Category: ATVMB

It’s National ATV Safety Week!

Riders should be safety conscious whenever they are riding and during ATV Safety Week (June 1 – 10) ATV Manitoba invites you to pay close attention to a few basic safe riding practices:

  • Stay alert, ride in control, exercising caution and obey all trail signage
  • Ensure your ATV is suitably sized for your age and ability
  • Never ride while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • Always wear a compliant helmet and proper riding gear

For information on where to ride please visit the club website Eastman ATV Trail.

Enjoy the trails and remember, trail users are responsible to practice safe riding habits for their own safety and the safety of others.

To read an important safety message from the All Terrain Quad Council of Canada CLICK HERE.

Safe Riding Everyone!

ATVMB at the MMPDA PowerSports Show

The MMPDA Powersports Show is coming up in about 3 weeks, happening on October 21 & 22 at the Red River Exhibition Grounds! In the parking lot during the show ATVMB will be hosting a swap meet which is open to the general public! Got something to sell? Whether it is an ATV, Snowmobile, Dirt Bike, parts or something as simple as riding gloves or helmet, ANYTHING! Swap Meet registration is $10 per spot and participants are required to provide their own equipment, e.g. display table, chairs, etc.

To secure a spot, please register on-line TODAY http://www.belairatvclub.ca/atvmb-swap-meet or contact H. Pokrant, hpokrant@mymts.net.  Payment will be taken the day of the event and will also provide you with a ticket to the Show.

The Off Road Show & Sale, aka The Power Sport Show, will feature the latest in Off Road products from over 12 local dealers all under one roof. Check out the “End of Season Blow Out Sale” on RV’s, Boats, Travel Trailers; take a selfie at our Photo Booth; watch the ATV skills riding demonstration; and vote for your favorite at the ATV Show ‘n Shine. See more at http://www.powersportshow.ca/

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there!

 

MMPDA Off Road Show & Sale and ATVMB Public Swap Meet

ATV Manitoba in partnership with the MMPDA “Off Road Show & Sale” will be hosting an outdoor Public Swap Meet on Saturday October 21st and Sunday 22nd, at the Red River Exhibition Grounds parking lot during the show.  Participation in the Public Swap Meet is open to anyone who has something to sell. Whether it is an ATV, Snowmobile, Dirt Bike or something as simple as riding gloves or helmet. ANYTHING! Swap Meet registration is $10 per spot and participants are required to provide their own equipment, e.g. display table, chairs, etc.

To secure a spot, please register on-line TODAY http://www.belairatvclub.ca/atvmb-swap-meet or contact H. Pokrant, hpokrant@mymts.net.  Payment will be taken the day of the event and will also provide you with a ticket to the Show.

The Off Road Show & Sale, aka The Power Sport Show, will feature the latest in Off Road products from over 12 local dealers all under one roof. Check out the “End of Season Blow Out Sale” on RV’s, Boats, Travel Trailers; take a selfie at our Photo Booth; watch the ATV skills riding demonstration; and vote for your favorite at the ATV Show “n” Shine. See more at http://www.powersportshow.ca/

AOHVA Approaching Land Use Changes with Determination

As we all know, ORV riding has become a significant leisure time activity for families across Canada. In Manitoba alone, the ORV industry is estimated to generate over $250 million per year. Enjoying the outdoors on an ORV has always required access to public lands. Across the country, vast trail systems have been developed, and in Manitoba our member clubs have been working hard in conjunction with ATVMB, the provincial government and various stakeholders – with to date limited funds – to create new trails in Manitoba, which is growing each year as new opportunities become available. Managed trails have proven to provide safety for riders while reducing environmental impact, thus it is essential that public land remain acessible for all Manitobans to enjoy.

It is with a measure of disapointment we continue to hear about the continued targeting of ORV users in Alberta by Alberta’s provincial NDP government, who appear to be attempting to enact one of the largest land use changes in the province’s history. Part of the focus is on the Castle region, which encompasses an area of over 103,000 hectares which is banned to ORV users. Alberta’s Environment Minister Shannon Phillips even went so far as to indicate those those who oppose the ban are “the radical far right” in an article in the Calgary Herald on July 27th: http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/province-announces-184-new-campsites-as-part-of-castle-parks-upgrade.

