In Winkler over the coming months, there will be ample opportunity — for children and adults alike — to get out, build relationships, and have fun. Winkler Recreation Programmer Meg Dias has a full schedule of events that are sure to reflect the broad interests of the community, including a few new and exciting additions.
“I think we're really fortunate,” she says. “There are a lot of community organizations that run great programming.”
For Dias, being a recreation programmer is a rewarding process of connecting the community with its interests.
“I think my favorite part is that there have been a lot of people . . . that come with ideas, and then I get to help make those happen,” she says. “It's really exciting because you know that if they're bringing the ideas, there's passion behind it, and those programs normally do really well.”
A sport new to Canada
Winkler is introducing a sport that has been growing in popularity around the world — futsal.
“It's new to me. Somebody came to me with the idea, and I thought, ‘okay, I've got to look this up.’ It started out, I think, more as a development program to tighten up skills, kind of like a smaller area soccer-type [game],” says Dias.
Futsal, which has its roots in Uruguay, uses all the traditional components of soccer, but on a smaller and (some would say) more approachable scale. It is played on a hard court rather than a field.
Dias says that the new futsal program in Winkler will be 18+. The program has 20 spots available, and the fee for the eight-week program is $25.
“I think it's going to be a great program,” she says. “If we do well, then we'll look to extend it and do another session in the winter.”
The familiar favourites
Registration is also open for children’s shinny hockey and there is a waitlist for community badminton (ages 14 and up). Dias says that since badminton has filled up, an extra night may be added.
“We had cut it down to one night this year because we want to open up some other new programming,” she says. “We're kind of looking at our options. Right now, it's full, but you can go on the waitlist, and we [will] call people from it [as spots become available].”
There is still lots of room in hockey.
“We would love to see that program grow. We believe it's a really great program run by some fantastic volunteers,” says Dias. “It's an early Saturday morning program, so we recognize the challenges, but if kids want to get involved in hockey and just get a taste of it before committing to minor hockey, it's a really great option for them.”
Registration is also open for a female youth basketball program. Dias says that grades 6 and 7 will be one age group, and grade 8 and 9 will make up another.
“They'll run for an hour each on Wednesdays, and that's just kind of to get them into basketball,” she says. “I think when you have people that are passionate and would like to continue to see young females continue in sport, you can't help but want to make that happen, so I'm really excited to see a basketball program run for them.”
Sign-up for the programs can be found on the City of Winkler website. Information about hockey registration is also published on the Meridian Exhibition Centre’s website.
Plenty of opportunities
Beyond these programs, the Meridian Exhibition Centre hosts a variety of free (or $5.00) turf and ice activities for age groups ranging from children to senior citizens. Many of the events are drop-in. To find the right activity for you, explore Meridian Exhibition Centre’s list of programs.
One of the available programs is a walking club in partnership with the Winkler Senior Centre.
“That'll be free. If [attendees] need rides, they can contact the Winkler Senior Center and sign up,” says Dias. “There will be coffee and snacks. We just want to get more people using the building and the walking track, which is a brilliant [addition to the community].”
Dias is available to answer questions about any of the programs above. She invites e-mails to meg.dias@cityofwinkler.ca and is also available at the Meridian Exhibition Centre at 204-325-8333.
~With files from Ty Hildebrand~