High school football playoffs heat up

The Winnipeg High School Football League regular season wrapped up with a handful of junior varsity games on Oct. 21, and playoffs are underway.

In the AAAA/Tier 1 Potter Division, perennial powerhouses the Oak Park Raiders and Dakota Lancers both finished with 6-1 records and 12 points. The Raiders finished with 281 points scored and only 62 against, while the Lancers scored 253 and allowed just 41.

In the AAAA/Tier 1 Vidruk Division, the St. Paul’s Crusaders and Vincent Massey Trojans each finished with 6-1 records and 12 points, with St. Paul’s scoring 199 points and allowing 61, while Vincent Massey scored 256 and allowed only 45.

On the A-side of the AAAA Tier 1 playoffs, St. Paul’s took on Brandon’s Vincent Massey Vikings, Dakota battled the Grant Park Pirates, Oak Park faced the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes, and the Trojans faced the Steinbach Sabres on Oct. 24. Results were not available at press time. Semifinals will be played on Oct. 31.

Top judo athletes square off at Manitoba Open

Some of the top judokas in Canada will soon be competing in Winnipeg at the 2025 Manitoba Open.

The national A-level circuit competition, which runs Nov. 1 and 2 at the Dakota Community Centre fieldhouse (1188 Dakota St.), is expected to feature hundreds of top judo students (judokas) from across the country, including many Manitobans looking to prove themselves. This is the fourth time Judo Manitoba has hosted the tournament.

“It puts us on the map, with the judo community,” said Milton Good, president of Judo Manitoba and tournament director of the Manitoba Open. “It brings a lot of people in and lets us showcase what we can do. We get good feedback on the tournament that we run. We’re one of the premier tournaments of the year.”

Competitors range in age from 10 year olds to veterans (i.e., 30 or older). The tournament includes kata (technical demonstration), ne-waza (fighting on the ground), and tachi-waza (fighting standing up). Medalling at tournaments such as this is what determines which competitors make the national judo team to represent Canada internationally, such as at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. At last year’s Manitoba Open, which drew over 350 competitors, Manitobans won 20 gold, 21 silver, and 12 bronze medals.

New clubhouse construction begins at Wildewood Golf Club

Construction has officially begun on a new clubhouse at Wildewood Golf Club (781 North Dr.), which was celebrated at an event by folks involved with the club and the City of Winnipeg on Oct. 14.

According to a release, the City is contributing a capital grant of $1 million for construction of the 2,300-square-foot clubhouse. The club leases the golf course from the City of Winnipeg, and has led planning and fundraising for the new structure.

The project broke ground in late July and is due to be completed in the spring of 2026. Features of the new clubhouse will include a full-service restaurant, an outdoor patio facing the ninth fairway, and a full pro shop, officials say.

Young football star leads by example

Brian Courchene is a 13-year-old Grade 8 student at St. John’s High School.

“My favourite subjects are social studies and gym. The reason is because I like history and geography – it’s something that clicked for me ever since I was around eight or nine years old,” he says.

“With gym, well, I like sports. I like competition. I’m a very competitive kid. The love of competing, it’s just in me,” he explains.

Brian really, really enjoys playing sports.

Puck drops on 2025-26 WHSHL season

Competition is already heating up in the Winnipeg High School Hockey League’s 2025-26 season.

“We’re underway, and hopefully Mother Nature will be nice to us and we won’t have to cancel many games,” WHSHL president Dana Gordon said.

The Vincent Massey Trojans will be looking to defend the title in the league’s Platinum Promotions Division, as well as the AAAA provincial championship. But the Trojans will face tough competition from perennial powerhouse schools such as Oak Park, River East, Selkirk, St. Paul’s, Sturgeon Heights, and hungry squads from Miles Macdonell, Steinbach, Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, Garden City, Westwood, Béliveau, and Shaftesbury (which moves up to the league’s top rung after winning the Winnipeg Free Press Division championship last season).