ATVMB strongly opposes the Minister’s identity politics. ORV riding is not a political issue, it is a recognized, long-standing form of recreation that is enjoyed by people from all walks of life. From nurses to teachers to farmers and more, ORV riding is enjoyed by Canadians and their families on a daily basis. Below is a link to the newsletter from AOHVA decribing the ongoing efforts of the tens of thousands of ORV riders in Alberta who respect and want to continue to maintain a comprehensive trail management strategy to ensure public land remains open to all user groups.

Enns Brothers and ATVMB – Helmet Exchange Program

ATVMB and Enns Brothers are excited to announce a joint partnership Helmet Exchange Program which will take place on Saturday, June 10th starting at 9 am at Enns Brothers, 925 Lagimodiere.

The first 60 people to bring in their used Off-Road helmet will receive a $50 coupon towards a new Off-Road Helmet. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

 

4-year-old girl dead after ATV crash south of Winnipeg

RCMP are investigating after a four-year-old girl died following an ATV crash Wednesday afternoon.

File / Global News

A four-year-old girl was killed after an ATV crash south of Winnipeg Wednesday afternoon. Around 3:30 p.m., RCMP received a report that the girl was taken to hospital by her 32-year-old father after the crash. RCMP went to the hospital and spoke with the father from Marchand, Man., who said his daughter was seated in front of him as they were driving up a hill on an ATV. That’s when the ATV flipped backwards onto both the father and daughter. It then continued to roll down the hill. The crash happened in the Marchard area, about 80 km southeast of Winnipeg. The girl later died as a result of the crash. That father was not injured.  Alcohol is not believed to be a factor. RCMP said the girl was wearing a helmet.

The All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba Annual Report to Members

March 2017

ATV Manitoba has had another successful year and we are very happy to report that
development of designated ATV trails in our province continues.

In June 2016 we held the grand opening of the Eastman and Little Big Foot Trails in
Southeastern Manitoba with a number of government officials and industry partners
in attendance.

With the ongoing development of designated trails in
Manitoba, comes the need for sustainable funding to
support this initiative. To that end, ATVMB met with
the Manitoba Government in November 2016 to
discuss a user-pay method of funding. Since that
meeting, Government personnel have been in touch
with other Federations across the country to determine
the most effective method of providing sustainable
funding and have recently advised that they would like
to meet with us to continue these discussions.

The Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Distributors Council continues to be ATVMB’s
primary funder, providing an annual grant that allows the organization to continue its
work. In addition, and in celebration of Canada’s 150th Anniversary, COHV has
announced a trail project grant program called the Canada 150 Grant Program.
ATVMB has applied for this funding ($10,000 per Federation), having submitted an
application for four separate trail projects, two in southeastern Manitoba, one in
Belair and one in the South Interlake area. The cost of these projects will far exceed
the funding that is available, however, with the dedication and commitment of our
member clubs, we are confident that the available funds will be put to good use in
expanding or improving our trail system.

ATVMB continues to focus on the strategic priorities of the organization, which are
trail development, funding/sponsorship and communication. Our goals are all
equally important and overlap, as one without the other will not result in a successful
outcome. Trail development is truly our main goal but cannot be achieved without
adequate funding and a sound communication plan.

Trail Development:
With the success of the southeast ATV trail designation projects, the Manitoba
Government is open to further ATV trail designation in the province and we are
pleased to report that trail development is moving forward with the latest project
taking place in the Belair Forest region, east of Lake Winnipeg. The Department of
Sustainable Development invited representatives from The Belair ATV Club,
ATVMB, local snowmobile clubs, the Red River North Trail Association and the Rural
Municipalities of Alexander, Brokenhead and St. Clements to meet to discuss the
proposed project and address any concerns that the various stakeholders may have.

This committee, called the Belair Trail

Committee will work to resolve any issues or
concerns raised and once satisfied with the
trail project as proposed, the Department of
Sustainable Development Resource
Management Team, consisting of
representatives from Forestry, Parks,
Fisheries, Water Resources, Enforcement,
Regional Operations and Environment, will
review the proposed project and determine if
the project can proceed. The Belair trail
project is primarily a signage project of
existing trails. If approval is received, there
will be some work to do on certain areas of
the trail and trail way finding signage will be
installed. The trail runs from Stead
northward to Traverse Bay with several loops
branching off the main north/south route.

