Brandon's Reid Hunter recently completed the grueling Sinister 7 Ultrarace held in Crowsnest Pass, AB. The race is described as being held in "the most rugged, remote and beautiful terrain in Alberta's stunning Rocky Mountains". Solo participants have the option of competing in the the 100-mile, the 50-miler, and the 50km. Hunter finished the 50km race in a time of 8:19:38.2, good enough for 21st place in the solo male division. This year was his first time participating in this race but not his first ultramarathon. "Overall I was happy with my performance. I definitely could of pushed myself harder but it was my first race in the mountains and I was pleased to finish the race injury-free" Hunter told bdnmb.ca. Leading up to the event, injuries prevented him from running as much as he would have liked to. "Prior to the race I’d only ran about 240km so far this year which isn’t much. I was able to get in a few longer runs which helped prepare my body" he added. There were other Brandonites who ran the race as well. Reid, Josh Kobelka, Dale Penner, Ty Dornn and Jalyn Elmes went out as a group and did some training here in Brandon together before the race. Josh did the 50 mile race while Hunter, Ty, Dale and Jalyn did the 50km race. It should be noted that it was Kobelka who actually got Hunter into trail running a few years ago. This year Kobelka asked Hunter if he wanted to do this race with him and it looked pretty cool so he registered. Having now completed the 50km race, Hunter is next time looking to conquer the 50 mile. "I would definitely do it again. "It was a well organized race and being there with friends makes it even more enjoyable".

The U15 Westman Magic captured gold over the weekend at the Fargo/Moorhead Red River Rage tournament. They opened the tournament with a 1-1 tie against the Morris Tigers before rattling off five straight victories. Sundays final saw the Magic topple SF Eclipse 7-4 to claim the title.

Recently, the Onanole Sporty's Originals captured the inaugural Westman Border Fastball Museum Twilight League Championship. The league, geared towards players 50+, featured three teams including: Southeast Express (Fleming, SK, also Moosimin, Langenburg, Churchbridge, Rocanville), Borderline Legends (Roblin-Russell and area), Onanole Sporty's Originals (Onanole-Erickson and area). This was the first year for the league and the idea for the league came up as a result of discussions with the executive of the Westman Border Fastball Museum at Asessippi Park and the "Hall of Fame" event that they held last year.  The intent was to revive men's fastball in the area and hopefully expose potential younger players to the game. At this time there are plans to continue and the league executive will have meetings in the fall and winter to determine how they move forward. Expansion is something that will be discussed, as they indicated it would be great to have a team from the Brandon area. You can follow the league's Twitter account here. Thanks to Les Ellchuk for the information and photos.

The fifth installment of the IG Wealth Management Bobcat BIRT Cup reached a new milestone. The alumni/charity event raised a record $74,000 on Friday, July 8 at Wheat City Golf Course. The proceeds go towards Brandon University student-athletes; the Brandon Curling Club's youth program; Dauphin's Toboggan Run; Rivers Baseball Association; Western Manitoba Cancer Centre and Youth for Christ (homelessness). This summer's charity best-ball spectacle featured a double shotgun start with a whopping 268 golfers taking part. The foursome of Scott Hlady, Dwayne Gylywoychuk, Jeff Albert and Terry English captured the championship on a count back after a two-way tie at 16-under par on the modified 18-hole course. Hlady and Gylywoychuk are the original founders of the BIRT Cup. BIRT is short for basic, intensity, respect and team. Brandon University Sports of Wall of Famer, the late Neil Andrews came up with the acronym when he was Scott Hlady's baseball coach. Over $257,000 has been raised for various community causes since the Bobcats took over the prestigious BIRT Cup in 2018. The next IG Wealth Management Bobcat BIRT Cup is scheduled for Friday, July 7, 2023. Silent Auction Prizes  Anze Kopitar signed LA Kings' jersey - WINNER Dakota Scheirlinck Darcy Tucker signed Toronto Maple Leafs' jersey – WINNER Travis Mealy Southern Water Systems arcade machine - WINNER Jeff Albert WestJest Round Trip Flight for 2 + $2,500 gift card to Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge – WINNER Chris Kennedy Winnipeg Goldeyes VIP Game Suite + 3 complimentary room nights at Winnipeg's Victoria Inn + signed baseball by Santiago Espinal of the Toronto Blue Jays – WINNER Doug Morningstar Willie Jefferson signed Winnipeg Blue Bombers' jersey + 4 Blue Bomber game tickets w/ VIP sideline experience + 1 complimentary room night at Winnipeg's Victoria Inn – WINNER Dave Morningstar Vegas Golden Knights signed Alex Pietrangelo jersey – WINNER Scott Hlady Filip Forsberg signed Nashville Predators' jersey + Clear Lake Marina $100 gift certificate - WINNER Dakota Scheirlinck Brady Tkachuk signed Ottawa Senators' jersey + two $25 gift certificates to Nine Restaurant and Lounge + two free rounds at Clear Lake Golf Course – WINNER Dwayne Gylywoychuk Raffle Prizes Ryan Pulock New York Islanders' signed jersey – WINNER Larry Shannon 4 rounds at Lakeview Hecla Golf Course; Winnipeg's Victoria Inn hotel stay – WINNER Bryce Gerow Green Bay Packers' football with transferred team signatures – WINNER Jeremy Wielenga Two lower bowl tickets to Winnipeg Jets' home game during the 2022-23 NHL regular season + Winnipeg's Victoria Inn hotel stay – WINNER Ken Wojnarski Fred VanVleet signed Toronto Raptors' jersey + Andrew Wiggins signed NBA all-star game basketball – WINNER Jody Jury (GOBobcats News)

The top 10 year old hockey players in North America make the annual trip to Edmonton's West Edmonton Mall to play in what is called the greatest hockey tournament in the world. Brandon's Kale Nicol born in 2012 was a standout this past week at The Brick tournament. He follows in the footsteps of Brandon's Jaxon Jacobson (2008) and Clarke Caswell (2006) whom were both All Stars at the Brick in their respective years.  The team once known as the Junior Jets is now the Jr Ice. Toews - Seabrook - Zajac and hundreds of other players were once at this tournament and have gone on to success. http://brickhockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/brickinvitational/tournament-info-5/where-are-they-now-9 To get from point A to point B involves many trips to Winnipeg and lots of nights in hotels.  BDNMB.CA caught up with Kurt Nicol, father of Kale today. The trips were shared by my wife and I as we made approximately 50 trips to Winnipeg. Lots of hotel nights and naps in the truck helped to reduce travel and stay rested. Practice skates on the ODR at -35 and help from WCHA skills sessions allowed Kale to achieve his goals. Help from grandparents who were instrumental as well in this journey.. Former Wheat King and Dallas Stars Scott Glennie coached Kale this year and was a positive role model and guided Kale to use his shot and how to create more scoring chance. Kale said he was just that all around fun guy who made the kids laugh. All the coaches made it a positive experience. Truly a once in a lifetime experience for Kale and the Nicol family.