Bourkevale Bruins 7/8 hockey team win Tim Vandale Memorial Tournament

Bourkevale 7/8s. Tim Vandale Memorial Tournament champions 2016

Bourkevale's 7/8 hockey team won the Tim Vandale Memorial Tournament Feb.14, with an impressive 5-1 record. It was a strong finish for a team that played four games Sunday to take the championship. Well done Bourkevale! The outdoor tournament took place at Sturgeon Heights Community Centre. The tournament was renamed after Tim Vandale in honour of Tim's tireless contributions to amateur hockey and his years of involvement in the Sturgeon Heights community. For more pics, click here.

Winnipeg Jets practice at Bourkevale 93-94

The first incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets held a practice at Bourkevale Community Centre's outdoor rinks during the 1993-94 season. This picture was recently donated to us and we're happy to now have it in our possession.
Conspicuous in his absence from the picture was Jets forward Teemu Selanne, who was out with an injury at the time, a severed achilles. Winnipeg Sun staffers Ted Wyman and Kevin King helped us identify the players in this pic. If you have any further info or stories about this practice, including  the identification of the players, please send us a note at bourkevale@gmail.com.

Back row Left to right: Craig Fisher, Darryl Shannon, Mike O'Neill, Dallas Drake, Darrin Shannon, Igor Ulanov, Alexei Zhamnov

Middle row left to right: Wayne McBean, Thomas Steen, Tie Domi

Bottom row left to right: Paul Ysebaert, Dave Manson, Teppo Numminen, Stephane Quintal, Luciano Borsato, Keith Tkachuk, Dean Kennedy, Tim Cheveldae, Randy Gilhen, Nelson Emerson, Kris King, Mike Eagles

Very front: Russ Romaniuk.

Not 100% on Fisher and Ysebaert. Can anybody confirm?

Bourkevale gets into the Christmas spirit



Santa and Lauren at Bourkevale's children's Christmas party Sunday



 

Sand Skyscraper performed at Bourkevale's Christmas party.

"Arctic" the Arctic Fox came by for a visit at Bourkevale's Christmas party this year.

Halloween Howl was a hoot

Bourkevale's Halloween Howl Friday night was a huge success, with over 80 kids attending the annual event.
The music was great, the dancing was superb and a frightening good time was had by all.
A big thanks to all the volunteers who helped decorate the hall and who stayed to clean up.
A special thanks to Dale and Ben for the fantastic job they did spinning the tunes and organizing the games for the kids.
This was community spirit at its best.

Calling all concert band musicians!

The sweet sounds of concert band music have been filling the air at Bourkevale Community Centre in recent months, as dozens of local musicians get together weekly to share their love of music. The informal gathering is organized by band leader Howard Mar and others who were looking for a rehearsal hall for their group. The drop-in program has been a smashing success with as many as 30 to 40 players - mostly retired folks - turning out every week to join in on the musical fun. The group meets every Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. All are welcome and the drop-in fee is only $1.

Bourkevale curler goes to junior nationals

From left to right, Beth Peterson (skip), Robyn Njegovan (third), Melissa Gordon (second), Breanne Yozenko (lead) and coach Jack Gordon.

Bourkevale curler Breanne Yozenko and her team won the provincial junior championship Dec. 31 and will be representing Manitoba at the Canadian Junior Curling Championship in Corner Brook Nfld Jan. 24 to Feb. 1. It's a terrific achievement for this group of young women  who have been curling since they were as young as three and four years hold. As a group, Team Peterson has been curling together for the past 10 years.
Yozenko is a member of Bourkevale Community Centre's board of directors and runs the club's canteen. The team will be holding a fundraiser Friday Jan. 9 at the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling or texting 204-226-1793.

Santa joins up with kids' hockey school for some holiday fun

Santa made an appearance at Bourkevale Community Centre over the holidays to take in some ice time with our kids' hockey school. Apparently ol' St. Nick was pretty good in net.

Rinks open early this year

Rinks
Bourkevale's ice rinks opened almost a week earlier than last year. And last year's opening date was a modern-day record. The north and south rinks typically open during the first week of December. But this year, the club officially opened the rinks to the public on Nov. 23. A sustained blast of cold air in November allowed our volunteer ice makers to get an early start on flooding the rinks.

Ice Volunteers
Bourkevale needs volunteers to help clear the ice when there are heavy snowfalls. If you can spare an hour or two from time to time to pitch in, please email us at bourkevale@gmail.com and we'll put your name on our volunteer list. You don't have to come out every time it snows. But if you can help out a few times during the season, it will help take the burden off the same few volunteers who do it every time it snows. We only need two or three volunteers to clear snow at a time. Without volunteers, we would not be able to provide the community with the quality and availability of ice rinks that we do.