Communication:
Communication is a key component of any organization. ATVMB strives to keep our
members informed and realizes that we have some work to do in this area. This
past year we have endeavored to provide ATVMB activity updates to our member
clubs and we trust that you have found these to be informative. In addition to relying
on club presidents to keep members informed, we also use our website, FaceBook
and our Twitter feed.
A website redesign is part of our strategic plan, but as with all improvements, this will
take time and money. If we are successful in acquiring additional funding, a website
redesign will be a priority.

Safety:
Safety education is also a component of our strategic plan. This is such an
important topic and yet it is one of the most challenging. Manitoba does not legislate
mandatory ATV safety training and as a result, it is difficult to encourage riders to
participate. ATVMB has partnered with Safety Services Manitoba as they offer an
ATV training course, however, there has been little uptake. We are currently
conducting a pilot program to test two on-line safety training programs; one for ATVs
and one for ORVs and if the programs prove to be of value, they will be promoted to
our membership and the general public. Both programs are free to anyone who
wishes to participate. These programs will only be a small step in ATV safety
training. The most effective method of training is hands-on. There are hands-on
programs available, however, there needs to be a market for them to be successful.
So far, that market among recreational riders in Manitoba is almost non-existent. It
may take a legislation change to grow that market and that will involve the
government. We are seeing success with trail designation, which improves rider
safety and the hope is that one day we will see legislation that will mandate ATV
safety training, particularly for younger riders and those new to the sport.

Partnerships:

• Manitoba Public Insurance
ATVMB continues to foster relationships and build partnerships with
stakeholders. In 2016 the safety committee met with Manitoba Public
Insurance to discuss how we might partner on safety promotion. MPI agreed
to develop artwork for a poster that would be distributed to dealers promoting
ATV safety and a brochure that would be used in dealerships and also when
ATVMB is attending trade show.

• Mid-Canada Marine and Power Sports Dealers Association (MMPDA)
Our relationship with the MMPDA remains strong. We recently ran a corporate
member recruitment campaign and now have a number of dealers as corporate
members of ATVMB. We also receive support from individual dealers and
have been supported by Headingley Sport Shop and Adventure Power
Products through their generous offer of meeting space within their
dealerships. In addition to that support, Enns Brothers is interested in a
sponsorship program and we are currently working with them on that.

• Saskatchewan ATV Association
Among all the ATV Federations across Canada, ATVMB and SATVA appear to
have the most in common. Early in 2016, SATVA General Manager John
Meed and ATVMB Executive Director Kim Wozniak started a discussion on
how the two organizations could work together and learn from one another.
After discussions with our respective Boards, it was decided that each
Federation would have one representative remotely participate in board
meetings for the purpose of sharing ideas and learning from one another. This
partnership has been working very well and we plan to continue the partnership
indefinitely.

Public Relations:
Public relations activities are an important aspect of ATVMB and the board strives to
participate in events that provide an opportunity to connect with the public,
government and riders for the purpose of promoting responsible recreational riding in
our province.

Over the past year ATVMB has participated in the following events:
• Association of Manitoba Municipalities Trade Show in November 2016. This
event an opportunity to meet with councilors and reeves from rural
municipalities across the province to discuss ATV use and organization of the
sport within their communities.
• In February 2017 we participated in the Manitoba Outdoor Show, with
Eastman/Ride for Mom hosting their own booth and the Woodridge Sandhogs
joining ATVMB in the provincial booth.
• In April we will be at the MTCML trade show, once again to network with rural
municipalities. The MTCML, or Municipalities Trading Company of Manitoba
Ltd., is the business arm of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
• The Mid-Canada Marine and Power Sports Dealers Association have advised
that they will be hosting a powersports show in the fall of 2017. This trade
show has proven to be an excellent venue for ATVMB as it attracts the right
audience. We have attended in the past and will likely do so again this year.

National Representation:
ATVMB continues to be very connected to both COHV and AQCC. Past President
Donald Eidse and our Executive Director Kim Wozniak attended the AQCC AGM
and conference in September 2016, which resulted in Kim being elected to the
AQCC board of directors.

Benefits of Membership:
Member benefits are not always clear to the average member. Some benefits are
very evident, like receiving free copies of Go Riding four times a year, while others
are not.

