How to Crokicurl

If you've been to The Forks this winter, you might wonder what that giant ice rink bullseye equipped with curling rocks situated at The Plaza is... Or, if you're Manitoban, you might just intuitively know: it's Crokicurl!

Crokicurl is the brainchild of Public City Architecture, and combines two iconic Canadian pastimes: crokinole and curling, to become an exciting new outdoor sport for all ages.

The object of the game is to accumulate the most points through shooting the rock into the center button and positioning the rocks on the playing surface so they remain within the highest scoring circle at the end of the round.

The Rules:

• The game is played with two teams. Each team is composed of 1-2 players. Teams of 1 play from opposing quadrants. For teams of 2, players from the same team play from opposing quadrants. Each player is limited to 1 quadrant. Each team has 4 rocks of the same colour.

• A crokicurl shot is accomplished by firmly sliding a rock onto the playing surface, releasing before the halfway point of the starting line. The rock may be played from any point within the assigned quadrant. Players are permitted to place their feet against the side rail while shooting the rock.

• The first player will try to score 20 points with their shot. If the rock successfully lands completely within the button it is removed and set aside to count as 20 points at the end of the round.

• Subsequent shots attempt to remove an opponent rock from the playing surface, unless there are no rocks on the playing surface. If the rock fails to make contact with an opponent rock, the rock is removed from the game. At the same time, each player attempts to make a 20 point shot difficult for the opposing team.

• Whenever possible, each player seeks to score 20 points by shooting a rock into the center button.

• No player may enter the coloured point rings during game play until all rocks have been played by both teams and scoring is being determined. The exception to this is when a team scores 20 points with their rock entering the button.

• Players may not change quadrants during a round.

• Play proceeds in a clockwise fashion, alternating each team and player.

• A rock that lands more than halfway over the outer edge of the starting line will be removed from game play.

• Scoring occurs after all rocks have been played. Teams play to a per-determined score. The player or team with the higher score wins the round. The winner of the match is determined by the team who wins the most rounds, best of 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

• Losing team treats winning team to mini donuts or a round of drinks from The Common.

Rocks are accessed on a first come, first served basis. Please be respectful of other players and limit your time to one hour.

Crokicurl FUN FACTS: 
• Junior curling rocks used to play Crokicurl weigh 20lbs - half the weight of a normal curling rock
• After its debut in Winnipeg in 2017, Crokicurl rinks popped up across the country, including Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon
• Northern-most Crokicurl rink: Dawson City, Yukon
• Litres of water pumped from the river to create the rink: 37,000

Get on your fat bikes + ride!

Winter/spring shoulder season is a tough one in Winnipeg. We can have a blizzard on Monday and patio beers on Friday. It’s always a challenge to wait out the last blasts of winter to transition to spring, but I found a surprisingly fun thing to do that works no matter what the bananas March weather brings: fat biking.

Have you seen these bikes around town? As you might guess, they have comically large tires—quite impossible to miss if you’ve ever seen them. People have been cruising on them all winter along the Red River Mutual Trail. When I found out they are available to rent from White Pine Bicycle Company in the Johnston Terminal (and it's pretty affordable - only $25 for up to 5 hours), I had to check it out!

A fat tire bike is shockingly stable and secure. It’s one of the easiest bikes you’ll ever ride. I was immediately at ease, maneuvering safely and easily through snow, ice, mud, and puddles. I felt like I was riding the tank of bikes—the tires gripped the ground like Velcro. Riding this bike was akin to that satisfying indestructible spring feeling of walking through puddles in rubber boots times 100. So fun.

There are many trails to explore on a bike when you start at The Forks. We rode along the Assiniboine River and hit up some single-track trails behind the Granite Curling Club. Then we looped around on my favourite 5K active transportation loop connecting the Exchange District, downtown, The Forks, and St Boniface. The are many trails to explore that connect to The Forks, and White Pine Bicycle Company carries various maps to help you plan your route. 

Dressing for this season is always tricky. Layers are always recommended, and on warmer, milder days, bring water protection! Our ride was wet and messy, exactly how spring should be!

Nothing completes a good bike ride quite like a refreshing cold beer. Lucky for us, we had one of those unusual warm spring days, which meant patio beers! It was a great afternoon spent exploring the city in a brand new, active way. This is how you do spring in Winnipeg.


Lindsay Somers is a Lifestyle Health Coach in Winnipeg. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. All photos by Mark Reimer

Lunch Skate Date

Last week, I gathered some friends together for a lunchtime skate date. I extended the invite online through the hashtag #lunchskatedate and other Internet-friend lunch-hour adventurers joined us! It was perfectly timed, as the Red River Mutual Trail had just re-opened after being closed due to an unusually warm January week. As an extra bonus, we were able to explore some of the brand new warming huts!

It was one of those perfectly sunny winter days in Winnipeg: blue skies, crisp air and blazing sunshine. It filled my heart to see so many people stepping away from their desks for fresh air, pals and frosty beers! Pro tip: if you live or work on the west side of downtown, you can access the Red River Mutual Trail from the Osborne Bridge.

Skating is one of those activities that you can do in a group and still go at your own pace. It’s a great leisure winter activity for all. Slow and steady or fancy backward crosscuts, we’re all on the same ice together.

It felt so good to be out in the sun breathing in the fresh air. I often think of The Forks as our downtown active community hub. It’s not that difficult to zip out to trade in your cubicle’s fluorescent lights for some sunshine on the Red River Mutual Trail.

We skated through the new warming hut "Open Borders" created by Joyce de Grauw and Paul van den Berg from Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The warming huts are great public art installations. Designers from around the world compete to have their designs built. Brilliantly staggered along the river, they pop up along the ice trail, making for great rest stops to explore and relax your skate legs.

Skating is one of the best "visiting activities." It’s not too intense, and you can just glide along while carrying a conversation (and forget that it’s exercise!).

We capped off our skate with lunch at The Common. Nothing like an après skate with an ice-cold beer! The lunch possibilities are endless at The Forks: soup, burgers, sushi, curry, noodles; you name it—it’s there. And there’s always a new restaurant popping up.

It really is the best way to spend a winter lunch break. Everyone trotted back to their offices feeling lighter, energized and happier. “That was actually super fun and super easy,” reported one skater on his way back to work. “I feel SO good,” said another.

Why not beat those winter blahs and sluggish afternoons by gathering your co-workers, boss and downtown friends and zipping over to The Forks for a #lunchskatedate!

And, if standing on metal blades in the middle of a frozen river still scares you a bit, I have good news! The Forks is offering Suds + Buds skate lessons from 8 - 9 pm every Wednesday night in February hosted by moi! All levels are welcome. I’ll work with you to build your confidence out on the ice so you can enjoy one of our city’s greatest winter gifts! Life is too short NOT to try it. Come on, it’ll be fun!

Lindsay Somers is a Lifestyle Health Coach in Winnipeg. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. All photos by Mark Reimer.