Doug Zywina
Snitka, Woods win memorial tourney
A playoff hole was needed to determine this year’s champions at the Gary Brandon Memorial Golf Tournament at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club, Sunday afternoon.
Scott Snitka sank a 25-foot birdie putt to give him and partner Shawn Woods the tournament title over Larry Nepinak and Earl Thompson.
Lance Prytula and Drew Tyschinski won the B-side over Mark Odut and Ted Rea.
The first flight champions were Tandri Sigurdson and Jordan Morrisseau, who beat Jake Wiens and Steve Desroches. B-side winners were Keith Hanke and Ken Schulz, who defeated Regan Hedley and Jordan Pernarowski.
Boston Karlson and Jackson Delaurier teamed up to win the second flight championship, beating Seth Gares and Noah Wiens. Lance Nugent and Ian Kerkowich won the B-side, defeating Dean Cooley and Ron Hedley.
Dave Campbell and Shawn Pangman defeated Wayne and Scott Heide to win the third flight title, while Bob Wickman and Larry Johnston beat Mike Van Alstyne and Jon McMullen to win the B-side.
Gerald and Zachary Thiessen beat Mike Sparrow and Rob Bouchard to win the fourth flight, while the B-side champions were Danny Scott and Chris Todoruk, who beat Tom Cyr and Dale Safronetz.
Winners of the fifth flight were Kelly Eastman and Bryan Diboll, who beat Larry Catagas and Dennis McKay, while Brad Carefoot and Gord Fox won the B-side, defeating Dan Lemieux and Scott Heatherington.
The sixth flight was won by the team of Dave Patsack and Kirby Baumung. They defeated David Scott and Carter Scott. Curt Mosionier and Brett Mosionier won the B-side over Jeff and Jordan Campbell.
Mark and Derrick Graham beat Clint Kaminski and James Morran to win the seventh flight. Mark Talbot and Dean Bodnar defeated Kent Wiebe and Randy Vanhumbeck to win the B-side
Parkland athletes prepare for NAIG in Halifax
When the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) take place, July 15 to 23, in Halifax, N.S., the Parkland will be well represented.
The 19U and 16U girls volleyball teams were in Dauphin, Saturday, for practice ahead of the games.
The head coach of the 19U girls is Jayme Menzies of Dauphin and three players from the Parkland - Bianca Beaudin of Dauphin, Randie Houle of Ebb and Flow First Nation and Kiera Haney of Binscarth - are all on the team.
Menzies has been coaching Manitoba’s NAIG volleyball team since 2012, making this her fourth time she has coached at the event.
The selection process saw tryouts in Nelson House, to ensure players in the northern part of the province would have a chance to make the team, as well as a tryout in Winnipeg, with about 120 players hoping to make the grade.
From there, the numbers were cut down for a third and final tryout.
“So I’m so glad there’s interest there and that Indigenous girls are playing the sport and want it. Especially after the pandemic. But we could only choose 12, so that was some tough decisions,” Menzies said.
The team has a mix of experience with some players having played club volleyball, such as Beaudin, as well as two players who just finished their first year of university training.
“But what’s also neat is we have kids from all across the province. We have Dauphin, Ebb and Flow, Binscarth, Cross Lake. It’s not just Winnipeg, whereas typically, the non-Indigenous provincial teams tend to be pretty urban centered. So It’s nice that there’s representation from First Nations, Métis, rural, reserve, city,” Menzie said.
Given the diversity of the team, Menzies hopes the players can open some eyes at the talent available throughout the province and not just in larger urban centres.
“That’s what is so special about this Indigenous provincial team program is there’s so much talent in Métis and First Nations kids. There’s just also sometimes hurdles in the way, whether it’s travel or funding or just the Winnipeg coaches not knowing them,” she said. “This model allows for different kids to get access to the elite programming.”
The games themselves give rural Indigenous athletes from all across North America a chance to display their talent, which they may not get from mainstream programs.
Menzies still has ties to Dauphin as she has family which lives here. So bringing the volleyball program to Dauphin to practice meant a lot to her.
“It is traditional territory to a lot of Nations, so I felt like it was special to me personally, but also for an Indigenous program,” she said. “And Dauphin has welcomed us, so well. The City gave us a bunch of free water bottles and they’re providing lunch today. The DRCSS is giving us this space free of charge. We’ve just been welcomed in the best way.”
Patti Beaudin, Bianca’s mother and DRCSS vice-principal Taylor Schmidt have also helped in a big way to host the team.
Manitoba, Menzies said usually does pretty well in volleyball. And after talking with her players, it looks like the goal will be to come home with a medal.
“There’s going to be a lot of teams there, but our goal is to bring a medal home,” she said.
