In one sense the answer to the question posed in the headline is yes. The Morden Magics gymnastics team has announced its intention to relocate to Winkler after 36 years in the city.
By Peter Cantelon
In another sense, once again the answer may be yes, but it is far more complex. The sense I am speaking of is the increasing struggles the city has had over the years.
This is not the first major athletics club to make a move from Morden east to Winkler. In 2023 it was announced that the Pembina Valley Orioles Manitoba Junior Baseball team would be moving, citing increased opportunity for development and growth it could not achieve in Morden.
In the case of the Magics, years of having to deal with issues of access to the (perhaps ironically named) Access Event Centre finally led to the city suggesting the club consider finding a new location. Boy, did they find one.
Having a daughter who spent 10 years with the Magics I am not unfamiliar with the frustrations and struggles the club has endured trying to be provincially competitive while dealing with inconsistent access to space.
Even back then, more than 15 years ago, I thought the club needed a different location.
Of course, now the city has expressed shock at the decision to not simply vacate the centre but the community. I do wonder, however, what they expected. Where else did the city imagine a club of that size relocate? There is no other suitable location in the city of Morden.
While it is clear there have been communication issues all around, anyone who has had anything to do with the Magics over the past two decades would not be surprised with the move.
As with most changes that, on the surface, appear to reflect poorly on the city, the typical civic response will most likely be defensive echoing often used and frankly worn-out rhetoric along the lines of “we’ve done and are doing everything we can, everything is fine here, nothing to see, move along…”
Athletics clubs, libraries, museums, parks and recreation services, adequate housing, and a decent commercial/industrial tax base to offset the burden from residents are critical to a successful, growing community. Morden is or has been struggling in nearly every one of these categories, and not just recently—for years.
Running a city is not easy. There are a million moving parts and many of them you don’t really even control if you are on council or senior administration … you watch and you hope and you try to design policy that seeks to build, strengthen and grow the community.
Running a city in an increasingly connected regional community is even harder. There are those who would seek to resist this for fear of losing distinctiveness. Just as there are others (like me) who believe we are stronger together so let’s pull in that direction.
A city or community’s council works hard. Senior administration works hard. As residents, we don’t always get to see that, which is why when things like losing an athletics club happen it might appear as if no one tried to stop it.
I’m looking forward to council taking the bull by the horns on all these issues and stepping forward in bold, courageous, creative leadership.
The best approach would be a leadership that over-communicates and is transparent in all things. A leadership that offers a detailed plan on how Morden can be brought to a place of thriving growth and community development. A leadership that inspires and leads by example before Morden loses more of its magic.
