Archived News Releases

January 17, 1995
Morden has been selected as the host community for the 1996 Manitoba Summer Games, Jim Ernst, minister responsible for fitness and sport, announced today.

"Morden will do an outstanding job hosting the games," said Ernst. "The organizing committee made an excellent bid presentation based on their plans, community support and understanding of the games philosophy."

The minister noted the strength of the bid was due in part to the regional approach used by Morden, Winkler, Altona and Miami which will have the neighboring communities participating to experience the games and provide more of a regional impact. For the first time, the games will be hosted in conjunction with the Morden Corn and Apple Festival, the community's major annual event celebrating its 30th anniversary in 1996.

The provincial government will provide Morden with a $75,000 operating grant for the games. Up to $75,000 more is available for facility development, if matched by the host community.

"The hosting of these games will benefit Morden and area just like the last summer games in 1992 assisted Minnedosa and Neepawa," said Ernst. "People there are enjoying not only the facilities that were enhanced for those games but also the sense of community pride that was demonstrated by the overwhelming volunteer support in '92."

Morden was selected from seven communities which submitted bids. The other communities were Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, Teulon, The Pas and Virden. "Each of these communities should be extremely proud of the hard work and effort they put into their applications," said the minister. "They were all excellent bids and it was an extremely difficult choice. We are fortunate in Manitoba to have so many interested and capable communities bidding for these games."

The Manitoba Games are the province's largest multi-sport event designed to stimulate participation and develop and strengthen community, regional and provincial sport networks. More than 10,000 Manitobans will participate in regional games leading up to the provincial finals. Approximately 1,600 athletes will then represent their regions in Morden Aug. 21 - 25, 1996.

Nine sports have been chosen as the core sports for the 1996 games: archery, athletics, baseball, equestrian, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and triathlon. There will be equal male and female representation in the competition which will also reflect a wide range of age groups. In addition, there will be a Special Olympics soccer meet and swimming competition for the blind.

The Manitoba Games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter games. The 1994 Manitoba Winter Games were held in Thompson. Funded by lottery proceeds, the Manitoba Games are a program of the Manitoba Sports Directorate in partnership with the Manitoba Games Council. Other key partners are the provincial and regional sport organizations.