Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

The story of Canada’s most-decorated curler Kevin Martin

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Published

4 years ago

4 minute read

Todayville is proud to partner with the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame to showcase our province’s rich sports history. We hope you enjoy this fascinating story of Canada’s most successful curler, Kevin Martin. This video was originally produced for and showcased at Kevin’s induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Biography
Kevin Martin is the most decorated curler in Canadian history. His record as a skip started in 1985 as the Junior Men’s Alberta Champion. Kevin is a three-time Olympian and double medalist, having won the gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and a silver medal in 2002. Curling was a demonstration sport when he went to his first Olympics in 1992.

Nicknamed “the Old Bear” for his longevity in curling, Kevin is a 12-time provincial champion. He won four Canadian Brier Championship titles during his career in 1991, 1997, 2008 and 2009. He won the World Curling Championship in 2008. Kevin received the top ranking by the Canadian Curling Association from 2004 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2011.

Kevin was instrumental in the creation and development of the Grand Slam series for world-class curlers. He won a record number of 18 Grand Slam Championships and was the first curler to win each event and achieve the “career Grand Slam.”

Originally, the Grand Slam competition started as a Major event – the Player’s Championship. During the 2015 season, there were five events. Through the Grand Slam series, Kevin helped bring more competition, sponsorship and prize money to curling. The awareness and popularity of curling also grew from a recreational sport for a few, to a spectator sport with thousands of people attending the events and millions watching on TV.

Kevin thrived in other forms of competition and activities. He set the benchmark as a Skins Game money winner. He also created and organized the Kevin Martin Summer Curling Academy camp for junior curlers. Since 1991, he has owned and operated his own business, Kevin’s Rocks-n-Racquets.

After retiring as a competitor in 2014, Kevin joined Sportsnet as a colour analyst for their curling broadcasts. Kevin Martin was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in August 2014.

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum provides a family friendly interactive experience. Be surprised at what you will discover inside. Have fun, laugh, play together and learn about famous Alberta sports celebrities.

Click on any of the links below to see more of these stories.

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

www.ashfm.ca

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame provides a family-friendly, interactive experience. You will be surprised by what you discover inside! Have fun, laugh, play and discover Alberta sports heroes together. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is an interactive, hands-on celebration of Alberta's sporting history. Our over 7,000 square feet of exhibit space includes a multisport area with virtual baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer; an adaptive sports area, including a 200 meter wheelchair challenge; a Treadwall climbing wall; the Orest Korbutt Theatre; the Hall of Fame Gallery; an art gallery displaying works by provincial artists, and much more. Our venue boasts a collection of over 17,000 artefacts of Alberta sports history and showcases many of these items in a number of displays. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame also offers an education program, group activities, and a unique environment to rent for your birthday party, special event, corporate reception or meetings.

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Alberta Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Induction Ceremony is Going Virtual

Published on January 27, 2022

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Welcome to the Official 2020 Virtual Induction Ceremony by the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Live on YouTube : Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Join the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame virtually as we celebrate Alberta’s great athletes, sport builders, pioneers, and media personnel. The production will be streamed on YouTube on Sunday, January 30 at 4:00 MDT.

Get your free tickets today at albertasportshall.ca.

The newest athletes joining the Hall of Fame are:

Deidra Dionne (Athlete, Skiing); Bronze medalist in women’s aerials at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Chris Phillips (Athlete, Hockey): A stay-at-home defenceman and the longest-serving player in Ottawa Senators franchise history.

Kelly Sutherland (Athlete, Chuckwagon Racing): Twelve-time Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Championships, and seven Calgary Stampede Aggregate titles.

Michael Robertson (Athlete, Snowboardcross): Silver medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

This year’s builders include:

Jan Ullmark (Builder, Figure Skating): Jan is an elite coach whose skills have made an indelible mark on the sport of figure skating in Canada.

Terry Morris (Builder, Curling): Terry has been active in the promotion and development of the sport of curling in Alberta and across the nation for the better part of four decades.

Ken Babey (Builder, Hockey): In his nearly three decades behind the bench of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Trojans men’s hockey team, Ken Babey guided the team to unparalleled success.

