Manitoba Winter Games rosters announced

Manitoba’s best young athletes, including nearly 100 from The Carillon’s coverage region, will be in Thompson next week for the Manitoba Winter Games.

Sports at the games include skiing, archery, badminton, curling, figure skating, futsal, gymnastics, hockey, ringette, speed skating and wrestling.

The province is divided into regions, with some area athletes suiting up for Team East and some for Team South. The games begin March 1, with athletes between 10 and 17 participating.

Hockey has the most athletes from Eastman set to play, with 24 total athletes set to make the trip up North.

The region’s contingent includes 127 people, including 16 coaches and 12 managers.

The 2026 games were offered to Niverville, after their scheduled games for 2022 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thompson hosted the 2018 edition of the games.

“Seeing the passion of their community, the economic impact, and the lasting legacies as a result of hosting the Games twice before, we have no doubt they will welcome Manitobans for yet another experience of a lifetime in 2026,” Sport Manitoba president and CEO Janet McMahon said in a news release when Thompson was announced as the host.

The only time this region has hosted the games were in 2016, when they came to Steinbach. Beausejour hosted in 1988 and 2006.

The Manitoba Games were first held in 1974 as part of Winnipeg’s centennial celebration.