The two finalists for male Athlete of the Year at this year’s ADL/Sport PEI Sport Achievement Awards for Curling are Rod MacDonald and Mark O’Rourke. The awards will be held in conjunction with Curl PEI’s Annual General Meeting next Wednesday evening May 29 at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, The AGM will take place first (with a meal) at 5:30 pm and the award presentations will follow at about 7:15 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend – there is no cost. Attendees are required to RSVP to Curl PEI Executive Director Amy Duncan by Friday, May 24 at [email protected] or 902-368-4208.
CCA Photo by Leona Arsenault: Rod MacDonald at the Canadian Seniors
Rod MacDonald skipped two provincial championship teams and one runner-up this season, going undefeated to win the Credit Unions of PEI Senior Men’s title, winning the provincial Mixed championship, and coming second in the Tankard provincial men’s. And, for the first time, he got to compete in a national championship in his home town, finishing fourth after losing out in a tiebreaker at the Canadian Mixed at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. MacDonald and his Mixed team, which includes his wife, Karen, his sister Kathy O’Rourke, and her husband Mark, are looking forward to competing in the Canadian Mixed, November 14-23 at the Rideau Curling Club in Ottawa.
To-date, MacDonald has won three provincial Mixed titles, two Senior Men’s, and seven Tankards, winning his first three playing on a team skipped by his brother Peter in 1978, 1981, and 1996, and then skipping his own team to wins in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010.
PEICurling.com Photo: Mark O’Rourke at the 2013 PEI Tankard final
Mark O’Rourke played second stone for his brother-in-law Rod MacDonald on Men’s, Senior Men’s, and Mixed teams this season, winning both the provincial Credit Unions of PEI Seniors title, and the Mixed crown, and finishing as runners-up in the PEI Tankard Men’s Championship. At the national Seniors in Summerside, the team finished in fourth spot, with O’Rourke being named to the first team All-Stars, for having the highest shooting percentage (83) among seconds.
While new to the Seniors, O’Rourke is no stranger to Men’s curling, with his name on the provincial plaque 10 times, curling on rinks skipped by Rod MacDonald, Peter Gallant, Peter MacDonald, and Robert Campbell.
O’Rourke will also be competing in the Canadian Mixed, November 14-23 at the Rideau Curling Club in Ottawa. He is a former Canadian Mixed champion, winning with Robert Campbell, Angela Roberts, and his wife Kathy O’Rourke back in 1988. The O’Rourkes also curled at the national Mixed in 1998, with his brother-in-law Peter MacDonald and Peter’s wife Karen.
O’Rourke is also a runner, and, keeps fit at the gym and by throwing rocks at the curling club.