“We’ve seen some shifts, some schools from Winnipeg Free Press Division have moved up, and some from Platinum down to Price,” Gordon said. “You can have really strong team one year, but if you’re starting from scratch, with graduations and all that, then you’ve got a rebuild.”

New MWHSHL season underway

The puck has dropped on the 2025-26 Manitoba Women’s High School League season, and the annual excitement generated by a fresh new chapter is in the air.

The year’s edition of the league features 29 teams — the largest number in the league’s history — as well as a structural change. This season, the MWHSHL will feature a Division 1/2 East, a Division 1/2 West, and a Division 3.

Brad Nechwediuk, the league’s president, explained the change was brought about by “the amount of teams that requested each division.”

The leagues will divide into Divisions 1 and 2 for playoffs later in the season, he said.

New basketball court at Gateway Recreation Centre named for Chad Posthumus

On Oct. 10, the Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Sea Bears, and the Posthumus family gathered for the dedication of a new basketball court at Gateway Recreation Centre named for the late Chad Posthumus.

Posthumus, who grew up in East St. Paul and played professional basketball overseas, was the first signed player and captain of the Sea Bears. He died on Nov. 20, 2024 at the age of 33, from complications following a brain aneurysm.

“Chad Posthumus was an outstanding athlete and an even better person,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement. “Chad left a positive lasting impact on every person in his life, and it is fitting that the Chad Posthumus Memorial Court will leave a lasting impact in the community he grew up playing basketball in.”

The new court is part of recent upgrades at Gateway Recreation Centre (1717 Gateway Rd.), including four new pickleball courts with sport court surfacing, paved pathways, bike racks, seating areas, chain-link fencing, landscaping, and improved site drainage. The project cost $569,000, with $138,000 from the city’s parks and recreation enhancement program, $132,000 funded through the province’s Building Sustainable Communities fund, and $299,000 from the city’s land dedication reserve fund.

Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame to induct class of 2025

The Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction dinner on Oct. 18 at The Gates on Roblin in Headingly. The 2025 induction class is small with just three builders, Christopher Chapman, Larry Cherrett and Sonja Hill MacAulay.

In the majority of sports, individuals inducted into a hall of fame as builders usually got their start as players. Their love of their sport often saw them move into coaching or administrative roles. That’s certainly the case for the three rugby inductees, whose resumes are lengthy.

Chapman first played rugby at Churchill High School. He then played for the Winnipeg Assassins Rugby Football Club for nearly two decades as well as for the Wimbledon Old Boys. He was member of the provincial U19 team in 1987 and for the Manitoba Buffalo in 1998. He became involved with the administrative side in 1988 with the Assassins where he served in several positions including president. He also started coaching at Churchill High in 1988. At present he coaches at Dakota Collegiate and the Rugby Manitoba Men’s Sevens. He also has worked in administration with Rugby Manitoba, Manitoba Schools Rugby, Unified Ultimate Rugby and Maple Grove Rugby Park.

Cherrett first played for the Winnipeg Wanderers RFC in 1970. In 1973, he along with Tom Millar and Desmond Walton founded the University of Manitoba Rugby Football Club, now known as the Manitoba Wombats. He played for the team until 1984 and then ended his playing career with the Assassins the next season. Over the years, he worked as a volunteer for many organizations and served as president of the U of M RFC, Rugby Manitoba and the Maple Grove Rugby Park where he was a member of the founders committee. In 1999, he helped coach a combined Vincent Massey/Kelvin side, which won the high school championship. For more than a decade, he co-chaired the HOF selection committee.

Northwest by southeast?

The extended warm days this autumn inspired me to squeeze in a few more road trips before I need to break out the winter tires.

Having spent a great deal of time in the southwest of our province earlier this summer, I chose to explore the southeastern corner recently. Travelling along the Trans-Canada, I saw the sign for East Braintree and highway 308. I have never been down this path before, so I turned off. I recommend this drive!

