Bobsled races back on...for now, and with special guests!

By Andrew Zwicker

Quite possibly the most unique, fun and old-school extreme events in town, the annual Spokane Street homemade bobsled race has been brought back from the brink of extinction. Last year, following a lack of cooperation from spectators on keeping the course clear and some hassling of volunteer course workers, the safety of the event was called into question and was cancelled.

As one of the signature events of the Winter Carnival, it was hard for many to imagine the event without our own brand of high-speed street racing fun. Luckily, the society that puts on the Carnival was up to the challenge of resuscitating the event which was pronounced dead last February. Thanks to some new safety measures and cooperation from the City, snowmobile frames, occasional canoes and logs on skis will once again be speeding down Spokane this winter.

“It is great news to have it back,” said Carnival coordinator Kelly Acheson. “It’s back but with a lot of rules and fingers being crossed on the cooperation of the spectators.”

The main issue with the event leading to its cancellation was the safety of spectators. To get the best view of the sleds coming down the course, spectators would routinely fade out into the middle of the course to look up the hill. With speeding sleds up to 80 kilometres coming down the iced-up street, the safety hazards were obvious to some, but not to others. Course workers for the event have traditionally been entirely volunteer and last year were routinely ignored when asking people to stay off the course> some of these volunteers were also harassed by spectators. To enable the event to continue, further safety measures and insurance was required for this year’s event.

“We’ve had to really go above and beyond this year to make it happen. We have hired third party security, we had to beef up our fencing requirements, our radio people, our signage and some insurance upgrades,” added Acheson.

Achieving a balance of spectator fun and safety, the society had to weigh the pros and cons and come up with a solution that worked best.

“We want to give them some leeway for visibility reasons. We could put [spectators] all the way back with a six foot high fence, but then you know you wouldn’t be able to see anything. We want them to be safe and we also want them to be able to enjoy the event because it’s such a spectator event.”

Along with the beefed up security, fencing, and insurance requirements comes additional costs. The Winter Carnival has always been a free admission event and plans to remain that way. This year, volunteers will be coming around with a donation boot during the bobsled event, collecting money that will help fund future races. 

“We’d really like to remind people to help us out with the extra expenses on the Saturday morning if they have enjoyed our Carnival events. If folks offered a token of appreciation, that would be great and would really help us to continue,” said Acheson.

While the bobsled race has been temporarily brought back from the brink, the Winter Carnival Society stresses that it will only continue if they get better cooperation from spectators this year.

“It was very close this year. The City was going to shut it , so we thank the City for giving us another chance to tighten that event up and keep it going for at least another year. We’re taking it one year at a time. The future of bobsled, though, really depends on the cooperation of the spectators.”

Cheering on the sleds and taking in the carnival this year will be a very special group of folks. The direct descendants of Olaus Jeldness will be in town for the weekend. Jeldness, a Rossland legend commonly known as one of the fathers of skiing in Canada’s west, was an avid skier who staged and won the first ever Canadian downhill skiing championships on Red Mountain in the 1890’s.

“His two great-great granddaughters and one great-great grandson, three of the five kids, are coming with their families, aunts, uncles and kids. We’re really excited to have them out. It really reminds us of a real historical feel of what Winter Carnival is all about,” added Acheson.

The Jeldness Clan won't be the only special events at this year's carnival. Rick Mercer will also be in town filming an episode of The Mercer Report. Word has it he'll be hopping in a bobsled for a run down Spokane as well.

More information on Jeldness and Rossland’s sporting history can be discovered at the Rossland Museum, which will be open during the Winter Carnival.

To get more information on this year’s Winter Carnival events, check out their website at www.rosslandwintercarnival.com.