Sport in Manitoba
Sport is an important part of our lives and communities. From the grassroots to the high-performance and professional levels, Manitoba offers a vibrant sport landscape . Whether you want to participate as an athlete, coach, official, volunteer, or spectator, there are many opportunities across a wide variety of sports in every season. Manitobans can participate in sports all year long, from curling on an outdoor ice rink, to knocking one out of the park on an endless summer evening. Our province is a great place for athletes to participate and to develop their skills, while pursuing competitive sport pathways. We are proud of our homegrown talent and the many internationally acclaimed athletes who have represented our province and country with pride and passion in curling, speed skating and many other winter and summer sports.
Indigenous sport and land-based activities are an important part of Manitoba’s identity and history. Events like the Manito Ahbee Festival and Manitoba Indigenous Games offer opportunities for Indigenous athletes to demonstrate excellence in sport from horse relay to hockey, while providing all participants and spectators the opportunity to learn about and experience first-hand how Indigenous traditional sports enrich our sense of shared cultures.
We are proud to welcome visitors year-round to participate in local amateur tournaments, compete in elite contests, or take in professional games . At the very heart of Canada, Manitoba provides an ideal, central location to host events and tournaments at all levels of sport. Sport events foster pride and excitement for host communities, and local teams and athletes across our province are motivated by the opportunity to compete at home, showcasing all Manitoba has to offer both on and off the playing field.
Objectives
The Government of Manitoba, through the Department of Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, is responsible for supporting the development of safe and healthy communities through sport. The Department’s sport-specific objectives are:
- to support the development of a safe, diverse, and inclusive sport system where all Manitobans know they have the right to play
- to increase Manitobans’ participation in sport, while supporting and celebrating athletic achievement from grassroots to high-performance levels
- to build Manitoba’s profile in the national and international sport communities and maximize the benefits of hosting sports events in Manitoba
The Department works towards these objectives by supporting our agencies and partner organizations such as Sport Manitoba, the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission, the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council and other sport affiliates. The Department also supports the acquisition and hosting of sport events that bring economic and social benefit to the province.
Department staff participate in the Federal-Provincial Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (SPARC), the intergovernmental table responsible for advancing collective priorities for sport in Canada, including the development of the Canadian Sport Policy.
