LeRoy (Roy) Vinthers (born c. 1931) is a Canadian curler from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He is a former British Columbia provincial champion

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

, and was the runner-up at the 1977 Macdonald Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship. Vinthers grew up in

Inglis, Manitoba Inglis is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West, Manitoba, Canada. Located on Provincial Road 366. approximately east of Highway 83 between Russell and Roblin, Inglis is the closest community to the Asess ...

Playing career

Vinthers played

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

for the Harry McConachie rink at the 1954 provincial championship. The team finished third. Vinthers began skipping in 1959. He and teammates Leo Hebert, Howie Christopherson and George Ingram won the $9,000 Totem Bonspiel in 1959. The team played in the 1960 BC Championships, where they were eliminated in the first round of the "B event". In 1961, Christopherson took over as skip with Vinthers at third with front end George Ingram and Charlie Gardner. The team won the Pacific Coast playdowns putting them into the BC final. The provincial championship was a best of three series between the Pacific Coast champion Christopherson rink and Interior champion Reg Stone. Team Christopherson won the first match 11-4, but lost the next two, 12-6 and 10-9. In 1964, with Vinthers skipping, his rink lost in the Pacific Coast final to Lyall Dagg, who went on to win the

World Curling Championships The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and Doubles curling, mixed doubles championships, as ...

that year. In 1965, Vinthers took over as skip of the Dagg rink, with Dagg unable to curl due to "pressure of business". However, Vinthers was unable to lead the rink out of the 1965 Pacific playdowns, losing to Jack Arnet in the Pacific Coast finals. In 1966, Vinthers began curling out of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

, where he lived for five years, then lived one year in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and three in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. He moved back to the Vancouver area in 1973. In 1976, Vinthers teamed up with former teammates Leo Hebert and Barry Naimark who had played for Lyall Dagg as well as second Greg Pruden. Naimark joined the team for playdowns after the team's regular lead, Al Richards couldn't compete due to getting a new job. The team won the 1977 BC Men's championships defeating the Al LaChance rink of Kamloops 5-3 and 6-4 in the best of three final. LaChance had been Vinthers' barber while living in Kamloops. This qualified the rink to represent British Columbia at the 1977 Macdonald Brier in Montreal. The team had a great start at the event, winning their first eight games, but lost their remaining three games, including a match against Quebec's

Jim Ursel James William Ursel (January 22, 1937 – September 29, 2021), also known as Jimmy Ursel, was a Canadian curler. He was the skip of the 1977 Brier Champion team, representing Quebec. Biography Ursel was born in Winnipeg to Pauline and Rudy Ursel ...

rink. That game proved to be pivotal as Quebec ended up winning the Brier with a 9-2 record, one more than B.C. who finished tied in second place. The next season, Vinthers won the $18,500 1977 Labatt's Bonspiel. While Vinthers faltered in zone play that year, he did see action at the

1978 Macdonald Brier The 1978 Macdonald Brier, the Canada, Canadian men's curling championship was held March 5 to 10, 1978 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia. The total attendance for the week was a then-record 63,851 breaking the previous mark se ...

in Vancouver, as a spare for Northern Ontario, replacing John Ballantyne who couldn't play one day due to muscle spasms. Vinther's last major spiel win was in 1980 when he won the $29,000 Peace Country Curling Classic.

Personal life

At the time of the 1977 Brier, Vinthers was employed as a terminal manager for Canadian Auto Carriers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinthers, Roy Living people 1930s births Canadian male curlers Curlers from Vancouver Sportspeople from Kamloops Curlers from Edmonton Curlers from Winnipeg People from Parkland Region, Manitoba 20th-century Canadian sportsmen