John W. Kawaja (born April 27, 1961 in
Chandler
Chandler or The Chandler may refer to:
* Chandler (occupation), originally head of the medieval household office responsible for candles, now a person who makes or sells candles
* Ship chandler, a dealer in supplies or equipment for ships
Arts ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
curler. He is a two-time
Brier
Briar, Briars, Brier, or Briers may refer to:
* Briar, or brier, common name for a number of unrelated thorny plants that form thicket
People
* Brier (surname)
* Briers, a surname
* Briars (surname)
Places
* Briar, Missouri, U.S.
* Bri ...
and
World Champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
.
Career
Kawaja moved to Ontario as a youth, and became a high-profile skip (he won the 1980 Ontario junior championship), but it was not until his move to the
Ed Werenich
Edward Werenich (born June 23, 1947) is a Canadian curler from Holland Landing, Ontario. Nicknamed "The Wrench," Werenich has been known to be a colourful and outspoken character. Outside of curling, Werenich worked as a firefighter.
Career
We ...
rink that he finally started to win championships. In 1983, Kawaja won his first
provincial championship, playing second for Werenich. The team not only won the provincial championship, but they won
the Brier
The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...
and the
World Curling Championship
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 mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...
as well that year. Kawaja is the youngest player to have ever won the Brier (21 years old). In 1984, the team repeated their provincial championship, but lost in
the Brier final to
Michael Riley
Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...
's Manitoba rink. Kawaja was promoted to the third position for Werenich, and in 1990 won his third provincial title. The team followed up with another Brier and World Championship. Kawaja won two more provincial titles with Werenich
in 1995 and
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. He and Ed Werenich formed the nucleus of teams that won more money than any curling team in the 1980s and 90s.
Kawaja was named to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1991. In 2009, Kawaja and his 1983 world champion team (Werenich,
Paul Savage and John Kawaja) were inducted into the
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...
.
Kawaja retired from curling in 1997. After working with
Bata Shoes
The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzer ...
to work on a curling shoe design, he moved on to work with
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
after retiring from curling. He later became president of the Taylormade golf company.
He resides in San Diego, California.
References
External links
*
Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawaja, John
1961 births
Living people
Brier champions
World curling champions
Curlers from Ontario
Canadian male curlers
People from Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine