Honourees expressed their feelings about their names standing next to the greatest athletes
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – A crowd flowed in the Credit Union Place on Friday evening to celebrate and welcome the diverse range of champions into this year’s P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame.
Notable figures included Kathy O’ Rourke and her brother, Peter MacDonald, from the sport of curling, Lothar Zimmermann, the founder of fencing on the province, and Gerard Smith for his great feats in hockey, basketball, and harness racing.
P.E.I.’s Sports Hall of Fame inductees this year: Lothar Zimmermann, the founder of fencing on the province, from left, Peter MacDonald, and his sister Kathy O’Rourke, from the sport of curling, and the Island’s most notable figures in baseball, hockey and harness racing Gerard Smith. – Desiree Anstey
“It’s an amazing honour to be inducted into the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame, and then, of course, to go in with your brother who really has been my mentor for this whole career. It’s really special that way,” chimed O’Rourke, who was accompanied with 11 family members.
“It’s been a family affair,” acknowledged MacDonald. “I had the opportunity to bring Kathy into the game because she’s my younger sister, and so it’s been quite something to see her skills develop over the years and for her to become one of the best lady curlers in the country.”
MacDonald noted the highlight of his career happened in 1999, playing with his wife Karen, sister Kathy, and her husband Mark O’Rourke when the Island team finished second in the national mixed.
“But the real highlight for me was watching Kathy come second in the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.,” remarked MacDonald. “I wanted to see her excel, and I am quite proud to see my sister accomplish so much with the sport of curling.”