CUAC hosting 100th anniversary event on Sept. 19

Winnipeg

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.

The site also has a gallery of individual and team photos, crests, trophies, yearbooks and newspaper articles. The history section includes several Memories of Sport columns about CUAC and Ukrainian athletes and builders and a Senior Scope article written by columnist Bud Ulrich, a member of the organizing committee.

Kirk Kuppers, the committee co-chair with Don Kuryk, said the number of participants at the sessions has to be limited to 200. Contact Kirk at kkuppers@shaw.ca or leave a message at 204-837-5305 to see if space is still available.

Throughout the years, CUAC fielded teams in many sports from the minor level to senior. When CUAC entered a softball team in the girls intermediate league in 1932, it was a historical moment. This is thought to be the first example of organized sports for girls among Ukrainian Canadian sports clubs in Canada. While many CUAC teams have had success on the field and the ice, the women’s softball teams top the list. In addition to its long list of provincial championships, the CUAC Blues led by John and Stan Shaley won Western Canada senior titles in 1957 and 1960 and the first Canadian women’s championship in 1965. Joanne Bedrich and Judy Cochrane from the 1965 champions will be attending the celebration.

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Like grandfather, like grandson. Harry Ethans, a former chair of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, sent a note about an accomplishment by Tyler Doyle, the grandson of the late ‘Jumbo’ Jimmy Doyle, one of Manitoba’s greatest golfers. On June 24, Tyler was playing in the Men’s Tuesday Night League at Sandy Hook, the club owned and operated by the Doyle family. With a 20 km/h wind behind him, he hit an excellent drive on the par 4, 383-yard 10th hole. Tyler didn’t see it, but a playing partner thought he saw it bounce towards the green. They spent several minutes trying to find his ball before it was discovered in the cup. Tyler had aced it.

Ethans suggests the lengthy hole-in-one has to be a crowning accomplishment for the Doyle family. That may be stretching it a little, as Jumbo Jim, after returning to amateur ranks after his years as the pro at Sandy Hook, won the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1968 playing out of Elmhurst. Jumbo also won the junior title in 1951, the provincial amateur in 1975, and senior titles in 1989 and 1990. Tyler’s father Pat, playing out of Sandy Hook, was the Manitoba Amateur champion in 1983.

Ethans chaired the 45th annual Sandy Hook Invitational Tournament on Sept. 12. The nearly 100 golfers participated in a shotgun start and more than $1,000 was raised for Cancer Care Manitoba. At the 10th hole, the golfers were able to see a sign that has been installed to commemorate Tyler’s shot.