Game will be roaring in Picken’s name at Thistle Club

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This article was published 13/03/2019 (2698 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bob Picken is gone but not forgotten.

The legendary voice of curling, and a tireless supporter and organizer for the sport for six decades in Manitoba, died last month at the age of 86. Now, some old friends are getting together to honour his memory and contributions to the game.

When the curling season kicks off next fall, one of the first events on the calendar will be the Bob Picken Valour Road Masters Bonspiel at the Thistle Curling Club.

“Norm (Magnusson), Resby (Coutts), Bob Minaker and myself, we kinda came up with the idea that we should do something to celebrate what Bob Picken was and this is where this bonspiel came from,” said organizer Brian Kushner, a Winnipeg-based physiotherapist. “We want to change the name of our league in honour of Bob Picken as well, so that there is a memory of what has been going on and what he was interested in.”

The daytime bonspiel will be staged from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, with space for a maximum of 40 entries. All masters-age (60-plus) men’s, women’s, mixed and stick teams are eligible to enter. The fee is $160 per team. Entries should be submitted to Kushner by email at bkushner@mymts.net or by telephone at 204-257-5643.

Coutts, a member of Curling Canada’s board of governors, was thrilled to discuss these plans with Picken in the days prior to his death. The broadcasting legend had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in September.

“It’s long enough in the works that I actually had the opportunity to talk with him about it, within the last 10 days of his life,” Coutts said. “It’s one of those things that I wish I could say was my idea, but the original motivation came from Norm Magnusson, who I curl with, and Brian Kushner and Bob Minaker. They invented the idea, and I said to them it’s obviously a great idea, but I’d love to talk to Bob about it. And, of course, he was completely delighted and (his wife) Barb was delighted.”

Kushner hopes part of Picken’s legacy will be the continuation and growth of what will be renamed the Bob Picken Masters Curling Club at the Thistle.

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“Bob Picken was an integral part of this league,” Kushner said. “He operated this league for 25 years. He ran it from top to bottom.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14