CUAC hosting 100th anniversary event on Sept. 19

The Canadian Ukrainian Athletic Club (CUAC) is holding a 100-year legacy celebration on Sept. 19. The event, with afternoon and evening sessions, will take place at the Sinclair Park Community Centre, a North End location that once was home to the organization.

The club was formed in the fall of 1925 to promote sports among Ukrainian young people in Winnipeg. The club’s motto was “Sound of body – sound of mind.” The founding executive was headed by president Nick Shaley. In 1937, future city councillor Slaw Rebchuk, the club president, led a successful drive to find a permanent home on the corner of Arlington Street and Church Avenue. A railway boxcar on the empty lot served as the first clubhouse. In 1972, CUAC’s connection to the Church and Arlington complex ended. The city recommended a centralized operation of recreation facilities and the location was renamed Sinclair Park Community Centre.

The afternoon session on Sept.19 will include a presentation of the early years through to the present with old photos, trophies and memorabilia. The evening will have a special program with a variety of features and entertainment. Alumni will have the opportunity to socialize and remember the past at both sessions. You can see a list of who’s coming at cuac.andrichmedia.ca

Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoueux, Mayor Scott Gillingham and Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) are among the special guests.

Team Manitoba brings home senior cricket inter-provincial title

The Manitoba Bisons hope their win at the Ontario Masters Cricket League Inter-Provincial Tournament attracts more people to play one of the world’s most popular sports. In late June, the Bisons prevailed over teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Not bad for a team that only formed in January. Organizers Manoj Chaudhari and Ralston Dezilva said all members of the over-40 squad played on other teams, but the inaugural Bisons practice was the first time some had formally met.

“Our goal was to create a team for Manitoba, an opportunity for those senior players to go all over Canada,” Dezilva said. “Manitoba had not been recognized at the over-40 level until this year.”

Both men grew up around the game. Chaudhari was raised in India, where cricket is popular. He’s played for 25 years, and his children also enjoy it. Dezilva’s native Sri Lanka is passionate about cricket. As a child, he played many forms, with whatever was available.

Team Manitoba brings home 34 medals from Canada Summer Games

Team Manitoba wrapped up the 2025 Canada Summer Games with 34 medals — 12 gold, 10 silver, and 12 bronze — on Aug. 24 in St. John’s, N.L.

“This result would not be possible without the hard work, heart, and commitment of our athletes and their families, coaches, and mission staff,” Drew Todd, Chef de Mission for Team Manitoba, said in a statement. “For that, and to those who cheered us on here at the Games and all the way back home, we extend our deepest gratitude.”

At the closing ceremonies, Soren Weselake, a road and mountain bike cyclist from Portage la Prairie, carried the flag for Manitoba. Weselake won a bronze in the men’s individual time trial, and a gold in men’s cross country.

“It’s really nice they thought of me for this,” Weselake said in a statement. “I really liked winning my gold medal, obviously, that was fun, but I also really liked getting to hang out with all the other people from all the teams.”

Local golf teams qualify for national scramble competition

Members of two local golf teams have shot their way to a national scramble competition.

Teams representing Assiniboine Golf Club in Winnipeg and Quarry Oaks Golf Course in Steinbach, Man., recently qualified for the RBC PGA Scramble National Final presented by BMW, which will be held at Cabot Cape Breton, N.S., from Oct. 4 to 8.

The teams qualified at the Manitoba Regional Final, which was held at Southwood Golf & Country Club on Aug. 12, to earn their spots.

The Assiniboine Golf Club team, pictured from left: Carter Bradley, Brett Ritchot, Dylan Monney, and Riann Monney (not pictured: Dryden Lavoie).

Rolling hills at Rossman Lake

Up in the Newdale soiled hills of our potholed northwest are some wonderful places.

St. Lazare near old Fort Ellice, Shoal Lake, Riding Mountain, Minnedosa, and on and on. Some of the roads that run north and south of the good ol’ Yellowhead are worth exploring. This past week, while travelling on Highway 16, I turned north to see the vistas. There is even a town called Vista that I past by on my journey. A sign near the Rossburn Hotel caught my attention, and convinced me to continue down the road for another 10 minutes or so. What I found was the lovely Rossman Lake Golf and Country Club.