For Beaudin, being one of the 12 players to make the team out of the more than 100 athletes trying out was an exciting moment.
“It was a very hard process to narrow it down and everything. I was jumping up and down, because I’m only 17 and I’m one of the youngest girls on the team and I really put my all into the tryouts. I was really, really excited when I found out that I made the team,” she said, Beaudin played varsity volleyball with the Dauphin Clippers, as well as club volleyball with the Parkland Vipers.
She feels that experience helped her to make Team Manitoba.
“I would not have been able to make the team without all of my previous coaching. With all of the coaches in Dauphin, I’ve had the opportunity to have amazing coaches. I’ve even had my grandpa to start out with, which was amazing,” she said.
The practice in Dauphin was just the team’s second. They practiced once in December before taking a break for the club volleyball season.
They will hit the court once more before leaving for Halifax in July.
Being used to traveling for practices, staying home while the rest of the team comes here was a nice change of pace for Beaudin.
“It feels pretty good, because I’m used to going there. I’m always traveling to the city (Winnipeg) for volleyball, so it was really nice that they all came to me for a change,” she laughed.
As for the games. Beaudin said they can’t go in with a loser’s mentality.
“You’ve got to go in thinking that we’re going to do the best that we can. We have some very strong athletes. We’re a very strong team, so I think we’ll do very good,” she said. “I’m just really excited for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to the games in July.”
Gabriel Beaudin of Dauphin made the U16 team which will compete in Halifax.
Other Parkland athletes competing in the games are Vayah Burns of Keeseekoowenin First Nation in U16 female athletics, Danika Chartrand of Dauphin in U14 female athletics, Maureen Thompson of Camperville in U19 female badminton, Adlore Richard of Pine Creek First Nation and Jayden
Thompson of Camperville in U14 male basketball, Madeline Amyotte in U19 female basketball, Leland Malcolm of Ebb and Flow First Nation, Mason Chartrand of Pine Creek First Nation and Rylan Chartrand of Pine Creek First Nation in 19U male basketball, Skyla Burns of Keeseekoowenin Band in 19U female soccer, Nastassija Gabriel of Ebb and Flow First Nation in 16U female softball and Trayden Guiboche of Dauphin in 19U male softball.
Clippers girls celebrate first provincial title
For the first time in the team’s history, the Dauphin Clippers girls rugby team are provincial champions.
Just one week after winning the Westman High School Rugby title, the Clippers captured provincial gold in Winnipeg.
Dauphin earned its spot in the gold medal game with a 46-0 win over Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans and clinched the gold medal with a 27-10 win over the Rivers Rams.
Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak said it was an amazing feeling to win provincials, with the players sticking to a team mentality and not playing as individuals being key to their success.
“That’s what was preached and coached all year and they stuck with it. And that’s what led to their success,” he said.
In facing a team they had never seen before in the semifinals, the Clippers just stuck to their own game plan, like they have done all season.
“That’s what we’ve done with every game this year. Every game is a brand new game and you don’t know what you’re coming up against. So that’s out of your control, but you stay with what you can control and that’s the team game and the way that we prepare and practice. And that’s what led to the success,” Sarkonak said.
The Clippers were confident going into the gold medal game against Rivers, a team that had already beaten twice before.
“But again, we kept saying it’s a brand new game, so you never know what’s going to happen. You’ve just got to stick with the team mentality,” Sarkonak said, adding there were points in the game where the Clippers were taking needless penalties and had some core skill letdowns, such as knock-ons and forward passes.
“In the second half, we came out flying and cleaned it up and it led to the success and bringing home the gold,” he said.
Being a provincial champion is hard to describe, Sarkonak said.
“You start with the league title and it’s always hard just to get there. And to cap it off with a provincial title is indescribable. It’s amazing,” he said.
The Clippers finished the season with a perfect 9-0 record and only allowed 30 points in those games.
The Clippers boys won the bronze medal, thanks to a 39-0 win over the Crocus Plains Plainsmen.
Dauphin lost its semifinal to Dakota Collegiate, 5-0.
Clippers coach Aaron Miner said losing by just one try was heartbreaking, especially considering how close they came to scoring themselves.
“We were so close so many times. We were within an arms reach of putting the ball over the try line and popping one in. But it was such a defensive game on both ends. It was hard to make an inch, never mind an arm length,” he said.
The boys were confident going into the bronze medal game, as they were facing the Plainsmen for the fourth time this season.
“We knew all their ins and outs and all their plays and all those things. But we didn’t make it about the game, we made it about the graduating class that game,” Miner said. “We spent special attention to those 12 guys that are moving on or moving back to their home country, with the exchange students. We made it a meaningful game for those guys. The game was all about them and all their successes and learning experiences about rugby, the game, the heritage, the culture, the history of the game throughout all the years. It did have meaning to our group. There were some tears shed and some longer than usual hugs after the win. It was very meaningful.”
