers devraient se dérouler dans le courant du mois de novembre un peu partout dans la province.

L’objectif de ces camps est assez évident, ils visent à trouver les jeunes francophones qui composeront l’équipe manitobaine pour les Jeux.

Du 15 au 19 juillet 2025, les Jeux se dérouleront dans la ville de Laval au Québec.