WINNIPEG -- While some Manitobans have gotten creative with backyard hockey and curling rinks during the winter, one Winnipeg man has taken it a step further.
Glenn Buchanan built his first backyard curling rink four years ago, which has morphed into a backyard milk jug curling league in recent years.
“Three years ago, our baseball team was having a windup, and we were talking about how we never get together in the winter,” he said.
Buchanan said this year, his rink liner broke during set up, so it took approximately three weeks to set up the full rink, which includes painting the lines and a full backboard.
Several breweries, including Lake of the Woods Brewing, Devil May Care Brewing, and La Shoppe, have all put sponsorship stickers around the rink as well.
“Last year, we had all of those breweries there for a Brewers Cup, and it was a lot of fun,” Buchanan said.
This year was meant to be the third season for the league, but COVID-19 put a stop to the plans. Due to Manitoba’s current Code Red restrictions, gatherings of people from outside of a household are not permitted.
The rink is currently being used only by the Buchanan family.
“They love it,” Buchanan said. “This year, I bought some of those one-litre chocolate milk jugs for the kids to throw, so they like it a lot this year. Once their muscles are a bit bigger, then we can get the big jugs going.”
Buchanan said he is hoping case counts will drop and they can have teams over for a few games before the winter ends.
He adds the rink helps keep him connected with his friends in the city.
“Being outdoors in Winnipeg is something we always try to do, and this is very important,” Buchanan said. “Usually, we’re looking forward to the summers, but now we find ourselves in the summer after baseball talking ‘Wow, we can’t wait to get the rink going in the winter.’”
