Figure skaters from across two provinces will be in Winkler next week as the Winkler Skating Club hosts the 2026 Prairie Regionals Synchronized Skating Championships.
The Skate Manitoba event will see 24 teams of all ages lace up their skates Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 at the Meridian Exhibition Centre.
“We have 282 skaters coming from Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” shares club president Gina Klassen, noting this is by far the largest event the club has hosted in years.
In addition to the many out-of-town teams, the homegrown Pembina Pizazz will also have their chance to shine.
“We have six of our girls skating with the Pembina Pizazz teams … and three of our coaches actually skate on the adult Pizazz team,” noted Klassen. “That program is based out of the Morden Figure Skating Club, but it is a regional team.”
The Winkler Skating Club is also putting together its own synchronized skating team for the weekend, dubbed The Precision.
“They’re a Star 3 team, so they don’t have a program but they go out there and they’ll do some elements,” Klassen said.
The kids have been hard at work preparing for the competition.
“They’re really excited,” she said, noting the Star 3 skaters are “just getting into competing singly, too, so hopefully it will grow our program.”
Figure skating is already booming in Winkler, with 13 youth taking part in the advanced StarSkate program and another 70 or so in the CanSkate and RisingSTAR programs.
“Our programs are full,” Klassen noted.
The schedule for the two-day competition was expected to be released this week. The skating club will be posting the performance times on their social media pages.
“The second we know, everyone else will know,” said club vice-president Charmaine Enns, urging people to come cheer on the local skaters. Admission is $5 a day for adults and $3 for kids (children six and under get in for free)
Winkler skaters and their parents will be filling a lot of the volunteer positions required to put on an event of this size, but there are still a number of areas where community volunteers are most certainly needed.
“We are needing volunteers, anyone wanting to come be part of it and watch some amazing skating,” Enns said.
The positions available truly run the gamut, but there are a few areas they’re especially in need of right now.
“We’re looking for someone to look after the turf area, just to make sure people are following the rules there and to keep the general public off it. That’s where all the teams are going to be to warm up,” Enns explained. “We’re also looking for first aid volunteers. You just need your first aid CPR certificate to do that.”
For details about these and the other positions and time slots available, check out the Winkler Skating Club on Facebook or Instagram.
