The year in west Winnipeg sports 2023

West Winnipeg

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This article was published 27/12/2023 (1020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian Mennonite University women’s basketball team win’s fifth consecutive title

The Canadian Mennonite University women’s basketball team blazed through the competition yet again this season, going undefeated en route to its fifth consecutive Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference championship title, defeating the No. 2 seed Providence University College Pilots 73-48 in the MCAC final on Feb. 12.

“It’s always nice when you accomplish something like that and accomplish it with so many great kids on the team, and with the many things that have happened this year — a lot of injuries and stuff — it was very gratifying,” Blazers head coach Joe Di Curzio, who celebrated 10 years with the team this season, said.

Local speedskater wins three golds, two silvers; figure skater wins gold

In February, two local skaters made themselves at home on the podium at national competitions.

Sofia Bieber, a 17-year-old long-track speedskating phenom, won five medals at the Canada Winter Games: gold in the 500-metre, 1,000-metre, and women’s mass start events, plus two silver medals in the 1,500-metre and the women’s team pursuit, the latter of which she shared with Team Manitoba teammates Robyn Salie, Lindsay Smart, and Skylar Van Horne.

“I’m proud to bring a few medals to back to Manitoba,” Bieber said.

The long-track speedskating events were held at the Halifax Oval in Halifax, N.S., while the majority of Games events were held on Prince Edward Island.

Across the country, in Calgary, 16-year-old Davey Howes put together a golden performance to become the Canadian novice men’s figure skating champion. Howes also topped the podium at the 2023 Skate Canada Challenge event in Regina, Sask., at the end of January.

Lawn bowling not just for senior folks

St. John’s Lawn Bowling Club gained traction this year for its initiative in expanding the sport of lawn bowling to a wider audience of diverse ages.

“My whole push forward is to get more young people into this sport,” said lawn bowling coach Ben Hochman. Although the amount of players has dwindled over the years, he kept at promoting the sport and encouraging as many local kids as possible to give it a try. There is a stigma around it, he had mentioned, and a very senior-oriented image. He wanted to move away from that.

“I can still visualize the faces of the kids,” Hochman said. “I know they can’t be members (yet), but it’s all about exposing them.”

During the regular season (early June to late September), St. John’s club 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 a.m.). Drop-ins are welcome.

West St. Paul tennis hub hosts international tourney

The new National Bank Tennis MB Hub in West St. Paul hosted the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger tournament, which ran from Aug. 13 to 19, drawing top national and international talent to the brand-new outdoor courts.

“It’s an exciting time, having these world class players here,” said Mark Arndt, executive director of Tennis Manitoba, in the lead-up to the tournament. “That’s what a world class facility does. It’s so amazing.”

The project, which includes six brand-new outdoor courts (five of which were complete at press time, with work on the sixth set to be done for spring 2024), cost approximately $1.45 million and has been in the works since 2016. Tennis Manitoba is also currently in the midst of a capital campaign to build four covered courts at the hub, which is located next to Access Centre at 48 Holland Rd.

Grant Park grad reaches new heights at Pan Am tournament

Alex Tiaglei, a 17-year-old Transcona resident, won a gold medal at the Pan Am junior high diving championships, which were held in Lima, Peru this summer.

Tiaglei, who graduated from Grant Park High School this year, registered 294.93 points at the tournament, diving from 15 metres to stand on the top of the podium. The fact it was the first time the competition was being held made the success even sweeter.

South Osborne wheelchair basketball athlete competes on global scale

Bethany Johnson originally started playing wheelchair basketball in high school, following an injury that impaired her ability to walk. Now, she’s competing in world championships and making a mark on the sport as a whole.

In October, she travelled to Bangkok, Thailand for the 2023 Women’s U25 World Championship, where she played for Team Canada. The selection process for the team was through Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s national Women’s Under-25 Camp in Richmond, B.C (Aug. 15 to 19), where she and 12 other Canadian players trained and competed against players from as far as Japan.

Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club hosts national championship

From Nov. 19 to 25, the Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships were held in Manitoba for the very first time. The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club hosted the event — an honour handled with great pride by organizers.

“The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club was absolutely thrilled to learn that we were awarded the opportunity to host a national event,” said organizing committee member Hailey McFarlane, in November.

The championship is meant for recreational curlers from across the country. Although the players in question don’t have the time or resources to compete at a high-performance level, the talent was hot and the competition was tough.

In the end, teams from Beaumont, Alta., and Lethbridge, Alta., won first-place in the men and women categories, respectively.

Vincent Massey takes home first provincial AAAA varsity volleyball banner

The Vincent Massey Trojans boys’ varsity volleyball team capped off a spectacular season by winning the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association AAAA provincial title on Dec. 4.

The Trojans went undefeated in WWAC Tier 1 regular season competition, won five major tournament titles, and then went on to defeat Dakota Collegiate in the provincial final in three straight sets 28-26, 25-22, 25-17.

The Grade 12 players on the team were also part of the provincial program this past summer, after winning the U17 national club title in June as part of the Junior Bisons program.

The win marks the Fort Garry-based school’s first AAAA varsity volleyball provincial championship.

Sturgeon Heights plays for a cause with ‘Pros Vs. Joes’

For the 13th consecutive year, Sturgeon Heights Collegiate hosted ‘Pros Vs. Joes,’ a weeklong event that puts students and teachers (“joes”) against high-level, professional athletes (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Sea Bears, and University of Manitoba Bisons) to raise funds, as well as non-perishable items, for food hampers that are eventually distributed to St. James-based families in need throughout the holiday season.

The event raised about $15,000 in its first edition, said Deborah Einarson Woods, phys-ed teacher and co-ordinator of the event, but it’s “grown in leaps and bounds” since then — pushing $40,000 by the end, with the help of the school’s additional fundraising activity based off of The Amazing Race.

Winnipeg Table Tennis Training Centre to host first weekend league

The Winnipeg Table Tennis Training Centre is expanding. For the first time since opening five years ago, the centre, located in the Fort Garry Industrial area at 545 Hervo St., is getting ready to host a weekend league at the beginning of 2024.

Although members and junior players already use the facilities for training and practice sessions — both on-and-off season — the weekend league, beginning in January 2024, will open up the sport to everyone interested in giving it a go.

Poy Riankasemsakul, a co-ordinator at the centre, says that the sport is a year-round, affordable option that makes good use of motor skills and intense mental discipline.

— with files from Cody Sellar and Tony Zerucha