“WE’D HAVE BUILT YOU A STATUE”…How Connor Hellebuyck Ruined his Reputation

By Reese Rankmore

Remember May of 2025? It was a simpler time. The Winnipeg Jets, fresh off a first-place regular season finish, made a miraculous comeback to beat the St Louis Blues in overtime in game seven. Even though it came crashing down against the Dallas Stars in the second round, star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck being awarded the Vezina and the Hart Trophy at the end of the season was a nice way to cap it off.

Imagine telling a Jets fan that just one year later, in May 2026, everything would be flipped upside down.

There were high expectations going into the 2025-2026 season, but after Hellebuyck missed time to get knee surgery early, things started to go downhill. The Jets were heading in the wrong direction, and Hellebuyck just wasn’t the same after his injury and surgery.

What should have been a nice break for fans was actually where everything really turned nasty – the Winter Olympics in February 2026. Hellebuyck was the starter for the United States men’s hockey team, who beat Canada in overtime for the gold medal (it still hurts to think about). He was back in prime form during the tournament, which made Jets fans wonder; where was this version of Connor Hellebuyck all season?

This wasn’t even the worst of it. Then, Donald Trump invited the men’s team to the White House, where all they laughed at the expense of the US women’s hockey team (who also won gold) and Trump just randomly decided to give Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Side note, Kyle Connor was on the US men’s team too and was one of the few players who chose not to go to the White House…in case you wanted to say “Hellebuyck had no choice!”

When Hellebuyck made it back to Winnipeg after his excursion to Washington DC, the season was all but over, and I’d say he was partly to blame. His play all season was not up to par, plus the whole Trump thing brought some unwanted attention to the whole team. He aired his frustrations in his end of season media availability and expressed concern about the future of the team, while neglecting to acknowledge that his poor play was absolutely part of the problem. His interview sparked a debate that became one of the top stories of the entire off-season, as fans and insiders speculated whether he wanted out of Winnipeg and what the Jets could get in a trade for him. The rumours picked up even more when insiders reported a deal that almost happened between the Jets and the Buffalo Sabres at the NHL Entry Draft, as well as when they signed Stuart Skinner in free agency.

Then, the bombshell dropped this August when, not long before training camp started, Connor Hellebuyck released a statement confirming that he had requested a trade at the end of the season and thanking the city for its support over his career. When training camp rolled around a few weeks later, Hellebuyck did not report, and the Jets subsequently suspended him for not fulfilling his contract. The fact that the Jets were going to be without their star goaltender and would have the drama of the situation hanging over their heads for the foreseeable future caused many to predict a poor season for the team, especially since their new goalie tandem was the previously questionable Stuart Skinner and the unproven Clay Stevenson.

To most people’s surprise, the team has started the season with a 4-1-2 record, the Connor-Vilardi-Scheifele trio is still incredible, Cole Perfetti seems to have finally reached his potential, and the power play is great. The best part is that the Skinner-Stevenson tandem has been lights-out. Connor Hellebuyck, who gave up on this team after one poor season, after signing a 7-year contract extension just 3 years ago where he was radiating with excitement for the future of this team, is sitting at home, not missed at all.

So, what come next? As of October 16th, he’s lost just under $675,000 (shoutout hellebucks.com). It’s clear that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff isn’t in any rush to ship him out, and this obviously isn’t impacting the play of the Jets. I think it’s safe to say he’s burned every bridge in Winnipeg and there’s no way he could come back. If I’m the Jets, I’d be in no rush to pull the trigger on a deal unless it blew my socks off, since the team is doing so well without him. If I was Connor Hellebuyck, I’d pull a Byfuglien and disappear forever.

Brandon Manitoba: “The Wheat City” or “The Pothole City”? Written by: Hannah Hiebert

You better have an ice pack handy because these potholes will shake you around so bad you might get whiplash. Don’t pick up your drink if you’re about to hit a pothole, otherwise that $10 frappe from Starbucks will spill all over your interior. You know it’s bad when you have to turn on your brights in the city at night, because a pothole might commit third degree murder on your tires. The Wheat City? Nope. Welcome to Brandon Manitoba, The Pothole City! Where there are bumpy roads and, of course, alarmingly large potholes!

Seriously, our roads are appalling. This has been my hometown since I was six years old, and I have never seen our roads in the shape they are in today. As I have referenced above, with our roads in awful shape there is a considerable risk of seriously damaging your vehicle if you do not see a pothole in time. Strong impacts to a vehicle can include weakened tire belts, damaged shock absorbers and struts, punctured tires, damage to the vehicle’s front-end suspension, and if hit hard enough potholes can even affect the wheel alignment of the vehicle.

I do not understand why the City of Brandon has been this negligent about the condition of our roads, because car repairs to fix the damage caused are certainly not cheap. Factor car repairs into our current economy and it creates a financially stressful situation that could be lessened if the City of Brandon would fix our roads. Thankfully, they have begun the process, despite being long overdo. As disruptive as construction is, I will take the disruptions and detours over the constant fear of damaging my car every time I drive around town.

