Glen Despins (April 19, 1964 – October 1, 2020) was a Canadian curler from

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. Despins was a two-time Saskatchewan men's champion, representing his province at the

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and 1998 Labatt Briers, Canada's national men's curling championship. He was also the winner of 2003 Canadian Open

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

event.

Career

Despins joined team Rod Montgomery in 1995, playing

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for the rink. The team won two Pool Tankards (the Saskatchewan men's curling championship) together. The team first won in 1996 in their first season together. Representing Saskatchewan at the 1996 Labatt Brier, the team finished the round robin with a 5-6 record. The team won the Pool Tankard again in 1998, and represented Saskatchewan at the 1998 Labatt Brier. There, they had more success, finishing the round robin with a 7-4 record. They won their tiebreaker match against British Columbia's

Greg McAulay Gregory McAulay (born January 2, 1960) is a Canadian World champion curler from Richmond, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky ...

rink to get into the playoffs, where they lost to Manitoba's

Dale Duguid Dale Duguid is an Australian visual effects supervisor and production designer who is credited on multiple films and TV series. After a career spanning production design, art direction, directing AND screenwriting, DUGUID established a viabl ...

team in the 3 vs. 4 game. Despins would eventually take over as

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in the 1999, and was active on the

World Curling Tour The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and mixed doubles curlers in the world. History The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later assistance from Jo ...

. He was one of the "original 18" skips of the Grand Slam series that boycotted the Brier in the early 2000s. At the time, he was the president of the Saskatchewan Curling Players Association. His lone Grand Slam title came at the 2003 Canadian Open with teammates Montgomery, Phillip Germain and Dwayne Mihalicz. Among his wins on the tour include the 1999 DirectWest Charity Superspiel, the 1999 Point Optical Charity Classic, the 2002 Best Western Wayside Inn Classic, the 2004 SGI Canada Charity Classic and the 2005 Point Optical Charity Classic. Later on in his career, Despins won the 2015 Saskatchewan Senior men's championship. Skipping a team of Brad Law, Mihalicz and Peter Thiele, he led Saskatchewan to an eighth place finish at the 2015 Canadian Senior Curling Championships.

Personal life

Despins was born in

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because ...

. He was married and had two children. He was employed as a health and safety officer with Saskatchewan Property Management. He died in a car accident south of

Osler, Saskatchewan Osler is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, founded in the 1890s. The community was named after Sir Edmund Boyd Osler (1845–1924), who was an Ontario-based explorer, railroad financier, and Member of Parliament. The town has ...

in 2020.

Grand Slam Record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Despins, Glen 1964 births 2020 deaths Canadian male curlers Sportspeople from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Curlers from Regina, Saskatchewan Road incident deaths in Canada Canada Cup (curling) participants