Skating club in Minnedosa, Man., places 1st in national video competition

A southwestern Manitoba skating club has taken home the top prize in a national video competition designed to celebrate the sport.

The Minnedosa Skating Club was announced as the winner of the "Club & Skating Schools" category of Skate Canada's Skate With Us national contest on Saturday, raking in a $5,000 prize.

"I just saw the contest and figured our town and skating club has a pretty interesting story, so I thought we should enter," club president Jacquie Gerrard told CBC News on Sunday.

Gerrard, who entered her role in 2020 amidst COVID-19 lockdowns, said the pandemic left the club in a make or break moment. She said it was "on the brink of death" with just four figure skaters.

The club's winning video is based on the community coming together during the pandemic, who worked to clear a two kilometre trail on a local pond for kids and families to skate, which Gerrard said attracted more skaters to the skating club.

Enrolment at the club has now tripled to 15 figure skaters, and they're on track to have 20 by next year. The club is also looking to hire a second coach and add more ice time to the schedule, according to Gerrard.

"I'm down at the lake again, skating here today. It's just something we really do here, so to have that recognized across Canada — that Minnedosa is a skating community — is just really exciting," she said.

The club, which has traditionally been recreational, had a figure skater compete for the first time in 15 years, she said. "And there's talk of more people going to competitions next year too."

The money will go directly back into the program and towards getting kids skating. There are 45 kids participating in the club's learn to skate program, said Gerrard.

"In Manitoba, it's winter for a