Snowmobile poker rally draws poor turnout

The conditions were perfect.
It was sunny, calm, and not too cold—a perfect day to get out on a snowmobile and travel the network of trails carefully cut and groomed by the Sunset Country Snowmobile Club while raising some money to keep those trails in shape.
And for the first time in years, there was plenty of snow. In fact, the only thing missing Saturday were the people.
The SCSC held a Family Fun Rally in which for $10 and a trail permit, you could scoot from Fort Frances to Emo, have your card stamped along the way, and then head back to the Little Beaver Snow Park here for some camaraderie and a chance to win $500.
But Bill O’Leary, the SCSC board member in charge of volunteers and events, said only eight people signed up for what was hoped would be a much-needed fundraiser and morale booster for the financially-troubled club.
O’Leary said attendance and membership have been in serious decline over the last few years, due in part to a lack of adequate snow cover for most of the winter.
But this year, conditions have been about as good as they get, yet only two people showed up at La Place Rendez-Vous on Friday night to purchase one-day trail permits for the rally (the other participants already held season ones).
O’Leary cited escalating insurance costs and the cost of trail permits as other factors in the decline in what once was one of the most popular recreational pastimes in the district.
Nonetheless, he still was surprised at the lack of response for Saturday’s rally—particularly in light of the perfect conditions. He also said it’s unlikely he’ll personally be involved in such an event down the road.
The rally actually was a “poker run,” in which participants were issued a special card, which then was stamped at each of the nine checkpoints along the route.
It began at La Place Rendez-Vous and ended at Little Beaver Snow Park, with stops at the Couchiching Convenience Complex, Rainy Lake Sports, Fort Frances Curling Club, Witherspoon’s One Stop, the Emo Inn, Borderland Esso, and the Circle D Restaurant.
Riders could take any route they wished and as long as they had their cards stamped at each designated stop, they could collect one card for a poker hand when they finished at the Little Beaver Snow Park.
In total, you could draw 10 cards, from which you made your best five-card hand.
The winner was Jim Oliver of Fort Frances, who built a kings-over-queens full house and collected the first prize of $500. Because there were so few entries, he also won the second prize of $10.
One person who could not understand the lack of enthusiasm for the rally was Christina Goodman of Emo, whose father, Dave, owns Borderland Esso—one of the designated stops.
Currently attending school in Manitoba, she said she would have entered the rally herself had she not had a previous engagement that afternoon. As it was, she still found time to get out and do a little riding Saturday morning.
“I don’t understand why people aren’t out,” Goodman said as she gassed up her machine at Borderland Esso. “The snow is so deep and the trails are awesome.”
Goodman said she’s noticed a drop in the popularity of snowmobiling in recent years, but she hopes it’s merely a temporary thing and not a long-term trend.
“Hopefully, if the winters keep like this, more people will be out riding,” she remarked. “I love snowmobiling.”