Please remember to be mindful of the roads as you are driving around town. Do not travel over the speed limit, and stay alert to allow yourself time to react when you see a pothole in the road and need to slow down. Do not travel too closely behind people, in case they need to slow down because of a pothole.

Drive safely everyone!

Free Fitness Classes At BU

The HLC is now offering FREE Fitness classes for Faculty and Students. These free fitness classes will be offered in the morning, duringlunch time, and after workStudents will be able to take advantage of this offer January to April while Staff and Faculty will have access for the entire month of January.

The classes will be given by Enver Naidoo, a recent Manitoba Fitness Leader of the Year award recipient, approached the HLC and Brandon University Students’ Union (BUSU) to bring this free programming to the Brandon University community.

Most classes take place in the HLC Mezzanine and the following is the schedule taken from the BU website:

MONDAY

4:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – After-Work Mixer – Strength & Cardio Circuit (45 minutes)

Build muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance using a variety of portable equipment and body weight exercises that will challenge you to work hard and help you achieve your fitness goals.

TUESDAY

12:45 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Tabata (30 minutes)

A high-intensity interval training that consists of eight sets of fast-paced exercises each performed for 20 seconds interspersed with a brief rest of 10 seconds.

WEDNESDAY

4:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – After-Work Mixer – Strength & Cardio Circuit (45 minutes)

Build muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance using a variety of portable equipment and body weight exercises that will challenge you to work hard and help you achieve your fitness goals.

THURSDAY

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Tabata (30 minutes)

A high-intensity interval training that consists of eight sets of fast-paced exercises each performed for 20 seconds interspersed with a brief rest of 10 seconds.

12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Core & More (30 minutes)

Enjoy a total body workout and improve your muscular strength and endurance while using a variety of portable equipment and body weight exercises.

FRIDAY

11:45 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Strength & Core (30 minutes)

Build muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance using a variety of portable equipment and body weight exercises that will challenge you to work hard and help you achieve your fitness goals.

12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Cardio HIIT (30 minutes)

This interval training workout will utilize a variety of work to rest formats as well as different portable equipment and body weight exercises to improve your overall fitness. This class is suitable for all fitness levels and both high and low impact options will be available.

Things to remember:

*All fitness levels are welcome

*Low impact and modifications will be provided

*Suitable for all ages

*Bring a water bottle

*Fitness attire required

*Come on your own or bring a friend

Title Drought Finally Ends

Winnipeg Blue Bombers ended a 29-year drought by winning the 107th Grey Cup final Sunday night, beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. Most current Bombers had yet to take a breath in 1990, when 26-year-old quarterback Tom Burgess last led Winnipeg to a Canadian Football League championship.

Much of the Bomber fan base also wasn't even born and has no memory of that night in Vancouver. Now however, they have very fresh memories of an unseasonably mild November night in Calgary, when the Blue Bombers homegrown running back Andrew Harris scored two touchdowns. The game where Kicker Justin Medlock kicked five field goals and the Bomber defence took the ball away from Hamilton's offence six times and sacked quarterback Dane Evans five times.

To the Winnipeg Football Club, this victory is not just a validation. It is a cause for celebration and form of closure to to alleviate decades of frustration. A win seemed a statistical improbability. No one really expected to actually win. The football league with only eight or nine teams for most of its recent existence, one comes to expect to excel at failure or to be cursed with exceptionally poor luck in order to wind up without a championship for nearly three decades.

The game didn't feel like a lock for Winnipeg until the final minutes. Pessimism is hard to overcome, especially after going so long without a Grey Cup win. It’s something that Winnipeg and all of Manitoba have to celebrate and brag about for quite some time. 

SNL Season 45 Premiere: But Who’s Going to Appear?

The hit sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live is set to premiere its

45th season, and is almost reaching 50. 45 is a pretty big number, and

you can likely expect that they will go all out for the season

premiere. 5 years ago with Season 40, I began to watch it after having

seen a rerun of the previous season and some clips online of various

sketches from throughout the years. The show has become iconic in

American television, and will often go all out and find the biggest

names possible to host the show, especially for their last show prior

to Christmas and New Year’s, and also their season premiere and

finale. Big names that have hosted and performed during past premieres

include Chris Pratt with Season 40, who hosted with Arianna Grande as

the musical guest, and he was there to promote the summer blockbuster

of 2014, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Grande had a number

of songs breaking records that same summer.

Season 40 saw many people returning for the anniversary special, but

also had James Franco and Seth Rogen appear despite their canceled

film “The Interview” which mockingly showed the two actors as

celebrity talk show hosts who are tasked with assassinating North

Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the finale had Louis CK, which was his

second last time on the show prior to the sexual misconduct

allegations against him. Season 41 saw host and musical guest Miley

Cyrus, and then later in the season there was the controversial

hosting pick of the Republican Presidential Candidate and business

tycoon Donald Trump, who gave the show the highest ratings of all time

for the series. Fred Armisen, who was a former cast member on the

show, had returned to host the finale, and since then many big stars,

like Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman and Matt Damon, and Star Wars

Sequel trilogy actor Adam Driver, who hosted the premiere of the

previous season, with Kanye West as the musical guest, who made the

controversial comments about slavery being a choice while wearing a

Make America Great Again ball cap in support of President Donald

Trump.

