Category: 1997 Inductees

The 1997 inductees to the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame

  • 1991 Rhythmic Gymnastics – Team

    1991 Rhythmic Gymnastics – Team

    The sport of rhythmic gymnastics did not make its presence felt in Prince Albert until the late 1980s when Czechoslovakian coach Jirina Nekola began working with the Prince Albert Rhythmic Gymnastics Club.

    A tragic car accident took Jirina’s life in 1988 and to replace her the club brought in Victoria Buruiana from Romania. A year after the tragic accident a group of girls joined the club and for the next five years they dominated at every level of competition.

    The group, which included Lauren Allen, Allison Krush, Laura Mann, Gina McKay, Dreanne Studer and Nadine Walker, captured provincial gold in the novice category in 1989 and ’90 then followed that up with two consecutive provincial junior titles in 1991 and ’92 and concluded their amazing run with another provincial title in the senior division in 1993.

    The group of young women were western regional junior champions in 1991 and ’92 and finished second in the senior division in 1993 in Winnipeg. The group’s proudest moment came in 1991 when they captured the gold medal at the Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The Prince Albert troupe added another national title the following year and was runner‑up in 1993, but the group had already made their mark in the sport.

    Sask Sport recognized their achievements by presenting them with the Team of the Month Award on two different occasions ‑ June 1991 and July 1992, and the City of Prince Albert acknowledged the 1991 national championship with a plaque presentation at City Hall.

    Rhythmic gymnastics, which features disciplines using apparatus such as a ball, hoop, clubs, ribbons and rope and combines this with ballet and dance, is a unique sport and Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is proud to give them a place in the local shrine in the team category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

  • Hazen “Ducky” Pond – Athlete

    Hazen “Ducky” Pond – Athlete

    Born Hazen Gilbert Pond on Christmas Day in 1909, “Ducky” as he is better known, came to Prince Albert from New Brunswick as a young man and for more than 50 years has been closely associated with the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club.

    Ducky began curling in 1949 and while with the Wendell Howard rink they captured many local and district bonspiels. It wasn’t until Ducky competed in the senior division, however, that he gained national attention as he skipped provincial championship teams in 1966 and ’67.

    In his first trip to the nationals, held in Winnipeg in 1966, Ducky and his rink of third Dale Yoos, second Bert Bolger and lead Ian Gray, finished out of the playoffs with a 6‑4 record. The following year in Montreal, with Gray the only returning member of the rink along with Abe Bray as second and Rue1 Reed as lead, the Saskatchewan representatives were in a position to make the playoffs before losing both of its final games to once again finish with a 6‑4 mark.

    While curling was the focus of the winter months for Ducky, he has also been an active member of the Prince Albert Golf Club since 1950.

    A long‑time community supporter, Ducky has been a member of the Rotary Club since 1966 as well as a life member with the Masonic Lodge and Wa Wa Temple Shrine Club.

    Already a member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame for his contributions to five straight eastern champions rugby teams in the late 1920s, the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Ducky on its honour roll in the athlete’s category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

  • Ian Gray – Athlete

    Ian Gray – Athlete

    Ian Gray was born in Banchory, Scotland on September 5, 1910 and three years later his family came to Canada to settle in Winnipeg.

    Shortly after moving to Prince Albert in 1936, Ian took up the sport of curling and he was a driving force on the local scene almost immediately. A founding member of the Prince Albert Curling Club, Ian served as that group’s second president in 1945 and again the following year. Ian is also a past president of the Senior Men’s Curling Club in addition to seeing on numerous committees over the years.

    Ian has had several memorable moments as a competitor including skipping a rink that scored an eight‑ender during the 1956 Prince Albert Men’s Bonspiel. Ian was also the only member to be a part of Ducky Pond’s two provincial senior curling championships in 1966 and ’67. Ian threw lead rocks in 1966 and third stones in ’67 as Saskatchewan recorded identical 6‑4 records at the national events held in Winnipeg and Montreal, respectively.

    Ian retired from curling shortly after the 1967 national championship, but he continued with his other passion ‑ golf. A member of the Prince Albert Golf Club since 1950, Ian has enjoyed golf year‑round since the early 1970s when he and his wife Phyl began spending their winters in Mesa, Arizona. Ian has recorded 11 hole‑in‑ones over the years and has golfed his age as recently as 1994 when he was 84.

    A strong community spirit, Ian has been president of the Prince Albert Cosmopolitan Club as well as governor for Cosmopolitan Western Canada International. Ian is also a life member with the Masonic and Elks Lodges.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is proud to acknowledge Ian for his accomplishments by including him in the athlete and builder categories of the local shrine.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

  • Edward (Ted) Akers – Athlete

    Edward (Ted) Akers – Athlete

    Once tabbed the best bowler in Prince Albert, Ted Akers has a long and storied association with the sport.

    Born August 13, 1925 in Prince Albert, Ted began actively competing in bowling as a teenager in 1944. It didn’t take the young Akers long to make a name for himself as he won the men’s high average title in 1948 with a 218.

    Two years later Ted captured the Canadian Pacific Express Bowling Championship in Winnipeg and in 1953 he garnered his first of 12 provincial team spots for the Western Canadian Bowling Championships.

    Ted has won numerous men’s league team championships, individual awards for high average and high triple along with countless tournaments, but his crowning glory came in December of 1969 when he became the first Prince Albert bowler record a perfect game ‑ 12 consecutive strikes for a 450 score.

    Ted’s participation in the sport wasn’t always spent on the lanes as he was a founding member of the Prince Albert Five‑Pin Bowling Association in 1953 and was the recording secretary‑treasurer of the City Men’s Senior League for 25 years. Ted has also been the vice-president of the ways and means committee for three years along with arranging playoffs and awards banquets for numerous years.

    Ted also coached the Prince Albert men’s team to the provincial championship in 1979, but it is as a player that he will be best remembered. In 50 years of competitive bowling, Ted has amassed an amazing 2,464,125 point total pinfall in 11,187 games. His lifetime average is 220 per game as he has registered 495 games of 300 or better and five games of 400 or better including the 1969 perfect game.

    Ted was presented the Kay McKenzie‑Eileen Boulding Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to bowling in the city in 1969 and he was made a life member of the Saskatchewan Five Pin Bowling Association in 1987. It is with great pleasure that the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame includes Ted Akers in its athlete’s category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.