“Seniors Era” Anderson rinks Hall of Fame bound again

Foursome to enter Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame

Larry Pavloff, left, and Sherry Anderson shake hands.

Sherry Anderson didn’t have to wait long to see her teams from her “Senior’s Era” continue to get Hall of Fame calls.

On Wednesday during a news conference at the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds, Anderson’s senior curling teams from 2016 to 2023 were announced as inductees in the team category for the 2025 class going into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame. The rink includes Anderson at skip, Patty Hersikorn at third, Brenda Goertzen at second and Anita Silvernagle at lead.

The official induction dinner will take place on Saturday, November 1 at Prairieland Park.

Together curling out of Saskatoon’s Nutana Curling Club, they have won five Canadian Senior Women’s Curling titles coming in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. 

They also laid claim to three World Senior Women’s Curling championships coming in 2018, 2019 and 2023.

Previously, Anderson herself had entered the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame from a combination of teams that competed in the women’s play, her senior teams and as a solo athlete. Her senior’s teams have already gotten calls to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.

“When you compete and you play and you get a chance to win and you get a chance to travel all over the world like we did, that alone is pretty much the reward for playing well,” said Anderson. “It is certainly nice to get the accolades afterward and get into the (Canadian) Curling Hall of Fame and Saskatchewan and now the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

“It is just nice to be recognized.”

Anderson, who is 61-years-old, has built a long and storied career in curling. On the women’s side, she has appeared in 10 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and her first appearance came as a skip of a team from the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club way back in 1994 and 1995.

Her last appearance at the Scotties came just a short time ago in 2021 skipping a squad out of the Nutana Curling Club.

While she was still having success in women’s curling, Anderson was looking for another competitive outlet when her senior women’s team got together.

Sherry Anderson, left, is seated at a press conference on Wednesday.

“When you get to that 49-50 age when you turn seniors, it is a little harder to compete with the young one coming up,” said Anderson. “I had known Anita (Silvernagle) for years because of the coaching she did, and of course, curling against her.

“I had asked her originally and said, ‘Do you want to play?’ Then, we ended up getting Patty (Hersikorn) and then Brenda (Goertzen). It just sort of mushroomed from there.

“You look for a team that wants to go and do the same kind of things, and that is how it just turned out.”

Anderson’s rink made the championship final of the 2016 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship falling to a Nova Scotia foursome skipped by another Canadian curling legend in Colleen Jones. 

After that loss, Anderson’s rink would win the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship the next five consecutive times it was contested.

Curling Canada didn’t hold any seniors championships in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world.

Over the years, Anderson said her squad enjoyed all the places they were able to see competing in the senior’s game.

“The travel was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of good times together,” said Anderson. “Being competitive as an athlete, everybody I think is competitive, but there are just different levels of it.

“It was a lot of fun being that together as a team.”

Brenda Goertzen, right, shakes hands with Jillian Gallays.

Over the years, Anderson herself was always popular wherever she went in the sport of curling, and she always enjoyed getting to meet people from all over the place through her travels in the game. That was something that carried on in the senior’s game.

“The sport is one thing, but it is not the whole package,” said Anderson. “Making friendships and socializing and getting to meet people from other provinces and other provinces and other countries, you get some lasting relationships and friendships from that.

“That is a lot of it.” 

Of course, Anderson and her rink enjoyed their Canadian and world championship wins and the opportunities those wins brought along.

“If you don’t win, you don’t get the chance to travel like we did,” said Anderson. “We went to some beautiful places across Canada and met some great people that volunteered and were part of the events.

“Winning the Canadians was another added bonus. Then, we got to travel outside of the country, and we got trips to Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and South Korea. They were places that I might not have ever gone to just travel, certainly not South Korea, so that was a real big added bonus for sure.”

While the Hall of Fame accolades are coming her way, Anderson has no plans to leave the sport. Going forward in curling, Anderson believes she will take on a different primary role.

“I actually think I’m going to turn to coaching, and that probably will be my future for the next while,” said Anderson. “I don’t know about playing.

“I don’t know how much I’m going to play next year. It is kind of all or nothing for me, so if I play, I’m going to play lots. If I don’t play, I’m not going to play at all, so we’ll see.

“I don’t know yet. It is still early. It is the summer, so I’ll wait and decide, but I think I am going to throw in my coaching hat and see where that takes me.”

Members of the 2025 class for the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

A total of five athletes are heading to the Saskatoon Sport Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class in Jillian Gallays in wrestling, Janet (Scott) Gattinger in track and field, Ryan Hvidston in track and field, Marcia (Porteous) Jackson in badminton, squash and tennis and Larry Pavloff in softball.

The three builders in the 2025 class include Don Hedman in track and field, Peter Loubardias in broadcast and media and Mark Millard in soccer.

The Hunter’s Fairhaven Teams in 5-pin bowling from 1998, 1999 and 2000 are also entering the Hall in the team category.

The Saskatoon Diving Club was named the Sports Organization of the Year.

Colborn featured in “Howe Happenings”

Cadence Colborn has had a spectacular last two years in softball.

Cadence Colborn was putting up big numbers as a softball freshman in the NCAA Division II ranks, so it seemed natural to feature her in the “Howe Happenings” blog.

On Monday, I went live with new content on the “Howe Happenings” blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Colborn, who had a spectacular first season with the West Texas University A&M Lady Buffs Softball Team in Canyon, Texas. She collected a trio of all-star awards helping the Lady Buffs put up a 56-8 overall record.

Colborn also turned heads last summer playing for the provincial champion Saskatoon Prairie Dog Selects, who took part in Softball Canada’s Under-19 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship Tournament that ran July 31 to August 4, 2024 at the diamonds on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds. She was named a tournament all-star after posting a .474 batting average and nailing three home runs.

Currently, Colborn is back in Saskatoon playing for the CT&V Selects U19A team. The “Howe Happenings” piece on Colborn can be found by clicking right here.

I also put together a photo roundup that features the return of the Saskatoon Berries playing their second WCBL season. It also features action from baseball, football, softball and track and field. The photo roundup can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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