Typically, high grossing movies will have their stars appear, and last

season Brie Larson, Idris Elba, Don Cheadle and Paul Rudd all hosted

with the 4 having appeared in Avengers Endgame, although Elba was

promoting a different project at the time, and Larson was promoting

captain Marvel’s Solo film, though it does tie into Endgame, while

Cheadle and Rudd who play War Machine and Ant-Man respectively were

there to build hype for the 4th Avengers flick. Although by the time

Rudd had hosted the season finale, Endgame was already shattering box

office records, going on to beat James Cameron’s Avatar and claim the

#1 spot of highest grossing film of all time. It might be an

opportunity for SNL to continue milking the success of Endgame to gain

more viewers during the season premiere.  Additionally, Gwyneth

Paltrow who plays Tony Stark’s wife Pepper Potts in the MCU appeared

during the Weekend Update sketch during the episode hosted by Elba.

For hosts, an MCU star seems most likely, as Spider-Man: Far From Home

also made its theatrical debut on July 2nd as a follow up to Endgame,

and grossed over a billion dollars, and the director’s cut is

currently in theaters. Tom Holland plays Peter Parker in the film, and

with the Sony MCU Spider-Man debacle still going on, it might gain SNL

more attention to have a star from that film. Holland is notorious for

spoiling extremely private details about big projects, so if he is

hosting it’s surprising that we haven’t heard anything. Jake

Gyllenhaal has a play going on in New York right now which he stars

in, and could promote that along with Far From Home, as he’s a bit

more of a household name, and he plays the villain Mysterio. Josh

Brolin has hosted the show before and has had a long film career, most

notably his early work included The Goonies, and more recently in

Endgame he reprised his role as the mad titan Thanos, who really looks

like if The Rock became a California raisin. Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett

Johansen and Jeremy Renner who played Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye

could go on as well as Bradley Cooper and Chris Hemsworth, who played

Rocket Raccoon and Thor. Tom Hardy who is the actor for Venom in the

Sony film of the same name last year could host to help build hype for

the sequel which was announced in the summer, which has also teased

that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is set to appear, along with Woody

Harrelson who is set to play Carnage, and he’s another candidate as

he’s got a lot hype for his character to be fleshed out in the sequel,

as we only saw a brief cameo in the last movie.

Former cast member and Tony Stark actor Robert Downey Jr could host,

and it’d be even more interesting to see him don the Iron Man armor

one last time, even if it’s as host. Having him host in character

would be great. Other potential candidates include Samuel L Jackson

who had been in both films, and also Jon Favreau, who also directed

the remake of The Lion King. Zendaya played MJ in Far From Home, and

we could see her as a host.

Other people who could host other than the prominent MCU stars

mentioned include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Jason Statham who were

in the Fast & Furious spinoff movie Hobbs & Shaw. Idris Elba played

the villain in the movie, although he was just featured last season,

so I don’t know how soon they might have him back, although Chris

Hemsworth and Steve Martin have hosted more than once in less than a

year. Keanu Reeves starred in John Wick Chapter 3 earlier this year

could also be an option. Australian comedian and political cometary

show host Jim Jeffries from the Jim Jeffries Show on Comedy Central

might be another person, as Season 4 of his show is happening soon.

Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven on the Netflix series Stranger

Things could host, as could David Harbour who plays Hopper in the

series, as the series released its 3rd Season during the summer. John

Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight could host, making him the first HBO

star since the finale of Game of Thrones to appear on SNL.


James McAvoy had been featured in the horror film IT Chapter 2 which

is based on the Stephen King horror film, but he hosted earlier this

year in January, so I don’t know that he’d be the one they choose. If

anyone were to host from that film, I’d say it’s likely going to be

Bill Hader, who was a former cast member and made a cameo earlier this

year in an episode hosted by John Mulaney. Bill Skarsgard who plays

Pennywise in the film could appear. Speaking of Stephen King, the King

of Horror has a new book coming out, so SNL may lean in a different

direction and have him as host, or they may lean towards getting him

for the Halloween special.

Will Smith took to the silver screen as the Genie from the live action

remake of Disney’s Aladdin, taking over for the iconic comedian Robin

Williams after the tragic passing of Robin in 2014, and knowing

Smith’s musical talent, it’s very possible he could be both the host

and musical guest. Naomi Scott played Princess Jasmine as well, so she

could be host. Donald Glover played Simba in Lion King Remake, and it

wouldn’t be his first time as host and musical guest, as he hosted in

Season 43 prior to the release of the Hans Solo Star Wars Anthology

Film: Solo which saw him as a young Lando Calrissian, taking over for

Billy Dee Williams, and it was around the time of his hit

controversial song “This Is America.”


