Manitoba skating club strikes big with win in national competition

A small town skating club in Manitoba is the winner of a national video competition which was designed to celebrate skating.

The Minnedosa Skating Club had made it to the final three at the end of January as part of Skate Canada's ‘Skate With Us’ National Contest.

The club was chosen out of 106 entries in the Club and Skating Schools category and on Saturday morning they were announced the winners.

Club President Jacquie Gerrard said she found out about the win before Saturday but had to keep it a secret.

"I think they contacted me on Thursday, but I kept it a complete secret because it was supposed to be confidential," said Gerrard.

She said once she was able to share the results, everyone was extremely excited.

"It's a big deal here."

The small town came together to make the video and it was under the direction of a local videographer and former figure skater Brittany Hewlko.

"We're definitely a skating town. We take it seriously here and it's a big time recreation. All day, people have been congratulating us."

Along with getting the first place finish, the club will also receive $5,000. Gerrard said the board still needs to determine what to do with the money but noted they are looking to hire another skating coach.

"We have so skaters, we have almost 60 skaters now…we got a bunch of new skaters in the new year. So yeah, we're looking for a new coach and possibly more ice time."

The Minnedosa Skating Club wasn't the only Manitoba representative in the national contest. Elizabeth Kenyon from Winnipeg won first place in the Skate With Us category.