Email
Sign up for Bourkevale's email updates. If you want timely updates on what's happening at the club, send an email to sburd@mymts.net and we'll put you on the list. You can also sign up for our website email notifications by entering your email to the box on the right. Also, visit this website frequently for all your club information and updates.

One of the best Hoedowns ever!

There's no doubt about it - it was a good one. Hoedown 2014 will go down in the books as one of the best in recent years, with great weather, excellent turn-out and smashing live entertainment from local original artists Roger Roger.
The food was great, the beverages were flowing and the kids were never left without something fun to do, from games, bouncers, a gymnastics exhibition, live animals in the skate room (did you see that snake?), the soccer medal award ceremony and of course St. James' best annual fireworks display.
The main reason this Hoedown was one of the best in many years, though, was because of the phenomenal participation of families and local residents. We had one of the best volunteer turn-outs in years, which makes all the difference for these events. A great time was had by all. Please check out our Hoedown Photo Gallery here for some of the images we caught during the day.

Soccer winds down for the season

Bourkevale Bruins had a great season this year. They learned a lot about soccer and mostly, they had plenty of fun. Big thanks to the coaches!

Bourkevale's mini soccer season wrapped up June 26 after another another fun and exciting year. Bourkevale hosted several teams in 2014 and there was plenty of activity on the club's well-groomed soccer fields weekday evenings. Our volunteer ground crew did an exceptional job again maintaining the fields, including grass cutting, weed control and line painting. Without them, and our volunteer coaches and soccer convenor, Bourkevale would not have a soccer program. So remember parents, without your participation, there is no soccer!

Brighter nights ahead for south rink

New LED lights went up on the south rink this week.

Bourkevale Community Centre has installed new lights on the south rink, part of a complete overhaul to the club's lighting system this year which is expected to cut energy costs by 40%. New LED lights were installed this week to replace the old street-lamp style lamps that have illuminated the south rink for decades. The sleek, square-shaped LED lights will only use a fraction of the electricity the old lamps consumed and are expected to emit more even lighting. Bourkevale has upgraded all of its lighting, indoor and out, which was funded by a City of Winnipeg Community Centre Renovation Fund grant.

New lights will use a fraction of electricity of old lamps.

Old lamps served the south rink well 

Bourkevale sets new ice rink record

Bourkevale's ice rinks and skate room set another record this year. Our south rink was open until March 31 in 2014, beating out the previous modern-day record of March 23 set the previous year. The colder-than-average weather allowed the club to open the ice relatively early this season, on Nov. 27. As a result, the rinks were open four straight months, about a month longer than usual.
Meanwhile, Old Man Winter not only brought us record-setting cold temperatures and bone-chilling windchills this season, he also saddled us with frequent and heavy snowfalls, all of which made the business of ice-making and rink maintenance extremely challenging. We'd like to thank our volunteer ice makers Jeff Valgardson and Ron Templeton for their herculean efforts in keeping our rinks clear and in great shape — uninterrupted — for the entire season. Also, a special thanks to Scotty Nystrom and others who helped out with the rinks this year.

Bourkevale hockey school wraps up

Bourkevale's hockey school for kids wrapped up this month with an extended ice season, thanks to cooler than normal weather. The program's inaugural season was a great success, with kids aged 6 to 10 receiving instruction in the fundamentals of hockey, including skating, passing and puck control. The program's success was due in part to the number of parents who helped with instruction on ice, even during some of the colder days. The kids enhanced their hockey skills throughout the season and mostly had a lot of fun, including a wind-up at the end of the season.

Leafs win Apuckalypse Now Cup

Apuckalypse Now returned to Bourkevale for its Third Annual Hockey Tournament Feb. 8. Organizers, a live play-by-play announcer, referees and six teams — this year naming themselves after the NHL's "original six" clubs — braved the frigid temperatures as players vied for the honour of winning the Apuckalypse Now Cup.
Friends, family and kids cheered on their teams and packed the skate room to take in an afternoon Winnipeg Jets game on the club's new HD TV. The tournament began Saturday morning and teams played well into the evening under the lights on the club's north rink. After a spirited final matchup against the Rangers, the Maple Leafs won The Apuckalypse Now Cup in a 3-1 victory.

