About Us
The history of the Winnipeg Speed Skating Club (WSSC) is a legendary story of community grit, survival through changing city landscapes, and elite athletic dominance. As the oldest speed skating club in Manitoba, it has spent over a century anchoring the sport in Western Canada.
The Spark and Founding (1919)
The groundwork for the club was laid by one of Manitoba’s greatest all-around athletes, Magnus “Mike” Goodman. Best known as a star for the Winnipeg Falcons hockey team (winning Canada’s first-ever Olympic hockey gold in 1920), Goodman was also a dominant speed skater. His legendary local victories and explosive speed on indoor ice generated massive local enthusiasm for the sport. Capitalizing on this excitement, the Winnipeg Speed Skating Club was officially formed in 1919.
The Early Decades & Moving Ovals (1920s–1950s)
In its infancy, the club operated out of Wesley Park on an 8-lap track, briefly changing its name to the Wesley Speed Skating Club in 1929 before reverting to WSSC in 1934. For the next two decades, the club skated on an oval behind United College (now the University of Winnipeg), where it trained early pioneers of Canadian speed skating, such as Frank Stack—who won an Olympic bronze medal in the 1000m at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games.
By 1952, the club moved to the Crescentwood Community Club, establishing a 6-lap outdoor track. In these eras, the club was entirely reliant on the elements and sheer volunteer power; parents were the ones out in the brutal Winnipeg freezes, flooding and maintaining the ice by hand.
The Sargent Park Era (1960s–1970s)
In 1962, WSSC transitioned to the outdoor Sargent Park Oval and indoor Sargent Park Arena. Winnipeg became a powerhouse, regularly sending skaters to the Provincial and National teams. Skaters like Gordon Audley (1948/1952 Olympian), Doreen McCannell Botterill (1964/1968 Olympian), and Bob Boucher (1968 Olympian) established Winnipeg as a primary breeding ground for Olympic talent.
A Permanent Home and Golden Era (1979–Present)
In 1979, the City of Winnipeg built a brand-new, dedicated outdoor facility at Sargent Park, which serves as one of the club’s training hubs to this day. This facility was later renamed the Susan Auch Speed Skating Oval, honoring the iconic WSSC skater and hometown hero who captured multiple Olympic silver medals in the 1990s and became the first Canadian woman to break the 40-second barrier in the 500m.
Winnipeg’s dominance reached a fever pitch heading into the 2000s, producing world-renowned champions and multi-medal Olympians like Clara Hughes (who famously won Olympic medals in both cycling and speed skating), World Champion Mike Ireland, 6 time Olympic medalist Cindy Klassen and Olympic gold and silver medalist Shannon Rempel.
Growing and Amalgamating for the Future (2017–2024)
As Winnipeg grew, neighborhood clubs like St. James (organized in 1934) and River Heights (formed in 1965) thrived alongside WSSC. In 2017, St. James and River Heights merged to create the Winnipeg Central Speed Skating Club.
Finally, in the summer of 2024, to unite the entire city’s skating community under one roof, Winnipeg Central and the original Winnipeg Speed Skating Club officially amalgamated. Returning to the historic moniker—The Winnipeg Speed Skating Club—the unified organization now trains out of the Sargent Park Arena Corydon Community Centre and the Susan Auch Oval, ensuring that a century-old tradition of Prairie speed, sportsmanship, and community continues to thrive for generations to come.