The 1996 World Curling Champions were just such a team. In their run to the world title, Jeff Stoughton, Ken Tresoor, Garry Van Den Berghe and Steve Gould developed a new way of playing one of the most difficult shots in the modern sport of curling – the ‘tick’, a delicate shot played to move a guard out-of-play away from the centre line.

It is the ultimate team shot demanding precision in call, sweeping and delivery. In the view of many observers, the Stoughton team’s shot-making display in Hamilton in 1996 was among the all-time outstanding performances in the World Curling Championships. Lead Steve Gould was nicknamed ‘The Tickman’ by the fans and competitors in recognition of his multiple successes in executing the across-the-face tick-shot. The new strategy re-defined the way top level competitive teams approach this most difficult of finesse shots. Team Stoughton was dominant at the Ford World Curling Championship that year, scoring an 8-1 round-robin record and a pair of wins in the playoff round. To reach the Worlds, they had won a provincial championship berth through the annual MCA Bonspiel. At the Safeway Select in Brandon, the Stoughton foursome had an impressive 9-2 record which included back-to-back wins over Dale Duguid on the final day.

At the Canadian championship, Team Stoughton’s 9 win – 2 loss round robin record placed them second behind Alberta’s Kevin Martin. Included was a 7-6 victory over Martin when the Manitoba champions stole a point on the final end of the game. It was the first of three wins over Martin.

In the Page Playoff Championship round, Stoughton advanced direct to the final game with a 6-5 win over Martin. The Manitobans played Alberta again in the final and won the Canadian championship in dramatic fashion, scoring a point to tie on the final end, and then stealing the extra end for an 8-7 victory.

In winning the championship, Team Manitoba led all teams with a total of 29 stolen ends. Alberta’s Martin ranked second in this category with 18 stolen ends, well behind Manitoba. Consistently strong shooting percentages were a key to the Manitoba championship run at the Labatt Brier. All four players ranked in the top four among all competitors for individual percentages and in the top three in the equally important +/- ranking, the statistic that ranks each player in comparison with each game’s opponent.

The 1996 World Champions were previously inducted into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame in the Team category in 2002. Van Den Berghe (2007) and Stoughton (1998) have also been recognized individually by the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame. His 2007 Manitoba championship gave Stoughton the Manitoba record for most provincial men’s titles.