Doug Zywina
Clippers find positives despite opening season losses
The Dauphin Clippers baseball team opened its Prairie West High School Baseball League season with a pair of losses.
The Clippers dropped an 18-8 decision to the Neelin Spartans, Wednesday in Dauphin, before suffering a 10-9 defeat at the hands of the Major Pratt Trojans of Russell, Sunday in Dauphin.
In his first year coaching the Clippers, Mark Graham has been impressed with the team’s pitching, especially against the Trojans.
Check this week's Herald for the full recap.
Clippers girls rout opposition to start the season
The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams opened the season last week.
The girls opened their season with a pair of lopsided wins, beating the Swan Valley Tigers, 94-0, Apr. 30, in Swan River, before beating the Vincent Massey Vikings, 95-0, Friday in Brandon.
The boys lost to their season opener, 34-14, to the Crocus Plains Plainsmen. Friday’s game against the Vikings was postponed and rescheduled to May 15 in Brandon.
Raylyn Koshowski led the way against Swan Valley with three tries. Paitin Bougouin and Megan Thompson had two tries each, while Ruth Evan, Mai Maguet, Bree Walker, Alma Schlapfer, Scarlet Ruiz, Felicity Sahulka, Desiree Flower, Ashley Korney and Mila Heschuk added singles.
Thompson added five converts and Walker had two.
Scoring for Dauphin on Friday were Walker and Schlapfer with three tries each and Evans, Tanya Devos, Kiersten Vandekerkhove, Thompson, Breanna Gryba, Sahulka, Ruiz, Ruth Dandeneau and Hailey Garlinsky, all with singles.
Thompson recorded seven converts and Walker had two.
After the depth lost from last year’s roster, Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak knew they would have an athletic squad this year.
“But would be a little more inexperienced compared to last year. But they’ve come out of the gate running, that’s for sure. It’s been amazing to watch,” he said.
The season opener against Swan Valley, Sarkonak said, was the team’s most complete game, even going back to last season, when they went 9-0.
“It was just run, catch, pass. Just running hard lines, committing defenders and passing. It was a treat to watch, really. It was not just one or two people controlling the game. It was a complete team game,” he said.
And that, he added, is what coaches look for.
“When we talk to the girls, we tell them that if you’re wanting to go higher in rugby, those high performance coaches, university coaches, they don’t look to see who does the scoring. They watch what leads up to it. What created that opportunity. They look for the skill set,” Sarkonak said. “They know that there’s finishers out there and there’s people that can go out there and score. But they really want to see the skill set. And that’s what it seems to be happening right now in these first two games.”
Owen Tyschinski and Josh Yakielashek had the Dauphin boy’s tries and Colton Miner had two converts.
Clippers coach Aaron Miner felt the Clippers went into the game a little overconfident after the John Keogh Rugby Festival, Apr. 20. in Brandon.
“The boys felt they had it won before the game even started. And we were surprised by what they brought. They obviously didn’t show all their cards at the John Keogh,” he said. “We heard some of their bigger, stronger players were at a football camp that weekend. So we weren’t totally surprised. But we were definitely surprised when they showed up with six boys in their pack that definitely outsized our pack.”
Miner feels his team needs to bulk up in the front end of the pack.
“Not to make any excuses. They played a great game and they were definitely the better team on that day. But we were missing a few or our key players. Once we get our key players back in the lineup for Monday’s rematch against Crocus, I think we’ll be okay. I think it will be a pretty even game,” he said.
Both Clippers squads hosted Crocus Plains last night in the one and only home game of the regular season.
The girls won their game, 52-0, while the boys picked up their first win of the season, beating the Plainsmen, 19-14.
Both teams will be in Souris, next Monday, to face the Sabres.
Co-op jumps on board as major sponsor for upcoming summer games
Dauphin Co-op has jumped on board as a major sponsor of the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games powered by Manitoba Hydro.
On Friday, Dauphin Co-op donated $50,000 to the games, providing a variety of in-kind support in the form of fuel and food.
This investment will help offset operational costs for more than 900 competing athletes, coaches and volunteers participating throughout the week.
Dauphin Co-op general manager Lorne Eiffert said it was an easy decision to support to the summer games.
The full details are in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Kings host annual spring camp
The Dauphin Kings got a glimpse into the team’s future at its annual spring camp, this past weekend at Credit Union Place.
More than 100 players hit the ice hoping to make an impression with the team’s coaches and scouts.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said there were two teams of 2009-born players, who will be eligible for next year’s draft.
“We’re looking for a watch list of players to watch for next season and get more comfortable with the guys that we’re going to draft in 2025,” he said. “It’s great to see those kids out. It was tough, because last year we had three teams. But the MJHL is running one this year at the end of May, so a lot of players decided, because we were going to be there, they would skate there. Still, we had a very good turnout.”
