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Alberta

Olympic focus at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame – The Halftime Report

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News from the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Team Canada

Red and white are not only the colours associated with our nations flag but are also represented in the Olympic apparel worn by Team Canada, often accented with black to make the maple leaf shapes as vibrant as possible.

These looks are also reinterpreted for spectator apparel sold through retailers like Hudsons Bay.

Do you have a favourite Team Canada outfit?

This newsletter is sponsored by the Innisfail Eagles.

Honoured Member in Focus: Kyle Shewfelt

Kyle Shewfelt began his gymnastic career in 1988, at the age of six.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Kyle made history when he won Canada’s first Olympic gymnastics medal – a gold on the floor exercise. He also placed fourth on the vault.

Kyle’s international career began in 1996. That year, he placed first on floor and third on vault in Austria, and placed first on vault and second on floor in Hungary.

In 1999 and 2000, Kyle made his mark in the World Cup circuit. At the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships, Kyle captured two bronze medals – on floor and vault.

Kyle’s autobiography, Make it Happen: My Story of Gymnastics. the Olympics, and the Positive Power of Sport was released in April and is available through www.kyleshewfelt.com as well as through Chapters/Indigo.

Welcome back, Alberta Olympians!

Congratulations to Alberta Olympians Claudia Holzner, Halle Pratt, Marco Arop, Sage Watson, Josephine Wu, Haley Daniels, Allison Beveridge, Kelsey Mitchell, Caeli McKay, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Nicole Hare, Jessica Sevick, Keyara Wardley, Lynda Kiejko, Stephanie Labbé, Yuri Kisil, Finlay Knox, Cole Pratt, Rebecca Smith, Blair Bann, Jay Blankenau, Lucas Van Berkel, Graham Vigrass, Kyra Christmas, Kelly McKee, Kindred Paul, and Danielle Lappage for competing on the Olympic stage in Tokyo.

Congratulations also to Honoured Members Kyle Shewfelt, who was an analyst for CBC’s coverage of Olympic gymnastics, and Blythe Hartley, who was an analyst during the diving events.

We are incredibly proud of all you accomplished. Welcome home.

Provincial Sport Organization: Alberta Gymnastics Federation

The Alberta Gymnastics Federation values the growth and development of gymnastics and the opportunity to encourage and support the clubs, gymnasts, coaches, and judges who bring gymnastics to life. Gymnastics is a sport for everyone. It provides an opportunity to challenge oneself physically and enables one to explore various forms of movement in fun creative ways. We also strive to inspire gymnasts, coaches, and judges to meet their own potential through athlete and leadership development courses.

Tickets now available for Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet

Join us on Friday, October 22nd, 2021 when we induct the next group of provincial sports legends to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

The Banquet, which had been postponed from its original date in May 2020, will now take place that evening at the Red Deer College (RDC) Arts Centre.

The timetable for the event is as follows:

  • 5:30 – 6:30 pm: Cocktail Reception
  • 5:30 – 6:30 pm: Silent Auction and Raffles
  • 6:45 – 8:30 pm: Awards and Presentations
  • 8:30 – 8:45 pm: Closing Remarks
  • 8:45 – 9:30 pm: Dessert/Nightcap in RDC Arts Centre Lobby

The Class of 2020 includes athletes Deidra Dionne, Chris Phillips, Kelly Sutherland, and Michael Robertson; builders Jan Ullmark, Terry Morris, Ken Babey, and Derek Douglas; Bell Memorial Award winners Nancy Southern and Ian Allison; Achievement Award winner John Currie; Pioneer Award winner Stan Wakelyn; and Legacy Award winner Dennis Kadatz.

Tickets are $50 for Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Honoured Members and their guests, or $75 for general admission.

For tickets, email [email protected], call (403) 341-8614, or visit https://www.albertasportshall.ca/2020-induction-banquet to download the ticket order form.

Join us (and the Innisfail Eagles) on the links!

The Annual Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament is set to tee off off on Tuesday, September 14 at the Innisfail Golf Course. This season, we will be partnering with the Innisfail Eagles Hockey Team.

We are still looking for golfers, sponsors, and volunteers.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to support the preservation of Alberta sports by playing at one of the province’s crown jewels.

Call (403) 341-8614 or email programmer@albertasportshall.ca for more information.

Join the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 18th, for a showcase of family fun, sport, and culture in celebration of Alberta Culture Days.

The event will include appearances by the Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe, Association Canadienne Francaise de l’Alberta Régionale de Red Deer, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Honoured Member and Olympic gold medalist Kyle Shewfelt, the Hungry Beast Food Truck and much more.

Events get underway at 10 am and wrap up at 4 pm.

