CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Kathy O’Rourke, one of P.E.I.’s finest-ever female curlers, will be inducted into the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame at Credit Union Place on Friday evening.
Joining O’Rourke in the Class of 2018 will be her brother and fellow curler Peter MacDonald; longtime builder, coach and organizer of the sport of fencing, Lothar Zimmermann, and Gerard Smith, well known locally for his exploits in baseball, hockey and harness racing , where he has been an official for over 40 years.
The induction ceremony is sponsored by P.E.I. Mutual Insurance Company, and tickets are still available by contacting Sport P.E.I. at (902)-368-4110, or Nick Murray at (902)-393-5474. All tickets must be ordered in advance of the evening.
Kathy O’Rourke skipped one of P.E.I.’s greatest curling teams to the championship game in the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, losing to Jennifer Jones of Manitoba in the 11th end in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The Island rink consisted of O'Rourke, third Erin Carmody, second Geri-Lynn Ramsay and lead Tricia Affleck. Shelly Bradley was the team’s fifth player.
It was only the second time – and the first since the Marie Toole rink in 1974 – that P.E.I. had finished as runner-up in the national women’s curling championship.
O'Rourke, from Summerside, began curling in junior and senior high school. She later moved to Charlottetown, where her curling success began to build.
She won her first P.E.I. women’s championship in 1989, playing second stone on a rink skipped by Kathie Gallant. She was second on a rink skipped by Angela Roberts that won in 1991, and then as third for skip Susan McInnis in 1996. She also played on Rebecca Jean MacPhee’s rink as second on the 1999 P.E.I. team that was the host team for the Scotties in Charlottetown.
She skipped her own rink to the 2002 P.E.I. title, and then the 2010 foursome that was the talk not just of the Island, but the entire country.
O'Rourke also played on the 1989 P.E.I. rink that won the Canadian mixed curling championship in Brandon, Man., skipped by Robert Campbell. That rink also included her husband Mark and Angela Roberts. P.E.I. scored two in the 10th end to defeat Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba.
In 1999, playing third on a rink with her brother Peter MacDonald, husband Mark and Karen A. MacDonald, the Island team finished second in the national mixed.
Kathy joined brother Rod MacDonald, husband Mark and sister-in-law Karen MacDonald to win another Island mixed championship in 2013. She also played on nine provincial runners-up between 1993 to 2015.
In 2010, Kathy was named Curl P.E.I.’s senior female athlete of the year, and the rink won Sport P..EI.’s team of the year award.
A much-respected leader in the business community as a managing partner for Grant Thornton, Kathy is an outstanding role model, especially for females who want to be successful in both sport and their professional career. Her skill with the rocks and leadership on the ice make her a welcome addition to the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame.