As a coach, it is hard for Miner to see the graduating players move on.
“This team was 10 years in the making. When Gerald (Lopez) and a few of us started the Parkland Pirates mini-rugby 10 years ago, this is what we envisioned,” he said.
“We feel we have a good program and we have a great feeder system now. We have high expectations that we end up in the top two minimum in the league every year for many years. And get a chance to compete at provincials yearly.”
The boys finished the season with a record of 7-1 while allowing just 25 points.
Ride ‘em, cowgirl
Junior high and high school rodeo athletes converged on Gilbert Plains for a weekend of rodeo action.
The junior high rodeo took place on Friday, while the high school athletes put their skills to the test, Saturday and Sunday.
Junior high events included bareback, barrel racing, boy’s breakaway, boys goat tying, bull riding, chute dogging, girls’ breakaway, girls goat tying, pole bending, robbon roping, saddle steer, team roping and tie down roping, while high school events included bareback riding, barrel racing, breakaway roping, pictured above, bull riding, goat tying, pole bending, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping and tie down roping.
Clippers make history winning rugby championships
It was their’s to lose and has been all season.
From the first game to the last, the Dauphin Clippers rugby teams dominated the Westman High School Rugby and it culminated with both the girls and boys celebrating the first championship in team history.
After hammering Souris, 67-0 in their semifinal match, last Wednesday, the Clippers girls secured their first league title with a 36-3 win over Rivers.
Tanya Devos and Emma Fox each scored three tries to lead Dauphin past Souris, while Chloe Fletcher had a pair. Megan Thompson, Jana Manzano and Paityn Bourgouin each had a single try and Brooke Miner kicked six converts.
In the championship game, Fox again scored three tries with singles coming from Devos, Thompson and Bree Walker. Thompson added two converts and Ruth Evans had one.
For Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak it was his first championship, as well, after coaching in the league since 2010. He said it felt amazing.
“The girls put in a great effort. There was a lot of building blocks that were put in place for the success of this program and it all starts back with the grassroots,” he said, adding the Clippers benefited from the efforts of the Parkland Pirates youth program coaches Gerald Lopez, Becky McGregor, Codi Harrigan, Mark Symchych and many others that have been involved.
“This year really is the harvest year of the first years of that youth program. And it goes to show what it means for the high school program,” Sarkonak said. “Now they’re graduating out of it and, hopefully, the Dauphin Mavericks men’s team and the Lady Mavericks, with them trying to get back and going again, that they’ll reap the fruits of the labour from that youth program.”
Dauphin led 17-3 at halftime, but the Clippers were their own worst enemy at times, getting called for a number of penalties. They were able to clean up their game in the second half and pulled away from their opponents.
“I told them, they earned the right to play in this game with the work that they put into this season. And, although it was a final, it’s still just another game. And you’ve got to go out there and play your game. Don’t take anybody for granted and just play together as a team. Not individuals. Don’t shoulder anything and work together. And if you do, good things will happen. And it did,” Sarkonak said.
Although he is unsure of what they may face next weekend in Winnipeg, Sarkonak likes his team’s chances at provincials.
“I’m very confident going into provincials with the squad that we have here,” he said.
The girls will open the provincial tournament, Friday at 4:15 p.m., against Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey in one semifinal, while the other will see Rivers battle St. Mary’s Collegiate.
The trip to Ireland earlier this year was a factor in the Clippers successful season. Although not all of the girls made the trip to the Emerald Isle, the ones that went got a leg up on the competition, Sarkonak said.
“They hit the ground running once they came back and they never looked back at all,” he said.
On the boy’s side, Guzman Garcia and Joseph Lopez each had two tries to lead Dauphin to a 38-0 win over Vincent Massey in their semifinal victory.
Rhett Tkachyk and Louis Prevot added singles and Prevot kicked four converts.
Matthew Zurba led the way in the championship game against Crocus Plains, scoring three tries, while Lopez had one in a 26-0 victory.
Prevot had three converts.
Minutes after the trophy presentation, Clippers coach Aaron Miner said it felt a bit surreal.
“It’s been 10 years in the making,” he said.
The Clippers boys were called for a number of penalties throughout the game, but they were unable to overcome them.
“When they took those penalties, they knew that they were legit penalties. They managed to maintain their composure and not talk back to the refs this time. And they kept it in line and made those tackles when they needed to,” Miner said.
Crocus Plains made it interesting several times, coming close to the goalline on a few occasions. But Dauphin’s defence came up strong and kept their opponents from scoring.
Miner credits that to the player’s commitment and dedication.
