2012 Season:

"The state of snowmobiling in Eastern Ontario is strong and vigorous", was the message from the OFSC District 1 office manager John Boals.

He feels that sledders had a great season of over 8 weeks of snowmobiling. As a whole the season was a success. "On the business side of things, we've had a very busy year, as a district office, assisting the clubs and associations of District 1", he added. Mr. Boals explained that the clubs and associations of the district saw some very impressive numbers on how and where those hard-earned trail permit dollars went.

The 2011-2012 season saw 43 large groomers use over $110,000 in fuel over 7,900 hours of machine time to groom more than 3900 kms of club trails. The number of permits sold last season decreased very slightly from the previous year, at a total of 6500. In spite of this season, the club volunteers kept the groomers running with no major breakdowns did extensive trail clearing and re-routing and even built new bridges.

Trail permit dollars were invested in the future of the sport in District 1 via the purchase of newer grooming equipment for Calabogie & District S.C, Riverside S.C and Kingston & Pembroke Association and this equipment was on the snow last season. Grants from District 1 S.A and club's dollars made these purchases possible. The OFSC and District 1 Office, itself, granted $260,000 to eleven different clubs for trail improvement projects. However, these clubs put in a notable amount of $29,000 of their own to carry out these endeavors. This is why it is so important to purchase your permit from the club where you ride.

Clearly, trail permit dollars are going a long way towards providing sledders with quality trail development, improvement and maintenance. However, these accomplishments could not have been realized without the small corps of 1400 dedicated volunteers who, last year, put in over 90,000 hours of their own time performing these invaluable tasks.

Another great contribution one can make is to become an active member of a club. By doing this you would have a say in the decisions on future improvements and developments in your area. You just might have a great idea that will benefit every snowmobiler in your club.

All being said, District 1 and all its snowmobilers extend their greatest appreciation to the landowners of Eastern Ontario for their generosity in making their property available for our use each year. It would be difficult to imagine the state of the sport without their cooperation.

See you at the next club meeting or event, or better yet - on the trails!

The District 1 office of the O.F.S.C. is located in Morrisburg, and responds to administrative issues and fieldwork inquiries from the 23 snowmobile clubs and associations in Eastern Ontario.

The district consists of the area west to Napanee, north to Calabogie and east to the Ontario/Quebec border. It has over 3900 km of marked, groomed trails.

The clubs in District 1 sell over 6,000 trail permits annually to families in Eastern Ontario.

The O.F.S.C. mission is to provide strong leadership and support to its member clubs. It is the club members themselves who establish and maintain the quality of the snowmobile trails in an environmentally responsible manner for the safe enjoyment of organized snowmobilers.