Have gloves, will travel

Massimo Dos Santos is a 15-year-old Grade 9 student at Westwood Collegiate who lives and breathes ‘the beautiful game’.

“I have played soccer since I was six or seven years old. I am a (goalkeeper) and from very early on, keeper was my position,” he said. “What I enjoy about playing keeper is making big saves for my team and helping to keep us in games or helping us to win games. The hype of big games and big saves is a lot of fun. I really enjoy sharing those times and that level of emotion with my team.”

Massimo plays for Winnipeg South End United U15 team.

“Our team and coaches are a good group of guys,” he said, then singled out one coach in particular who has supported and helped him.

Welcome to the 2023 golf season!

With the May long weekend now behind us, we can now declare Manitoba’s summer golf season unofficially open.

Courses were a bit slow opening this year but, seemingly overnight, the snow disappeared, and the fairways have greened right up.

Before heading out into rural Manitoba this year for some golfing road-trip adventures, it is always a good idea to work on your game. In keeping with this column’s theme, there are some nine-hole courses in and around Winnipeg you can visit to iron out the kinks.

In the northeast part of the city, Harbour View’s nine holes are all par 3s. Hole 4 is a long effort to get there in one, but the hole right after has a green that can be reached with a sand wedge. You can find this facility on Springfield Road, off Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Youth soccer association steps up for local kids

At least 36 kids from low-income families are playing in the Charleswood Youth Soccer Association’s mini-soccer program free of charge this spring, thanks to a $500 donation from the Headingley Firefighters Run for Wishes, which was matched by CYSA.

Erin Beyko, CYSA president, said the association has wanted to do something like this for years and intends to continue what it now calls the CYSA Kickoff program.

“This is the first year we’ve been able to do this,” she said. “There’s a public housing complex near our Westgrove School mini-soccer site. We’d always see the kids watching the games and we’ve always wanted to find a way to get those kids on the field.”

Josh Mulvenna, a Winnipeg firefighter and Headingley volunteer firefighter, is race director of the Headingley Firefighters Run for Wishes. The Westgrove Family Resource Centre, located in the Westgrove Housing complex in Charleswood, is one of the title causes of this year’s Run for Wishes, so Mulvenna asked the CYSA if it would match a donation from Run for Wishes to help pay for Westgrove kids to play mini-soccer.

Competition fierce for junior baseball crown

The crack of the bats, the glow of the big lights, and the thrill of the grass are once again filling baseball diamonds around Winnipeg.

On May 14, the Manitoba Junior Baseball League opened the regular season with a round of double-headers. Defending champs the Elmwood Giants split wins with the Pembina Valley Orioles, while the St. James A’s doubled up on Ws against the Carillon Sultans. St. James notched another 3-1 win on May 17 against the Interlake Blue Jays to take an early undefeated season lead on the standings, with a +19 run differential at press time.

While St. James is off to a hot start this year, Elmwood are looking to make history as they try to win a sixth straight league championship. But the other clubs aren’t going to sit back and let “the Evil Empire” retain the title without a fight.

Since 2014, Elmwood has won seven championships, and appeared in the final each year but one. Top challenger to the Giants’ dynasty in recent years has been the St. James A’s, who have not only battled the Giants throughout the regular season but have taken Elmwood on in the finals without success in 2022 and 2018. In 2017, St. James defeated Elmwood for the title.

Pro baseball’s rich Winnipeg history

When the Winnipeg Goldeyes play their first home game of the 2023 season at Shaw Park on May 19, independent professional baseball will return to the city for its 30th season. In 1994, the team owned by Sam Katz joined the Northern League and won the championship under the leadership of manager Doug Simunic.

Before the independent-league Goldeyes arrived, Manitoba baseball fans enjoyed watching teams that were part of the large organized-baseball umbrella, usually sponsored by major league teams. In the early years of the 20th century, Winnipeg had teams that first played in the old Northern League and then the Northern-Copper County, Western Canada and Central International Leagues. Both Brandon, in 1908, and St. Boniface, in 1915, played in the Northern League.

Calling Sherburn Park home, the Winnipeg Maroons played an entertaining level of ball in the Class D and C Northern League from 1933 until 1942, when several leagues folded owing to the Second World War. Older Winnipeg fans will remember the first version of the Goldeyes, a farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals, which played at the Winnipeg Stadium from 1954 to 1964. The city last had an organized baseball team when the Montreal Expos organization moved its AAA International League team from Buffalo to Winnipeg partway through the 1970 season. The Whips lasted one more season in our city.

Sports collector Burnett Konsmo recently sent Memories of Sport a copy of an article about Winnipeg baseball published in the September 1987 issue of Sports Collectors Digest. Author Paul Gertsen, whose journalism credentials are not listed, claims that minor league baseball is an oft-forgotten chapter of Winnipeg’s sporting legacy. Take that statement for what it’s worth from a writer who spelled Sherburn Sherbourne, had the Whips playing in the American Association, and tells his readers that Dale Hawerchuck, not Hawerchuk, can really skate.