Musical guests could include Beyoncé, who again was in the Lion King

remake, but for me, the most likely candidate for musical guest is

rapper Lil Nas X, whose song Old Town Road peaked charts worldwide and

became quite the meme over the summer. More than likely Kanye west

won’t be returning anytime soon after the incident last year, so don’t

expect to see him back. Former Beatles member Paul McCartney could

also be a choice for musical guest. Billie Eilish is another musician

who is going viral.

Cameos for the season premiere are hard to predict, but it’s more than

likely we’ll see Alec Baldwin returning to his role as President

Donald Trump, who is running for re-election in 2020, as well as Larry

David as Democratic Candidate Bernie Sanders, who he played

prominently in Season 41 and had a minor appearance in Season 42, and

appeared as a host in Season 43 and did an impression of Sanders for a

$100,000 Pyramid Celebrity Edition sketch. Jason Sudeikis could

comeback as former Vice President and 2020 candidate Joe Biden.

There are several new cast members set to appear, including the first

prominently Asian cast member, and the most recent Asian person to

appear, with SNL having quite a few Asian actors like Awkwafina and

Sandra Oh appear last season, and also Aziz Ansari, who is of Indian

descent, and Kumail Nanjiani who is Pakistani in the two seasons prior

to 44, and Lucy Liu, who hosted over 18 years ago, with SNL seemingly

lacking any Asian performers up until recently, which may be due to

criticism over this particular issue which creator and producer Lorne

Michaels was facing. Leslie Jones, who joined just shortly after the

start of Season 40, was reportedly not returning for Season 45. The

announcement was made on August 27th.

Whoever may appear, expect them to be big, and the musical guest will

be just as huge. My bets are on an MCU star with Lil Nas X for musical

guest, but it could be anyone who I mentioned or more. Saturday Night

Live airs on NBC at 10:30 PM central time and on Global and CTV, but

be sure to watch NBC for the latest updates on the show. The premiere

is set to happen on September 28th, this weekend, so tune in and

enjoy, unless you’re easily offended by political jokes. Then really

nothing on late night TV is funny for you.

Bobcats Launch New Season’s Ticket Special!

The Bobcats' 2019-20 season ticket drive is underway and fans who act fast will be treated to an outstanding offer.

The first 200 season ticket buyers will receive a special bundle of one-time coupons totalling over $100 in value:

• $25 gift card from Smitty's Sportsline Lounge 

• Complimentary A&W Teen Burger and fries

• Free pita at Pita Pit

• Free dessert at Montana's

• Free menu entree at Freshii 

• Complimentary LA Squishy and popcorn from Jiffy Food and Video

• Free slice of pizza at Pizza Pizza 

• Free wings at the Tavern (with minimum $10 food/drink purchase) OR 2 buffets for the price of 1 at Aaltos 

• Healthy Living Centre punch card 

(The special coupon offer does not apply to youth season tickets)

Season ticket holders also get a Bobcat Nation t-shirt and a fridge magnet home schedule calendar sponsored by Subway and Dash Delivers.

BU Athletics, in conjunction with 12 participating partners, are also pleased to offer a Rewards Card for all season ticket holders. Each card is good for discounts and special offers from the following Rewards Card Partners:

A&W, Brandon Source Sports, Chilli Chutney, Freshii, Harvey's, Mary Brown's, Montana's, Pita Pit, Smitty's Sportsline Lounge, Swiss Chalet, Sobeys West End and Supplement King.

Fans can pick up their season tickets from the front desk of the Healthy Living Centre.

Adult season passes are $100; seniors, BU staff, faculty and alumni pay $75 while youth (age 14-17) are $50. Kids 13-and-under can catch all Bobcat home games for free, as can all current BU and ACC students.

Action gets underway on Friday, October 18 when the Bobcat volleyball teams welcome the Thompson Rivers WolfPack for their Canada West season opener. Meanwhile, the Bobcat basketball teams hit the floor for the first time at the HLC on November 1 against the Saskatchewan Huskies.

 Flex packs are also available with the ticket vouchers allowing fans to attend any regular season home game they would like. Four-game flex pack tickets can be purchased for $30 and 10 tickets for $70.

HLC Classes; Try Them Free!

The Healthy Living Centre is having their Annual "Try it for Free Week” starting this Sunday, Sept 8th, and runs until Sunday September 15th. All our fitness classes, clubs etc are all FREE. You name it, we got it! From Yoga and Zumba, too Kickboxing and Strollercize, we truly have something for everyone. All of the Intramural activities available start up Monday as well! 

The classes and intramural available were reported on in last week’s published issue and is available from the HLC website. 

Wheat Kings Name New Coach!

The Brandon Wheat Kings continued an off-season revamp by hiring Dave Lowry as their new head coach. Lowry joins the Wheat Kings after spending the last two years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings. He wasn’t retained by the Los Angelos team after they hired Todd McLellan as their head coach in April. He helped the Victoria Royals to a 209-124-27 record over the course of five seasons prior to jumping to the NHL and earned WHL Coach Of The Year honours on two occasions.

