The All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba
Annual Report to Members
March 2018
The past year has been another busy and successful year for ATV Manitoba with
much work being accomplished both in the Board Room and outside on the trails. COHV Canada 150 Grant Program
In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle
Distributors Council announced the Canada 150 Grant Program, which was
made available to Federations for trail work in 2017. The ATVMB Board decided
to offer this grant program to our clubs and four clubs submitted applications for
trail projects. ATVMB then combined those applications into one provincial
application, which was accepted by COHV and the work began.
Belair ATV Club:
The Belair ATV Club submitted an application for a bridge
washout repair on the new Whistle Pig Trail. This was a
major project with work being done to repair and shore up a
trestle bridge along this decommissioned
rail bed. In addition to the repairs
required to make this trail safe, signage
was also added and the trail is now ready for anyone who is
looking for a great destination ride. The trail runs from Hwy
59, just north of Gull Lake, to Pine Falls Manitoba. For more
info on trails in the Belair area visit the club website, http://
www.belairatvclub.ca/
Eastman ATV Association:
The Eastman ATV Association applied for funding
through the COHV Canada 150 Grant program to
facilitate a trail expansion project on their Eastman
ATV Trail – Trail with a View, Celebration 150. The
expansion added an addition 17.5 km’s to the existing
trail for a total of 73.5 km’s of trail.
The trail now runs from the
Eastman staging area, running along the famous Dawson
Trail, then loops southwest to hook up with the original
Eastman Trail. For more information please visit their website,
https://eastmanatv.com/the-trail
South Interlake ATV Club:
The South Interlake ATV Club was granted funding through
the COHV Grant program to update Interlake Pioneer Trail
kiosk signage with their new club logo and website
information. The IPT is a multi-use trail shared by ATVers, snowmobilers, hikers,
mountain bikers, geocachers and horseback riders and has been managed by
SIATV since 2009. The additions to kiosk signage will provide trail users with upto-date information about the South Interlake ATV Club, the Interlake Pioneer
Trail and will provide users with a contact to convey feedback or notification of
any issues encountered on the trail. For more information on SIATV and the
Interlake Pioneer Trail please visit their website, http://www.siatvclub.com/
Woodridge Sandhogs:
With the help of funding through the COHV Canada 150
grant program, the Sandhogs were able to reroute their
trail to run through the forest, rather than along a
transmission line. The trail required reclamation after a
devastating winter storm in 2012 and the project resulted
in 13 km’s of trail being added to their existing trail, for a
total of 85 km’s of trail in the area. For for information please visit their website,
http://woodridgesandhogs.ca/category/trails/ .
Rock road ATV Club
The Rock Road ATV Club, formerly known as the Portage Off Road Vehicle Club,
went through the process of changing their name this year to better reflect their
membership. RRAC continues to maintain their ATV riding park near Portage la
Prairie, offering members the opportunity to come together and enjoy safe,
responsible outings with family and friends. Visit their Facebook page to connect,
https://www.facebook.com/groups/256315857824507/about/.
Trail Development:
ATVMB is happy to report that our Manitoba ATV trail network is growing! Over
the past year, the Belair ATV Club successfully negotiated an agreement with the
RM of Alexander to manage a recently acquired decommissioned rail bed from
Pine Falls to Gull Lake as a 30 km multi-use motorized recreational trail. The
former rail bed was acquired when the Central Manitoba Railway company
(CEMR) no longer required it to service the recently closed Pine Falls paper mill.
The wooden ties and steel rails were removed, but fortunately the five large
wooden trestle bridges were left intact. Through club fundraising efforts and
grant funding from the RM and the Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Distributors
Council (COHV), the club undertook several major projects to repair a bridge
approach washout and also install hundreds of feet of safety railings on all the
trestle bridges. In addition, the entire length of the trail was signed to ATVMB
standards and is now open for use. The rail trail has been christened the
“Whistle Pig” trail. During the upcoming fiscal year, the Belair ATV Club will
negotiate with the RM of St. Clements to acquire multi-use motorized trail status
for an additional 75 km’s from Gull Lake all the way to East Selkirk.
Over the past two years the Belair ATV Club and ATVMB have been planning and
negotiating with the Province of Manitoba for the right to maintain and sign 120
km’s of trail within the Belair Forest, which will provide connectivity to the Whistle
Pig Rail Trail and also connect trail access to communities within the East
Beaches catchment area. These trails feature outstanding forest vista’s and a
sandy trail base, which provides for excellent trail durability. Negotiations have
now been completed with the Province resulting in ATVMB and the Belair ATV
Club receiving conditional approval to sign and maintain the trails, which will now
be part of the ATVMB managed trail system in Manitoba. It is anticipated that
these trails will receive final approval this spring with signing and trail
improvements to occur over the summer of 2018.
