The values of volunteerism, community, and sportsmanship are instilled in every level of activity in the Pinawa Club, making them part of the social fabric in Pinawa. The club offers a variety of curling activities and events, including drop-in curling, mixed and men’s leagues, juniors programs, stick curling, bonspiels, an open house, and countless ice-time rentals. Volunteers help run make and maintain the ice, carry out administrative duties, and organize events and games.

On average, the Pinawa Club gets between 600 and 800 participants who benefit from the space in a season. However, that number grows to the thousands when you include the event spectators and patrons who dine in the club’s restaurant. The Pinawa Curling Club Restaurant is a social gathering place for the community. It’s also the town’s only dining facility during the winter months. Not having curling programming nor its supporters could possibly result in the restaurant having to close during the winter, which would result in loss of jobs and impact the entire population of Pinawa.

In 2019, the space suffered a catastrophic ice plant failure, and then in 2020, there were failures with their headers. Thankfully, through fundraising, grant submissions, and the astonishing generosity of Pinawa and its surrounding communities, the club was able to replace all the failed equipment. When depleted of funds, the community found themselves unable to get any replacement bulbs for their 55-year-old lighting, as the bulbs used were no longer available. Luckily, the community sourced LED bulbs that would save them thousands of dollars compared to alternative installations, which would also work with the club’s current fixtures.

Their Story Now

“The Pinawa Curling Club is so grateful and appreciative to Red River Mutual for approving our Spruce Up Your Story  grant application. We are an aging curling club that has fallen on some pretty hard times in recent years due to our aging equipment and club. Thanks to this successful application, we are absolutely thrilled to have been able to update our lighting, and things are looking very bright for us now. It has made the world if difference for us.” – Linda Gifford, Curling Director of the Pinawa Curling Club