A pleasant round in the valley

I try to focus on rural nine-hole courses in this space. Last fall, while closing down the cottage at Pelican Lake, the weather was almost summer-like – 20 degrees, clear skies, and no wind. A call for a break from closing-up duty led me to one of my two favourite childhood golf courses (the first being Roland).

While playing, I noticed that holes 4 and 5 had had some recent modifications – which is a good excuse to write about the course. So, at the south end of Pelican Lake lies Pleasant Valley Golf Club.

The club is surrounded by a busy cottage area. There is a small clubhouse and restaurant, and a small driving net to warm up in. There is a large practice green, and a very large fleet of motorized golf carts. This impressive fleet allows the club to host many tournaments throughout the season. In 2009, Pleasant Valley course was being picked as one of Canada’s best public courses by Score magazine.

These days, Pleasant Valley is an 18-hole course, having expanded into the valley face decades ago. The back nine is a story in its own right, but the first nine still draws players from all over Manitoba for folks wanting challenging play. Today, I will discuss just the front nine.

Budding catcher loves playing ball

Lincoln Jeter Bowie is an eight-year-old Grade 2 student at École Springfield Heights School and an aspiring baseball player.

“I am mostly focused on baseball. Like all the other sports I like, it is fun and it gives me good exercise,” he said. “I used to play for the Elmwood Giants, now I am playing for the Gateway Flyers. Our coaches are really good, and I like our team. We have a good group of players.”

“I have played all the positions in baseball. My favourite position though is backcatcher,” he said, then went on to explain why.

“I like how the whole game is in front of you and how I am involved on every pitch. I like the relationship between the catcher and the pitcher. I also like the different defensive things I do as a backcatcher,” he said.

Provincial high school badminton champions crowned

High school badminton aficionados took part in the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s provincial badminton championships at the Sport Manitoba Training Centre in Winnipeg from April 30 to May 1.

Various schools from across Winnipeg took home gold in both junior varsity and varsity categories.

Kate Li of Fort Richmond Collegiate was the varsity girls’ champion, while the boys’ varsity championship went to Anson Chen from St. Paul’s High School — his second time taking the title, after winning in 2024.

Fort Richmond took home both junior varsity singles titles. Parham Raji topped the boys category and Zoey Zang won the girls.

Batter up!

Luis Reis is hoping a few more folks come out swinging this slo-pitch season.

Reis is the president of the South Winnipeg Senior Slo-Pitch League, which gets together every Tuesday and Thursday during the spring, summer and fall in the south end of the city — weather permitting — and he says new members are more than welcome to join in the fun.

“The league is growing every year, and we currently have 90 members,” said Reis, who now lives in the West End, having previously lived in Whyte Ridge for 25 years.

Players gather on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for the first part of the season, switching to Tuesday and Thursday mornings in July and August to avoid the heat and humidity at that time of the year. Ideally, he said, play will continue until Thanksgiving. At press time, Reis said he had pencilled in May 12 as the first session of the season.

A field of baseball memories

For most of my life, baseball and softball seem to have dominated my summers. Two purchases I made at the recent Children’s Hospital Book Market got me delving into my baseball memory bank and planning a series of related columns over the summer.

In the book If You Build it…, Dwier Brown, who played a catcher and father in the movie Field of Dreams, writes about playing catch and about father-son relationships. The Twins at the Met covers the history of the Minnesota Twins at their first home, Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MInn.

The summer before COVID-19 hit, I visited the Field of Dreams site in Iowa with my longtime Touring All-Stars slo-pitch teammates Rob McKenzie and Bryan McTaggart, and played catch after coming out of the famous corn field. The Met was where I saw my first major league game the year the Washington Senators relocated to the Twin Cities. With me on that journey were former Elmwood Giants catcher Ted Nakano and a future Canadian 10-pin bowling champion Paul Yoshimasu.

My first real memory goes back to Grade 1 at Laura Secord School. We were playing softball at recess and I was on third base. When the catcher threw the ball back towards the pitcher, I ran home. Unfortunately for me, the pitcher immediately threw the ball back to the catcher. The batter thought it was a pitch but instead of hitting the ball he connected with my forehead. The doctor told my mother I was lucky to survive with nothing more than a few stitches and a scar. I know some readers and teammates will suggest that I never completely recovered.