Derek Douglas (Builder, Soccer): The first soccer referee from Alberta to attain the position of FIFA International Referee in 1986, Derek has also been instrumental in growing the game in Sherwood Park, Edmonton and throughout the province.

This year’s Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Award winners are:

Nancy Southern & Ian Allison (Bell Memorial Award): As the team who pioneered equestrian sport broadcasting in Alberta, they are the first duo to be awarded the Bell Memorial Award.

John Currie (Achievement Award): As president of the 1983 Western Canada Summer Games, John led the development and funding of the game’s flagship facility – the Repsol Sport Centre.

Stan Wakelyn (Pioneer Award, Soccer): In 1922, Calgary Hillhurst FC won the Dominion of Canada Football Championship, with Stan, a centre forward, as team captain.

Dennis Kadatz (Legacy Award): At 22, Dennis guided the Edmonton Huskies Junior Football Team to three consecutive Canadian Championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964. In 1964, Dennis became head coach of the University of Calgary’s fledgling football program.

For more information, please contact Tracey Kinsella, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director, at(403) 341-8614 or via email at [email protected]

Join us virtually as we celebrate Alberta’s great athletes, sport builders, pioneers, and media personnel.

The production will be streamed on YouTube on Sunday, January 30 at 4:00 MDT.

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Diane Jones Konihowski Inducted to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame & receives the Order of Sport Award

On October 3rd, Diane Jones Konihowski was awarded the Order of Sport Award and was Inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020-2021. Diane has been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame since 2002 as a Multisport Builder. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1978, YWCA “Woman of Distinction” Sport & Recreation Award in 1988, “Great Canadian” Award in 1993, and she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Congratulations Diane on this well deserved recognition on all you have done for sport in Canada.

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We are saddened to hear of the passing of legendary Swim Coach Deryk Snelling.

Deryk Snelling’s coaching abilities helped place fifty-seven swimmers on Olympic teams with twenty-one of them earning Olympic medals. Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Honoured Members Tom Ponting, Mark Tewksbury, Cheryl Gibson, and Susan Sloan, were all coached by him when competing internationally. Deryk’s swimmers won ten World Championship medals, thirty-eight Pan American medals, sixty-five Commonwealth medals, and twenty-seven Pan Pacific medals. They set seven World Records and won sixty-nine Canadian National Team Championship titles. Deryk was Head Coach of the Canadian Olympic Team four times, the Commonwealth Games Teams five times, and one World Championship Team.

1997 Swimming Builder, Calgary

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Provincial Sport Organization: Alberta Equestrian Federation

Our mission: is to assist in creating a positive environment for the enjoyment of equines. Through leadership and a proactive approach we promote, facilitate, and coordinate equestrian-related activities in Alberta.

The Alberta Equestrian Federation strives to maximize a participant/athlete’s potential and involvement in our sport. We are athlete centered, coach driven and administrated, sport science and sponsor supported. By tailoring an athlete’s/participant’s sports development program to enables them to reach their full potential, increase lifelong participation in Equestrian and other physical activities while improving health and well-being.

Honoured Member in Focus: Margaret & Ron Southern

Margaret and Ron Southern had a dream to develop and operate a world-class equestrian facility. In 1976, their dream became a reality as Spruce Meadows hosted its first tournament. Over the years, Spruce Meadows has developed into one of the finest show jumping venues in the world. Spruce Meadows is the locale for four coveted world-class tournaments annually, including “The Masters” — that offers the largest purse of any show jumping event. Margaret and Ron have prided themselves in showcasing equestrian competitions, and their outstanding efforts have proven positive, as they have attracted competitors from all over the world.

Their daughter Nancy Southern is being Inducted this year along with Ian Allison for the Bell Memorial Award!

Artifact of the month!

Equestrian sports can be divided into 3 main categories: Eventing, Jumping and Dressage.
Eventing is often considered the supreme test of total horsemanship and was originally intended to test military officers for any challenges they could come across on or off duty. Jumping or show jumping features a technical course with a series of obstacles that vary in height and width, including jumps over water and stone walls, parallel rails, and triple bars. Referred to as horse ballet, dressage has been used for over 2000 years starting as a way the Greeks prepared their horses for war.

All nomination packages for the 20201 intake year must be submitted prior to October 31st, 2021 to be considered for the 2021 selection year.

Nomination Information

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