Safety:
The promotion of safe riding is part of the ATVMB mandate and over the past two
years ATVMB has been working with Manitoba Public Insurance on safety
promotion. MPI generously donated the time and expertise to develop the
artwork for a safety poster and handle bar hangers that will be displayed in power
sport dealerships.
The ATVMB Safety Committee has been actively pursuing partners to work with
us on delivery of a recreational ATV safety training program with the hope that we
will be able to offer the Canadian ATV Safety Institute (CASI) training program to
our members in the future. CASI is the program endorsed by both AQCC and
COHV and is offered in many provinces across Canada. While ATV safety
programs do exist in Manitoba, such as the one offered by Safety Services
Manitoba, uptake by the general public has been extremely low. Ultimately, we
would like to be able to offer the CASI program as the ATV safety program of
choice. The Federations that have had the most success with the CASI program
are those that have legislated ATV safety training as mandatory for certain age
groups. ATVMB believes that it is all about educating riders regarding the need
for training, particularly for young riders. It is a bit of an uphill climb, but we will
continue to focus on promotion of safe riding.
Membership:
Membership is growing at the Club level with an increase in membership
numbers over last year and in addition, we are happy to report that a new club
has formed called the Nopiming 4 Lakes 4 Wheelers. Please join the Board in
welcoming our newest ATVMB Club! We look forward to getting to know the
members in the months to come.
In an effort to increase membership, ATVMB in cooperation with a number of
member clubs, developed a “Free One Year Membership” program in partnership
with the Mid-Canada Marine and Powersports Dealer Association dealer
members. This is an “opt-in” program that clubs can participate in if they want to
grow their member numbers. Anyone purchasing a new ATV or side-by-side will
have the opportunity to join a participating club at no cost for a period of one
year.
Member Benefits:
The benefits of being a member of a club and ATVMB are not always clear.
There is the obvious benefit of belonging to a club where you are able to interact
and socialize with like-minded peers and then there are benefits that have a
direct financial impact, like discounted insurance coverage through the Oasis
“Got Toys” Program, http://www.insuretoys.ca/.
One of the biggest benefits of ATVMB membership is the club insurance
coverage. All ATVMB clubs are covered by Commercial General Liability and
Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance. The CGL policy covers the trail and protects
the club in the event that they are sued by someone using the trail, or during an
organized ride or social event. The 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 during the course of day-to-day activities.
Both of these policies are critical to the success of an organization and both are
offered to ATVMB clubs at a significant discount.
Then there is advocacy, this activity very 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 ATVMB clubs.
ATVMB also responds to the threat of trail closures and works with various levels
of Government to mitigate the impact of potential trail closures.
ATVMB Clubs also benefit when grant funding becomes available. Whether it is
through the National Trails Coalition as was the case in 2014, or through the
COHV Canada 150 Grant program in 2017, membership has benefits! Our trail
development would not be what it is today if not for the opportunity to apply for
funding through various avenues.
Public Relations:
ATVMB once again participated in a number of public relations activities. These
events 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 PR events:
• In April 2017 we attended the MTCML Trade Show in conjunction with the
Association of Manitoba Municipalities Municipal Officers Seminar. This
event provides us with the opportunity to network with Municipal Officers
from across the province.
• In October 2017ATVMB participated in the MMPDA Powersports Show
held at the Red River Exhibition Park.
• February 2018 ATVMB had a presence at the Manitoba Outdoor Show.
This was the second year for this show, which saw a marked increase in
attendance over last year.
• The MMPDA has been invited ATVMB to participate in the 2018 RV show
which will be held March 8 – 11th. ATVMB will be present on the weekend
in the “What To Do When you Get There” section of the show. Should be
fun!
Thanks to all of our volunteers for participating in these various events. We would
be lost without you!
National Representation:
The All Terrain Quad Council of Canada held their conference and Annual
General Meeting in Winnipeg in September 2017. ATVMB President Armando
Brambilla was in attendance and Executive Director, Kim Wozniak was part of the
planning committee for the event which included a panel discussion on Thursday
evening involving ATVMB members and Federation representatives from across
the country; the conference and AGM followed on Friday; and the event wound
up with an ATV ride on the Little Big Foot Trail in Woodridge.
Kim Wozniak is now the AQCC Second Vice-President and continues to keep the
ATVMB Board updated on national activities.
AGM 2018:
The ATVMB Board of Directors look forward to meeting with members at the
2018 AGM on March 17th, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Transcanada Centre in Iles
des Chenes, Manitoba