Transcona wins MMJHL championship

It took seven games, but a Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League champion has been crowned.

The Transcona Railer Express beat the St. Boniface Riels 5-0 on home ice at the Transcona East End Arena on April 28 to bring home the club’s first MMJHL championship. It was the first for a Transcona team since the original Railers club won back-to-back titles in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

A focused and determined young man

Owen Ojoromongo is a 12-year-old, Grade 7 student at École South Pointe School. He is very active and enjoys playing a bunch of sports.

“I am involved in most sports at school such as badminton, soccer, basketball, track, and ultimate Frisbee,” he said. “School is going well. My favorite class is gym class because I am able to be active and have fun taking part in physical activities.”

Away from school, Owen’s favourite sport is soccer, which he plays at club with Bonivital Soccer Club.

“Soccer is the sport I am most focused on,” he said. “Soccer gives me the opportunity to be active, be part of a team, and learn new skills all while having fun. Soccer also gives me the ability to learn sportsmanship and teamwork.”

Railer Express brings home championship

It took seven games, but a Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League champion has been crowned.

The Transcona Railer Express beat the St. Boniface Riels 5-0 on home ice at the Transcona East End Arena on April 28 to bring home the club’s first MMJHL championship.

“It was a long time coming,” said longtime Railer Express coach Derek Gagnon. “We put a lot of hard work in. The players show up to practices in January when it’s really cold. Hard work and dedication has led to the fruition of our long-term goal.”

Captain Nolan Van Den Bussche led the way in Game 7 with four goals, scoring once in the first period, twice in the second, and again in the third, with a fifth goal from Ryder McLure. Sage Delaronde stopped all 29 shots he faced in net.

Match play in Melita

If you are looking to do an extended golf staycation this year, consider the southwest corner of our great province. Taking four or five days, you can play some of the best fairways and greens in Manitoba, and don’t forget to account for a rest day or two between rounds.

There are many great sites and activities just shy of the Saskatchewan border to enjoy. Make your base of operations in any of the great towns in and around the Turtle Mountain region, and you can drive to any of the following locations easily. Start with Waskada’s little six-hole course to warm up or teach the kiddies, then enjoy Hartney, Deloraine, Boissevain, and Reston’s nine-hole clubs.

Once you’re all warmed up, hit the big 18-holers in Killarney, Pleasant Valley, and Oak Island. A must-see on this trip is found by going to the very southwest corner of the Keystone Province, in the town of Melita. Turn right at the giant banana, then follow the signs.

Melita calls its par-37 course the Townsend Valley and, according to the scorecard and all the tee markers, it is celebrating their centennial this year. The clubhouse is fairly large, with a dozen tables inside and another half dozen outside on the covered patio. The patio gives you a wonderful view of the ninth green and the eighth tee, and there’s a licensed restaurant with a full menu. This clubhouse also offers lockers and change rooms downstairs. There are significant elevation changes on this set of links, and the club has plenty of electric carts for those who prefer to ride. Pull carts are also plentiful for those who don’t mind a little mountaineering.

Indigenous, basketball halls announce 2026 inductees

The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council inducted its 2026 Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame class on April 15. The council describes the class of five as incredible leaders whose impact reaches far beyond sport.

Heading the list is curler Kerri Einarson, a proud Red River Métis athlete who, as the hall described, redefining excellence at the highest level. Inducting an athlete such as Einarson, a skip who is still competing and still winning, is very unusual for sports shrines. They traditionally wait until an athlete has retired from competition, but that policy is starting to change as athletes in several sports, such as curling and softball, continue to play at a high level in seniors and masters categories.

Trevor Kidd, another Red River Métis athlete, played goal in the NHL from 1991-92 until 2003-04 and for Canada in the 1992 Winter Olympics. Kevin Hart, of Nisichwayasihk Cree Nation, is a former athlete and national leader dedicated to advancing Indigenous rights and community well-being. Mike Sutherland, of Peguis First Nation, was a builder, coach and mentor for Indigenous athletes. Trechelle Bunn, of the Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, is called an athlete, advocate, and leader who is turning sport into a path for healing and reconciliation.

