Video: How ice is made at Bourkevale

Kids show parents a thing or two about hockey

Bourkevale kicked off its first weekly Kids vs. Parents hockey game Sunday with more than 30 skaters out to play a little informal hockey and enjoy the outdoors. It appeared the kids were dominating most of the game although no official score has yet been registered with www.mybourkevale.com. In any event, the kids and parents had a blast and it looks like this weekly event — held every Sunday from 1-2 p.m. on the north rink — will be a community favourite.
Check here for updates on cancellations due to inclement weather.

Huge crowds at Bourkevale

Bourkevale Community Centre was the only club with ice rinks open the first week of December in the St. James area. That's thanks to our dedicated volunteer ice-making crew who put in countless hours in the 10 days leading up to our official opening Nov. 28, providing area residents with excellent ice all week. And it's been drawing massive crowds.
Over 150 skaters and hockey players jammed into Bourkevale's two sheets of ice Thursday, Dec. 2, many of whom skated until 11:30 p.m.

Kids' Christmas party a huge success

What a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season. Bourkevale Community Centre hosted a fun and well-attended Children's Christmas Party Sunday Nov. 28. And you won't believe who showed up! St. Nick himself — despite his very busy schedule this time of year — made an appearance at our club to hear the Christmas Day wishes of local children.
Ethan Iwanusiw, shown here with Santa, was one of dozens of children who spent some magical time with Santa Claus at Bourkevale.
A big thank you to Brenda Waterman, Bourkevale's new Special Events Coordinator, who did an exceptional job of making this event a memorable and unique kids' Christmas party. Well done Brenda.

Ice skating now open

Bourkevale's crack volunteer ice-making team was busy around the clock the last week of November flooding the club's two ice rinks as they prepared the ice for the winter season.
The club officially opened its north rink Sunday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m., coinciding with Bourkevale's annual children's Christmas party from 1-3 p.m.
Volunteer ice-makers Ron Templeton, Jeff Valgardson, Andrew Kelch, Ed Toews and Dan Reles have put in countless hours preparing the rinks for flooding, clearing snow and laying down well over two dozen floods on both the south and north rinks. Their efforts were made a little more challenging with heavy snowfalls in late November that delayed flooding.
The response to our first day of skating was nothing short of phenomenal with dozens of skaters out on the ice the first afternoon it was open.
The skate room and canteen will be open regular hours — 6-9 p.m. Mon-Fri and 1-9 p.m. Sat.-Sun. — beginning Monday Nov. 29. Come out and enjoy the best outdoor ice in the city and warm up with a tasty hot chocolate and snack at our friendly canteen. And while you're at it, leave a thank you note in the comment section below to our volunteer ice makers who put in unbelievable amounts of hours to give us the high-quality ice we enjoy every year.

Video: Halloween Howl was a hoot

Bourkevale Bruins rocked the soccer world

The Bourkevale Bruins U11 boys soccer team not only had a highly successful outdoor season this year, they had an extremely fun and exciting soccer experience. The Bruins cleaned up in the regular season, finishing first in the 10-team St. Charles Soccer Association league. That earned them a spot in the A-side of the playoffs, squaring off against the best teams in the city. And the Bruins did very well, coming in third place out of six teams in their division in post-season play.
"The boys had a great season," said Bruins coach Rob Dorbolo, adding he was very proud of his team's performance this year.
Meanwhile, the Bourkevale Blades U13 girls team came within a whisker of making it to the finals in the B-side of their league. The Blades, who finished sixth place out of 12 teams during the regular season, performed exceptionally well in post-season play with a 3-1-1 record, only two points behind first-place River Heights. For full playoff standings for the U13 gils, click here.

Video: Hoedown 2010

Hoedown a smash hit

Bourkevale Community Centre's 2010 Hoedown/Soccer Windup Sept. 11 was a rousing success with a strong turn-out from all parts of the club's catchment area. It was a fun-filled day for kids of all ages and their parents, including bouncers and kids' games in the afternoon, an evening dog show courtesy of Wilddog Sports and more evening games for children. The food was great and the beer garden was humming as families enjoyed live entertainment, a well-stocked silent auction and the company of good friends and neighbours. A great time was had by all. Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event so special.

New play structure on the way

Bourkevale Community Centre's new play structure has been ordered and could arrive as early as this fall. The structure, as featured here, will replace the old wooden model and will be located on the same foot print just north of the club.
The structure includes a steel, double slide that will face north to avoid direct sunlight, a corkscrew slide, climbing nets, multiple platforms and a track slide. There will be swings located to the west of the main structure and even a spring teeter-totter.
The structure will be wheelchair accessible.
The existing site will be excavated and the current pea-gravel will be replaced with a safer, spongy material known as engineered wood fibre. Bourkevale will also be getting two new picnic tables, two new park benches and two modern-style garbage containers in the immediate area.
The company that won the bid for the play structure is scheduled to begin construction this fall. But there is a possibility it may not get done until the spring. Bourkevale's executive has been working with the city in recent months to acquire a new play structure and finalized plans with city officials in August.

