As Island sports fans may have noted recently, the family of William (Bill) Kenneth Jenkins, a Charlottetown native, recently announced his passing. Bill, a P.E.I. sporting legend passed on in St. John’s, N.L. on Sept. 20, 2025.

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Bill Jenkins, and his 1977 World Junior Curling Champion teammates, John Scales, Sandy Stewart and Alan Mayhew, are P.E.I. sporting heroes. At the time of their victory, P.E.I. did not have frequent world sporting success to celebrate as we regularly enjoy in these times.

For example, last month, Alysha Corrigan of Charlottetown played for Canada in the World Rugby Championship final in front of 82,000 fans in New Zealand. It was a follow-up to her appearance in the Olympic Rugby 7s final in Paris last summer, also to a packed crowd at the hallowed Le Stade de France. In a few months, Brett Gallant, a native of Charlottetown will be representing Canada at the Winter Olympics in Italy. Gallant has already won a world championship, Olympic bronze and five Brier titles. Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt and her teammates won the World Junior Curling Championship in 2001 in Ogden, Utah.

When Bill, John, Sandy and Alan won the world championship, Alysha Corrigan, Suzanne Birt and Brett Gallant were not yet born. Nonetheless, these three, and many other Island athletes stand on the shoulders of the Jenkins’ giants.

The Jenkins team’s 1976........

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