Lowry was Canada’s head coach during the 2016 world junior championship and was an assistant with the team a year prior when they won gold.

Brandon general manager Darren Ritchie, who was promoted by the organization last week, is believed to have said that hiring Lowry is a positive step for the organization.

Lowry played 19 seasons in the NHL with Vancouver, St. Louis, Florida, San Jose and Calgary. He scored 164 goals and 351 points in 1,084 career games while helping the Panthers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1995.

In a sweet ending to the article, the promotion to coach also brings Lowry closer to his son, Adam, who is a member of the Winnipeg Jets.

Fitness Classes For Students!

The Healthy Living Centre offers a wide variety of courses for all levels of experience are scheduled, offering all members something to help achieve their fitness goals. These classes and descriptions are taken directly from the Healthy Living Centre website. 

Fit 4 Life

Personal trainers Ashley Hosfeld and Suzanne Rowley will lead a new and exciting program for seniors that are young at heart and looking to stay fit for life. Each week you will use body weight, light weights and circuits to increase functional fitness & quality of life. As a registrant in Fit 4 Life, choose from 3 different classes per week or come to them all. Registration is purchased as 10 or 20 session punch cards or drop in. 

Class 1 Forever in Motion: Mondays at 9:00 am and Wednesdays at 11:00 am

Class 2 Walking with Weights: Mondays at 9:00 am and Wednesdays at 11:00 am

Class 3 Low Impact and Sculpt: Thursdays at 9:00 am 

LUNCH TIME EXPRESS

As a registrant in Lunch Time Express, choose from 2 different classes, held twice per week or come to them all. Registration is purchased as a 20 session punch card or drop in. It gives you the flexibility to come to classes when it fits in your schedule. 

Classes Include:

Strength & Core

Enjoy a total body workout and improve your muscular strength and endurance while using a variety of portable equipment and body weight exercises. This 30 minute class is suitable for all fitness levels.

Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:45am - 12:15pm 

and also; 

Cardio HIIT

This interval training workout will utilize a variety of work to rest formats as well as different portable equipment and body weight exercises to improve your overall fitness. This 30 minute class is suitable for all fitness levels and both high and low impact options will be available.

Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:15pm - 12:45pm

SPIN IT

You’ll Burn Big Calories in this class, about 400-600. The intensity will vary throughout the session thanks to different body positions (i.e., standing versus sitting), pedal speed, and resistance. The instructor will tell you when to change your settings so your ride feels like it would outdoors—complete with hill climbs, sprints, and coasting. Best of all, you will learn how to ride the bike in a way that maximizes your fitness, while minimizing any risk of injury. Learn to ride right and get fit! Class is appropriate for all levels.

Thursdays 4:30 pm Starting October 3.

Strollercize

The 12 class course offers a fun, brisk-paced and challenging 60-minute class that will help to increase your cardiovascular level, as well as your muscle strength and endurance using the indoor track and circuit training techniques. Emphasis will be placed on safe postpartum movements and core/pelvic strength. All fitness levels welcome. Stroller required. No experience necessary.

Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:00 pm

Kickboxing

Kickboxing is a high intensity workout. You will learn combinations of punches, kicks, and other strikes, and train in fighter conditioning exercises. Everybody is welcome. No past boxing experience is required. 

Tuesdays at 5:15 pm 

Shred & Shine Boot Camp

Burn fat (not time) and discover a stronger version of yourself with this one hour mix of strength & endurance training. 

Tuesdays & Thursdays at 6:45 pm 

Tabata

Tabata is a high-intensity interval training that consists of eight sets of fast-paced exercises designed to help you shed fat fast.

Tuesdays at 6:00 pm 

Fundamentals of Yoga

An on-going class for beginners and continuing beginners - everyone welcome! This class includes pranayama (breathing practices), basic asana (postures), vinyasa (flow), tensegrity (gentle anatomical sequences), restorative yoga and medication. What is practiced each week changes to provide ongoing learning and fun. 

Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 pm 

Beginner Vinyasa Yoga

Bring balance to you day by slowing down the hectic pace of city life in one of our soothing flow yoga classes. These slower paced flowing classes focus on the basics of yoga, breath work and movement. Beginners and experienced yoga students alike will enjoy the lighthearted and individually challenging nature of the class. No level of experience required.

Mondays & Wednesdays at 7 am 

Zumba

Zumba combines Latin and International music with the fun, effective movements at your own pace. Ditch the workout and join the PARTY! Inspired by Latin dance and music, Zumba draws from varying styles in its routines, including meringue, salsa, hi-hop, flamenco and more. Music selections include both fast and slow rhythms to help tone and sculpt the body with easy to follow dance moves. No experience necessary.

Wednesdays at 5 pm 

As a student, many classes are offered at a discount or even sometimes free of charge. You can register online or at the front desk of the HLC. Your student fees help you to stay fit!

