hillclimb or snocross in alberta

[Justin_sane]

I forgot to mention, I have some contacts for insurance and legal who can help, I'm going to look into it more. The lawsuit thing is easy to get around... Release from liability waivers. How do you think castrol raceway allows people to race their own cars on their drag strip?

This is very doable IMO, and I'm not going to bow to anyones opinion and give up, I will only consider expert information provided in writing from relevant contacts.

Also, the mountains being close has nothing to do with it. Ontario is right beside Quebec, and Quebec has mountains too. Yet both provinces have snowcross events and a lot of snowmobiling industry.

However... Notice I didn't mention insurance and getting it cheap.... Lol that is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, but I know some people back home who raced snowcross and I'll try to contact some of the organizers to get some further advice on that. I do have some ideas on that though

another key point is that it will be regulated in many ways for sure, you can be almost certain that some kind of race licensing will be required for participants

 

[Modman]

I forgot to mention, I have some contacts for insurance and legal who can help, I'm going to look into it more. The lawsuit thing is easy to get around... Release from liability waivers. How do you think castrol raceway allows people to race their own cars on their drag strip?

This is very doable IMO, and I'm not going to bow to anyones opinion and give up, I will only consider expert information provided in writing from relevant contacts.

Also, the mountains being close has nothing to do with it. Ontario is right beside Quebec, and Quebec has mountains too. Yet both provinces have snowcross events and a lot of snowmobiling industry.

However... Notice I didn't mention insurance and getting it cheap.... Lol that is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, but I know some people back home who raced snowcross and I'll try to contact some of the organizers to get some further advice on that. I do have some ideas on that though

another key point is that it will be regulated in many ways for sure, you can be almost certain that some kind of race licensing will be required for participants

Good idea in theory but as stated, you need the $$$ to back it up. The BDSO is now cancelled because of this very reason, the organizers did not have the capital to fund it (no one blames them either). The insurance is very expensive, just an FYI, and requires a bunch of items to be in place. Its hard to get an investment on your return when no one comes out to watch a race, you may get lots of participants, but not a lot of spectators to pay the bills. This is a drawback of winter sports, its hard to get people to come out in -20C to stand around for hrs on end, the fan base is hard to get. You can put an event on pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things, but ensuring that you make enough to pay the bills is a big risk. Organizers need sponsorship, sometimes its hard to get too.

I've been to Ontaria and Quebec and seen the "mountains". They are not quite the same as here. LOL

 

[hogster008]

Could it not be oranized as a non profit, how does table top race way in rocky manage to get by with insurance and such. If it was organized as a non profit it would be easier to get sponsors and would also be able to apply to work a casino. These are just ideas that I gotten from oranizing fastball teams to got to westerners and such.

 

[ZRrrr]

Please add Cross Country Racing to the oraganization. Would love to see more organized snowmobile related events here in AB.

 

[catfamily]

I havent the slightest clue on what it is going to take to organize an event or circuit, but i think we should explore this topic further. I dont have alot of contacts, but i know a few people that have some experiance in organizing similar events.

 

[steel town]

I forgot to mention, I have some contacts for insurance and legal who can help, I'm going to look into it more. The lawsuit thing is easy to get around... Release from liability waivers. How do you think castrol raceway allows people to race their own cars on their drag strip?

This is very doable IMO, and I'm not going to bow to anyones opinion and give up, I will only consider expert information provided in writing from relevant contacts.

Also, the mountains being close has nothing to do with it. Ontario is right beside Quebec, and Quebec has mountains too. Yet both provinces have snowcross events and a lot of snowmobiling industry.

However... Notice I didn't mention insurance and getting it cheap.... Lol that is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, but I know some people back home who raced snowcross and I'll try to contact some of the organizers to get some further advice on that. I do have some ideas on that though

another key point is that it will be regulated in many ways for sure, you can be almost certain that some kind of race licensing will be required for participants

I grew up in Northern Ontairo (Sault Ste Marie) and my home town even hosts(ed) a race of the nationl snowcross series...The events were cool and drew alot of beer swilling fans, the held it a the local ski hill (Searchmont Resort) before they open for the season and they used their snowmaking machines to pull it off. ( not cheap...)

Comapired to us, they have hills out there, not mountians. In PQ they have a few that are over 1000ft but nothing above or even close to tree line, and they get S F A for snow. I ski raced/ raced boadercross/coached skiing for 15 years out east, and have been to almost every crappy hill in Quebec and Ontairo. There is a reason why every French kid or Ontairo Skier moves to Banff or Whistler when they graduate is the, big mountians, big snow falls, and big parties.
I have had a few buddies race regional snowcross but went broke doing it. If you want better riding, the only logical choice is to move closer to it....

