A year in local sport

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2021 (1051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Since March 2020, the world of organized sports — like so many worlds — has been turned upside down in light of the ongoing pandemic.

However, as restrictions this year have moved back and forth, the history books will testify to numerous outstanding and impressive achievements and milestones at different levels of sport in southeast Winnipeg in 2021.

Here are a few of those stories:

Scholarship preserves memory of local rower

A local rowing scholarship reached a milestone this year, as organizers of the Peter Nykoluk Rowing Scholarship celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The award was established in honour of its namesake by his family. According to a news release, Nykoluk was a competitive rower who represented the Norwood Flats-based Winnipeg Rowing Club at regattas, and supported his club and colleagues in numerous ways. He died in 1990 as he came to the rescue of teammates involved in an accident that occurred when the University of Manitoba crew was travelling to a regatta in Minneapolis, Minn.

The scholarship, which was first awarded in 1995 and has grown significantly since then, has provided financial assistance to nearly 50 student-athletes since its establishment. It’s awarded in co-operation with the University of Manitoba, and has been supported by the province’s scholarship and bursary initiative. This year, four recipients shared an award of $20,000.

This year’s recipients were Mike Caryk; Hanika Nakagawa; Michael Pelley; and Katie Sierhuis.
Norwood Flats resident Karen Styrchak was the first recipient of the scholarship, and she’s now the chair of the scholarship committee. She said Nykoluk’s parents, Jim and Brenda, spearhead the campaign.

Potter signs professional basketball contract to play in Greece

South St. Vital-raised basketball star Emily Potter signed a professional contract to shoot hoops in Greece in the 2021-22 season.

According to Basketball Manitoba, the 25-year-old Canadian international — who entered her fourth year as a professional this year — joined Esperides Basketball Club. The club is based in Kallithea, which is located just outside Athens, and plays in the Greek women’s national basketball league.

The six-foot-six centre spent the previous two years representing KP Brno in the Czech Republic. Before that, the Glenlawn Collegiate alumna represented the University of Utah with great distinction before graduating in 2018. Potter was the first player in the university’s history to surpass 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 200 blocks.

Her resume also includes representing Canada at the 2019 Pan Am Games, which were held in Lima, Peru.

Olympic official returns home

While millions watched the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at home this summer, Jane Edstrom was one of a select few to have a unique trackside view of the sporting spectacle.

That’s because the Windsor Park resident was one of the Canadian track and field technical officials that were assigned to the recent games, which were unlike any other due to the ongoing pandemic.

Edstrom — a retired phys-ed teacher — has been an international technical official for the last 16 years. Currently, there are only 36 ITOs in the world, and they have to re-certify every four years, Edstrom said.  

Her role in Tokyo was as a secretary to the jury.

“Any team or athlete that’s not happy, whether it’s with someone’s conduct or a result, can orally protest to the referee,” said Edstrom, who — at press time — was also chair of the national officials committee of Athletics Canada.

“The referee then explains the decisions, or lack of them, and if the athlete on the team isn’t happy, they then appeal to the jury, and so on. When a written appeal comes in, that’s when my role kicks in. At the end of the day, we want to make sure the competition is fair, and it’s all about justice and fairness for all.”   

Back-to-back championships for Bonivital

The Bonivital U17 boys’ soccer team captured back-to-back league championships in the fall, as its players ended their youth careers with the southeast Winnipeg-based club on a massive high.

The team’s head coach, Tony Fonseca, has coached the team through the pandemic-era — last year at the U16 level, and again this year. He said the team has performed consistently well in the last two years, remaining undefeated last season, and only losing once this season.

What makes the team’s consistency level even more impressive is the fact that around half of the starting lineup this year were new players, as several players moved on to senior soccer or were sidelined by injury.

Fonseca, who lives in Norwood Flats, has a decade-long association with Bonivital, as his daughters and son have all played for the club at some stage.

As a former player and a big Manchester United fan, he’s enjoyed sharing his passion for the Beautiful Game in a coaching capacity.

They are the champions … again

In the fall, the Université de Saint-Boniface Les Rouges women’s soccer team won the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference championship, repeating its feat as champions.

Les Rouges, the conference’s top-seeded team, retained its title by beating the second-seeded Brandon University Bobcats 2-0 at HLC Field in Brandon on Oct. 31. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the season wasn’t completed.

According to a news release, the St. Boniface-based team took advantage of a strong wind on what’s described as a cold and blustery day, scoring twice with the wind at its back in the first half and then containing its opponents in the second.

“It still kind of feels like a dream,” the team’s head coach Justin Legaré said. “It wasn’t an easy season, to say the least, so it’s a really unbelievable feeling. I feel we’ve earned this right, and I feel like the team would’ve done the same thing last year had COVID-19 not hit.”

Legaré, who also won 2021 women’s soccer coach of the year honours for his contribution, said the team had an uncertain start to the season, but the combination of established core players and new recruits worked hard and kept improving and deserved their title.

And while defenders don’t always grab the headlines in soccer, Legaré is grateful for the efforts of his back four, which he said became the bedrock of the side.

Broncos bring it on

The J.H. Bruns Broncos girls’ volleyball team won the 2021 AAAA provincial championships.

The fourth-ranked Broncos beat the sixth-ranked St. Mary’s Academy Flames (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17) in the championship game at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate on Dec. 4.

Earlier in the day, the Southdale-based team beat the top-seeded Vincent Massey (Wpg) Trojans (20-25, 25-17, 18-25, 19-25) in the semifinal — much to the delight of players and coaches.

The team’s head coach, Kris Funk, said he’s proud of the girls for producing some standout performances throughout the season and during the recent championships, not least because a small roster meant not every player got to line up in her preferred position.

“I’m very proud of them, and I think the girls should be very proud,” Funk said. “They made some sacrifices, and not all of them got to play in the roles they wanted, but they kept the team’s goal in mind, and they didn’t complain. I don’t think some of them got all the individual recognition they deserved, and I hope this experience will make them better players and coaches. I’m hoping some of them might come back and help coach the team one day.”

Funk said it was a great experience to be back on the court this season after the restrictions of the pandemic, and the fact all the girls have played club volleyball at some point — “they all have a very high volleyball IQ” — meant practices and games were very much a collaborative effort for everyone involved.