JASTER’S JABBERINGS – Westmanites up for Sport Manitoba awards this weekend

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2019 (2355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just a few random thoughts this week.

• There are quite a few Westmanites up for Sport Manitoba awards at its Night of Champions this weekend. Israel Potter, a 10-pin bowler from Brandon, is up for junior male athlete of the year while trap shooter Pat Lamont of the Wheat City is a finalist for open male athlete of the year. Dave Martine of Brandon is also up for male coach of the year, with Trina Bandura of Brandon nominated for outstanding volunteer of the year for her work with KidSport.

Meanwhile, a pair of Brandonites, Ken Shepherd (ringette) and Martine (baseball) are finalists for the Konica Minolta Dr. Jack Hunt Memorial Award for learn to train/train to train at Sport Manitoba’s coaching impact awards banquet, while Neepawa’s Bryce Koscielny (track and field) is up for the Peter Williamson Memorial Award for train to compete/train to win. Vincent Massey High School’s Heather Baranyk has a nominee for the Peter Dick Award for school system coaches.

The Coach of the Year gala will take place in Winnipeg on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the Night of Champions banquet following at 7 p.m. Good luck to all of our locals.

• I certainly hope the Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings and Westman Wildcats don’t let their final games dictate how they view it. Neither team won a game in their respective westerns this weekend, but those young players showed a lot of heart. The Wildcats were very young and won the program’s first Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League title while the Wheaties dealt with more adversity (mid-season coaching change and losing their captain to injury before the playoffs) than most teams do and still managed to claim the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League crown. Those banners will hang forever even though they didn’t qualify for nationals, and everyone associated with those two organizations should hold their heads high.

• Well done to Rylan Thiessen of the Midget Wheat Kings for winning a $1,200 scholarship for post-secondary education at the Telus Cup westerns based on community involvement, scholastic prowess and team approach.

• Tip of the hat to Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim, who was voted by his Philadelphia Flyers teammates as the National Hockey League team’s most improved player.

• Congratulations to Souris product Rick Scott on being named the Dalhousie University Tigers’ coach of the year at the school’s annual awards banquet.

• Just a reminder to all under-12 and U14 softball parents that Westman Softball is hosting a player evaluation for all house-league games at the Brandon Curling Club today. It runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m., for U12 players and 7:30 to 9 p.m., for U14s.

• The NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday with five games scheduled, including the Winnipeg Jets hosting the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their first-round series. Although Winnipeg hasn’t played great leading into the playoffs, I’m going to take them winning the series is five and facing the Nashville Predators in the second round.

• There’s a lot going on this weekend if you’re looking for something to do. Westman Volleyball Club is hosting a 13U girls’ tournament at Crocus Plains on Friday and Saturday, while the Brandon Bluefins are putting on a swim meet at the Sportsplex on Saturday and Sunday. The John Keogh Festival is expected to return this weekend as a warmup for the high school rugby season, while the AAA Hockey Challenge begins with the 2006 and 2011 boys action at the Sportsplex and Keystone Centre arenas.

» cjaster@brandonsun.com

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