Wally Ursuliak
| Wally Ursuliak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ursuliak in Ursuliak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | June 30, 1929 Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | March 7, 2025 (aged 95) Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Curling club | Alberta Avenue CC Edmonton, AB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skip | Hec Gervais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third | Ray Werner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second | Vic Raymer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lead | Wally Ursuliak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Curling career  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brier appearances | 2 (1961, 1962) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship appearances | 1 (1961) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wally Ursuliak (June 30, 1929 – March 7, 2025) was a Canadian curler from Morinville, Alberta. [1]
Biography
[edit]
Ursuliak began curling at the age of 23 at the Alberta Avenue Curling Club. [2]
He was the lead on the Alberta Avenue CC curling team (from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) during the World Curling Championships known as the 1961 Scotch Cup. He was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2006. [3]
Ursuliak quit competitive curling in 1969 due to a shoulder injury.[4] He was a member of the first ever umpire crew at a Brier in 1973, where he wore a sweater with one white arm, and one red arm which were used to indicate shot rock after a measurement.[5]
During the 1960s and 1970s, he along with Ray Turnbull and Don Duguid operated a series of curling clinics in Europe to try to popularize the game. In 1980s, he was also credited with introducing the game to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. [6][7]
Despite his work as a curling instructor around the world, Curling Canada prevented him from coaching a junior curling team in 1987 as he did not have his level three coaching certificate.[8]
In addition to his work as a curling instructor, Ursuliak worked as the general sales manager of Ailsa Craig Curling Stones, a job he took in 1976.[4]
Ursuliak died in Canada on March 7, 2025, at the age of 95.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Japanese gesture brings memories back to Alberta curling guru". CBC News. 2016-09-05. Archived from the original on 2016-09-28.
- ^ "Japan Rewards Curler". Edmonton Journal. May 1, 2017. p. 2. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ "Ursuliak, Wally — CCA Hall of Fame — ACC Temple de la Renommée Virtuelle". Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b "Tom Keenan". The Sault Star. February 28, 1978. p. 6. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ "Ursuliak marvels at curling changes". Edmonton Journal. March 9, 1989. p. 19. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ 1https://archive.today/20130120203505/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Curling/2006/02/23/1458691-sun.html][usurped]
- ^ "Curling: Albertans Sweeping The World". Edmonton Commonwealth Walkway.
- ^ "Silly decision on Ursuliak". Edmonton Journal. January 7, 1987. p. 55. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ "Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of curling legend, Wally Ursuliak, who passed Friday morning at age 95". Curling Canada on Facebook. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Wally Ursuliak". Memoriz. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
External links
[edit]- Wally Ursuliak at World Curling
- Wally Ursuliak – Curling Canada Stats Archive
- "Classic Curler: Hector Gervais". Curling Canada. 2011-09-20. Archived from the original on 2021-06-19.
- "Curling Legends Podcast: Episode 24 - Wally Ursuliak". 2017-10-26. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12.
- Video:
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