CHARLOTTETOWN – Kathy O’Rourke has certainly left her mark in the sport of curling on P.E.I.
The Summerside native’s outstanding career will be recognized with induction into the P.E.I. Curling Hall of Fame and Museum at the Cornwall Curling Club on Oct. 23. Also being enshrined are O’Rourke’s husband, Mark O’Rourke, Mark Butler, Robert Campbell and Peter Gallant.
The first in a series of profiles on the inductees features Kathy O’Rourke, who will be inducted under the “Curler” category.
O’Rourke started to curl in Summerside during her junior and senior high school years.
In 1987, she moved to Charlottetown and joined the Charlottetown Curling Club. This began a successful journey on the road to curling success, where she excelled as a curler in women’s and mixed competition.
She won P.E.I. women’s championships in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2010.
O’Rourke, third stone Erin Carmody, second stone Geri-Lynn Ramsay and lead Tricia Affleck were crowd favourites as the P.E.I. representatives advanced to the final game of the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., dropping a close game to Jennifer Jones that came down to the final end.
That silver-medal performance stands as the best showing by a P.E.I. team at the Canadian women’s championship since Marie Toole placed second at the 1974 MacDonald Lassie in Victoria, B.C.
Mixed
O’Rourke has won three provincial mixed championships – 1989, 1998 and 2013 – and also enjoyed considerable success on the national stage.
O’Rourke played the lead position for Robert Campbell’s rink that went on to win the 1989 Canadian mixed championship in Brandon, Man. Third stone Angela Roberts and second stone Mark O’Rourke round out the team members.
Then in 1999, O’Rourke was third stone with a rink skipped by her brother, Peter MacDonald, which included Mark O’Rourke at second and lead Karen A. MacDonald. The foursome returned home from the Canadian mixed championship with a silver medal.
Awards
O’Rourke has received a number of prestigious awards, including two following her rink’s incredible run in 2010 – Curl P.E.I. senior female athlete of the year and Sport P.E.I. team of the year.
Along with her achievements on the ice, O’Rourke has also contributed to the sport in other capacities. She served as treasurer of the Charlottetown Curling Club from 1994 to 1996; was a member of the finance committee for the 1999 Scotties Tournament of Hearts national championship in Charlottetown, and provided CBC live update reporting at the 2011 Canadian Scotties in Charlottetown. She is also a certified Level 1 coach.
Overall, O’Rourke has six P.E.I. women’s curling championships, three provincial mixed championships and one Canadian mixed title to her credit.