Day care kids help Bourkevale prep for skating season

You might be surprised at how much work goes into getting Bourkevale's ice rinks ready for the winter season. Boards need to be replaced, equipment like the club's tractor and snowblower must be serviced and hoses have to be inspected.
Most importantly, though — to ensure our rinks are in tip-top shape and ready for a season of skating — the boards around both rinks must be painted. That's where the kids from Assiniboine Children's Centre came in this season. The children spent a good part of a day in August painting the boards white. And they did a superb job. The boards have never looked so good. A big thanks to all the children and staff at Assiniboine Children's Centre for their outstanding effort on this project. The Bourkevale community thanks you.

Digging out during heavy snowfall season

Our volunteer ice crew was up early Saturday morning Jan. 4 getting the ice ready after a massive snow dump Friday.

Bruins compete at Jets Challenge tournament

Bourkevale Bruins 11A2 compete at the MTS Jets Challenge CUP at MTS Iceplex over the holidays.

Bourkevale gets new HD TV

Don't miss any of your favourite TV sporting events over the holidays at Bourkevale, including the World Junior Championships, Winnipeg Jets games, NFL match-ups and even pre-Olympic competition. Bourkevale has installed a 50-inch TV in the skate room for the viewing pleasure of all community members. Come out for a skate, some tobogganing and a hot chocolate and cheer on your favourite teams.
Remember, we have extended hours over the holiday season.

Merry Christmas

Rinks, skate room now open

Bourkevale's skate room, canteen and ice rinks are now open for the season. Thanks to our volunteer ice crew who have been flooding the rinks around the clock since last week, both rinks are now open.
Regular hours begin Wednesday, Nov. 27, one of the earliest start dates in recent years.
Skate room hours are as follows:

Monday - Friday: 6 pm - 9 pm
Sat-Sun - 1 pm -9 pm

Public skating (no sticks or pucks) will be held every Sunday from 1-3 pm on the south rink.

Track construction breaks ground

St. James-Assiniboia School Division began construction of its new running track and soccer field at St. James Collegiate the week of August 19.
The division received approval from the city of Winnipeg's Board of Adjustment on Aug. 9. The school board also finalized a lease agreement with the city for the section of the project that encroaches 35 metres onto Bourkevale Community Centre property.
"The school board is very pleased that construction of the new track and soccer field will soon be started," board Chairman Bruce Chegus told the Bourkevale Bulletin. "It has been a collaborative effort by all concerned to move the project forward to this point — it will be great to have it completed for the students and the community to use and enjoy."
The project includes a regulation-size running track and a full-size soccer field in the middle of the track. As part of the agreement, the division has also agreed to build a 3/4 soccer field on Bourkevale land. Bourkevale residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of the project at a community vote held in February.
The project could be completed as early as this fall, depending on factors such as the weather and the logistics of the company doing the work.

BCC soccer a big hit this year — again!

Bourkevale's soccer program continued to flourish this year, with new soccer nets added to the west side of the field and improvements made on our already impeccably groomed mini-fields. Bourkevale fielded teams this year from a wide range of ages, all the way down to our 5/6 mini teams. A big thanks to all our volunteers who made the spring season happen, including coaches, field maintenance personnel (thanks Cam!) and of course our soccer convenor Natasha. Click "photos" above to see more soccer pictures. If you have any great soccer action shots, send them to bourkevale@gmail.com and we may include them in our photo gallery.

Bourkevale supports bike-to-work day

Bourkevale Community Centre was one of many official "pit stops" during Bike to Work Day on Friday June 21. Located along a busy biking/walking/jogging trail, the club recognized it was a natural location to set up a pit stop to help encourage people to leave their cars at home and get cycling to work. The club serviced 53 cyclists between 6:30 and 9 a.m. Stella's donated two dozen muffins and Tim Horton's donated two boxes of coffee. A big thanks to volunteers Elaine and Scotty Nystrom for organizing the pit stop and manning the station.

Ice rink season comes to a close

Well, it was bound to happen. Bourkevale's ice rinks officially closed March 26 in 2013. Our talented ice makers kept the south rink going as long as possible this season, with early-morning floods, patch jobs and the tender-loving-care they're famous for. But the late-March sun rays finally took over.
A big thanks to our ice makers Ron Templeton, Jeff Valgardson and Scotty Nystrom — and everyone else who helped along the way, including Mike Templeton — for the outstanding work they did this year. It was a very challenging season with twice the amount of average snowfall.
As far as we can tell, being open until March 26 is a modern-day record for Bourkevale. We normally shut the ice rinks down in the first week of March.
The canteen/skate room will open again for the spring soccer season in May and June.

Bourkevale skaters enjoy great ice well into March