Jeff Stoughton
Jeff Stoughton’s induction into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame was earned over a remarkable competitive curling career which spanned nearly three decades from his first Manitoba title in 1988 to his last in 2014.
Early in that time-frame, he was at risk of being known as “a pretty good mixed curler” as his teams won three Manitoba Mixed titles (1988, 1989, 1991) and two Canadian titles (’88 & ’91) in a four year span. He skipped a team to a fourth Manitoba title in 1994.
His break-through in men’s competition came in 1991 when he became one of the few Manitoba skips to win two championships in the same year. In the year he won his second Canadian Mixed title, Stoughton’s record at the Canadian Brier was a respectable 6W-5L.
In Manitoba curling, success is most often counted in terms of appearances in the Manitoba championship. Stoughton’s record of success is counted in terms of appearances in the final game. The “winningest skip in Manitoba curling history”, Stoughton played in 12 Manitoba Men’s finals and won 11 of them. In 11 Briers, his teams never finished with a losing record and compiled a round-robin record of 78 Wins – 32 losses along with a playoff record of 12 wins – 5 losses.
In those 11 appearances at the Canadian Championship (Brier) Stoughton 'medaled' seven times, winning the championship in 1996, 1999, and 2011. His teams lost the final in 2009 and 2013 and finished third in 2007 and 2014.
Stoughton’s teams reached the final in all three appearances as Team Canada at the World Championship, winning the gold medal in 1996 and 2011 and silver in 1999 and compiling a record of 31 wins against only four losses.
In addition to his championship accomplishments, Stoughton lost the Olympic Trials final in 2005 and the Trials semi-final in 2009. His competitive career overlapped the beginning of the Grand Slam era as well. He played in 54 Grand Slam events and won four of them: Masters (2004); Canadian Open (2006); Player's Championship (2003); The National (2013). Of the 54 occasions, his teams qualified for the playoffs 38 times. He lost nine semi-finals and six finals.
After retirement from competition, he took on the task of organizing Curling Canada’s Mixed Doubles program and under his guidance Canadian teams won a silver medal at the World Championship and an Olympic gold medal.
Jeff Stoughton is a four-time inductee into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame (as an individual curler and with three of his championship teams), a record distinction he shares with only Connie Laliberte and Janet Arnott.