There were also four teams of players born between 2006 and 2008.
“Those kids are a lot of our list kids, a lot of kids that we want to draft this year. So it was really good for us to see them skate. Really good for our scouts to see them skate,” Hedley said. “And then we’ll put our list together after camp of the ‘08s that were here and rate them and rank them and get into a situation where we’re comfortable at the draft.”
Hedley liked what he saw on the ice from the young skaters, noting U.S. scout Andy Kubas brought some players from south of the border to camp.
“We’re really happy with those guys. We’re happy with some of the talent we have in the ‘08, ‘06 group and the ‘07 group from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. So it’s a good mixture of players and there’s some real good skill sets out here,” he said.
Hedley anticipates inviting 10 to 15 players back for the fall camp. He noted there were other players who could not attend the spring camp as they were competing at the Telus Cup U18 national championship with the Brandon Wheat Kings, which lost in the final to a team from Quebec.
There were also other players who could not make it to the spring camp, but will be here in the fall.
Since the season ended, Hedley has been busy getting ready for the spring camp and will now shift his focus to the league’s annual general meeting where the schedule for the 2024-25 season will be set. The draft will take place, June 2.
A new champion was crowned last week when the Winkler Flyers beat the defending champion Steinbach Pistons, 5-4 in overtime, Friday in Winkler.
Hedley said the Flyers were a big, heavy team that played heavy all season.
“It was well deserved. They’re a good team. Probably the heaviest group of forwards in the league. They had a great run. I offer my congratulations,” he said. “It’s always good to see different teams and the parity in the league that different teams are winning championships. I think they’ll represent our league very well.”
Mavericks getting ready for a new season
The Parkland Mavericks have hit the pitch to prepare for the upcoming season.
The Mavericks will play in Rugby Manitoba’s Men’s Division 2, with five other squads. Teams will play 10 games, one home and one away against each of the other five teams.
The Mavericks practiced outside for just the second time last week.
“This week was really the kickoff to the preseason and practicing, working towards the regular season that kickoffs, May 25,” said Mavericks player-coach Shawn Sarkonak.
After Rugby Manitoba failed to schedule any games for the team last year, the provincial organization changed things up to cater to each division’s strengths.
Check this week's Herald for more!
Games committee leaving a legacy at local high school
The legacy of the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games powered by Manitoba Hydro in Dauphin will include a new rubberized track, as well as a new multi-use athletics pad at the DRCSS.
The announcement was made Friday at the track behind the local high school.
The project will cost $1.1 million, backed by a coalition of funding partners, including the Province of Manitoba, Mountain View School Division, Sport Manitoba, and the Dauphin and District Community Foundation.
Host committee co-chair Carla Wolfenden said the new track will be a huge addition to the community.
“It’s not just a games focus. This project is going to serve our whole region for years to come. Decades. It’s an investment in our youth. And just the benefits that come out of it, there’s so many intangibles. It’s going to be really nice to have,” she said.
Construction is expected to begin in late May and will be completed in time for the summer games.
Besides a new track, there will also be a new 100-foot by 60-foot multi-use pad where the runways for long jump are currently located. It will include new rubberized lanes for long jump, as well as an outdoor basketball court.
Having multiple funding partners was important to make the new track a reality.
“We’ve had support that we’re just so thankful for. And, honestly, it wouldn’t have happened without them. We were happy with just paving the track or doing a new asphalt track. But the support was there and we kept pursuing it and now we can rubberize. It’s kind of like icing on the cake,” Wolfenden said.
The volunteer drive did well at the recent Kin Business Expo, but Wolfenden said there is still a need for more help.
“Our goal is to have 1,000 by the end of May. And we’ll still need more beyond that. So we’re by no means finished recruiting. We’re about a quarter of the way there, maybe,” she said. “We know the support is there. When we talk to people in the street, people are still saying, ‘I want to volunteer, I just don’t know when I can yet.’ We know they’ll come.”
DRCSS Principal Taylor Schmidt feels the school is fortunate to have the summer games committee working with it to upgrade the track.
“It’s in our back yard, literally. So having the opportunity to use such a elite level track to support all of our students. It’s not just for our track team, but for all of our students of our Phys. Ed. programs, all of our sports programs. To be able to have a training facility like this in our back yard, just the opportunity to have it is second to none,” he said.
Having a multi-use pad for long jump and basketball is a welcome addition.