Chess As Part Of Paris 2024 Olympics

Recently the FIDE chess association and the French Chess association have been working to promote chess as an Olympic sport for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Chess has now become a candidate for the Olympic Games and to potentially become a sport. Chess becoming an Olympic sport can only be confirmed by the International Olympic Committee. The last time chess was considered a candidate for an Olympic sport was just after the match played between Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue. Although it was considered at that time not as much effort was being put into making it an official sport as it is now.

Should chess be an Olympic sport? Well, chess is physically demanding in ways most people don’t realize. Some claim playing chess for 2 hours is the equivalent of running 8 kilometres. As stated from the IOC and the FIDE association.

Back in 1927 the world championship match between Capablanca and Alekhine took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. World championship time parameters were 2.5 hours for 40 moves, if the game did not end then it would be continued the next day. The player to get 6 wins becomes world champion and draws do not count. Capablanca had been champion for quite some time, he did little to no preparation before the match in 1927. Alekhine gave up smoking, drinking and did a serious physical training regime as well as analyzing games. By game 34 Alekhine had worn down his opponent so much that Capablanca resigned the next game before it even started. This stands to show that high level chess players must have the physical and mental stamina to play major league games for extended periods of time.

As for popularity in chess, back in 1972 the Fischer v. Spassky match was literally the most popular event in all of the world. It was even being watched by people who didn't know how to play the game! After Fischer won, upon his return to New York he was awarded a medal by the mayor of the city. If almost 50 years ago chess could reach this level of notoriety, it certainly has the potential to become popular like that again. To quote from Fischer, “Chess is a great game. A game and a sport for the mind. I never thought I’d see the day when chess would be all over the front pages.” 


One argument for why games like Chess and Go should be part of the Olympics and not games like Fortnight is because of the history. Chess has been played for at least 2000 years by some of histories greatest minds. Another argument is that chess is an entirely skill-based game except for the chance of which colour pieces you get. In almost every other game, except Go and Draughts, there is a serious luck-based component. Most sports in the Olympics are not based on luck at all. Do you think chess should be part of the Olympics? I think so!


Bobcats Volleyball: National silver Medalists

After bringing home a win during the Canada West conference championship, the Bobcats mens team suffered a loss at the hands of the Trinity Western Spartans at the national championship game in Quebec City back on March 17th. The men had just most recently beat the Spartans at home when they played them for the title in the west. This had been the fourth game the Spartans and the Bobcats faced off, and this time the Spartans took a clean sweep over the men.

Trinity Western won each of the three sets scoring 25-23, 25-21 and 25-19. It was through careful planning and execution that the Spartans changed up their serving strategy and kept Brandon on their heals throughout the whole game. The men were not prepared for this technique nor were they able to properly counter it as even BU coach, Grant Wilson, mentioned the Spartans “did it to a T.” 

The Spartans scored 8 aces alone and had a total of 45 kills, almost 20 more kills than the Bobcats. Despite this the men still had a great season overall and achieved some truly miraculous feats through hard work and dedication. Seth Friesen scored the team high with 10 kills and Elliot Viles was close behind with 7. The co-captains Brady Nault and James Weir were also great in their final matches as Bobcats, Naut had 8 digs and Weir had 4 kills on six swings.

This is the second time Brandon has brought home the silver medal from nationals when in 2011 the men lost to the then home town Trinity Western Spartans.

Congratulations on the phenomenal season gentlemen, best of luck with your studies and farewell to those of you who will be leaving the Bobcats team for good. We all appreciate the games you guys put on for BU and the enthusiasm you filled the HLC with. Best of luck next year.

Bobcats Volleyball: Canada West Champions

Brandon University Boabcats have won the Canada West conference title in the U-Sports realm of men’s volleyball. If you haven’t seen or heard yet you may have been somewhere under a rock this past week because the news has spread everywhere across the community. My cousin doesn’t even go to school here and he was telling me about it. Truly a remarkable feat that the men have accomplished.

The men’s team had won the Canada West league title back in 2012-2013 and since then it is has been a series of close encounters but never a solid finish. This is truly a remarkable time for the men as not since members like Sebastien Steigmeier, Sam Tuivai and Roy Ching have been on the team have the men done so well. That 2012-2013 year the men had a record of 26-13 while the men of 2018-2019 have a record of 25-3. This is not the final journey for the men this year though as they will soon be travelling to Quebec City to face off with the other U-Sports competitors. 

Nationals will be no small challenge for the men but if they play as well as they did against the Spartans this past weekend everyone is sure in for a show! The men’s most recent game went back and forth in 5 intense sets that continually built upon one another till the men finished off their opponents with damning blow’s from Seth Friesen, Elliot Viles and Robin Baghdady. Each of the hitters had a wicked streak of kills totaling 43 points altogether. The co-captains Brady Nault and James Weir each did amazing too as Nault had 11 digs and Weir had a match high of 5 blocks. Reece Dixon is credited with 43 assists and was a vital part in setting up the Bobcats offence.

