Title sponsor National Bank was among about 25 teams at Niakwa Country Club for the National Bank Cardiac Classic, August 11.
August 20, 2025
“This is Winnipeg’s premier golf experience, in my opinion,” Emcee and 680 CJOB’s Greg Mackling told golfers before joining them on the links at the 2025 National Bank Cardiac Classic.
The prestigious golf tournament was held under cloudy skies and occasional light rain Monday, August 11, at Niakwa Country Club.
In her opening remarks, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation President and CEO Karen Fowler thanked more than 100 assembled golfers for supporting Manitoba’s Cardiac Centre of Excellence at the Hospital.
“Every dollar raised here today will support world-class cardiac care and research right here in Manitoba,” Fowler said. “Care that is guided by the latest science and delivered with heart by our staff at St. Boniface Hospital.”
Fowler later announced this year’s tournament raised more than $95,000 for cardiac care and medical research at St. Boniface Hospital. Also invited to donate in person at Niakwa, golfers and teams stepped up again in a big way.
Half of the funds raised at the tournament were for new, state-of-the-art equipment in the Electrophysiology (EP) lab in the Bergen Cardiac Centre at St. B, with the other half going to cardiac research at the Hospital’s Albrechtsen Research Centre, including in women’s heart health.
Research head thanked golfers for “spark” funding
Golfers enjoyed a catered reception at Niakwa Country Club at the end of the day. Addressing them, Fowler announced the teams were successful in funding an Excimer laser lead extraction system for the EP lab – the first such technology of its kind in Manitoba. The Excimer system reduces risks and improves recovery times, enhancing patient safety.
More than 51,000 patients receive care through the Cardiac Sciences program annually. This includes more than 1,700 EP lab visits at the Hospital each year. “Thanks to you, those people are able to celebrate more milestones in their lives,” Fowler said. “You’re helping to give many people a second chance at life.”
Dr. Anita Soni, Cardiologist and Medical Director of Cardiac Sciences at St. B, talked about four cutting-edge ultrasound machines the Hospital was able to buy thanks to last year’s tournament. “Every time someone is using these great ultrasound machines in our clinics and operating room to take a look at your heart, that’s thanks to last year’s National Bank Cardiac Classic,” she said.
Soni also mentioned that, before the new Excimer laser system, Cardiac Sciences either had to leave pacemaker and defibrillator leads (wires) in patients or send them to Vancouver to have them removed.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Michael Czubryt, Executive Director of Research at St. B, explained the research cycle at the Hospital and needs of his department. “The funds that are raised through this event and others are critical. Research is a team sport, and it requires a lot of staff – about 75 per cent of our annual budget goes towards personnel,” he said.
Dr. Czubryt told golfers about the importance of an initial “spark” investment to get an idea off the ground. “This funding allows us to actually ask the new questions, and get that seed funding and then from that, leapfrog that into a larger program down the road. All of my projects started as something small and grew into something big,” he said.