How To Plan A Snowmobile Event
Snowmobile clubs plan events for a variety of reasons: to raise money, to promote snowmobiling, and of course, to have fun themselves. Depending on how you rate these three objectives, different components of the event plan may differ!
What kind of outdoor, active events do snowmobile clubs sponsor to raise money?
* Professional race meets
* Amateur race meets
* Speed runs
* Poker derbies or other cash rallies of a non competitive nature
Of course there are also all kinds of variations within these categories. Winter offers the opportunity for snow events, while summer events include water or grass racing competitions.
The one thing that all events have in common is that they require a lot of work to organize and run. We hope that this checklist will help – whether your club is an old pro at event planning, or trying their first one! This list will apply mainly to competitive events of either an amateur or professional nature, and is geared mainly to specifics for winter events.
Promotion Committee
The promotion committee needs to start their work well in advance of the date of the event. One of the first things for them to arrange is insurance coverage. For comprehensive rules for all snowmobile sporting events and help with insurance contact the ISR:
International Snowmobiling Racing
2125 A West Washington Street
West Bend, WI
53095
Telephone: (262) 335-2401
A club that decides to run events without insurance must remember that, in most cases, its Board of Directors will then be in a position to be sued should there be any problems, if the public is involved.
The promotion committee is also responsible for advertising and promoting the upcoming event. Some things to remember:
* You may have to start up to a year in advance if your event is going to be a sanctioned professional event. You will also likely have to pay a fee for this kind of event. Contact the sanctioning body and find out the details of what they require from you, and what they provide you with.
* Write and distribute a press release at the beginning of the season before the planned event, so that you get lots of advance excitement, and people can reserve the date, either as participants, spectators, or for press coverage.
* Include Media Passes in your press kit and distribute them to all local newspapers, radio and television stations for coverage on the day of the event. The media pass should also provide entrance to the pit area so that contestants can be interviewed. This will give their sponsors the coverage they need to keep involved.
* Send out letters of invitation to other snowmobile clubs and organizations. If this is the second year of a promotion, send letters to previous participants.
* Arrange for comprehensive media coverage in the week before the event.
* Canvas local, and distant groups, for sponsorship for trophies, prizes, cash donations, etc. The bigger the prizes for the competitors, the more you’re likely to have.
* Arrange for the purchase and engraving of all trophies and prizes – allow ample time for this to be completed!
Track/Set-Up Committee
The committee that is organizing the area event is very important! They must, first of all, have access to the safety suggestions provided by the ISR handbook, or certainly, be extremely experienced in events operations. This, of course, only applies in competitive events, not in rallies.
Follow the recommended procedures for setting up your track or course. Remember to take possible weather conditions into consideration, and provide yourself with plenty of time to create a good course. Keep these details in mind when organizing your events area if there are spectators:
* The event course and the spectator area should be clearly defined, and have no areas where they overlap
* There should not be easy access to the spectator area except through your collections gate, although there may always be a few who enter without paying!
* The food area should provide a warm-up spot large enough to accommodate fifty or so people at a time, more if you’re a regular promoter and expect good sized crowds. A large tent that provides a windbreak is even an option. For summer events it will provide some cool shade!
* Don’t forget to provide toilet facilities, both for the spectators and the contestants. Having to snowmobile out to the nearest stand of trees does not make you a popular promoter!
* If possible, provide several routes out of the event area when it ends, in order to avoid a huge bottleneck at one entrance.
* Make sure that you are prepared for all weather conditions. If a sudden warm spell means your spectators would be parked in soft slush, or mud, make sure there are 4-wheel drives nearby to help spectators leave the area!
Canteen/Food Preparation Committee
Hot food on a cold day is a must! It is also a good fundraiser. These are some points to keep in mind:
* Make sure you know your state/provincial laws regarding the preparation and sale of food to the public – some may require that at least one member working in the canteen has a safe food handling certificate, or some training. There may also be specific requirements that you will have to meet in how you prepare and store the food during the day. Check it out!
* Have enough workers to provide shift changes. Volunteers will not likely volunteer again if they are stuck flipping hamburgers for ten hours, while other club members can enjoy at least a part of the event.