The mens next games will take place on March 17th-18th in Quebec as the men go to play the best of the best. Good luck men!


pc: bobcats, matt packwood and milana paddock

pc: bobcats, matt packwood and milana paddock

MCAC Athlete Of The Week

Dan Harrison of the men’s futsal team has been named the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) athlete of the week. This is added onto the long list of achievements which Dan has gained over his years as a Bobcat!  Harrison has been a key piece to the men’s defence as a goal keeper who refuses to give up. Making some incredible saves and showing excellent leadership on the team, Dan has shown time and time again why he is deserving of awards like these.

The men have played 11 games so far this year and won all but two, where one ended in a tie and one ended in a loss. The mens next games will take place at home at 1:00 p.m. on March 2nd. The futsal Final Four tournament (Copa De La Paz Championship) takes place on the weekend of March 9-11th and will be hosted out in Winnipeg.


pc:bobcats, matt packwood

Bobcats VolleyBall: The Road Forward

Your Brandon Bobcats are on a bit of a hot streak as they crush the Calgary Dino’s chance in the playoffs! The Volleyball team won both sets of games, defeating their prey with a clean sweep 3-0 on Thursday and finishing their rivals on Friday 3-1. This was no walk in the park however and every point was fought over with desperation and deliberate planning, both teams offering different moments against one another.

The Bobcats are ranked No. 1 in the league and the Dino’s were ranked No. 8. This latest set of victories however will lead the Bobcats on towards the semi-finals. It has been a long road for the Bobcats but it  has certainly been another successful year. This regular season the men won 20 out of their 22 games. Last year the men played 24 regular season games and lost 7 of them.

This past set will hopefully propel the men going forward in the Canada West playoffs. Although this latest battle wasn't a cake walk the Dino’s were not able to push the series to a third round of games on the Saturday. The Brandon offence was just too good for the Dino’s defence as all three of the Bobcats starting outside attackers scored in the double figures. Seth Friesen scored 17 kills, robin Baghdady had 13 and Elliot Viles had 10. Reece Dixon had 47 assists and libero Brady Nault finished with 13 digs.

The mens next games will be played in Brandon as they take on the Mount Royal Cougars. These two teams have played each other before in the past and it has not turned out the best for Brandon, as those games resulted in the Bobcats only 2 losses during the season. The game will be taking place at the HLC on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and with the second game on Friday. Dependant on the results of those matches the teams may have to play again Saturday if necessary. Best of luck in your games Bobcats, way to go!


Pc: bobcats, milana paddock

BU Big Band Dance

This coming Friday BU students are encouraged to come and enjoy the BU Big Band dance at Forbidden Flavours from 8:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. The BU Big Band takes to the stage for a community dance in celebration of Black History Month. Music will feature high-energy jazz and swing music to get students excited and out onto the dance floor. There will also be other music such as contemporary R&B and Soul hits to help soothe the mood and offer smooth flowing music to slow things down and give wild dancers a break.

pc:brandon university website, bums

Everyone is invited to the event! The BU Big Band is directed by Michael Cain and features 25 members of the Brandon University faculty of music. These talented young artists are sure to wow and impress anyone walking by the mingling area that evening. Raffle prizes and pizza will be sold for $2.00 each.

Tickets are available for advance purchasing or at the door should you be a little late to the party. Advance tickets are $12.00 for BUMS members, $15.00 for non-members or $20.00 at the door. In order to find some advance tickets you will need to check in with music building foyer or talk with BUMS members.

Capacity and therefore tickets will be somewhat limited due to the large number of band members. It should be quite the performance and is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in jazz or swing music.

Bobcats Basketball End Of Season Wrap Up

What a year it’s been for the Bobcat basketball teams as they’ve gone through hardships and had a few shares of good fortunes along the journey. Both men and women struggled in parts of the season and neither would end up with a positive record against their opponents. The men would finish the season with a record of 4-16 and the women’s team would end slightly better with a 5-15 record. Neither team would make it onto playoffs and both concluded this past weekend with games here at home.

Compared to the rest of the teams in the USports arena, the men’s Bobcats team would land on the rankings at 15 of 17 in the Canada West division. It would not be enough to make it into playoffs and the men’s dreams will be stifled for another year. It is the top 12 teams which enter the playoffs and the team which clung onto the final position was the team the Bobcats most recently played, the Mount Royal Cougars. The Mount Royal Cougars placed 12 with a record of 8-12 and the top team, the Calgary Dino’s, would clean sweep the league with a record of 20-0. 

The women’s overall ranking in the Canada West league would place them at 14 of 17. Again not high enough ranking to make playoffs but still onto a solid path for the future of the program. The final team to just make it into the ranking was the Winnipeg Wesmen who had a record of 8-12 and the team which placed first was the Regina Cougar’s who finished with a record of 17-3.

The men’s team would finish the season with a PCT (winning percentage) of .200 and the women’s team would finish with a PCT of .238. The men’s team longest losing streak would be for about 8 games in the middle of the season and the total amount of games they won, both in and out of the conference, was 6 games. The women’s team longest losing streak was 7 games and their total amount of wins in games that were both in and out of the regular season was a total of 8.