The Indigenous hall has been inducting the best of the best since 2022. Among those honoured in the past are Angela Chalmers from athletics, hockey players Jocelyn Larocque, Theoren Fleury and Reggie Leach, and Shelly Hruska from ringette. Dakota Collegiate principal Jill Mathez, who was an outstanding multi-sport athlete, was inducted as a builder in the first class along with Faron Asham from baseball and Ron Brown of racquetball.

Local teens make national water polo teams

Four young local water polo players have been selected to wear the maple leaf.

“This is an amazing opportunity for Manitoba athletes to compete at the highest level on the world stage,” David Paz, president of the Manitoba Water Polo Association, said in a statement.

“It’s also exciting for our young athletes to see what is possible and help build a strong future for water polo in Manitoba.”

Jayden Del Campo, an École Secondaire Kelvin High School alumnus who is currently a freshman at McKendree University in Illinois, playing water polo in the NCAA, will play for Team Canada’s 19U squad at the Pan American championships in Bauru, Brazil in September.

Canada Games trials wrap local curling season

Evan Boutet’s Heather team and Ainslee Card of West St. Paul will represent Manitoba in the men’s and women’s divisions of the Canada Games in Quebec City, Que., next February after winning the Canada Games trials on April 19 at the Pembina Curling Club.

Boutet’s team of third Bryce Buchel, second Tiernan Bertrand-Meadows, lead Quinn Lagacé, coach Blaine Malo and assistant coach Deb Popovic took men’s side honours by going 6-0 in round-robin play, which earned them a bye to the final, where they defeated Tyler Graham’s Gimli rink 7-3.

Buchel and Lagacé were members of the Boutet-skipped teams that won CurlManitoba U18 and U20 championships this season. Lagacé also won the Canada Games mixed doubles trials.

In the women’s division, Ainslee Card and her team of third Eva Le Heiget, second Amy Buchalter, lead Skye Spulnick, coach Kelsey Meger, and assistant coach Bryan Buchalter needed a steal on an extra end to defeat Ste. Anne’s Ally Fleming 6-5 in the final.

City golf courses now open

City of Winnipeg golf courses opened for the season on April 25.

Golfers can now book tee times for the Canoe Club, Crescent Drive, Kildonan Park, and Windsor Park golf courses online or by phoning the pro shops or 311.

The city is also offering special rates on green fees at the Canoe Club, Kildonan Park, and Windsor Park golf courses until Saturday, May 9.

Mixed, U-20 mixed doubles champs decided

Colin Kurz of Deer Lodge Curling Club took home the Manitoba mixed curling title on April 12, defeating Austin Peters of Rivers, Man., 9-4 in the final of the weekend tournament at Pembina Curling Club.

Kurz and his team of third Meghan Walter, second Brendan Bilawka and lead Sara Krym put up a perfect 6-0 record on their way to the championship. It was the second provincial win for the quartet, who won the provincial, national and world mixed championships in 2019. They will represent Manitoba at the 2026 national mixed championships in November in Prince Edward Island.

On the same weekend, the Pembina C.C. duo of Eva Le Heiget and Quinn Lagace, coached by Rej Lagace, took home the U-20 mixed doubles championship with 7-4 win over Sierra Smith and Jake Kowalchuk of Gimli, Man. Le Heiget and Lagace also posted a perfect 6-0 record through the championship.

For Lagace, the win was his third provincial title of the year, as he also won the U-18 and U-20 junior men’s championships as a member of the Evan Boutet team.

Pan Am boxers strike gold in Alberta

Fighters from Winnipeg’s Pan Am Boxing Club posted a strong showing at Boxing Canada’s recent 2026 Canada Cup and U17/U19/U23 national championships in Calgary.

The competition left Dylan Martin, Pan Am’s head coach and manager, excited about what the future holds

Damir Kudosov captured gold in the U19 65-kilogram class. Normally a member of Selkirk’s Maulers Boxing Club, he also trained with Pan Am in the months leading up to the Calgary event. A Ukrainian newcomer to Canada, Kudosov has quickly taken to the sport.

“He did amazing,” Martin said. “He had a great win in the quarter-finals and an extremely challenging fight in the semifinals. He lost focus and got hurt in the first round but came back to win. In the finals, Damir stopped his opponent in the first round.”