Video: Bourkevale Bullets rock

Bruins in top spot after spring soccer season

Call it World Cup inspiration. The Bourkevale Bruins have been tearing up the U11 boys soccer league this spring, posting an impressive 9-1-0 record to secure 1st place in the 10-team St. Charles Soccer Association league.
The team finished the spring session with two straight wins giving them 27 points, well ahead of R.A. Steen's second-place showing of 19 points. The Bruins' offence has been explosive, netting a league-leading 29 goals in 10 games. The team has allowed only eight goals this season, giving them a goals-for/goals-against of 21, tops in the league.
Although the Bruins don't play their home games at Bourkevale, they're a regular fixture at the club's south-end rink where Bruins' coach Rob Dorbolo runs the team through drills and training, rain or shine. Devin Dorbolo is seen here preparing for the team's last few games of the spring session.
The Bruins will resume their schedule in the fall, including a playoff season that's sure to be a thriller. Check our website in the fall to find out where you can go to cheer on the Bruins during the playoffs.

Bullets field an explosive team this year

The Bourkevale Bullets are enjoying an outstanding season in 2010 with 13 local talented players. Many of the players — turning either 7 or 8 this year — have been together since the early years when they first kicked the ball around at ages 4 and 5.
Head coach Mark Saunders is joined by assistant coach Cameron Iwanusiw and team manager Mel Saunders, making up the team's dedicated volunteer coaching staff.
Most of the team's games have been on the road in May. But the Bullets play their final games in June Mondays and Wednesdays around 6:15 p.m. at Bourkevale's mini soccer pitches right at the club. Get your lawn chairs out and come and cheer on your local players.
It doesn't get more fun than this!

Bourkevale Blades kick off outdoor season

The Bourkevale Blades U13 girls soccer team opened its outdoor season last month and are looking forward to an exciting season of soccer. The Blades, also known as the Bourkevale "Bumble Bees" according to some players on the team, are one of five teams playing out of the club this year. Their home field is the St. James Collegiate soccer pitch, directly north of the Bourkevale grounds.
The Blades play in the north division of the U13 Girls Recreational league, which includes teams from Stonewall and East St.Paul.
Bourkevale won its opening match-up 2-0 against PCW (Olsen). The "Bumble Bees" tied their second game 2-2 against VGCC's Perdonic squad.
Come out and cheer on the team at St. James Collegiate Tuesday June 15 at 6:15 p.m. when the Bees take on Garden City. The Blades also play home games Sunday June 20 at 6 p.m. against Stonewall and Tuesday June 22 at 6:15 p.m. against VGCC.

Bourkevale: A soccer mecca

Bourkevale Community Centre kicked off its spring soccer season last week, hosting five local teams ranging in ages from five to 13. The club is fielding two 5/6 teams again this year, one 7/8 squad, a U11 boys team and a U13 girls club.
It's expected to be another exciting season at Bourkevale with the club's 5/6 teams and 7/8 squad playing their home games on BCC's freshly lined soccer fields. Grab your lawn chairs and come out and cheer on our budding athletes who normally play Monday to Thursday around 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Bourkevale is rapidly becoming a popular centre for St. James and Charleswood soccer organizations with a number of developmental teams choosing the club to hold regular practices and clinics.
Portage Trail Soccer held its annual spring kick-off at the club over a three-day period last week, drawing over 125 soccer players to Bourkevale's sprawling greenspace. PTS has also selected Bourkevale to hold its weekly soccer academies and a number of individual PTS teams hold regular practices at the club.
Bourkevale has indeed become a Winnipeg soccer mecca.

Video: Tacos and Trophies

Yozenko, Templeton win Bob Pyne Trophy

Bourkevale residents Breanne Yozenko and Ryan Templeton have been selected as the 2010 recipients of the historic Bob Pyne trophy, awarded by the Bourkevale Community Centre to recognize excellence and dedication in amateur hockey.
Yozenko, this year's female winner, is an accomplished player who played with Sturgeon Creek Community Centre and also skated with her high school hockey team this past season. Templeton, this year's male recipient, is a former AAA player who has enjoyed years of success in amateur hockey. Templeton played for the St. James Collegiate team this year.
"We think it's very important to recognize the dedication and hard work our Bourkevale youth put into amateur hockey," said BCC hockey convenor Jeff Valgardson. "These kids play with a lot of heart."
The Bob Pyne trophy was first awarded in the early years of the Bourkevale Community Centre. The trophy is named after the late Bob Pyne who was instrumental in building the centre which officially opened in 1949. The whereabouts of the original trophy is unknown. But a new version of the trophy was resurrected in the 1980s and awarded for several years.
After some 25 years of dormancy, the Bob Pyne trophy was awarded again in 2009. Last year's winners were Devan Schram and Alana Moffat.

Bourkevale gets new play structure

Bourkevale Community Centre will be the proud recipient of a new play structure on the north side of the facility, Coun. Scott Fielding announced at the center's AGM April 8.
"This is going to be a great addition to the club," said Fielding. The type and size of the play structure has not yet been determined. But Fielding says the city will put the project out to tender within a few weeks. He invited area residents to give their input into what they would like in a new play structure. You can call Bourkevale at 888-1599 or Fielding's office at 986-5848.
The new play structure will replace the aging, wooden structure currently on Bourkevale grounds.
The Bourkevale board has been working with Fielding for several months on getting a new structure after many families have requested one.