Communities to benefit from increased yearly grant program

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

Shaynee Modien

Shaunavon Standard Local Journalism Initiative Starting in 2026, communities in Saskatchewan will benefit from a doubling of funds in the form of the Community Rink Affordability Grant.

The previous amount, which helped over 376 communities last year, will be doubled for this year’s successful applicants to $5,000 for each community.

Administered by the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association on behalf of the provincial government, this year’s financial increase could benefit smaller communities substantially across Saskatchewan, including the southwest corner of the province.

President Trampus Lacelle of the Simmie Rec board has already applied for the funding after hearing about it while he was driving. “When they announced the budget, I thought, ‘Perfect – that applies to us right there,'” he said.

Simmie has an older rink, built in 1957 and remodeled in 1967, but it has been well taken care of thanks to last year’s funding grant and the tremendous support of local volunteers.

Trampus stated that the funding last year helped with work in the lobby of the rink, allowing them to maintain the building to their standards.

“We’ve done a good job of keeping our rink up, and we’re pretty proud of it,” he said.

When asked about his “wish list” for the rink, Lacelle commented that while they’ve done some work on the curling area, they will eventually need to replace the roofing on the curling side of the rink. This, along with general upkeep around the rink, all costs money.

Although the Simmie Rec board and other volunteers have managed to serve award-winning burgers (along with soup) on Fridays during the winter, they would still need to sell a lot of rink burgers to equal the grant money.

Therefore, communities like Simmie would be grateful to use funds such as the Community Rink Affordability Grant to keep their community rinks as vibrant as they have been.