Kim Dolan – a stellar curler & builder of the game to be inducted into Hall of Fame on Oct. 15

The Prince Edward Island Curling Hall of Fame and Museum is set to host its sixth annual induction ceremony on Monday October 15, 2012 at the Charlottetown Curling Complex, Charlottetown PEI.

The four inductees being honoured for their achievements and contributions to the sport of curling are: Kim Dolan, Charlottetown, Don Hutchinson (posthumously), Charlottetown, Irving MacKinnon (posthumously), Charlottetown, and Wanda MacLean, Summerside.

The event, with co-hosts Paul H. Schurman and Tricia Affleck, gets underway at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 and are available at the door, or in advance at the Charlottetown Curling Club, or by contacting Jerry Muzika, phone (902) 672-2822, email [email protected], or other members of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors.

This year’s ceremony is sponsored by PEI Ford Dealers, Beaton’s Wholesale Dry Goods, City of Charlottetown, Purity Dairy, and Phillips Feed Service.

Here is Kim Dolan’s curling biography:

Kim (MacLeod) Dolan

Kim Dolan

Kim started her curling career in 1974 at the Charlottetown Curling Club. The main incentives for beginning a journey that would see her compete in major Canadian curling championships as well as chair national curling events were, quite simply, an active school curling program and the fact that her mom and dad both curled.

Not wasting any time, she won her first of three Prince Edward Island Junior Women’s Curling Championships in 1974, playing lead for skip Gloria Basha, with Janet Wood at third and Anne Hennessey at second. The next year, 1975, they repeated the win with the same team in the same positions. In 1976, she was again a winner, this time playing third for skip Anne Merklinger, with Kathie Burke at second, and Karen Stewart at lead.

Kim moved up into women’s curling in 1980, winning nine PEI Women’s Curling Championships, holding the record for the most provincial Women’s curling championship wins on PEI.

Her first win as a women’s competitor was in 1983, when she teamed up with Cathy Dillon at third, Karen MacDonald at second, and Kathie Burke at lead. Kim again won with the same team in 1985. In 1987 Kim won again, this time with the changed line up of Karen Jones playing third, second Shelley Muzika and lead Nancy Reid.

In 1988, curling was introduced as a demonstration sport at the Calgary Olympics. Leading up to that, in 1987, Kim was invited to an elite camp for curlers with the purpose of forming teams that would go forward to the Olympic trials. She was successful in being named to play with Colleen Jones as part of an Atlantic team to play in the trials.

After surgery for a back injury, Kim came back in 1990, skipping her team of Karen Jones at third, second Shelley Muzika, and lead Janice MacCallum to her fourth provincial women’s title. In 1992, changes to the team came about due to her three players leaving the Island. However, with Susan McInnis at third, second Julie Scales, and lead Marion MacAulay filling the roster, she again won the provincial title.

In 1995, Kim decided she needed a change from skipping and teamed up with a former junior star, Rebecca Jean MacPhee. Kim played third, Marion MacAulay second, and Lou Ann Henry lead to win the provincial women’s championship.  This turned out to be a winning combination as they repeated their 1995 win in 1997 and again in 1999. With one change to the line-up with Kathy O’Rourke playing second, they had the honour of playing in front of the hometown crowd as Charlottetown hosted the 1999 championship.

Kim’s last PEI Women’s championship came in 2012. It had been 20 years since she had skipped a team at the Canadian Women’s Championship and her last appearance as a curler at the national competition was in 1999. With her team of Rebecca Jean MacDonald at third, her daughter Sinead at second, Nancy Cameron at lead and Michala Robison as alternate lead, they became only the eleventh team in the Women’s Championship event to score a six ender.

Kim also was prominent in Island Mixed Curling. In 1980, she won her first of four PEI Mixed Curling Championships, playing third for skip John Fortier, with second Peter Jenkins, and lead Sharon Fortier. The next year, 1981, the team changed leads with Kathie Burke playing this position when they again won the PEI Mixed. In 1982, Kim won again with a different team: Bill Merklinger skipped, second was Peter Gallant, and lead was Kathie Burke. Her last win was in 2004, when she skipped the mixed team with third Kevin Champion, second Marion MacAulay, and lead Mike Dillon. She was the first female skip to win the Island Mixed Championship and the second woman to skip at the Canadian Mixed Championship.

Kim began volunteering her time in other aspects of the game in the late 1970s, co-chairing, with Diane Blanchard,  the Canadian Junior Women’s Curling Championship, held at the Charlottetown Curling Club in 1980.

She served as Draw and Media Facilities Chair on the 1984 Scott Tournament of Hearts Championship Committee, held at the Charlottetown Forum, under the leadership of chairperson Donna Sears.

With Bob Matthews, Kim co-chaired the Host Committee for the 1996 Canadian Mixed Championship held at the Charlottetown Curling Club.

Kim was chair of the Host Committee for the 1999 Canadian Women’s Curling Championship when it was held in Charlottetown at the Civic Centre. She also wore the PEI colours in the competition along with her skip Rebecca Jean MacPhee, second Kathy O’Rourke, and lead Lou Ann Henry.

She again chaired the Host Committee of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canadian Women’s Curling Championship when it was held in Charlottetown in 2011.

At the club level, Kim served on the nomination committee of the Charlottetown Ladies Curling Club in 1981, was chair of Foreign Games in 1981/82, vice president of the Charlottetown Curling Club in 1992/93, and President in 1993/94.

With her coaching level 2, Kim has coached and was fifth player for many teams throughout the years as they enjoyed the challenges of competing in Canadian Championships. She has had the opportunity to coach her daughter and her team as well competing with her daughter Sinead as a team member at the 2012 Scotties.

Kim has had a stellar career as a curler and builder of the game she loves to play.

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