“I credit it to their going to the gym every day. Their training. Just the physical shape that they came into the season with this year has just been tremendous,” he said. “Each and every one of these guys goes to the gym or runs after practice or does whatever it takes to become a better player. And it was proven today. We’re champions for a reason.”
Like Sarkonak, Miner said the trip to Ireland was a huge factor in the team’s success.
“Over half of them went to Ireland and they were training quite heavily before we went to Ireland, during the Ireland trip and then the training just didn’t stop when we got back. We had another month before our first game once we returned from Ireland and the training intensified,” he said. “It just got even stronger, even harder. The boys knew what we had. They knew that this was our so-called harvest year, we like to call it in rugby, where you harvest, because we had a big group of Grade 12s. It’s just amazing to watch today.”
Although they will face some challenges at provincials, Miner likes his team’s chances.
“It’ll be a great tournament. We’re looking forward to it, this Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg,” he said.
The boys will open, Friday at 3 p.m., against Dakota Collegiate, while Crocus Plains will face St. Paul’s in the other semifinal.
All games will be livestreamed on the Veo Live app. Download the app and follow the link - veolive.page.link/APRZ or look for the Crusaders club logo.
Talent on display
Seven-year-old Oscar Philippe performs AC/DC’s TNT during an evening of amateur talent, hosted by Keith Irwin Productions and Connie Hawkins at Parkway Lanes, Sunday.
Nine local musicians ranging in age from seven to 14 showed off their talent to an appreciative audience.
Irwin is looking for 15 entries for the next talent show he hopes to host in late July.
Anyone interested in performing can contact him at 204-720-0300 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Dinner and a show
Whitmore School Grade 5 student Cali Genaille serves some appetizers, Thursday evening, as the school hosted its first-ever dinner theatre.
After dining on the appetizers, the sold out crowd of 120 people were entertained by the school’s production of Pinocchio, with the main course served during the intermission.
A walk through history
The annual Cemetery Stroll, hosted by local family history group Family Ties, was well attended, Sunday afternoon.
Between 30 and 40 participants were able to walk through Riverside Cemetery and visit the resting places of some of Dauphin’s founding fathers.
The self-guided tour also included the resting place of 15 airmen who died while training in Dauphin during World War 2.
Murray, Karlson look to defend belts
The Battle for the Belts is set to return to the Gilbert Plains Country Club (GPCC), July 23.
Dale Murray and Boston Karlson will be back to defend the titles they won last year and, with registration now open, new challengers are signing up with the idea of dethroning the defending champs.
The tournament is a two-person scramble, with a 10 a.m. shotgun start and it is open to anyone, men, women and children alike.
The registration fee is $130 per team and it includes a meal and prizes.
Registrations must be prepaid by calling Chris Todoruk at 204-648-7989 or Danny Scott at 204-572-7552. The registration deadline is July 17.
There will be a $10,000 hole-in-one, sponsored by Love and Persson Group, as well as a $1,000 hole-in-one.
All proceeds will go towards upgrades at the GPCC.
Clippers look to extend winning streak at zones
The Dauphin Clippers baseball team finally hit the win column in dramatic fashion, last week.
The Clippers and visiting Hamiota Huskies needed extra innings to decide a winner, last Wednesday.
After Hamiota took a 6-5 lead in their half of the eighth inning, the Clippers started the bottom of the inning with a runner on second.
A wild pitch moved the runner to third base and a walk put runners on the corners for Declan Wagner, who proceeded to hit a home run an estimated 370 feet to straight away center field, giving Dauphin a walkoff 8-6 victory, its first win of the season.
The Clippers made it two straight wins, with a 15-8 triumph over the Ste. Rose Celtics, Friday in Ste. Rose.
Clippers coach Don Sheldon said it was a nice way to end the season, even though they gave up more runs than they would have liked against Ste. Rose.
“It was a good way to approach zones here, with a couple of wins under our belts and hopefully, we can keep that momentum going,” he said.
The Clippers showed they are capable of playing good defence, Sheldon said of the game against Hamiota.
“We held a real good baseball team in Hamiota to six runs, which is pretty good considering they were averaging 15 runs a game prior to that,” he said.
The third-ranked Clippers will host the zone playoffs, Wednesday.
They will face the second-ranked Goose Lake Raiders at 10 a.m., while the top-ranked Swan Valley Tigers host either Ste. Rose or Ebb and Flow at 1 p.m.
The winners will meet in the final at 4 p.m., with the winner of that game advancing to provincials.
“They have a good ball club, but I think we improved a lot over the season and they’re going to see a different baseball team than they saw in the first game of the season,” Sheldon said of the Raiders, adding he likes the Clippers chances at zones. “I think we’re going to compete and I expect there won’t be any easy games at zones. My hope is that we will earn a provincial berth,” he said.