“That was quite nice. The pad out there, it can be used as a multi-surface pad, but looking to create a basketball court, again, in our back yard, for all of our students and for everybody, that was a bonus when they were sharing that with us, as well,” Schmidt said. “It’s going to be a wonderful addition to our whole campus. It’s going to bring people. This facility is going to be able to host major events. The opportunities are endless.”
The summer games will be held, Aug. 11 to 17.
Clippers tuning up for short season
The short high school baseball season is about to get underway, with the Dauphin Clippers aiming for a berth at provincials.
The team began practicing in mid-March and will likely field a roser of 16 players.
Mark Graham will coach the team this year. He said it is a unique opportunity since he hasn’t coached in a while and hasn’t seen any of the players in action.
“So seeing what I’ve seen in the gym so far, we’ve got a fairly young group and a lot of them have played ball at a fairly competitive level. So the young guys have been pretty impressive,” he said. “Mix in a couple of the older guys and it’s a decent crop. But until we get outside, it’s pretty hard to tell too much of what’s going on.”
The Clippers are back in the Prairie West High School Baseball League and will play six games against teams in the North Division.
Find out when the season begins and more in this week's Herald!
Clippers use rugby festival in Brandon as tune up for upcoming season
The Dauphin Clippers boys and girls rugby teams were in Brandon, Saturday for the annual John Keogh Rugby Festival.
The girls won both of their games, beating Crocus Plains, 48-5, and scoring a 72-5 win over Vincent Massey.
A third game was more of a controlled scrimmage between the Crocus Plains rookies and Dauphin rookies. The reason for this, according to Clippers girls coach Shawn Sarkonak, is because Crocus Plains had a late influx of about 15 players.
“And they’re now sitting around 38 (players), so we wanted to make sure that everyone got some quality field time to get some good experiences,” he said.
Overall, it was a good tournament for the Clippers, with Sarkonak noting it was the first time the tournament has been held since 2019 because of the pandemic and adverse weather.
Get the full rundown in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Flooding causes delay in start to golf season at GPCC
The start of the golfing season in Gilbert Plains will be delayed due to flooding.
According to Gilbert Plains Country Club general manager Scott McCallum, there was about 2-1/2 feet of water flooding the course.
“Water was coming in the back door of the clubhouse. We’ve got areas of the clubhouse that were flooded. Our whole maintenance shed, our new hall, that had water in it. And that’s just speaking of the buildings and the equipment, never mind the golf course that has to be repaired,” he said. “I’m not going to downplay the magnitude of this. It’s a daunting task. Sometimes it can get you down, because you work so hard on a small budget to make that golf course as beautiful as we can. And for events like this to happen, it’s definitely difficult.”
Working in the country club’s favour is the dedication of its board of directors, as well as the many volunteers and staff, to making the course look its best.
“The municipality has been absolutely unbelievable in supporting us. The provincial government, for that matter, has been out to see the damages and we’re really hoping they can get behind us and help us with it,” McCallum said. “We’re stepping in the right direction. We’ve just got to execute and get the golfers out on the golf course.”
Clean up will be an ongoing project, McCallum said. The focus right now, he added, is getting the facility open and golfers out on the course.
“But clean up is going to be an ongoing endeavour, for sure. There’s some things that might not affect the golfers that have to be done and those will be put in priority and we’ll deal with that as we go,” he said. “But as of right now, we’re just focusing on trying to get the fairways and the greens and everything cleaned up and ready for the golfers. And, obviously, we’ve got some pretty big icebergs that we’ve got to get rid of off the golf course, as well.”
McCallum said about seven or eight holes have been affected by the flooding. But the goal is still to open the course in early May.
To celebrate the upcoming golf season, a Tee Off to Summer, presented by the Battle For the Belts, will be held, May 4. The evening will feature the Duelling Keys, with prizes and food available.
Tickets are available by calling McCallum at 204-648-7834.
Kin Business Expo proves popular
he Dauphin Kin Club’s annual business expo proved to be a hit with attendees and vendors alike.
Kin Club secretary and expo chair Candice Taylor said there were 103 different vendors this year.
“We had a lot of return vendors, but we also had 20 or 30 new vendors that have never been to the expo before. So it was great to have a variety,” she said, adding the weekend went well. “Everything went really smoothly. We love and appreciate all the vendors that come in and support our community. Without them we wouldn’t be able to have an expo. It was great to see such a good flow of traffic throughout the weekend. The patrons were really great. We never had any issues, so it was wonderful.”
Among the highlights were the Kin Bar, which was something new, as well as children’s entertainer Doodles the Clown.
Overall, Taylor said it was a wonderful weekend.
“It was a lot of hard work. A lot of blood and sweat goes into it. But overall, I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the vendors and that’s our goal, is to promote our community, promote vendors and have a good sense of community. It was awesome.”