* Hot foods, such as chili, can be prepared ahead of time by club members and kept hot in a crockpot, etc. They are relatively easy for workers to ladle into a styrofoam bowl and serve along with a buttered bun. A thick, chunky soup would serve the same purpose – I’ve eaten borscht at several racetracks.
* Hotdogs and hamburgers are popular of course, but you’ll need to have good cooking facilities, and a way to keep them hot on a cold day, or you will be a very unpopular canteen!
* Make sure you know what your power supply can handle. You may have to have alternative cooking sources such as propane barbeques, etc. At least you won’t likely need to run coolers, except to keep things from freezing.
* You will need to provide the usuals too – chips, chocolate bars, coffee, hot chocolate, pop, etc. – whatever you know your community enjoys!
Program Secretaries/Event Administration Committee
The first time an organization runs an event, it is likely to be chaos! The committee that takes registrations should include both an experienced, organized office administrator, and an experienced snowmobile mechanic or “tech guy”. Without both of these people readily available to help answer questions, registration can take two or three times longer than necessary. Post rules, age requirements, etc. either in bulletin board format, or in several booklet-type formats for the convenience of competitors, and your own sanity.
* Plan your entry forms very carefully. Some put all classes with their corresponding fees on one sheet, so that it is easy to move the registrants through the line-up. Others make registrants fill out a separate sheet for every class, so it is easier for the workers. Take your pick – but I do think it works better if there is sufficient secretarial help, to make master lists from one competitor’s sheet, since you have to make master lists anyway.
* Prepare a master sheet for each class, listing the name of the participant, his number, and the model of sled – this should be prepared in at least 5 copies- one for the pitt steward, one for the Race Director, one for the bulletin board attendant, one for the Announcer, and one for the office.
* Double and triple check all of your master sheets against the entries people have paid for!
* Have drivers sign a waver form for insurance purposes.
* Collect and keep track of entry fees.
* Prepare lists of competitors for each heat of each class, which is then posted in the pit area by the Bulletin Board attendant, and keep track of winners in heats. Prepare lists for semi-finals and finals of events. [also in 5 copies]
* Determine winners and assist at awards presentation
Special Workers & Materials
* Race director – starts races and flags accidents, race course rules infractions, etc. Gives outline of rules at the Driver’s meeting, at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. The big “cheese” of the day.
* Tech inspector – inspects machines and makes the final ruling on what is legal according to a specific, pre-posted set of rules & guidelines
* Pit Steward – manages the pit area. Makes sure only allowed people are present, and enforces track safety. Lines sleds up in order of race entries, and lanes. Should have own copies of the material posted to the bulletin board.
* Gate attendants. Front gate attendants will collect fees and monitor admissions. Pit gate attendants will regulate who enters the pit area, thus avoiding potential problems. Some groups also charge for pit passes.
* Bulletin Board Attendant – posts the order of events, and names/numbers of participants. Posts the winners of heats.
* Line judges – required particularly in drag racing – one judge per number of placings if possible. E.g. – if awarding 4 places, one judge picks 1st, 1 picks 2nd, and so on. These must be transferred to the office staff, often on a sheet of paper carried back by one of the drivers. In a speed run, the judges will be recording the times.
* Show Secretary – enters placing of the judges, and releases official lists for each heat. Determines winners of each event.
* Number bibs – normally professional drivers will have their own bibs and numbers, however paper bibs are usually provided at all events for those requiring them.
* Pit Bulletin Board – this may be a blackboard to be used with chalk, or some form of board that can have stapled sheets attached. The writing must be large enough to readily visible to numerous drivers at a time, so that they can prepare for events in advance. It should also be placed strategically between the pit area and staging.
* Event Board in Staging – some sort of readily visible board should post the name/number of the event currently being staged, so that drivers can determine when they should move to staging.
* Sound system – Announcer – while your event will run without any sound, it sure won’t make sponsors very excited! Contact your local radio stations, or other groups that might have sound equipment and a good speaker who can tell the crowd what is going on. If the speaker is unfamiliar with snowmobiles provide volunteers to sit with them to explain details and provide information about the participants.
* Advertisers banners – provide some way to show who has contributed financially to the success of the event – either with trophies, help, money or whatever!
Conclusion
This is an extensive, although probably not an exhaustive, list! Add to it from your own experiences in your own locale. The one thing that is important is to organize everything as much in advance as possible. Start early!