Submitted Brandon, MB - August 3, 2018 - The Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association bids farewell to Westman’s largest indoor volleyball tournament, Sun of a Beach, after 30 year celebration.   In November of 2017, the Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association (ACCSA) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the community event, Sun of a Beach. The anniversary celebration hosted 60 teams, which included 420 players and featured a grand prize giveaway of a tropical vacation for two, a fan favorite tradition costume contest, and a celebratory social at Houstons Country Roadhouse.   2017 not only marked the 30th anniversary of the tournament, but also the third year of the event being held in November. The decision to move the tournament from March to November was intended to make the tournament more accessible to Assiniboine students and college alumni. Annual event reviews identified no significant increase in student or alumni participation and highlighted the need for a substantial investment in equipment and event expenses would be required.   In a series of meetings of the ACCSA Council, it was determined that the long-standing tournament should be retired. “It’s difficult to say goodbye to such a well-established event within our community, but it was the right decision for the sake of our students. We are pleased to have been able to see it off with our 30 year celebration. Our team is looking forward to implementing initiatives that will better serve ACC students in the future.” - Tulsa Labonté, 2018-2019 ACCSA President.   The Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association is a not-for-profit organization, which exists to support students attending the college. Our mission is to encourage student success by being the voice of the students while enhancing the student life experience.  For more information about the Assiniboine Students’ Association and our events, please visit accstudents.com.

Brandon University Athletics Release BRANDON – The first installment of the Investors Group BIRT Cup under the Bobcats' banner was a success. The alumni/charity tournament at the Wheat City Golf Course on Friday, July 13 raised $29,000 for several sports-related community initiatives. The funding will go towards the Boyd Stadium football fields project, the Brandon Boxing Club, the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex and a newly established scholarship award for Brandon University student-athletes. "Our Bobcat BIRT Cup organizing committee is proud to give back to worthwhile causes," said BU Athletic Director Russ Paddock. "We had great representation from athletic alumni and outstanding support through our positive relationships with the corporate community." "Investors Group's Western Manitoba Regional Office was proud to be the lead sponsor of the 2018 Bobcat BIRT Cup and we applaud the support this golf tournament provides to the local sports community," said Dennis Hunt, Executive Senior Financial Consultant with Investors Group. "We have had a longstanding partnership with Brandon University over the years, supporting multiple projects including the construction of the Healthy Living Centre and the growth of the BU Athletics program. We are pleased to be associated with a post-secondary institution that prides itself on being at the forefront of education in western Manitoba and provides the best student-athlete experience as possible." Brandon University Athletics took over the tournament from Bobcat hockey alum Scott Hlady, who ran the BIRT Cup independently for 10 years. Hlady and his foursome of Dwayne Gylywoychuk, David Anning and Jody Norminton captured the 2018 championship on a count back after finishing in a three-way tie for top spot at 14-under. "Winning the prestigious trophy and passing the BIRT Cup torch onto the Bobcats was a special moment," said Hlady. "I know the tournament is in good hands moving ahead and I am excited to defend the title next year." The business community extended a huge helping hand to the Bobcats with 70 sponsors supporting the tournament. A number of pro athletes also donated autographed items that were put towards a raffle fundraiser. BU Sports Wall of Famer Mike McEwen, CFLer Landon Rice, Matt Calvert of the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues' defenceman Joel Edmundson and Stanley Cup champion Devante Smith-Pelly of the Washington Capitals made contributions. BU hockey alum Kit Harrison won the raffle's grand prize -- a Vegas Golden Knights' Travel Package. Harrison's trip includes flight, hotel and two tickets to watch the Knights face the visiting Winnipeg Jets on February 22, 2019.

The Smitty’s Terminators claimed gold at the Softball Maniutoba U19 ‘A’ Girls’ Championship at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex in Brandon on Sunday afternoon. On a day that featured a five-hour rain and weather delay, Smitty’s completed a perfect 5-and-0 round-robin with a 10-2 victory over the Manitoba Thunder. Sarah Fines completed a 14-pitch at-bat with a grand slam home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for Smitty’s while Iliana Dyck picked up the win on the mound for Smitty’s.   Megan Wong added three hits and three runs scored for Smitty’s. Meanwhile, the Manitoba Thunder and Winnipeg Lightning had to play a tiebreaker to decide 2nd and 3rd-place after both teams finished the round-robin with 3-and-2 records. The Thunder got three hits and three runs scored from lead-off hitter Cameryn Maykut in a 10-1 victory in the tiebreaker game.  Cierra Cyr picked up the win on the mound for the Thunder while Nicole Hammersly took the loss for the Lightning.  Kayla Barnabe drove in Winnipeg’s only run. The Terminators, Thunder and Lightning will all represent Manitoba at the Softball Canada U19 Girls’ Championship in Surrey, British Columbia next month. Final Results   Team Wins Losses Smitty’s Terminators 5 0 Manitoba Thunder 3 2 Winnipeg Lightning 3 2 Central Energy 2 3 Westman Magic 1 4 Manitoba Angels 1 4 Sunday’s Games Smitty’s 10 MB Thunder 2 MB Angels 5 Central 3 Wpg Lightning 3 Westman 1 *End of Round-Robin* Tiebreaker #1 (To decide 2nd/3rd Place) MB Thunder 10 Wpg Lightning 1 Tiebreaker #2 (To decided 5th-place and spot in Westerns) Westman 5 MB Angels 3 Sunday’s Game Highlights Game #13 – Smitty’s Terminators 10 Manitoba Thunder 2 Sarah Fines completed a 14-pitch at-bat with a grand slam home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for Smitty’s while Iliana Dyck picked up the win on the mound for Smitty’s.  Megan Wong added three hits and three runs scored for Smitty’s. Game #14 – Manitoba Angels 5 Central Energy 3 The Angels picked up their first win of the Championship by scoring three runs on the top of the fourth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit.  Rikki Foster-Hunt had three hits and scored a pair of runs for the Angels while Kassidy Cunningham had a two-run home run for the Energy. Game #15 – Winnipeg Lightning 3 Westman Magic 1 Gill Woodward had two hits and scored a run for the Lightning while also picking up the win for the Lightning while Arjana Eilers took the loss for the Magic. Tiebreaker Game #1 (to decided 2nd/3rd Place) – Manitoba Thunder 10 Winnipeg Lightning 1 The Thunder got three hits and three runs scored from lead-off hitter Cameryn Maykut in a 10-1 victory in the tiebreaker game.  Cierra Cyr picked up the win on the mound for the Thunder while Nicole Hammersly took the loss for the Lightning.  Kayla Barnabe drove in Winnipeg’s only run. Tiebreaker Game #2 (to decided 5th-place and a spot in Westerns) – Westman Magic 5 Manitoba Angels 3 Arjana Eilers and Kaitlyn Slator had two hits and scored two runs apiece to pace the Magic to the victory and earn Westman a spot in next month’s Western Canadian Championship in Unity, Saskatchewan.  Rebecca Stewart tossed a complete game for the Magic to pick up the pitching win.  Miranda Holod had a two-run home run in a losing cause for the Angels.

