By: Craig Nicholson, OFSC Communications

The Ski-Doo brand has always been synonymous with snowmobiling in Canada, ever since J.A. Bombardier invented the first recreational snowmobile in Valcourt, Quebec in 1959.

Now BRP is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Ski-Doo snowmobiles, and this fall, Ski-Doo will further strengthen its ties to Canadian snowmobiling with the new Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program to support local clubs in their home communities.

“Launching a grassroots funding campaign to benefit clubs is a natural fit with our 50th anniversary celebration because Ski-Doo was right there at the beginning to help establish the very first organized snowmobile trails in Canada,” said Alain Villemure, vice-president and general manager of BRP’s Ski-Doo / Sea-Doo division. “Ski-Doo has always recognized and appreciated the hard work our clubs and volunteers do on snowmobile trails – and how important those trails are for this recreational activity.”

Yes, as a 50th anniversary present, snowmobile clubs across Ontario will benefit from Ski-Doo cash donations through their local Ski-Doo dealers. And with Ontario’s share of Million Dollars on the table, many of Ontario’s 234 snowmobile clubs have the opportunity to raise much-needed new funding courtesy of Ski-Doo snowmobiles.

It’s no surprise that when Ski-Doo staffers considered new ideas for their 50th, the Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program was a win-win-win-win scenario. Count ‘em. Yes, that’s four wins…first, Ski-Doo celebrates its 50th anniversary as the number one selling snowmobile brand by making an important cash contribution to local clubs.

Second, Ski-Doo Dealers build stronger long-term relationships with local clubs and snowmobilers in their home communities. Third, local clubs and volunteers receive new-found money, much needed in a winter when fuel prices will make running groomers very costly. And win number four? Trail riders like you and I are the ultimate beneficiaries when clubs deliver great trails to ride this winter!

As Marc-André Dubois, BRP manager, public relations, shows & events said, “The Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program resulted from out of the box thinking at BRP. We wanted to attract consumers to our dealerships this fall, support clubs with cash and above all, do something very different, signifying to snowmobilers that Ski-Doo not only makes the most innovative and technically advanced snowmobiles, but that we also live and breath snowmobiling with the same passion as they do.”

Raising cash in Ontario from Ski-Doo is easy with the Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program. All it takes is for Ontario snowmobilers to visit Ski-Doo dealers and drop off a completed donation certificate between September 1 and November 15.

Riders will receive these Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program certificates in the mail, and for every snowmobiler who drops off a completed certificate at a local Ski-Doo dealership, the local OFSC club will get $10 cash from Ski-Doo, to a maximum of $1,500.

OFSC clubs with high rates of participation can also qualify to receive a bonus of an additional $1,000 in Ski-Doo parts, accessories and clothing. Best of all, one OFSC club with the most certificates qualifies to win a 2009 Ski-Doo 50th Anniversary Limited Edition snowmobile (one each allocated for Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan). Not bad for just dropping off certificates at Ski-Doo dealers!

“The new dollars flowing from Ski-Doo will really help struggling clubs across Canada to make ends meet this winter and make trails better for snowmobilers too,” commented Dennis Burns, executive director of the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations. “Wouldn’t it be great if every snowmobiler dropped off a certificate at their local Ski-Doo dealer as their way of saying thanks to their local club?”

Burns has a good point. With the strong possibility of another good old-fashioned winter in the works, OFSC snowmobile clubs will need more money to keep ahead of the snow… and the Ski-Doo Million Dollar Club Support Program may be just the equalizer they need to get the job done!

A tip of the 50th anniversary hat to Ski-Doo for such a timely and generous opportunity… now it’s up to every club and rider to make sure that every certificate is redeemed for a $10 Ski-Doo donation!

By: Bruce Robinson

I woke up this morning and things had changed, again. That’s because change continually affects our snowmobiling world, both at the corporate OFSC and at the club levels.

It all comes down to handling those changes and if you are like me, the older you get, the harder change is to deal with. Look at this column for instance. I’m doing my first writing for our new Go Snowmobiling Magazine. For 20 years, the president’s message was in one place but now, presto chango, it’s some place else!

As if that’s not enough. I’m also told I need to change my writing style. Seems that everyone wants me to change… even though my wife, Liz, says I don’t deal well with change. Every time the furniture gets moved around or a new coat of paint gets applied to a wall, I sing the same old song: ‘I liked it the old way’. But after a while I always get used to it, until the next time! And that’s what we have to do with snowmobiling, too.

Get used to the changes – like rising fuel prices. I know last winter was bad enough, especially when our clubs got the bills for groomer fuel. My home club spent $20,000 instead of the $7,500 it had the winter before. Fortunately, permit sales were also up last winter, so that extra revenue helped.

But face it, folks, fuel prices have already gone up about 40 percent since then. Meanwhile, the permit fee for the coming season is set the same as for the last four winters: $180 before Dec. 1 and $230 after. Whoa now, that’s five winters without change… have we held the line for you or what! But our clubs are non-profit entities; they don’t have much financial reserve to fall back on.

The only way I can see our clubs withstanding today’s fuel prices is if permit sales increase again this winter. So please do your part by purchasing permits to support your club and take a friend snowmobiling to grow participation. And fair warning: you don’t have to be a fortune teller to know fuel prices along with other rising costs will eventually force a permit fee change.

I bet you’re also wondering how you’re going to afford your own snowmobile gas this winter, right? Well, let’s see… the average rider snowmobiles about 2,500 kilometres per winter. At 12 litres per 100 kilometres, that’s about 300 litres of gas.

