Canada’s quest for back-to-back gold medals in Olympic mixed doubles curling will begin in Portage la Prairie, Man., it was announced today by Curling Canada. The Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials will be played Dec. 28-Jan. 2 at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, and will determine the pairing who will represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. “Portage la Prairie did a superb job hosting the first Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials four years ago, so it was an easy decision to bring the event back to Stride Place,” said Amy Nixon, Chair of Curling Canada’s Board of Governors. “Portage la Prairie has proven repeatedly that it can put on top-calibre curling championships, and I’m positive the city will show its support for these Olympic hopefuls.” Four years ago, at the inaugural Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials in Portage, Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris prevailed, and then went on to claim gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where mixed doubles curling made its debut as an Olympic medal sport. “The City of Portage la Prairie is very excited to be hosting this world-class event at Stride Place. We look forward to welcoming curling fans and curlers from across Canada in December,” said Portage la Prairie Mayor Irvine Ferris. Sixteen teams will be competing in Portage la Prairie, and six have already qualified, including the top two finishers at the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, presented by Nature’s Bounty Vitamins — gold-medallists Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue and silver-medallists Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott. Also in the field are the top four finishers (as of May 1, 2020) in the 2019-20 Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings: Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing, Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith, and Rachel Homan and John Morris. The remaining 10 berths will be decided this fall (further details available by CLICKING HERE). “Canad Inns is a Manitoba Owned, Manitoba Grown and Manitoba Proud company. And what can be more Manitoban than curling,” said Dan Lussier, CEO for Canad Inns. “We are thrilled and honoured to be the Title Sponsor of the Mixed Doubles Curling Trials once again. The City of Portage la Prairie and its residents have a proven track record of hosting large sporting events and we know that they will put on a world-class event. In 2018, Manitoba’s own Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris won the Trials and went on to win Olympic gold. We know whoever wins this year’s Trials, will be great ambassadors for Canada at the 2022 Olympics and we wish all teams a great bonspiel.” A fourth-place finish by Einarson and Gushue at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Championship last month in Aberdeen, Scotland, clinched Canada’s berth in the 10-team mixed doubles field in Beijing. “I’m not sure Canadian curling fans realize just what an amazing accomplishment that was by Kerri and Brad in Aberdeen,” said Scott Pfeifer, national mixed doubles coach for Curling Canada. “They were both exhausted from spending so much time in the bubble in Calgary, away from friends and family, and went to Scotland under an immense amount of pressure to secure our Olympic berth. It was a performance Canada should be proud of.” The event will follow the 2021 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials in Saskatoon, where Canada’s four-player men’s and women’s teams for Beijing will be decided. Members of Canada’s Olympic four-player teams won’t be eligible to compete in the Canada Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials because of the rigours of the Olympic curling schedule. "It seems that curling fans and volunteers in Manitoba step up every four years for events such as the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings in Winnipeg and the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, and we all know what the winning teams did in both Sochi and Pyeongchang," said Craig Baker, Executive Director of CurlManitoba. "We hope Manitoba continues to provide our Canadian team with a bit of luck heading into what is sure to be a thrilling curling season. We're proud that our province will be part of the excitement." Stride Place, which opened in 2010, has 1,675 seats in its main arena, and is home to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Portage Terriers. “In 2018 our city became part of history as the first to host a Canadian mixed doubles trials event and we can’t wait to continue that legacy in 2022,” said host committee chair Rob Gemmell. “Our community is passionate about curling and we’ll be proud to once again say that Team Canada’s path to the mixed doubles curling podium begins in Portage la Prairie.” (submitted)