New basketball court opens in St. Vital Memorial Park

A new basketball court that officially opened on May 11 commemorates Glenlawn Collegiate’s 100th anniversary this year.

A City of Winnipeg project, the court is located in St. Vital Memorial Park (100 Sunset Blvd.), which is adjacent to Glenlawn, and is accessible to both students and local residents.

“I am very pleased to have worked on this project for Glenlawn Collegiate,” said Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) in a news release. “A few years ago, principal Dionne Potapinski asked me about adding a basketball court at Glenlawn, and I am delighted to see the City of Winnipeg provide land and funding to make this project happen.”

In the same release, Potapinski noted her gratitude to Mayes and the city for their continued support and said it’s important for youth to have “healthy and productive spaces to spend their free time.”

Vermette adds U Sports gold to collection

As the legendary Vince Lombardi said, winning is a habit. Erika Vermette knows a thing or two about that.

The Collège Jeanne-Sauvé alumna is a member of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team that recently won the national championships, when the seventh-ranked Thunderbirds upset the top-seeded and defending champions Trinity Western Spartans in five sets to win gold at the 2023 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship in Vancouver, B.C.

The gold medal wasn’t Vermette’s first taste of success or the spotlight, as her impressive sporting resumé includes provincial championship success with CJS, and she was also the flag bearer for Team Manitoba at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, when she competed in the women’s beach volleyball tournament with Valeria Gonzalez.

In terms of her most recent success, Vermette is thrilled to win nationals. The icing on the cake was winning the championships on home court.

Meet a Manitoba lacrosse trailblazer

Keira Karpowicz is a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s Academy who excels both in the classroom and in her chosen sport of lacrosse.

“School is going well. I had my advanced placement exam in chemistry. That was exciting,” Keira said. “It was an amazing experience. We have been learning advanced material utilized in post-secondary studies for the last two years and that is the first time we have been tested on it. My AP calculus exam is (coming up) and I am very much looking forward to that. It is a great way to push your knowledge and learn about complex material.”

Needless to say, Keira takes her studies very seriously.

“Yes, I do. I have a goal of becoming a dentist. My studies are very important to me.”

Catching the snooker bug

Anyone interested in finding out more about snooker in the province is right on cue.

That’s according to Darcy Michael, an avid player of the sport and a key figure in the snooker community in Manitoba.

The 2023 Manitoba Snooker Championship will be held on Saturday May 13 and Sunday May 14 at Bourbon Street Billiards, located at 241 Vaughan St.

Michael was integral in helping revive the event last year — “snooker in the province has been in a dormant type of state for the few years” — and he’s hoping to continue to build on that momentum moving forward.

Collège Béliveau sweeps ringette tournament

Collège Béliveau’s high school and junior high ringette teams both won gold at this year’s River East Ringette Association tournament — to the apparent surprise of the players.

Members of the high school team didn’t have any idea how far they would go, some players said, despite coaches Chantal Freynet-Hawthorn and Shannon Baxter’s confidence. Even after a nail-biting final game, going all the way to a tie-breaking shootout against the Springfield team, they shared a moment of disbelief before their celebration.

“It’s a game you don’t forget … I took videos of all the shootout shots,” Freynet-Hawthorn said. “I was gonna go live, and I’m like, ‘the girls are gonna kill me if we don’t win this.’”

To make up numbers, the girls welcomed a couple of hockey players to the team, showing them the ropes of the game during practices. They said that the majority of the preparation wasn’t extreme or stressful, mostly involving the teammates helping each other out and getting everyone on the same page.

Basketball Manitoba award winners announced

Basketball Manitoba held its annual awards gala on April 15 at the Manitoba Museum’s Alloway Hall.

Ramogi Nyagudi, of St. Paul’s High School, was named male player of the year. Kyu Fust, of Dakota Collegiate, was named female player of the year. Jordan Hernandez (Nelson McIntyre Collegiate) was named AAA male player of the year. Jazmin Birch (Collège Béliveau) was named AAA female player of the year.

Giovanni Ajiamah (St. Paul’s High School), Atok Makuer (John Taylor Collegiate), Noah Kankam (Sturgeon Heights), Samuel Sola (Sturgeon Heights), and Waris Njoya (Churchill High School) were named to the male All-Manitoba team.

Alyssa Doneza (Sisler High School), Izzi Fust (Dakota Collegiate), Paige Schatkowsky (Vincent Massey Collegiate), Jennifer Kallon (River East Collegiate), and Anna Mik0 (Westwood Collegiate) were named to the female All-Manitoba team.

Game recognized

On the heels of what has been a successful high school basketball season, Abby Sweeny’s reach has gone way beyond the court.

