Like winter, SledTown ShowDown seems to be swirling by at a blizzard’s pace. It’s time for Round 3, and that means we’ve already arrived at the provincial semi-finals where only four SledTowns remain from each province. Before we look ahead to the Final 4 bracket for each province, let’s look back at a few of the highlights from Round 2:
B.C.:
Round 2 proved to be a weeding out process from the pretenders to the contenders in British Columbia. Each matchup was an absolute blowout and left little doubt that the four remaining SledTowns have a shot at winning the whole thing.
McBride ( 585 votes, 67%), the 2018 SledTown ShowDown champion, garnered the most votes in B.C. to easily dispatch Golden (291 votes, 33%).
Revelstoke (563 votes, 66%) came on strong to power through Cranbrook (292 votes, 34%).
Sicamous (433 votes, 64%), the 2017 SledTown ShowDown champion, is a force to be reckoned with even more so now that they’ve disposed of Tumbler Ridge (242 votes, 36%), the 2019 SledTown ShowDown champion and B.C.’s last winner in the competition.
Valemount (407 votes, 62%) breezed through Radium Hot Springs (248 votes, 38%) without much effort.
Total votes from B.C. in Round 2: 3,062.
Alberta:
Leave it to Alberta to take it to the wire. Most of the head-to-head battles were tightly contested in Round 2, and none were closer than Crowsnest Pass (299 votes, 51%) and Swan Hills (297 votes, 49%). A mere two votes separated these two destinations from advancing through Round 2. Alas, Crowsnest Pass came out on top in what was one of SnoRiders’ closest votes ever.
In what was a close contest throughout Round 2, Fort McMurray (392 votes, 58%) rallied late to pull ahead and knock off Whitecourt (284 votes, 42%), the provincial winner for Alberta in both 2015 and 2017.
Fox Creek (341 votes, 58%) had to sweat it out for a while, but in the end this SledTown had the might necessary to send Grande Prairie (252 votes, 42%) packing.
In Alberta’s most decisive win, Edson (346 votes, 61%) proved why they’re the favourite to represent the province once again when they cruised through Alberta Beach (224 votes, 39%).
Total votes from Alberta in Round 2: 2,435.
Saskatchewan:
Hudson Bay appears to be the place to play in the pow once again in Saskatchewan. This SledTown has already won the provincial title three times during SledTown ShowDown (2015, 2019 and 2020) and also racked up the most votes of any Saskatchewan SledTown during Round 2. Hudson Bay (584 votes, 67%) moves on as expected against Duck Mountain Provincial Park (285 votes, 33%).
Kelvington (344 votes, 70%) breezed by Chitek Lake (148 votes, 30%).
Nipawin (308 votes, 55%) made it past Porcupine Plain (255 votes, 45%) unscathed.
Carrot River/Arborfield (309 votes, 60%), the provincial winner for Saskatchewan in 2018, left Tisdale (205 votes, 40%) behind in the rearview in a cloud of snow.
Total votes from Saskatchewan in Round 2: 2,438.
Manitoba:
Manitobans came out in droves to vote for their favourite SledTowns during Round 2. The province amassed by far the most votes of the four provinces in Western Canada (4,392). Flin Flon, the reigning, defending, undisputed 2020 SledTown ShowDown champion, piled up the most votes (913) of any SledTown in the entire competition during Round 2 and put itself in position to be considered the favourite to win the whole thing and become the first-ever two-time SledTown ShowDown champion. Despite the best efforts of Woodridge & Area (404 votes, 31%), Flin Flon (913 votes, 69%) advances to Round 3.
The Pas (613 votes, 54%) managed to pass through Swan Valley (512 votes, 46%), knocking off the 2015 SledTown ShowDown champion.
Snow Lake (529 votes, 54%) froze over Lee River (442 votes, 46%).
Lac du Bonnet (512 votes, 52%) edged out Duck Mountain Provincial Park (467 votes, 48%) in a tight contest.
Total votes from Manitoba in Round 2: 4,392.
Total votes from all provinces in Round 2: 12,326!
Total votes from all provinces in Round 1: 9,011!
Total votes throughout the competition: 21,337!
The polls are open and it’s time to cast your votes in the 7th annual SledTown ShowDown. You can head over to the main contest page or vote by provincial bracket once a day until the current round closes:
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Round 3 runs March 9 to 21, 2021.
New to the contest? This is how it works: we start with 16 destinations from each Western province in Canada. Each round, our readers vote for their favourites and the destinations get whittled down. By Round 4, we’ll have our provincial winners, which will go head-to-head until only one town remains to be crowned the 2021 SledTown ShowDown Champion of Western Canada.
Here’s what the winner gets:
A shiny SledTown trophy, bragging rights and feature articles on SnoRidersWest.com. Plus, it is a chance to raise positive awareness of snowmobiling and to recognize local clubs for all their hard work.
Social media plays a big role in this contest so be sure to hit “share” after you vote to let your friends know about the contest. You can also follow SnoRiders on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for quick updates during the contest. Feel free to tag us in photos and use the #SledTownShowDown to promote your favourite town.
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Vote every day for the best chance at seeing your favourite SledTown advance to the next round. Good luck to you and your SledTown.
