Peters nominated as one of all-time greats

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This article was published 09/10/2020 (1742 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Curling fans in this province will now have the opportunity to vote on who they think is Manitoba’s greatest curling team of all time.

One of those in the running is that of Steinbach native the legendary Vic Peters and his teams from the 1990’s as they were considered one of the best curling teams in the world. Peters passed away in 2016 at the age of 61.

Together with his longtime second Chris Neufeld, of course another Steinbacher and the father of current greats Denni and BJ Neufeld, the Peters teams from those years were known as one of the Big Three in the 1990’s, along with former world champions Kerry Burtynk and Jeff Stoughton.

This is all a new initiative of the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame and Museum as they mark Manitoba’s 150^th Anniversary by identifying 150 teams which played a significant role in creating (in the early years) and extending (in more recent times) Manitoba’s reputation for competitive excellence in the world of curling.

Further, the Hall of Fame is asking curling fans to vote on who they think should be included as one of the “People’s Choice” as of the top-25 notable curling teams in Manitoba history.

But there is one catch to vote, a minimum donation of $10 is being suggested by the Hall of Fame and Museum. Donations will also be eligible for a charitable receipt. The People’s Choice ranking will be determined by the total donations made in the name of each team. To cast your vote, go to canadahelps.org. There you will find an opportunity to select and vote for any of the named 25 teams, or name a wild card choice.

The complete list of the 150 Notable Curling Teams in Manitoba history can be viewed on the CurlManitoba website at curlmanitoba.org.

Resby Coutts, vice-president of the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame, says he would like to see a friendly competition in the voting, which will require bringing out the wallets. “If Steinbach gets behind Vic Peters and pushes him to the top, Assiniboine Memorial is going to push back and try to get Kerry Burtnyk to the top, and St. Vital will push back for Jennifer Jones, etc. “

The Peters team went on an incredible run in the six-year period from 1992 to 1997 where they won three Manitoba titles and a Brier championship. Peters finished first in the round robin at all three of his Brier appearances, including 1992 in Regina, the following year in Ottawa, and then in 1997 in Calgary where he posted a perfect 11-0 record before losing to Kevin Martin in the final in what is considered the best Brier in history.

Deadline for voting is Dec. 5 and the results will be announced on Dec. 15.