Compared to last year the women won an extra two games. The 2017-2018 year they would have a record of 3-17, 2016-2017 would end with a record of 8-12 and 2015-2016 record would be 7-13.

Compared to last year the men won 5 more games with their 2017-2018 year ending with a 9-11 record. During 2016-2017 the men’s record was 9-11 and in 2015-2016 their record was 1-19.

A congratulation goes out to the teams for the entertaining games they provided for us and hopes that they will be able to make it into the playoffs next year! 


Men’s Basketball

4-16

3-8 home

1-8 away

PCT .200


Womens Basketball

5-15

2-9 home

3-6 away

PCT .238




Looking For A Sports Reporter

Since the beginning of time The Quill has looked for its own sports reporter. We have searched high and low for someone who is interested in both sports and the art of writing. However every time I seem to find one person who considers themselves interested in one subject or the other it seems to be mutually exclusive, as if to say people can’t be interested in both subjects simultaneously. It’s as if as soon as I bring up one subject some people seem to get super excited and interested in talking with me. “Oh you like sports, you must have an opinion on how the local hockey teams are doing this year.” “Oh you’re a writer, you must be great with grammar and proper punctuation.” (Both statements are not true about myself, just for the record.) 

But as soon as I try to bring up the idea of both subjects and the possibility of being a sports reporter it seems as if people skulk away. Like as if to say “Pfft I would not be caught dead with that group of individuals who like that subject.” People will often say they either dislike or don’t understand sports or claim they are not strong writers. I cannot possibly comprehend either of those points of view. Why can’t I understand them? First of all, sports are entertaining. They have a goal, a purpose and are based on real life/real time events. Second, writing is amazing. You can express yourself, share your ideas and opinions and it is a crucial piece of life.

There are entire companies dedicated to reporting on sports news. Thousands of people who both like journalism and sports and realize they are not mutually exclusive. And yet here I am begging someone, anyone who considers themselves a writer and a fan of sports to report on stories that surround the sports community. 

Why you should join The Quill team? Well there are several reasons and I will lay them out for you. The Quill is focused on reporting news all across campus and in the Brandon community. If you ever wanted a chance to be involved in a community The Quill is a great option and connection to finding out what is going on locally. The Quill also offers payment through tuition rebates. Your wages would be based on the total word count you write. For example writing 2000 words (roughly 5-6 articles) might be as much as 2% of the total content The Quill posts, then that 2% is worth a portion of the tuition rebate which might total $100. It’s not a lot but the experiences that are offered are worth far more than the wages themselves. Experiences such as meeting celebrities who come to Brandon, going to certain events and outings and getting to interview some truly incredible people.

The Quill can offer you a place to study in our office, a place to meet people and a resume booster. The skills you would learn include some time management and communication skills. Even then if you’re worried about either of those I would gladly sit down to help out and mentor you through this process. 

I started out my career at The Quill by taking on the sports reporter position. I covered games and events hosted by the Bobcats and even interviewed former NHL players like Theon Fleury. I also went to all sorts of HLC classes and clubs like yoga and floor hockey. It got me out of my comfort zone and put me in the thick of being social and expanding my writing skills. My first boss taught me a lot about writing and helped me really come into my own as a reporter. To date I’ve made well over $2000 since working here and making this a vital piece of my life. To think it all started with reporting on sports. It really is a great opportunity and I would feel awful if no one ever held out the hand and invited me to join. 

Bobcats Sports

In the world of sports the Bobcats have been busy on all fronts this past weekend. The Bobcats teams of the volleyball, basketball and soccer each had their own battles across western Canada. The men’s volleyball team was the only team with no game this past weekend but they will be back on the court in the coming week. 

Starting out in Regina with the results of the women’s volleyball games, the outcomes were not good for the Bobcats. The women lost both games against the Cougar’s, taking two losses, L 0-3 and L 1-3. Both Friday and Saturday were tough games for the Bobcats. The worst game they lost was 25-15 and their victory was 22-25.

In futsal both men and women were able to walk away with at least one win. The women’s team was able to beat Red River 5-1 and lost to CMU in a close game 2-3. The men’s team won both their games 10-6 against Red River and 7-5 against CMU.

In basketball both the men and women went out to BC to play games against the UBC Thunderbirds. Sadly each game was lost by the Bobcats as they could not keep up with the T-birds. The women lost their matches 50-77 and 56-85. The men lost their matches 81-98 and 74-94.

Next week the sports teams will have games throughout the weekend. The futsal and volleyball teams will have games here and in Winnipeg and the basketball teams will be out in Edmonton. Best of luck in your next games Bobcats!


Volleyball

Women L 0-3, 25-23, 25-17, 25-15   L 1-3 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18

Regina


Soccer

Women W 5-1 Red river L 2-3 CMU

Men W 10-6 RRC W 7-5 CMU

Basketball

Women L 50-77 L 56-85

Men L 81-98 L 74- 94

UBC