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.

The Brandon A's captured the provincial 11U A (Zone 2) Provincials over the weekend in Stonewall. The A's upended Stonewall in Sunday's final to claim the title. Twelve teams participated over the weekend, split into three pools. Prior to the championship game, they disposed of Stonewall - McFayden, Carman, and Ste. Anne in their respective pool. In semi-final action Sunday, Daniel Flett propelled them to the gold medal game pitching 5 innings of shutout ball. 3 Oliver, Liam 9 Teetaert, Dane 8 Burton, Cohen 2 Vines, Tyson 11 Lang, Ari 4 Baranyk, Brady 7 Luhowy, Matthew 13 Honke, Jackson 15 Flett-Neapew, Daniel 5 Ratz, Mason 6 Preston, Will (AP/GUEST) 16 Olsen, Brayden (AP/GUEST) 10 Deacon, Skyler (AP/GUEST) 14 Taylor, Sullivan (AP/GUEST)

The Moose Knuckles received a hat trick from Brad Schoonbaert on their way to a hard -fought 7-5  victory over “Hot Garbage” in the finals of the inaugural Breakaway Summer Classic Ball Hockey Tournament. Tyler Coulter (2), Mike Butler, & Troy Hamilton also scored for the Knuckles. Ryker Batson (2), Jordan Bechtold (1), Josh Elmes (1), & Steve Mulholland replied with goals for Hot Garbage. The 3 on 3 ball hockey tournament took place Saturday at the Westridge Community Centre.

The 2nd annual Phinney Legacy Fund golf tournament will take place at the Deer Ridge Golf Course on September 9, 2022. The Phinney Legacy Fund is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for mental wellness in the construction industry. Phinney’s Legacy is in memory of Scott Phinney, a long-time construction tradesman who lost his life to suicide in 2019. Scott was a brother and friend, and the goal is to provide benevolence and assistance to construction workers and construction companies that cannot access benefits to offset medications, and or counseling costs. As the organization is in the forming stage of the Fund, they continue to work to refine the offerings based on the needs of our community and industry. In 2020, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) found that men working in construction have one of the highest suicide rates compared to other industries. In 2021, the CDC reported that male construction workers have a 65% higher suicide rate than all workers. For sponsorship opportunities, or to register for golf, please contact Tracy Williams at twilliams@cciwestman.ca or Andrea Epp at andrea@epplawoffice.ca. (with files from The Phinney Legacy Fund)