Leave a legacy

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame needs your support to continue the ongoing preservation of Alberta’s sports history and the development of museum exhibits. We are grateful and appreciative of the generosity of our supporters and friends. We would be happy to assist you in choosing how your personal legacy will be fulfilled and the many options available. Here is some information on donating shares to ASHFM and the benefits to you as a donor.

Donate

Before Post

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

Alberta introduces bill banning sex reassignment surgery on minors

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Alberta Conservative Premier Danielle Smith followed through on a promised bill banning so-called ‘top and bottom’ surgeries for minors.

Alberta Conservative Premier Danielle Smith made good on her promise to protect kids from extreme transgender ideology after introducing a bill banning so-called “top and bottom” surgeries for minors.

“It is so important that all youth can enter adulthood equipped to make adult decisions. In order to do that, we need to preserve their ability to make those decisions, and that’s what we’re doing,” Smith said in a press release.

“The changes we’re introducing are founded on compassion and science, both of which are vital for the development of youth throughout a time that can be difficult and confusing.”

Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 “reflects the government’s commitment to build a health care system that responds to the changing needs of Albertans,” the government says.

The bill will amend the Health Act to “prohibit regulated health professionals from performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors.”

It will also ban the “use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for the treatment of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence” to kids 15 and under “except for those who have already commenced treatment and would allow for minors aged 16 and 17 to choose to commence puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender reassignment and affirmation purposes with parental, physician and psychologist approval.”

Alberta Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange, the bill’s sponsor, said the province’s legislative priorities include “implementing policy changes to continue our refocusing work, position our health care system to respond to pressures and public health emergencies, and to preserve choice for minors. These amendments reflect our dedication to ensuring our health care system meets the needs of every Albertan.”

Earlier this year, the United Conservative Party (UCP) provincial government under Smith announced  she would introduce the strong pro-family legislation that strengthens parental rights, protecting kids from life-altering, so-called “top and bottom” surgeries as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology.

With Smith’s UCP holding a majority in the provincial legislature, the passage of Bill 26 is almost certain.

While Smith has done far more than predecessor Jason Kenney to satisfy social conservatives, she has been mostly soft on social issues such as abortion and has publicly expressed pro-LGBT views, telling Jordan Peterson that conservatives must embrace homosexual “couples” as “nuclear families.”

This weekend, thousands of UCP members will gather for the party’s annual general meeting, where Smith’s leadership will be voted on along with many other pro-freedom and family policy proposals from members. Smith is expected to pass her leadership review vote with a large majority.

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Alberta

Alberta court upholds conviction of Pastor Artur Pawlowski for preaching at Freedom Convoy protest

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Lawyers argued that Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s sermon was intended to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, but the statement was characterized as a call for mischief.

An Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski is guilty of mischief for his sermon at the Freedom Convoy-related border protest blockade in February 2022 in Coutts, Alberta.

On October 29, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Gordon Krinke sentenced the pro-freedom pastor to 60 days in jail for “counselling mischief” by encouraging protesters to continue blocking Highway 4 to protest COVID mandates.

“A reasonable person would understand the appellant’s speech to be an active inducement of the illegal activity that was ongoing and that the appellant intended for his speech to be so understood,” the decision reads.

Pawlowski addressed a group of truckers and protesters blocking entrance into the U.S. state of Montana on February 3, the fifth day of the Freedom Convoy-styled protest. He encouraged the protesters to “hold the line” after they had reportedly made a deal with Royal Canadian Mounted Police to leave the border crossing and travel to Edmonton.

“The eyes of the world are fixed right here on you guys. You are the heroes,” Pawlowski said. “Don’t you dare go breaking the line.”

After Pawlowski’s sermon, the protesters remained at the border crossing for two additional weeks. While his lawyers argued that his speech was made to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, the statement is being characterized as a call for mischief.

Days later, on February 8, Pawlowski was arrested – for the fifth time – by an undercover SWAT team just before he was slated to speak again to the Coutts protesters.

He was subsequently jailed for nearly three months for what he said was for speaking out against COVID mandates, the subject of all the Freedom Convoy-related protests.

In Krinke’s decision, he argued that Pawlowski’s sermon incited the continuation of the protest, saying, “The Charter does not provide justification to anybody who incites a third party to commit such crimes.”

“While the appellant is correct that peaceful, lawful and nonviolent communication is entitled to protection, blockading a highway is an inherently aggressive and potentially violent form of conduct, designed to intimidate and impede the movement of third parties,” he wrote.

Pawlowski was released after the verdict. He has already spent 78 days in jail before the trial.

Pawlowski is the first Albertan to be charged for violating the province’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA), which was put in place in 2020 under then-Premier Jason Kenney.

The CIDA, however, was not put in place due to COVID mandates but rather after anti-pipeline protesters blockaded key infrastructure points such as railway lines in Alberta a few years ago.

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