One of the major club benefits is discounted insurance. General Liability Insurance
protects the club while hosting club rides, meetings and social events; and Directors
and Officers Insurance protects the personal assets of board members in the event
that the organization is sued for any wrongful act or mis-statement in the course of
day-to-day activities. Both policies are critical to the success of an organization and
both are offered to ATVMB clubs at a significant discount.

In addition to discounted club insurance, individual members have the opportunity to
save when insuring their ATV through the “Got Toys” program run by Oasis
Insurance. Next time you need to renew your ATV insurance check it out,
http://www.insuretoys.ca/.

And then we have advocacy. This activity quite often goes unnoticed by the average
member, however, it is a critical component to the success of a club and important to
individual members. ATVMB is your voice when dealing with Government. It is
through the advocacy efforts of ATVMB that we have been able to successfully
designate ATV trails on Crown land. ATVMB is advocating for sustainable funding,
which when received will benefit all ATV clubs under the ATVMB umbrella. ATVMB
also responds to the threat of trail closures, such as in the Mars Hill case a few years
ago. It is through the advocacy efforts of ATVMB that we were able to preserve
some access to trails in this area.

Lastly, and possibly the most important benefit of membership, is the opportunity for
ATVMB clubs to access Federal and/or Provincial funding when it is made available.
ATVMB and three member clubs took advantage of Federal funding made available
through the National Trails Coalition in 2014/15. In honour of Canada’s 150th
Anniversary, COHV is running a grant program and 4 of our member clubs have
submitted applications through ATVMB. It isn’t a large amount of money, however,
some is better than nothing at all and we anticipate that clubs will make good use of
the available funding.

Membership:
ATVMB club membership currently stands at 5 clubs – Belair ATV Club, Eastman
ATV Association, Portage Off Road Vehicle Club, South Interlake ATV Club and the
Woodridge ATV Sandhogs.
Our hope is that as we continue to develop ATV trails in the province, new clubs will
be formed and those that currently exist but are not under the provincial umbrella,
will realize the benefits of uniting and will become member clubs of ATVMB.

In an effort to increase our member numbers, ATVMB ran a corporate member
recruitment program inviting power sports dealers to become members of ATVMB.
This program is seeing some results and has also generated interest from one
dealer regarding a sponsorship program. At the request of Enns Brothers, ATVMB
submitted a sponsorship proposal asking for sponsorship of the four trail projects as
submitted by Belair ATV Club, Eastman ATV Association, South Interlake ATV Club
and the Woodridge Sand Hogs. No news to date as to whether our proposal has
been accepted.

Annual General Meeting 2017:
The ATVMB annual general meeting was held March 18th, in Victoria Beach
Manitoba. Members participated in the annual election of officers and approved a
new set of bylaws. Departing board members Monica Helfrich-Fischer and Deborah
Nicol were recognized for their service on the ATVMB Board of
Directors over the past year. Donald Eidse, Past-President, was
recognized for his dedication and commitment to ATVMB over
the past 5 years, and was presented with a plaque
commemorating is 4 years as ATVMB President, 2013 – 2017.

The newly elected ATVMB Board of Directors:

Armando Brambilla
Calvin Egg
Chris Frazao
Greg Gowryluk
Gary Hora
Jim Nicol
Hartley Pokrant
Natalie Sever
Brian Rychlicki

As per bylaw 7.1, the officers of the Board shall be President, Vice President and
Secretary/Treasurer, and shall be appointed by the Board of Directors at their first
Board meeting following this AGM.

Partnering for the future of ATVing

ATVMB and SATVA have started collaborating in order to better serve their members
RIDERSWEST
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Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a lot in common, including terrain.— Photo courtesy Con Huberdeau

Manitoba and Saskatchewan have a lot in common, especially when it comes to ATVing. The similarities in the challenges they face and the resources they have are part of the reason the Saskatchewan All Terrain Vehicle Association (SATVA) and ATV Association of Manitoba (ATVMB) decided it was time they work together.

The idea originally formulated in 2015 at the Power Up and Beyond conference held in Toronto, according to Kim Wozniak, ATVMB manager. She and John Meed, SATVA general manager, had a discussion about the similarities between their two organizations and common issues they both face.