Sweeny was a key member of the Dakota Lancers varsity girls’ basketball team that won the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s AAAA basketball championship for the second-straight time on March 17, beating the Garden City Gophers 67-44 in the championship game at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

In recognition of this achievement — at least, in part — the eleventh grader has been chosen as the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council’s Indigenous Athlete of the Year award recipient.

Each year, the council recognizes local athletes, coaches, and volunteers with a number of awards.

Where hockey culture is building community

While the games are what attracts teams and fans, the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships are also a celebration of Indigenous culture and the sport’s growing role in communities across Canada.

Marking its 20th anniversary in 2023, this year’s NAHC tournament is being held in Winnipeg at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex (745 Kingsbury Ave.), from May 7-13. Fifteen teams, eight male and seven female, are taking part, said Mel Whitesell, executive director of the Manitoba Sports & Recreation Council. It’s the first time the event has been held in Manitoba since 2009.

Things have changed since then, Whitesell said. The hockey, while already of a high calibre, keeps getting better. Most athletes play at the U18 AAA, prep school and junior levels and some have graduated to the professional and international ranks over the years.

NAHC alums to make the jump include national women’s team members Jocelyne Larocque, Brigette Lacquette and Jamie Rattray, current NHLers Ethan Bear, Zach Whitecloud and Brandon Montour, and former NHL players Jordin Tootoo, Micheal Ferland and Brady Keeper. Ted Nolan, a former Jack Adams coach-of-the-year in the NHL, coached Team Ontario in 2016.

’Tis the season to honour our own

The time has come once again to clear out the notebook and recognize members of the sports community who have made an impact in our province.

Greg Ferguson, who has been involved in slo-pitch softball since the 1980s, reported on the 2023 SPN Manitoba Hall of Fame induction held April 6 at the Thistle Curling Club. The new players to become honoured members are Shelly Bohn and Sheri Wood from the Winnipeg Women’s League. Builder Steve Mymko and two umpires, Dave Radinsky and Dave Black, were also inducted. Mymko was a driving force behind the excellent Buhler Recreation Park in Transcona while Radinsky is a former provincial umpire-in-chief. An umpire for about 25 years, Black has served as the UIC at the Little Mountain Sportsplex.

The second group of athletes and builders to enter the Manitoba Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame was inducted on April 12. The athletes class of 2023 included basketball’s Michelle Foreman, former NHL forward Jamie Leach, Shelly Hruska from ringette and bandy, and boxer Maurice Camyre. Brian Chrupalo from the Pine Creek First Nation was honoured as an official. His football career includes working in the CFL. Builder Arnold Asham is best-known for his support of curling. On the diamond, he was a playing coach for the Carman Goldeyes in the Redboine Senior Baseball League and the manager of the Winnipeg Internationals in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Major Fastball League.

The Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association will induct this year’s hall of fame class May 13 at the Canad Inns Club Regent. Entering the hall as builders will be retired MHSAA executive director Morris Glimcher, and rural coaches Ken Overby from Teulon, Daryl Ford of Glenboro and Gord Nixon of Russell. The 1996-1998 Morris School varsity girls volleyball team also will be inducted.

City-owned golf courses open for business

It’s time to break out the golf clubs.

City of Winnipeg-owned golf courses are now open for the season.

At press time, the courses at Crescent Drive (781 Crescent Dr.), Kildonan Park (2021 Main St.), and Windsor Park (10 Des Meurons St.) were all due to open on April 27, according to the city’s website.

Go online at winnipeg.ca/recreation-leisure/golf-courses for more information.

City news in brief for May 3, 2023

Input sought on future of Portage and Main

The City of Winnipeg is planning to replace aging infrastructure at the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street while reimagining the shared public space at the well-known intersection.

According to the city, the waterproof membrane that protects the underground concourse beneath the intersection is nearing the end of its useable life and requires replacement. To replace the membrane, the intersection needs to be excavated.

Currently, the city is seeking feedback on “ideas for the public space at Portage and Main to help create a vision of what the intersection could look like, and how the space could be enjoyed by people that visit, live, or work near Portage and Main.”

Two-sport athlete aims to shine

Matthew Evanochko is a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student who attends Garden City Collegiate.

Matthew is a two-sport athlete, who plays volleyball for his school and club, and baseball with the North Winnipeg Pirates.

“I wouldn’t say I have a favourite,” he said. “With volleyball I enjoy the energy. Making kill shots is a lot of fun. When I get a nice hit and see the expression on the faces of my teammates…that is something that I really enjoy. I get a good vibe playing volleyball.

“With baseball, my favourite part is pitching,” he said. “I like thinking about what the batter is going to do and what I can do to counter their plans or strengths.”

Meet a Ukrainian soccer dynamo

Dmytro (Dima) Yerkov is a 14-year-old Grade 8 student at H.C. Avery Middle School.