Fifty Years of Competing
 Forty Years of Teamwork

Wetaskiwin born Phyllis and Bob Cleland have been sports enthusiasts all of their lives. Phyllis grew up in Westerose and Bob in Angus Ridge, both small communities where sport was their source of entertainment.  In their youth Phyllis and Bob curled in the winter and played ball in the summer in their respective communities.  When they married they took up residence on their farm in the Angus Ridge community and then their participation was in Angus Ridge for ball and Wetaskiwin for curling. 

The Clelands have both been successful competitors in their sports, but their most rewarding experiences came from involving youngsters in sporting activities at the community level.  Phyllis and Bob have contributed much to Wetaskiwin and Wetaskiwin County through their volunteer efforts with young people. For their contributions as coaches and administrators and achievements as athletes they are being inducted into the Wetaskiwin & County Sports Hall of Fame.

Curling Bonspiels Keep Clelands Busy
Winning Teams from 1960-2013   

In the 1960’s Bob competed at the highest level in curling against many of the most well known curlers of the era including Baldwin, Gervais, Watchhorn and Northcott.  In 1963-64 Bob won a silver placing at the Massey Ferguson Provincial Playdowns.  In 1967 and 1969 he also won berths to the Northern Alberta Curling Association playdowns (NACA) by winning the Wetaskiwin Zone Playdowns. Bob also represented Wetaskiwin at the NACA mixed playdowns in 1965 and 1966. Also during the 1960’s Bob competed in Calgary and Edmonton at the major Car spiels and won two used car bonspiels in Wetaskiwin (1967 & 1968).  

Phyllis and Bob teamed up and, representing Wetaskiwin, won four more berths to the NACA mixed playdowns in 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1985.  In 2013 Bob and Phyllis won a gold medal at the 55-plus Alberta Winter Games in the 70+ Mixed Curling event. In 2015 Bob continued his winning ways and  won a bronze medal at the 55-Plus Alberta Winter Games in the Mens 70 Plus division.  At the time of their induction, both Phyllis and Bob were still avid curlers, curling regularly in Wetaskiwin leagues and continuing to enter the tryouts to qualify for the 55-plus Winter Games.

 Exceptional Coaching Successes in Curling 
1991 - 2014

Phyllis was a director of the Wetaskiwin Curling Club for a number of years and during the 1980’s and 1990’s she taught Junior curling at the club.  As well, from 1991 to 1993 Phyllis coached the WCHS boys team and from 1992 to 1995 she coached the WCHS girls team.  The 1995 WCHS girls team won a Provincial Bronze Medal.   In the 1990’s as a level 3 Curling coach Phyllis also coached both a Junior Men’s Competitive curling team and a Junior Ladies Competitive team; both teams were from Wetaskiwin.  In 1993 the girls won the Neil Moyer spiel in Edmonton and the prize was an all-expense paid trip to the Ray Kingsmith Bonspiel in Calgary 1994.  That year her Junior Ladies team won the Ray Kingsmith Memorial Bonspiel in Calgary and defended their title in 1995. With each win they were awarded a $2000 post secondary curling scholarship. In 1996 her Junior Girls team won the Alberta Games Gold Medal and in 1996-1997 they were also the Junior Ladies Northern Alberta B winners and placed third at the Provincials.  At the 1997 Junior Ladies Provincial Playdowns, Phyllis received the Coaches Award, a fitting tribute to her coaching abilities and volunteer time.  Phyllis also coached a Junior Ladies team representing Red Deer that qualified for the Southern Alberta Curling Association Playdowns.  Mixed Curling was another of Phyllis’ coaching realms.   Her mixed curling team won Northern berths to the Provincials in 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2013-2014. In 2009-2010 the team won the Provincial Silver medal.  All in all these achievements were exceptional coaching successes. 

As a team and for more than forty years, Bob and Phyllis Cleland have made an outstanding contribution to our sporting community as coaches and volunteers in curling and ball.  As well, they have represented Wetaskiwin as impressive competitors for over 50 years.  We applaud their selfless dedication and the time they have spent devoted to the youth of Wetaskiwin and County and are indeed proud to induct them into our Sports Hall of Fame.