There’s a group of ambitious adolescents sledding out in Eastern Saskatchewan and they’re showing the rest of us how it’s done—both adults and kids alike. The Kelvington Junior Trailblazers recently won Outstanding Contribution to Snowmobiling in Saskatchewan from the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA), and for good reason. The club consists of 10 youth members and they’ve already managed to build and maintain a warm-up shelter, raise money at the SSA AGM and help out at a provincial festival as well as at a local derby. The Kelvington Junior Trailblazers also bears the distinction of being the only junior snowmobile club running in Saskatchewan.
“There’s no other club out there with so many junior snowmobilers helping out the main club (Kelvington Trailblazers),” said Quintin Hartl, president of the Kelvington Jr Trailblazers. “We all grew up snowmobiling with our parents and like to help out and have fun outdoors.”
Besides having their own president, the Kelvington Junior Trailblazers have a vice-president, secretary and treasurer and are currently learning how to run meetings. So, what motivates this earnest group of go-getters? It wasn’t the SSA hardware—although it is appreciated by the group. At the heart of the Kelvington Junior Trailblazers is something much more profound.
“We didn’t set out to achieve this award,” Hartl said. “We do what we do because it needs to be done. We are the future of snowmobiling.”