As COVID-19 has pushed people to explore the outdoors in numbers never seen before, a new outdoor recreation space is now planned for the Little Saskatchewan River valley that runs through the community of Minnedosa and the R.M of Minto-Odanah. Located on Highway #10 and #16 in the valley adjacent to the Town of Minnedosa, Valley Life Recreation is planning a dramatic expansion of the cross-country ski and hiking area known as the Squirrel Hills Recreation Area. The plans for Squirrel Hills Trail Park involve a new machine-built trail system designed by award-winning trail designer Alex Man. The multi-use trail system will accommodate mountain biking, trail running, hiking, snowshoeing, family adventures, fat biking and more. The new trails will double the total trail distance of the area to approximately 16 kms. Also designed by Alex Man, a brand new park-styled trailhead will welcome trail users with a nature play area, pavilion with views of the valley, eating areas, and a beginner mountain biking skills area. Plans are in place for a 2022 park build, provided all funding goals are met. The trail park is budgeted at approximately $650,000 and financial commitments have already been put forward from municipal levels and the local Co-op. Both the Town of Minnedosa and the R.M. of Minto-Odanah have committed $15,000 each to the project. The Heritage Co-op Community Fund contributed $6,000 to help expedite final planning which included the above conceptual drawings. Valley Life Recreation has also fundraised over $10,000 since the beginning of 2021 through its calendar fundraiser and a recently launched 50/50 cash lottery. With this project announcement today, a major capital fundraising campaign for the Squirrel Hills Trail Park formally begins. Valley Life Recreation has prepared a comprehensive Sponsorship Package available for download and donations can be made online at their newly launched website, www.ValleyLifeRec.ca. A very limited selection of naming rights have also been made available for contribution amounts between $22,500 and $100,000. With this new trails infrastructure project, Minnedosa will be joining the likes of trails at the Brandon Hills and Riding Mountain National Park, along with the success of Dauphin’s Northgate Trail System, Assessippi’s downhill trails and the recently opened Hylife Back Forty bike park in Neepawa. The Squirrel Hills Trail park will help to further cement Westman as a marketable provincial and national trails destination. Valley Life Recreation looks forward to engaging our entire community in helping this new piece of community infrastructure come to life. The Squirrel Hills Trail Park will create yet another reason for Minnedosa and R.M. residents to be so proud of the place they call home and demonstrate why they believe, valley life is the best life. For any questions or comments, please reach out to any VLR Board member or send an email to valleyliferec@gmail.com. (Valley Life Recreation Press Release)

Help Wawanessa reno their rink. Built-in 1976 their rink is in need of some updating. In efforts to help raise the necessary funds they are currently holding a lottery with some great prizes up for grabs including a $50,000 credit to the Glenboro Home building Centre or $40,000 cash. For more information, or to order tickets, please visit this link. Final DrawL Saturday, July 24th 2021 at 7:05 PM Even before the opening in 1975, the Rec Facility has been the epitome of volunteerism. The Lions Club donating funds, the Turf Club donating land, and community members coming forth to raise funds and build the facility, all contributed to it being built without debt - becoming a staple facility in the area. To this day, the facility is managed by a volunteer board and much of the work done is accomplished by volunteers. In the last 10 years, over $250,000 has been spent at the facility in renovations. These include: new lighting, new arena boards and glass, insulation, elevator, dressing rooms and there has been quite a bit of paint applied inside as well. The exciting fact in all of this is that there has been volunteer labour involved in ALL of these projects, and ALL of the money was either from donations or grants. There is one integral part of the facility that although has been maintained meticulously over the years, does need to be replaced. The ice making equipment is now very tired and becoming increasingly harder and more expensive to maintain. There are pieces of the system that are original equipment - designed to have a lifespan of 20 years - and we are now over 40 years of operation. That’s where the facility is at now…the volunteer group once again begins a new fundraising endeavor to replace their aging ice plants with a more efficient system to carry them on into the future. Along with the new plants, they are also looking at putting on an addition to the facility that will have expanded washrooms with handicap accessible stalls, a larger waiting room area and two dressing rooms on the main floor

Construction on a new cricket pitch has begun in Brandon. Located at Simplot Millenium Park, the site will serve as the first official cricket pitch in the city. Over the next few weeks concrete will be poured in followed by installation of the mat. Up until now Westman Cricket and its 150-200 adult members have been practicing at Queen Elizabeth Park and traveling to Winnipeg for games. The new pitch (regular sized, international standard) will have many benefits for the sport locally including youth camps and a local league for its members, pending restrictions. The organization is hopeful that once restrictions are lifted they will be able to host teams from Winnipeg and tournaments as well. For more on Westman Cricket, please visit their Facebook page here.

Wheat Kings Nate Danielson was named among the forty-five hockey players from across the country that will head to Calgary (July 25-Aug. 4) for Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team summer development camp. Danielson, recently completed his first season with the Wheat Kings tallying 15-points in 24-games. He is one of 26 forwards who were invited. In total three Manitobans were announced to the development camp roster. Strathclair's Conor Geekie, also a forward, received an invite as well. This past season saw Geekie amass 23 points in 24 games with the WHL's Winnipeg Ice. Denton Mateychuk (Dominon City) and Matthew Kieper (Winnipeg) were other Manitobans announced as attending. Mateychuk (D) plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors while Kieper (G) is a member of the Regina Pats organization. For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca.