Earl Cheasley, a local softball umpire, will be entering the Softball Indicator Club at the 2019 Blue Convention for umpires in Montreal next month. The award first handed out in 1997 is a high quality medallion and "the objective of this Club is to acknowledge contributions made by individual umpires to the officiating program across Canada." Earl will be entering his 16th season as an umpire and has amassed an impressive resume of work in the process.  In addition to being the UIC or DUIC for eight Provincial, Western Canadian or Softball Canada Championships, the level IV umpire has also officiated at 12 Canadian or Western Canadian Championships. He currently serves on Softball Manitoba’s Umpire Development Committee as the Education Officer.

The Hockey Brandon Awards and Coaches' Banquet was held last evening at Houstons. The winner of each category is listed below. ARNOLD NICHOL MEMORIAL AWARD - To the most dedicated coach(es) in the Initiation/Timbit program. WINNER: Mike Baranyk, Trevor Bell, Tim Lang, Roland Richard (Timbits Canadiens) DON ROBERTSON MEMORIAL AWARD - Presented to the most dedicated coach with the House League. WINNER: Terrill Swaney (Bantam Murray Auto Group Flyers) TORY CAMPBELL MEMORIAL AWARD - To the hardest working player in House League. WINNER: Braden Clarke (Bantam Murray Auto Group Flyers) HOCKEY BRANDON EXECUTIVE AWARD: Team Manager of the Year for House League WINNER: Chris Cels (atoMc Yellow Bruins & Bantam Murray Auto Group Flyers) WINNER: Laurie Clarke (Bantam Murray Auto Group Flyers) LEECH PRINTING AWARD - Presented to an individual (coach, manager, parent, etc) who has demonstrated commitment, dedication & sportsmanship in Female Hockey. WINNER: Monica Grift (Female Bantam Wheat Kings) ASHLEY NEUFELD BRANDON SOURCE FOR SPORTS ULTIMATE TEAMMATE AWARD - Will be presented to a female player registered within Hockey Brandon who must exhibit many if not all of the following traits/practices - dedication, perseverance, respect, inspirational, positive attitude, coachable and possess strong work ethic/ability. Player must be nominated by a current teammate, coach or Hockey Brandon board member. WINNER: Emma Ramsey (Female Bantam Wheat Kings) BARB LEBLANC MEMORIAL AWARD - Will be presented to the female player of the year, who shows outstanding dedication, commitment and sportsmanship during the season on & off the ice. WINNER: Taylor Bell (Female Bantam Wheat Kings) PRECISION TOYOTA COACH OF THE YEAR - Presented to the "Rep" team coach of the year. To the coach who best exemplifies good qualities as a coach. WINNER: Dave Newman (Peewee Minor AA Wheat Kings) TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD: To a long standing Hockey Brandon member who is a graduating Bantam AAA player. Who exhibits strength of character both on and off the ice while displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game. WINNER: Cayden Glover WAYNE ROBERTSON MEMORIAL AWARD - Team Manager of the Year within A, AA, AAA Wheat Kings. WINNER: Harry Crossin (Bantam AAA Wheat Kings) BOB GILLIES MEMORIAL AWARD - To an individual who provides excellent support to a team in a non-coaching role. Someone who is always there to carry pucks, water bottles, jerseys, etc. Someone who is positive, supportive and someone who has spent a long time in the type of role. WINNER: Gary Ward GLEN PARKER (PRESIDENT'S) AWARD - In recognition of exemplary service to youth hockey in Brandon WINNER: Sharon Lilley

Source: ACC Blog The Assiniboine Cougars women’s hockey team are headed to The Lone Star State later this month for the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Nationals, which runs March 27 – 31, 2019. “Communities across Westman will be cheering for the Cougars from 1,800 km away as the team competes for the top spot at this year’s championship,” said Athletics Director Beth Clark. “The team is ready and rarin’ to go, as they say in Texas.” The Cougars will descend on Frisco, just north of Dallas, Texas, ready for their first game on March 27, where they will face off against the Eastern Region’s #5 ranked Mercyhurst University Lakers at 10:30 a.m. The Cougars are currently ranked #2 in the West Region, with 18-6-1 in the regular season. The team’s only losses during league were to the #1 ranked Minot State University Beavers. This is the second consecutive year the team has competed in the ACHA and the second year they have qualified for the national championship. In addition to the Cougar’s first game against the Mercyhurst University Lakers on March 27, they also have games set against #3 (East) ranked Northeastern University Huskies on the 28th and the #6 (East) Rowan University on the 29th. “The girls have grown so much this season. They understand the systems we run and the principles we believe in: team, respect, and hard work,” said head coach Tony Bertone. “If they bring these three things to the rink and in life, they will be successful and we will do well at nationals.” “This year's team has a better idea of what to expect at the national championship,” says captain and Assiniboine Practical Nursing student, Mariah McCue. “Many of us experienced it last year and the knowledge gained is shared with new players. We have aggressive forwards and our scoring is more balanced this year. Our defensive corps are mostly veterans backed by a strong goalie so we are more solid this year.” Supporting the Cougars team this year on the ground in Texas is a student-run production team. Interactive Media Arts (IMA) instructor Murray Oliver and students will be capturing games, athlete interviews, and providing post-game video highlights and recaps for media outlets in Westman. The IMA production team will also provide game time and behind-the-scenes coverage on the Cougar’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. Games will be livestreamed on the ACHA’s YouTube Channel. Schedules, scores, and more may be found at pointstreaksites.com/view/achanationals.

Kypling Black didn't start wrestling until October of 2018 but that didn't stop her from claiming the provincial title in the U13 division (46kg weight class) at an event held over the weekend in Winnipeg. In the final she secured a dominant victory in each of her three bouts--2 by pin and 1 via point spread. Each bout normally consists of 2 rounds of 2 minutes each unless a wrestler manages to pin their opponent or outpoint them by a 10-point margin. Kypling was first introduced to the sport by a friend at school who wrestled and convinced her to give it a try. She trains Sundays at BAMMA - Brandon Academy of Mixed Martial Arts. In addition to wrestling Kypling also plays rugby and volleyball however wrestling is now her favorite sport as she really enjoys the competition and loves the bouts.

The Brandon Black Knights won all four of their games on the weekend to lay claim to the Male Atom Rural A2 title. The team put on a dominant performance all weekend in Ste. Agathe outscoring their opposition 40-10 in the process. In the weekends final encounter the Knights toppled the Brandon Crush by a score of 9-1. Roster: Owen Stanley Ethan Furtney (AP) Cody Johanson (AP) Dylan Moore Ashton Shields Noah Jacobson Marcus Beardy Dylan Bolack Ethan Stanley Ashton Kalmakoff-Bird Griffin Lowery Riley Dutchak Keaton Lowery Khaysen Robbins-Melsted William Ross Jaxon Derlago