Curling rocked Civic Centre 50 years ago

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/01/2018 (3044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is a major Canadian sporting event.

The first national women’s curling championship with all provinces competing was held in Ottawa in 1961 but after only seven national championships, the event lost its sponsor. In 1968, the Canadian Ladies’ Curling Association held its sponsorless championship at the new St. James Civic Centre. 

On Feb. 26, the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band led the competitors through curling broom arches and into the opening ceremonies in front of 1,200 spectators. Dignitaries included Premier Walter Weir, St. James mayor Bill Hanks, and Winnipeg alderman Bill McGarva. Curling executives Gladys Darling, Lura McLuckie and Bill Lumsden also participated in the opening ceremonies.

The Brandon rink of Mabel Mitchell, Shirley Bray, Mildred Murray and June Clark represented Manitoba in the 10-team round-robin tournament. In those days, the winner of the round robin was the champion.

The competition soon became a battle between Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C.

On Feb. 28, Manitoba defeated Alberta Saskatchewan and Ontario to enter the final day of competition with a record of six and one. New Brunswick’s Barbara Likely was the final-day spoiler. After winning only two or her first seven games, Likely defeated both  Saskatchewan and Manitoba, eliminating both.

B.C entered the final draw needing a win over Alberta to win the championship. The teams were tied at eight heading after nine ends and at the end of the 10th end, both teams had rocks touching the middle of the button.

A measurement was impossible but Alberta was awarded the controversial point.

After being just a hair away from the championship, B.C. had to play Alberta in a one-game playoff for the championship.

On Fri.,March 1 at 9:30 a.m.,  Alberta easily won the playoff game 11-4. The championship team consisted of Hazel Jamison, a multi-sport star, and her three daughters, Gail Lee, Jackie Spencer and June Coyle.

The event attracted a record crowd of 11,000 for the week with the efforts of Joan Whalley, Ina Light, Betty Hird, Alice Oterholm, and many Deer Lodge Curling Club volunteers making it an overwhelming success.

Since 1968, the Civic Centre has hosted other curling events, such as the Manitoba Scotties, and the CBC Classic. On March 15 to 18, 2018, the Civic Centre will host the Princess Auto Elite 10 Grand Slam of curling featuring 10 of the top men’s teams in the country.

Fred Morris is a community correspondent for St. James. Reach him at fredmorris@hotmail.com