“John later suggested that we may be able to learn from one another by sharing our successes and any issues we may face and the best way to do that would be by having a representative from each federation serve in a non-voting capacity on our respective boards,” said Wozniak. “This idea was presented to the ATVMB board of directors who embraced it, feeling that this partnership would be beneficial to both organizations.”

According to Meed, of all the jurisdictions in Canada, Saskatchewan and Manitoba closely align with certain challenges.

Facing the challenges

“Right now, neither of us are getting a tremendous amount of government support, which is one of the real issues we need to overcome,” said Meed. “Support can come in a lot of ways including financially but it also mean support in creating opportunities to develop trails and steward existing trails within provincial forests.”

The two organizations also have issues with resources, with both organizations only having one part-time staff person. They also have roughly the same number of clubs.

“With the two organizations working together, there is definitely strength in numbers,” said Meed.

A provincial partnership

There are a few ways SATVA and ATVMB plan to work together, on top of having a representative attending the other’s board meetings. In the future, a joint board meeting may be held. They’re also playing with the idea of having a trail-building workshop.

“One of the problems we have is the lack of expertise in our area as far as developing and putting together the groundwork to get the support and resources to even start working on a trail,” said Meed. “We collaborated with the provincial government on one trail this past year and that proved to be pretty beneficial. If we did a workshop, we think certain interest groups would also see the benefit and it’d be great to develop best practices in trying to develop a trail system within an area.”

“Sharing of knowledge and expertise in areas where one group excels over the other will contribute to the overall success of an organization,” Wozniak said. “In addition to our individual partnership with SATVA, our connection with the All Terrain Quad Council of Canada (AQCC) expands on that and gives us the opportunity to connect with other similar federations who face similar challenges. Identifying these challenges nationally allows AQCC to better serve those federations by being able to deliver solutions that can work across provincial borders.”

The national scene

The AQCC held its annual general meeting in Halifax in September and both Wozniak and Meed were in attendance.

“One of the big benefits of the AGM is collaboration,” said Meed. “It’s great having all the provincial jurisdictions there and have discussion on what each one is facing. I think the AQCC is also wanting to be more receptive and focused on helping the provincial federations thrive and be more productive. One of the things that came out of the conference was to start rethinking the strategic plan for the organization and how they can help the provincial federations do what they need to do at a federal level.”

For Wozniak, this was her first AQCC and she said she found it quite interesting.

“AQCC is a fairly young organization as far as national organizations go and they are working on how best to serve all ATV federations in Canada,” she said. “Attending the conference reconfirmed that having a national voice is important and beneficial to our provincial endeavours.  I came away from the conference with an interest in assisting AQCC to the best of my ability to ensure that ATV federations across Canada thrive.  We all have challenges in our respective provinces and strengthening our national organization will also strengthen the provincial federations.”

Going forward, both SATVA and ATVMB are looking forward to more collaboration in 2017 and are excited to grow the partnership even further.

COHV Celebrating Canada’s 150 Birthday

Respecting the Environment and Sustainable Trail Development

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) is taking part in Canada’s year-long Sesquicentennial Anniversary celebrations with the announcement of a $150,000.00 sustainable trail development funding program open to provincial ATV/ROV side-by-side and/or off-road motorcycle (ORM) Federations across Canada

The COHV grant contribution for the “Celebrate Canada 150 – Respecting the Environment and Sustainable Trail Development” funding program is up to 70 percent to build or refurbish motorized recreational vehicle trails in each province across Canada.

Projects involving construction, upgrade, renovation or rehabilitation of all-terrain vehicle / off-road motorcycle / ROV side-by-side vehicle trails are eligible.  More specifically these projects include:

  • New trail construction; Trail upgrade/improvement;
  • Bridge and water crossing installation and upgrade;
  • Trail signage installation;
  • Trail rehabilitation.

This funding program applies to the 2017 calendar year. As such, projects should be “shovel ready” and of a scope and size that can be completed by December 15, 2017 by the successful applicant.

Across Canada trails are stimulating tourism and recreation-related spending. Local trail users and visitors provide direct economic benefits to hotels, restaurants, retailers, gas stations and other businesses as a result of increases in trail activities.

COHV, its member companies and provincial federations want to leave a lasting legacy that will show Canadians we are proud of our accomplishments and what it takes to build an off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail that’s both fun and sustainable during Canada’s 150 year celebration.

For more information check out: www.cohv.ca

 

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