“Country club” is tacked on to a lot of golf course names, but here, it is apropos. As you drive in, you pass along a community that has made a true club out in the wild country that lies in Treaty 2 territory. There are playgrounds, beaches, boat launches, tennis courts, cottages and RV parks. You’ll see most of this as the golf course road takes you right through it to the end.

The course is very well maintained. The fairways have first, seconnd, and third cuts, and the greens are tournament ready. Flowers and landscaping are all very well maintained and plentiful. There are lots of elevation changes and these are featured into each hole in strategic ways. If you are not prepared to walk up and down all the hills, not to worry. They have a modern fleet of golf cars available for rent. The clubhouse is very spacious and could easily host a small event. It even looks over the ninth green, and behind that, Rossman Lake.

Winnipeg Senior Baseball League champs crowned

The Winnipeg Senior Baseball League recently crowned its A- and B-side champions. On the A side, the West Winnipeg A’s swept the Carillon Sultans in three games. The A’s went 22-3 overall.

The North Winnipeg Pirates were down two games to one on the B side to the Springfield Braves, but rebounded to win the B-side finals in the maximum five games.

Yaipen debuts in Rifles season opening win

Former Elmwood Giants star Gabriel Yaipen had a debut to remember on Aug. 10 as the Winnipeg Rifles defeated the Saskatoon Hilltops 31-11 in Canadian Junior Football League action. Yaipen averaged 46.3 yards on nine punts, made three converts, one 41-yard field goal and a single. He averaged 56 yards on four kickoffs and made two special teams tackles. Those numbers were more than enough to earn Yaipen the Prairie Football Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

Manitobans medal at the 2025 Canada Summer Games

At press time, the 2025 Canada Summer Games was still in full swing.

The event — which was held in St. John’s, N.L. — started on Aug. 9 and was scheduled to finish on Aug. 24.

As of Aug. 22, several Manitobans had written their names in the history books by standing in the podium having medalled for the province.

Team Manitoba medal-winners include St. Vital-based swimmer Maxine Lavitt, who is coached by Craig McCormick, had the experience of a lifetime, bringing home five medals: a silver in the 100m freestyle para women’s race; a silver in the 100m backstroke para women’s race; a gold in the 100m breaststroke in the para women’s race; a gold in the 50m freestyle para women’s race; and a silver in the 200m para women’s relay race.

Golf in the Hart-land

Before GPS, people used to get lost all the time. Bugs near Albuquerque, the Flintstones near Redrock, Oceanic flight 815, and who can forget that poor Robinson family. Some might say use a map. Have you seen The Amazing Race Canada? Those kids can’t read maps. Even with GPS, people are still getting lost. Turn left into this thick field of sunflowers? I don’t think so, Siri. These examples remind me of the other day when I was 3.2 parsecs from Nowhere, Manitoba. I kept driving endlessly, and lo and behold, a golf course appeared on the west side of the highway. What follows is about my pit stop at the Hartney Golf Club.

If you plan on going to this cute little nine hole offering, don’t go too early. The course doesn’t open until 9 a.m. Also, make sure you finish up your round right after the supper bells, because they close at 7 p.m. I might also suggest that if you are calling ahead to reserve a tee time, and you need a riding cart, you reserve one of those, too. When I was there, the carts were new and electric, but they only numbered four in total! The clubhouse has some indoor tables, some outdoor covered patio tables, and a licensed restaurant serving a simple but satisfying menu. There is no driving range or practice green, but there is a warm-up driving net.

The course is in good shape, with the odd little black dimple in a couple of greens. Water is no problem for this course, as it is built on the shores of the Souris River. Fairways are green and lush throughout the property. If you are teaching young ones, or prefer walking, this is a good choice. The holes overall are not PGA ridiculous, and there are no real elevation issues that would tax a walking player. The scorecard also has cute names for each hole.

