Wayne Guenther - Builder
A graduate of the Winnipeg Wasps’ Kelvin High School “recruitment center”, Wayne Guenther’s contributions to the sport of Rugby span a period of some 37 years. Player, coach, administrator, Wayne covered the whole field in exemplary fashion.
Wayne played Rugby for over 22 years, all with the Winnipeg Wasps Rugby Football Club and was a mainstay talent with the club and key factor in many of the Wasps’ Premier Division League and Premier Division Provincial Championship teams during the nineties. He was also selected to the Manitoba Senior Men’s Provincial Team in 1984.
In 1986, Wayne initiated his coaching experience as an assistant coach under Rob Bruce Baron, coaching the Under 19 Junior Men’s Selects Rugby Team to a 4th finish at the National Championships played in Winnipeg between August 22nd to 24th of that year. Years later he was to become the Head Coach of the Winnipeg Wasps RFC Women’s Rugby Team between 2013 and 2016, successfully leading the team to a Provincial Championship in his final year. From 2014 to 2019, Wayne served as coach of the J. H. Bruns High School Rugby Team winning a Championship for the school in 2016.
The recipient of the Manitoba Rugby Union’s (MRU) Presidents Award in 1991 and the Rugby Manitoba Raymond Skett (Coaches) Award in 2015, Wayne was prolific as an administrator throughout the nineties. Between 1991 and 1998, Wayne alongside Ray Hoemsen and MRHOF Honoured Members’ Wilf Erichsen and Gary MacDonald, initiated and served as an instructor for the immensely popular Manitoba Youth Rugby program. In 1992 Wayne served on the Board of Directors of the MRU in charge of Junior Development and followed that up in 1993 serving as MRU President. In 1997 and 1998 he served on the Rugby Manitoba Board of Directors in charge of Schools and Junior Development and served in 1998 as Vice President of the Winnipeg Wasps RFC, and in 2023, as Rugby Manitoba Board of Directors Vice President before his passing.
Keen of wit as well as eye, Wayne had a passion for photography, and it was rare that one would not see him strolling the grounds of Maple Grove Rugby Park without a camera strapped around his neck taking pictures of the action both on and off the field. As evidenced by his contributions to the sport, Wayne enjoyed most the coaching, mentoring and development of young athletes and those who were new to the sport, instilling in them a love for the game and the camaraderie it entailed. Truly a legacy worth honouring and remembrance.
A graduate of the Winnipeg Wasps’ Kelvin High School “recruitment center”, Wayne Guenther’s contributions to the sport of Rugby span a period of some 37 years. Player, coach, administrator, Wayne covered the whole field in exemplary fashion.
Wayne played Rugby for over 22 years, all with the Winnipeg Wasps Rugby Football Club and was a mainstay talent with the club and key factor in many of the Wasps’ Premier Division League and Premier Division Provincial Championship teams during the nineties. He was also selected to the Manitoba Senior Men’s Provincial Team in 1984.
In 1986, Wayne initiated his coaching experience as an assistant coach under Rob Bruce Baron, coaching the Under 19 Junior Men’s Selects Rugby Team to a 4th finish at the National Championships played in Winnipeg between August 22nd to 24th of that year. Years later he was to become the Head Coach of the Winnipeg Wasps RFC Women’s Rugby Team between 2013 and 2016, successfully leading the team to a Provincial Championship in his final year. From 2014 to 2019, Wayne served as coach of the J. H. Bruns High School Rugby Team winning a Championship for the school in 2016.
The recipient of the Manitoba Rugby Union’s (MRU) Presidents Award in 1991 and the Rugby Manitoba Raymond Skett (Coaches) Award in 2015, Wayne was prolific as an administrator throughout the nineties. Between 1991 and 1998, Wayne alongside Ray Hoemsen and MRHOF Honoured Members’ Wilf Erichsen and Gary MacDonald, initiated and served as an instructor for the immensely popular Manitoba Youth Rugby program. In 1992 Wayne served on the Board of Directors of the MRU in charge of Junior Development and followed that up in 1993 serving as MRU President. In 1997 and 1998 he served on the Rugby Manitoba Board of Directors in charge of Schools and Junior Development and served in 1998 as Vice President of the Winnipeg Wasps RFC, and in 2023, as Rugby Manitoba Board of Directors Vice President before his passing.
Keen of wit as well as eye, Wayne had a passion for photography, and it was rare that one would not see him strolling the grounds of Maple Grove Rugby Park without a camera strapped around his neck taking pictures of the action both on and off the field. As evidenced by his contributions to the sport, Wayne enjoyed most the coaching, mentoring and development of young athletes and those who were new to the sport, instilling in them a love for the game and the camaraderie it entailed. Truly a legacy worth honouring and remembrance.