Team Wins Losses Smitty’s Terminators 4 0 Manitoba Thunder 3 1 Winnipeg Lightning 2 2 Central Energy 2 2 Westman Magic 1 3 Manitoba Angels 0 4 Sunday’s Games MB Thunder vs. Smitty’s, 10:00 a.m. MB Angels vs. Central, 10:00 a.m. Wpg Lightning vs. Westman, 12:00 p.m. Note: Potential Tiebreakers to follow completion of round-robin. Saturday’s Results Smitty’s 12 Central 4 MB Thunder 14 Westman 1 Wpg Ligtning 6 MB Angels 2 Smitty’s 5 MB Angels 1 MB Thunder 6 Wpg Lightning 5 Central 8 Westman 5 Game Highlights Game 7 – Smitty’s Terminators 12 Central Energy 4   Jamie Odlum and Paige Shwaluk had three hits and scored three runs apiece to lead the Terminators to their third straight victory.  Iliana Dyck picked up the win for Smitty’s while Kassidy Cunningham took the loss for Central.  Hailey Yaskiw had a two-run home run for the Energy. Game 8 – Manitoba Thunder 14 Westman Magic 1   The Thunder jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning and cruised to the victory over the Magic.  Madison Towle homered, singled twice and scord three runs to pace the Thunder offensively.  Jenn Smith picked up the pitching win while Rebecca Stewart took the loss for the Magic.  Kaitlyn Slator scored the lone run for Westman. Game 9 – Winnipeg Lightning 6 Manitoba Angels 2   The Lightning grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning and went on to the victory.  Chloe Henderson and Gill Woodward had two hits and scored a pair of runs each for the Lightning while Nicole Hammersly went the distance to pick up the pitching win.  Loren Proven had two hits and scored a run for the Angels while Alex Paluck took the loss. Game 10 – Smitty’s Terminators 5 Manitoba Angels 1   The Terminators scored five runs in the top of the 1st inning and went on to improve to 4-and-0.  Claire Hiebert had a two-run double in the 1st inning for Smitty’s while Jenna Parfeniuk went the distance in the picking up the pitching win.  Rikki Forst-Hunt singled and scored the Angels lone run while Miranda Holod took the loss on the mound for the Angels. Game 11 – Manitoba Thunder 6 Winnipeg Lightning 5   The Thunder scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to pull out the walk-off victory.  Cameryn Maykut hit a solo home run and Logan Angers had the game-winning RBI single in the 7th for the Thunder.  Angers finishes with three hits and two runs scored for Manitoba.  The Lightning scored all five of their runs on the 3rd inning. Game 12 – Central Energy 8 Westman Magic 5   Central scored three runs on the bottom of the 1st inning and led the rest of the way in evening their record at 2-and-2.  Kassidy Cunningham had three hits and scored three runs to pace the Energy offensively while Ashton Dueck was the winning pitcher.  Jasmin Pipella took the loss for the Magic while Brooke Roeges hit a two-run homer for Westman.

The Wheat Kings have traded veteran right-winger Gunnar Wegleitner to the Kootenay Ice.  In return the Wheat Kings receive for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.   The Neepawa Natives announced that current Head Coach, Dustin Howden has become the team’s Head Coach and General Manager.  Howden has been the head coach for the past two seasons and he takes over as the team’s general manager from Myles Cathcart who resigned earlier in the month.   Former Waywayseecappo Wolverines forward Landyn Cochrane has committed to play ACHA Division 1 Hockey at Minot State.  The Russell, MB product spent four seasons in the MJHL.   Brandon’s new internet radio station, Channel ONE will be broadcasting Virden Oil Capitals games this season.  Veteran broadcaster, Ray Walker will handle the play by play duties.   Brodie Dupont is heading back overseas.  He has signed with  the Dornbirn Bulldogs in Austria for the upcoming season.  Dupont, from St.Lazare, has spent the last 10 years playing professionally in various leagues in both North America and Europe.   Three former Wheat Kings have also signed new deals overseas.  Mark Louis, a rugged defenseman, signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils, Rihards Bukarts signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings, and Sami Sandell signed a a tryout contract with Davos in Switzeland.