Manitoba Organization: Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club

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Presidents | Sources

The idea of a curling rink for Assiniboia began in early 1929, when a group of First World War Veterans living there asked the municipality for a grant to build a curling rink. It was set up with funds set aside as a memorial to the war fallen. This is the reason for the inclusion of the word “Memorial” in the Club’s name.

The first club, with two sheets, was located at Portage Avenue and Banting Street behind the museum building. It was affectionately called the “Root Cellar”. The club did not operate during the days of the Second World war but, by 1946, the desire to curl was starting to take hold.

Members became involved in organizing leagues of men’s and mixed curlers, maintaining the rink and social affairs. The only life member of the first 50 years, Percy Bucknall (1895-1979) was a “jack of all trades”, acting as President, ice maker, draw master and representative to the Manitoba Curling Association through the late 1940s and 1950s.

In 1959, the club purchased 23 acres out in the prairie at Vimy Road and Hamilton Avenue. The first sod was turned in June 1962 and a building with four sheets of ice was ready for play by December. This was natural ice but artificial ice was installed the following year.

On 7 January 1972, the club was destroyed by fire with the arena portion only 60% damaged. In planning to reconstruct, it was decided to increase the club from four sheets to eight sheets.

The club has had many successes on the ice. Teams from the club have won no less than 30 provincial championships. Kerry Burtnyk skipped men’s teams to five Provincial Men’s Championships in 1981, 1988, 1995, 2001 and 2008. He won the Canadian Men’s Curling championship twice, 1981 and 1995. The 1995 team went on the capture the World Men’s Championship. Junior teams won four Canadian Championships: Mert Thompsett in 1979 and 1981, Darcy Kirkness in 1984, and Hugh McFadyen in 1986. In 2019, Colin Kurz skipped a team to the Canadian Mixed Championship.

Presidents

Period	President
1958-1959	Percy Bucknall (1895-1979)
1959-1963	Everett “Earl” Flemington (1921-2007)
1963-1964	Richard William “Bill” Townsend (1916-2010)
1964-1965	John Burns Steel (1908-1993)
1965-1966	Glen Charles Ryan (1929-2013)
1966-1967	John Andrew “Jack” Thompson (1919-2005)
1966-1968	Hugh Roy MacDonald (1914-1988)
1968-1970	Charles Daubney “Charlie” Copeland (1912-2003)
1970-1971	Donald Allen Brough (1932-1993)
1971-1972	Jim Richardson
1972-1973	Johannes “Joe” Sigurdur Laxdal (1940-2006)
1973-1974	Jim Burman
1974-1975	Donald Melbourne “Mel” Rogers (1943-2016)
1975-1976	Robert “Bob” Smith (1942-2014)
1976-1977	Marcel Rivard
1977-1978	Owen Tyson Turner (1931-2020)
1978-1979	William Ralph Bullock (1936-2022)
1979-1980	Al Mayer
1980-1981	Roy Tunny
1981-1982	John Bazarkewich
1982-1983	Walter Wolfe
1983-1984	George E. McCartney (1937-2017)
1984-1985	Dennis Cale
1985-1986	James White “Jim” Kinnaird (1937-2006)
1986-1987	Dave Allan
1987-1988	Ralph Daniel McFadyen (1942-2012)
1988-1989	Tom Stewart
1989-1990	Lawrence George McCausland (1935-2018)
1990-1991	Bob McNaughton
1991-1992	Errol William Klinck (1940-2018)
1992-1993	Dwight Adams
1993-1994	Scott Cale
1994-1995	Eric Montford
1995-1996	James Robert “Bob” Gould (1941-2017)
1996-1998	Ralph Swainson
1998-1999	Derryl Burdiak
2000-2001	Al Kinnaird
2001-2002	Neil Hagan
2002-2003	Don McLean
2003-2004	Andy McMaster
2004-2005	Greg Daly
2005-2006	Doug Rosler
2006-2007	Lou Gorski
2007-2008	Allan Neyedly
2008-2009	Terry Brownlee
2009-2011	Al Seredynski
2011-2013	Paul Batchelor
2013-2015	Horst Wuerfel
2015-2017	Loyd Olson
2017-2018	Bruce Wilkinson
2018-2020	Brian Thomson
2020-?	Ken Onagi

Sources:

“New six sheet club for Kirkfield Park,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 March 1961, page 93.

“Sod turned for new club,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 June 1962, page 23.

“Assiniboine Memorial gives us 138 sheets,” Winnipeg Tribune, 8 December 1962, page 26.

“Curling club hit by fire,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 January 1972, page 1.

“Assiniboine clan plans palace,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 April 1972, page 50.

Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club 1929-1979 - 50 Years of Curling, Publication.

This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 January 2023