The Pritchard Memorial golf tournament, in its 28th year, has become a thriving annual occurrence in the Pembina Valley.
Year after year, the Carman-based event has grown in participants, funds raised, and prizes donated.
According to Darren Pritchard, one of the organizers of the July 5th tournament and the brother of Mike Pritchard, in whose memory it has been established, 2025 was no exception in growth.
Bigger than ever
Pritchard said that this year, a total of 325 golfers participated in the event, a number that tops last year’s 310.
In addition to record golfers, the organizer said that there were also more sponsors and more prizes in its online auction.
The prizes that thrilled this year included a $26,000 hot tub from Arctic Spas, a sauna custom-built by a Carman resident, a framed hockey sweater signed by Alexander Ovechkin, and tickets to a UFC event anywhere in the world.
Pritchard chalks the continued and increased interest in the tournament to the recipient of this year’s event — South Central Cancer Resource.
“People are coming forward to give more donations because they know where the money is going,” he said. “That's how we continue to raise significant funds.”
Word of mouth
According to Pritchard, the tournament’s atmosphere is another factor that brings a noteworthy number of golfers out.
“It's just a lot of word of mouth,” he said. “I had one of the golfers come in and he said [his] highlight of the summer is [my] golf tournament. He said it's just fantastic.”
Pritchard said that although the golfer only brought one team to the tournament this year, he plans to bring up to four next year.
For the organizer, this is precisely how the event has grown.
It’s all a part of the intention of the extensive committee that plans the tournament along with Pritchard.
“We put a lot of work into this,” he said. “We just want to grow the tournament and make more money, but at the end of the day, we want our golfers to have a great experience.”
Supporting those with cancer
While Pritchard says that the final amount fundraised hasn't been determined yet, he anticipates that it will beat last year’s $103,000 by approximately 20 to 30 thousand.
What is certain is where the funds will go.
“This year we decided that we want 100% of these proceeds to stay in rural Manitoba with South Central Cancer Resource,” said Pritchard.
The donations will help with services such as access to wigs and transportation to appointments.
The support from the Pritchard Memorial Golf Tournament is especially important to the organization because it does not receive government funding.
“I think they need $176,000 just to drive people to Winnipeg for their cancer treatment,” said Pritchard. “They need this money to help drive people from Altona, from Carman, from Morden — all that rural area to get them into Winnipeg.”
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Because there are people with cancer in the Pembina Valley who do not have vehicles, the service addresses a vital need in the community.
Pritchard and the group behind him are passionate about this cause.
“If we can help make sure that money is there to get these people into Winnipeg for their treatment, that just means a lot,” he said. “We want to make sure [everyone] can get to Winnipeg for treatment.”
With the 28th year in the books, Pritchard is already looking forward to next year’s tournament, which is planned for July 18th, 2026. With the help of the community, he hopes to continue the Pritchard Memorial trend of exceeding expectations for another year in a row.
For more information or to become involved, see the Pritchard Memorial website.
With files from Connie Bailey