 

[hogster008]

get what you are saying, but I think there are few people that want move just for snocross. It is hard enough to get a job here. We would just like to get some tracks here.

 

[Summiteer]

I forgot to mention, I have some contacts for insurance and legal who can help, I'm going to look into it more. The lawsuit thing is easy to get around... Release from liability waivers. How do you think castrol raceway allows people to race their own cars on their drag strip?

This is very doable IMO, and I'm not going to bow to anyones opinion and give up, I will only consider expert information provided in writing from relevant contacts.

Also, the mountains being close has nothing to do with it. Ontario is right beside Quebec, and Quebec has mountains too. Yet both provinces have snowcross events and a lot of snowmobiling industry.

However... Notice I didn't mention insurance and getting it cheap.... Lol that is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, but I know some people back home who raced snowcross and I'll try to contact some of the organizers to get some further advice on that. I do have some ideas on that though

another key point is that it will be regulated in many ways for sure, you can be almost certain that some kind of race licensing will be required for participants

The biggest problem that we have out here is population density. If ten percent of the Ontario Sledding community watches and supports Racing, that is way more than if ten % of Alberta or BC sledders watch and support. Motorsport racing is a big money proposition no matter how you look at it. You need lots of bums in the seats to make it viable.

 

[Justin_sane]

Comapired to us, they have hills out there, not mountians. In PQ they have a few that are over 1000ft but nothing above or even close to tree line, and they get S F A for snow. I ski raced/ raced boadercross/coached skiing for 15 years out east, and have been to almost every crappy hill in Quebec and Ontairo. There is a reason why every French kid or Ontairo Skier moves to Banff or Whistler when they graduate is the, big mountians, big snow falls, and big parties.
I have had a few buddies race regional snowcross but went broke doing it. If you want better riding, the only logical choice is to move closer to it....

I agree that the mountains in Quebec arent comparable to the rockies, but they are mountains nonetheless, and i dont know exactly where in quebec you have been, but it is an absolutely massive province. and also in saying that, im not sure where all youve been in quebec, but saying they get nothing for snow is certainly not accurate. ive been places in quebec that have tons of snow... maybe not as much as the rockies, but certainly a hell of a lot more than youll see anywhere else in alberta. not saying that they dont all move out to the rockies (because they do), but that doesnt make any reference to snowcross racing... you dont need mountains, or even a whole hell of a lot of snow to race snowcross. hillclimb is different, but thats not what im talking about. lol theres tons of riding in ontario and quebec, just not really mountain riding.

i know it would be a challenge to get things to work out for events in alberta, but it also seems that most people jkust have the attitude of, "oh someone else tried it and it didnt work so its not worth trying", or "oh the mountains are so close..." (as in 6 hours away), In all honesty, i dont even care if we got a sponsored race circuit going at this point. I would even settle for a group of guys with connections for land use (acreage or farm owner anyone?), and access to heavy equipment (owner/operators/farmers anyone) and built a track of our own to race on and hit jumps on etc.

A lot of people think watching racing is boring, or that they just go around in circles, or that they can have more fun in the mountains. but how many of those guys actually hit jumps? not saying im a huge jumper or anything myself. but i would definetly love to have to opportunity, because i would definetly be out all the time doing it.

It would be a lot of fun whether people push for sanctioned events or just get their own backyard events (or whatever you wanna call it) going.

but im still going to look into it both ways. just need the time.. lol

 

[stuckenough]

You should get in touch with the people that host an event like Sno Mo days out at Alberta Beach. They could use a new and more exciting event other than the snow drags they have every year. I for one would much rather watch a snow cross race than a ice race.
Just don't get caught towing your kid on his tobaggan out there!!!!

 

[recguy]

this needs to be followed up on, but i hear kinoosoo might hold a spring hillclimb again this year. They had this event years ago and it was awsome. Someone out there must know a little more info on this. Kinoosoo is east of cold lake.

 

[Culvert]

Here is a post about the races in Cold Lake this year. https://www.snowandmud.com/forum/f14/we-need-snow-cross-racers-24560.html

If this doesnt work look up Hyperflow. He is out of Ardmore and was looking for riders for the event. Mar6-7

 

[FMF]

Dragged back up from the Abyss : )
Glad to see I am not the only one that is wishing for some racing in the area.
I am a recent transplant to Calgary and I am still in shock from realizing there is not even a hill climb series in Alberta and BC. To the point where I started a similar thread elsewhere. See the bottom of this post for my solution.

A few things from what I have read:
Insurance should not be an issue. If they can race in the US, which they do, there are plenty of Sno X and Hill Climbs with a significantly more litigious environment then here in Alberta.
What the problem may well be is there is no track record of safe events being run, inexperienced organizers and racers etc. = increased but unquantifiable insurance risk. It is a big problem because straight out of the gate is when costs are a problem after things get going sponsors are on board plenty of competitors etc. However this can be overcome by working with established organizations that have a track record of organizing safe well run events.

