Springhill Winter Sports Park has yet to announce official opening
By: Alli Pauls
Springhill Winter Sports Park has increased its health restrictions for the 2021-2022 season while its impending opening looms.
Meredith Loewen, a student at the University of Manitoba who started snowboarding last winter, plans to continue snowboarding once the park opens for the season, despite the added restrictions.
“Last winter, there were many public health restrictions in place, so snowboarding became very meaningful to me as it was the only place I could hang with my friends,” said the 19-year-old.
The park closed its bar, food court, and chalet last season, leaving riders to warm up and gear up in their vehicles. This season, a number of restrictions will still be in place along with additional measures to ensure riders’ safety.
All vaccinated and unvaccinated guests and staff will be required to wear face coverings at all times. Group lessons will be limited in size, riders will only be permitted to ride with whom they drove to the park with, and guests will need to stay two ski lengths apart.
The park also has a takeout window where people can purchase lift tickets.
Springhill Winter Sports Park management was not available to comment further on its guidelines.
Anna Fischer, another University of Manitoba student, said she loves the social aspect of the sport and the feeling she gets when she goes down the hill.
She described snowboarding as a sense of freedom and excitement wrapped in one.
“Springhill Park has a smaller hill compared to what I’m used to, but it’s a great spot for me to practice fun tricks and jumps,” the 19-year-old said.
With the current provincial public health orders and with snow here to stay, Springhill started making artificial snow this week, signalling it is close to welcoming guests again.
All of the park’s features will be open in 2021, including a hill with jumps, rails, and boxes for the experienced, and a bunny hill for beginners.
It will host an open house on Nov. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m., but has yet to announce an official opening date.