At today’s prices, let’s say for high-test at $1.40 per litre, that’s $420. At last winter’s pump price of $1.00 per litre for high test, you would have spent $300. That’s an increase of only $120 for 2008/09 – a real increase of less than .05 cents per kilometre… and even less if you use regular.

If you were visionary enough to have upgraded to a 4-stroke or a direct injection 2-stroke sled recently, you would have already lowered your fuel costs considerably from what they used to be (and some 2009 engines are promising even better fuel economy!).

Which is good, because the old 2-strokes were averaging about 20 litres per 100 kilometres or more, so do the math: that amounted to at least 500 bucks to ride that same 2,500 klicks! So worst case for 2008/09: if you are riding a clean technology sled, the savings you are making at each fill-up means that your actual out-of-pocket fuel cost for this winter shouldn’t be any more for your 2,500 kilometres than it was before your clean technology days.

You may not have gained much, but you are no farther behind either! Plus, you’re likely using less oil. Now if you’re still driving a gas-guzzling sled… I predict a sled change coming in your life, very soon! That’s the one time Liz says I cope well with change…when it’s time to get a new snowmobile!

In closing, let me draw your attention to one thing in life that hasn’t changed much over the years. That’s the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. They’re the ones on the front lines that have to contend firsthand with the constant changes in snowmobiling and in customer expectations. And you know what? Their pay hasn’t changed, either – it’s still 0, nothing, nada, zip, squat. But then, neither has their love of snowmobiling. Thank God for our volunteers!

Till next time, welcome to our new Go Snowmobiling Magazine… and remember, keep your skis on the snow!

by: Mark Lester

I can’t begin to tell you how excited all of us at SUPERTRAX International are to be selected as the OFSC’s official publication to communicate to its trail permit buyers.

For those of you who don’t recognize my brother Kent and myself, we’ve had a long history of delivering OFSC messaging – 13 years to be exact, until six years ago.

The past six years have been busy for SUPERTRAX International. We’re now the largest circulated snowmobile enthusiast title in both the United States and Canada.

Times have changed in the sport of snowmobiling and so has the OFSC. Having been less involved in OFSC communication the past six years and now thrown back into the deep end of the pool, charged with official publication status, we’ve been working hard to become qualified to comment on how dramatic and all-encompassing the changes to both organized snowmobiling and the OFSC really are.

The SUPERTRAX crew has gone through an intense education process covering exactly how the OFSC functions, who drives its policies and how it works to support OFSC member clubs. I can tell you without any hesitation this has been an amazing journey.

It’s been impressive to learn how efficient and organized the OFSC is. Uh oh! That sounded like a suck-up endorsement from the new publisher, right? Don’t take my word for it. In the international powersports community, not to mention the trail sanctioning fraternity here in Ontario, the OFSC is, hands down, the most respected organization, period.

The OFSC has consistently delivered the goods. Need proof? Over the past 15 years it has been entrusted with over $40 million in provincial and federal government funding. A $3 million provincial contribution this past spring is covered in this first issue of Go Snowmobiling Magazine.

Okay, money is important and government attention is paramount but, how do you earn trust of this magnitude? You generate consistent economic benefit for Ontario’s economy, that’s how. The OFSC’s more than 230 member snowmobile clubs are responsible for an interconnected trail network generating more than a billion dollars in economic impact every winter.

Most of this impact positively affects communities; communities that have little to offer in the winter months as a result of their geography and location. OFSC trail based snowmobiling is the very life-blood of Ontario destinations like these.

What else is the OFSC good at? It’s good at looking after land owners. This is accomplished by the incredible efforts of the OFSC’s member clubs and in a very substantial way through a comprehensive liability insurance program which protects land owners who allow trails on their property. This initiative alone is foundational to the continued expansion and growth of snowmobiling in Ontario.

Here’s more: The OFSC promotes snowmobiling for the benefit of its member clubs. However, let’s be honest, promoting snowmobiling benefits everyone.

Snowmobile manufacturers, tourism operators and everyone involved in the communities who welcome snowmobilers all benefit from the OFSC’s continuous promotion of snowmobiling through programs like the recent Toronto Star insert on OFSC snowmobiling, the Give It a Try Tour and the Take A Friend Snowmobiling initiative you’ll read about in this issue.

I could go on but here’s where the rubber hits snow: the OFSC is important to you and to snowmobiling. You’ll find out much more over the course of this coming season right here in Go Snowmobiling Magazine.

2008 OFSC trail permit buyers will receive Go Snowmobiling magazine four times this season along with a copy of SUPERTRAX International if you indicated you wanted the magazine when you purchased your trail permit.

When you buy your ’08-’09 permit this fall make sure you indicate you want Go Snowmobiling Magazine and SUPERTRAX as a member benefit when filling out your trail permit application.

Our goal here at Go Snowmobiling Magazine is to keep you informed on important issues relating to snowmobiling across Ontario with hard hitting editorials, info-packed features and lots of coverage of the places you love riding in and the sleds you love to ride.

SUPERTRAX will keep on bringing you the action packed, hands-on coverage of every aspect of snowmobiling in a way no other enthusiast publication can match.

We’re working hard here to make sure you’ll enjoy every issue of Go Snowmobiling Magazine when it arrives in your mailbox. Why are we confident you will? Because we’re hardcore snowmobile enthusiasts. In fact, the editorial staff at Go Snowmobiling Magazine and SUPERTRAX International have more years of snowmobile publishing experience than all our competitors combined.

This is our passion. We look forward to sharing it with you.