Starting off the round on “Old Oak Tree” is a par 3. Simple; no water, no sand, no bushes, but there is this huge tree right in front of the green obscuring any view of the flag. Picking your shot for any level of golfer here is going to be complex. You can relax on “Chokecherry Hill”, as it is open, and you can easily see the pin. “Ox-Cart Trail” offers a sand trap on the right side, about 60 yards from the hole. This trap needs a bit more sand, because as of this printing, it is about 40 per cent mud and 60 per cent beach.

Carson wins Bill Wedlake award

Jacklyn Carson, a veteran Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference volleyball player, has been named a recipient of the 2024-25 Bill Wedlake True Sport Award.

According to mcacathletics.ca, the Université de Saint-Boniface Les Rouges product is one of two athletes to receive this year’s award, along with Lucas Vasconcelos, who played for the Assiniboine College Cougars.

“Jacklyn was very competitive and would push others to be the same. But, she always did so with the utmost respect for herself, coaches, teammates, opponents and officials,” said Les Rouges’ coach Evan Turenne in a statement.

“She would never try to cheat the system or even a drill. She believed in winning with integrity and she was always the type of person who would even call her own block touches, because she has extremely strong values and morals.”

Super-Spike a smashing success

This year’s Super-Spike event, which was held at Maple Grove Rugby Park on July 18 and 19, yielded a seven-year record high turnout.

According to a release, more than 2,900 players comprising 375 teams took part in the annual event, which combines a large outdoor volleyball tournament with a weekend-long concert series.

Super-Spike acts as a fundraiser for non-profits and community groups. Funds raised from this year’s event will support Volleyball Manitoba and the Winnipeg Humane Society, organizers say.

Giants fall just short of MJBL title

Even though their tenth consecutive MJBL championship series appearance didn’t turn out how they hoped, the Elmwood Giants still have plenty to be proud of, manager Ed Kulyk said.

The Giants fell three games to one to the Carillon Sultans in a hard-fought series that ended with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss on July 30 at Koskie Field. The finals opened with Elmwood’s ace Colson Smith facing his Sultan counterpart Cedric Legasse. Playing on a hard infield, the Giants made five errors. The Sultans capitalized, adding a home run and a double to earn an 8-4 win.

“You take away those errors, and maybe it’s a one-run game,” Kulyk said.

Red-hot Sultans starting pitcher Connor Martin twirled a gem in the second game. Using a high-80s fastball, Martin stymied the Giants to earn a 3-0 win and put the Sultans on the verge of a title.

Resuming play, showing support in the wake of 1950 flood

In a July column, Memories of Sport began to examine the impact the record Red River flood in 1950 had on local sports such as baseball and softball. In late May that year, some sports resumed play and events scheduled during Sportsmen’s Week in early June raised funds in support of the Manitoba Flood Relief Fund.

On June 7 in the Winnipeg Amphitheatre, a professional wrestling card was promoted by Alex Turk. The wrestlers donated their purses, the rental fee was waived, and $3,631 was added to the fund. In the feature match, Canadian great Whipper Billy Watson battled to a 60-minute draw with Jumping Joe Pazandak. Fans also had the opportunity to see two great football players perform in the ring. Bronko Nagurski beat Dirty Dick Raines and Leo Nomellini handled Otto Kuss. In another match, Vern Gagne made his first appearance of many in our city and beat Mike DiBiase.

Nagurski, who was born in Rainy River, Ont., was an All-American football player at the University of Minnesota, who later played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. He played as both a running back and defensive tackle and was an inaugural inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. While playing for the Bears, he started his wrestling career in 1933 and continued to compete in the ring until 1958. Along the way, he won the National Wrestling Association world title.

Nomellini, an All-America defensive tackle at Minnesota, played 14 seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. He was inducted in the Pro Football HOF in 1969 and College shrine in 1977. Known in wrestling circles as Leo the Lion, he debuted in Minnesota in 1950, and went on to win 10 tag team championships. In one, he partnered with Gagne.