I think hill climbs are the way to go people already own the sleds and you can use them for recreational riding so you do not have to sink a lot into a sled that has only one purpose. One organization to look at for help is Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Association or Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hill Climb Association they organize events in Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. The Canadian Rockies and sledding up here are definitely on their radar screen so if someone has a connection at a potential venue...

Alberta has the perfect demographics for sled racing young men with good paying jobs as well as a healthy snowmobile scene so sponsors should not be hard to come by. So, a well organized racing series should be a winner and could even be lucrative for organizers.

The foundation has already been laid there are 3 or 4 guys from the greater Edmonton Area going to Minnesota to race Sno X and Cross Country events as well as some guys from BC running events in the RMSHA series. And yes they are doing well, in some cases really well.

I am getting a group together to do some competing of a different sort that takes advantage of the amazing terrain available in the Mountains. It is sort of a cross country adventure competition on mountain sleds. Basically the riding that we do on any given weekend with destinations in mind and competitive using GPS locations and some other twists thrown in. Inspired by Cains Quest only in the Rockies and shorter. One or two days so it can be done on a weekend without all the crap on the sled and fuel hauled out where necessary. If you are serious about participating PM me with your contact information and we will have a chat.

 

[06 Dragon]

Maybe they could hold a hill climb event at the Bently ski hill at the end of the season.I have been thinking that it would be nice to have a local event as well.Is there not a such thing as a waiver, that participants can sign? Then post a sign at the gate: enter at your own risk, you are liable for your own safety. Would that not cover it?

 

[FMF]

I can't speak specifically to what the legal system is like in Alberta when it comes to stuff like this but, I know in the US a waver does not mean much. What lawyers usually try to claim is gross negligence basically you never should have let us stand there because it is so dangerous so it is your fault not ours. Basically it comes down to this spectators are stupid and people are emotional and greedy. People are very accepting of risk until it goes from risk to reality and after someone gets hurt if they and some lawyer think they can get some money it is on. But, again it is not as much of an issue if things are run properly insurance is in place etc.

 

[MrMopMan]

well it seems like theirs alot of people who would be interested in snocross/hillclimb events, and theirs alot of sledding clubs out their so become a member and try and convince your club to put something on, i know theirs annual jamborees in alberta i think this year its in slave lake and next year i think its athabasca, so im gonna try and convince my club to do something like snocross, and yall should do the same.

 

[GYMBRAT]

It has a bit "I think" to do with the fact that most of the money is in the patch there fore winter is THE busy time for that and everyone who is making that cash is working...........Just my thoughts as I would have LOVED to get into SnowCross along with my Moto-X. Like Blair Morgan did!

there is absolutly nothing! honestly alberta is probally the worst province to snowmobile in...and if people disagree then they havent left alberta to snowmobile there is nothing, no snocross,hill climbs nothing... the closest snocross circuit is the ucma circuit and its sask to ontario there is one race in alberta thats cold lake march 6 and 7th... im hoping alberta starts somthing up becuase the trail ridin just doesn't cut it. if there is something cool here in alberta i would like to know other wise pack your stuff up and ride bc...the nsracing website advertises races in the states and other circuits, but still nothing in alberta! only thing alberta has is oil

 

[Sledpiggy]

Insurance was one issue but also lack of volunteers/organizers and lack of actual racers. When I raced the AB/SK and BC circuits back in the day every year we lost racers. Racing isn't cheap and driving 6-12 hours every 2nd weekend got really old. Its too bad cuz it was super fun and met lots of great peeps!

 

[JoHNI_T]

Insurance was one issue but also lack of volunteers/organizers and lack of actual racers. When I raced the AB/SK and BC circuits back in the day every year we lost racers. Racing isn't cheap and driving 6-12 hours every 2nd weekend got really old. Its too bad cuz it was super fun and met lots of great peeps!

there we go Amy understands.... its the #'s... 34 million people in canada.... 13 million in ontario and 8 mill in quebec that 21 million in a space just a bit bigger then alberta lol and here in Alberta we have 3.5 million and that's why I live here .... We cant suport a race circuit unfortuneatley

and ya who cares when ya got the mountains lol


p.s. this thread is 3 years old and 4 pages long... I dont think that many people are interested haha

 

[oler1234]

Mayby not snocross given the time commitment, but what about hillclimb. You'd think someone like castle, nakuska, or fortress could set one up. Make it so anyone can enter, 1-2 day event. Bet the turn out would be good. I mean what do they do meteor mines hillclimb.