Welcome to the 2014-2015 season. I trust everyone has had a fabulous summer, and now that October and November are in our sights, we can all start thinking about that ‘white gold’ and the first ride of the season.
Do you realize that the BC Snowmobile Federation (BCSF) commenced operation in 1965? Fifty years ago! The BCSF will celebrate its 50th anniversary during this 2014-2015 season. Make sure you stay tuned to BCSF.org and LetsRideBC.com, as well as the respective Facebook sites to stay up-to-date as to our plans to celebrate this momentous occasion.
Fifty years is no easy accomplishment for any organization, let alone a volunteer-based, non-profit, non-government organization (NGO) such as us. It makes me sit back and reflect on all the hard work put forth by volunteers and staff over that length of time. The accomplishments are too many to mention, but suffice it to say, there has been plenty of personal sacrifice to make sure that organized snowmobiling is properly man- aged in British Columbia.
Donegal Wilson, in the BCSF office, is busy, busy, busy organizing the National Trails Coalition applications to make sure the clubs that have applied meet the criteria for the federal matching dollars that were made available for trail work. The BCSF’s federal affiliation with the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (CCSO) is the conduit to those federal funding dollars. On behalf of the entire BCSF and its member clubs, I wish to thank the executive of the CCSO for their diligent work in having said funding released by the Harper government (a campaign promise made during the last election).
Speaking of Donegal, do you realize she now carries the title of executive director of the BCSF? Donegal has been an integral part of our revitalized BCSF team for just over two years now. From the BCSF board of directors’ point of view and the many that deal with Donegal on a regular basis (government, corporate, etc.), she has earned her stripes, so to speak, and a title change from office manager to executive director was more than deserved. Well done, Donegal! As president of the BCSF and on behalf of the entire board of directors, I congratulate you for a job well done, and we look forward to many more years of service.
While I am in the middle of heaping praise on the BCSF’s newly appointed executive director, let’s turn our attention to the Let’s Ride BC program. As you have likely noticed over the last couple of years, Let’s Ride BC is becoming more and more prominent within the BCSF message. This program is fully endorsed by Destination BC to help promote snowmobile tourism in British Columbia. Through the Destination BC participation of matching dollars, the BCSF is able to attend the various snow shows such as Edmonton and Saskatoon, as well as participate in many other marketing initiatives to make sure we promote the world-class snowmobile tourism product of British Columbia. This past spring, Donegal and I met with some of the executive of Destination BC to review what we have accomplished thus far and what the future plans are. Needless to say, the BCSF was successful again this year with our application to Destination BC, and we are doing our best to promote snowmobiling in B.C.
Here are some quick stats for you in terms of what the snowmobile industry means to Canada:
• $8 billion industry in Canada;
• Global sales on new sleds last year were 159,425 units (up 10 per cent over the year prior);
• 55,000 sleds sold in the U.S.A.; and
• 49,100 sleds sold in Canada.
In B.C. alone, you don’t have to look much further than Revelstoke, Golden, Valemount, Sicamous, Prince George, Fernie and the towns along the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail and the Sea to Sky corridor to understand the tremendous economic impact that our sport has on the local communities.
Of course, with the dawn of every new sled season, we have the usual barrage of sled videos to keep us entertained. Ninety-five per cent of us will never try any of the jumps and climbs those young people attempt, but it is still fun to watch. Keep your eyes open for Slednecks 17, Thunderstruck 13, Boondockers 11 and 509 Films - Volume 9.
What excites me most about this coming season are the possibilities to grow the sport even further. The BCSF and other power sports organizations within B.C. (ABCSnow, ATV/BC, B.C. Off-Road Motorcycle Association) were presented with an opportunity to assemble a youth and dealer safety outreach education program which was funded by the B.C. government.
The program was completed and paperwork was submitted, and we now look for the opportunity to reach out to the schools and dealers and spread the safety message even further. We all know the impact that Throttle Decisions had on the snowmobile community. We would now like to add to that and further educate the motorsport community on all the other safety aspects of operating off-road vehicles.
Back in July, a number of the executive of the BCSF and Association of British Columbia Snowmobile Clubs (ABCSnow) assembled on a conference call and discussed merging the two organizations into one. I am very optimistic that this will become a reality in the very near future. Trish Drinkle, president of the ABCSnow, and her team are actively canvassing their club presidents about the opportunity and what it will mean in terms of a stronger, unified voice for organized snowmobiling within British Columbia. Hopefully, by the time you read this, there will be some substantial news to report.
Source: SnoScene