About an hour into my journey, I was faced with a fork in the road; the junction of PTH 525 East. This road starts out as a provincial roadway, but about 10 kilometres in, it becomes a Minnesota state road! Yes, this is the famous Northwest Angle of the North Star State. There is not much here; a post office, a few fishing lodges, a restaurant, and a cute nine hole golf course!

If you are not familiar with the Northwest Angle, it is a part of Minnesota that is separated from the main state by the Lake of the Woods. North of this peninsula, across the inlet, lies Ontario. The west edge is Manitoba’s border. South and east lies the waters called Big and Little Traverse Bays of the aforementioned LOTW. Boats and snowmobiles, within their respective seasons, are the easiest way to get to this area. Getting there by car, however, is a one road option in the summer, and that road only goes through Canada.

St. Vital youngster’s soccer dreams

Danilo Lourenco is a 13-year-old Grade 8 student at Darwin School.

“School is going well for me,” Danilo said. “I’m getting good grades and my favourite subjects are science and math. I really enjoy science class because my teacher, Mr. Vince, made the classes very entertaining, which kept us engaged in the subject he was teaching. Also, I really enjoy math class because I seem to be a numbers guy and pick up the concepts pretty quickly.”

Danilo really enjoys playing sports.

“The sports that I play primarily are soccer and hockey,” he said. “I also enjoy playing pick-up basketball and football with my friends when we get a game going. I’m mainly focused on soccer because it is my favourite sport. I enjoy soccer because it is the sport I am best at and I have made many good friends that I hope to remain friends with in the future. My main position is CAM (central attacking midfielder), although I feel comfortable playing anywhere the coach needs me. I play for Bonivital. I am being coached by coach Tony Fonseca, and coach Cary McNab. I feel very fortunate to have had all these coaches as I feel they have all contributed to my development thus far. I have to also mention coach Xaviar and coach Kris who run some of our practices at Bonivital. I feel grateful to have had many awesome teammates on all my teams.”

Building a team

The halls at Windsor Park Collegiate are looking a little more purple these days.

That’s because the school’s community is celebrating the inaugural season of its junior varsity football team.

“After many months of planning, hiring, purchasing, and practising, we are ready to hit the field for our inaugural game,” said Robbie Mager, Windsor Park Collegiate’s principal, on the eve of the Royals’ first game, which was on Sept. 9.

Fast forward to Sept. 23 and the excitement was continuing to build, as the team prepared for its third game of the season.

‘You have to have that fighting spirit’

Alexus Lee knows a thing or two about winning medals.

The 14-year-old table tennis sensation has brought home a collection of medals this year competing for Team Manitoba, and she wasn’t the only player from the province to bring home the bling and make Manitoba proud. Alexus’ 16-year-old sister, Victoria, has also been among the medallists.

Space might preclude a full list of the results throughout the season, but according to Carlos Cuadra, the executive director of the Manitoba Table Tennis Association, Manitoba collected four bronze medals and one silver medal in the following categories at the 2025 Canadian Championships, which were held at the Richmond Olympic Oval in B.C. this summer.

These include bronze in the senior women’s doubles — Alexus Lee and Victoria Lee; bronze in the girls’ singles U-15 — Alexus Lee; bronze in the girls’ singles U-19 – Alexus Lee; bronze in girls’ singles U-17 — Victoria Lee; and silver in the girls’ team U-15 — Alexus Lee and Rhea Liu.

J.H. Bruns alumna off to TWU

Isabella Johnston is a 17-year-old who recently graduated from J.H. Bruns Collegiate.

“I really enjoyed high school,” she said. “All of my classes went very well and I was able to achieve honours with distinction each year. My favourite class is chemistry. I love the math component to chemistry and I really enjoyed learning about the building blocks of matter.”

Isabella is an incredibly well rounded athlete who is a natural leader.

“In high school I played volleyball, hockey, flag football, indoor and outdoor soccer, and competed in track and field,” she said. “I was the co-captain of my hockey team with my best friend. I was also captain of the flag football team, and our indoor and outdoor soccer teams. Outside of high school, I played club soccer for 1V1 Futbol Dreams Academy, and FC Manitoba.”