The Drumheller and District Ag Society may soon be the first community in Alberta to firm up its chuckwagon event for next season.
An official from the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) is expected to be in Drumheller today to put the final touches on securing a one-year commitment to have the chuckwagons race in Drumheller next year.
An official from the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) is expected to be in Drumheller today to put the final touches on securing a one-year commitment to have the chuckwagons race in Drumheller next year.
At the September 29 Drumheller Town Council meeting, the Drumheller
Stampede and Ag Society presented a report of their accomplishments
from last season and thanked council for its support.
“First, we were able to recover from a very large deficit; the facility has undergone some health authority upgrades as well as a thorough cleaning,” stated the report.
Some of the accomplishments outlined were hosting the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Rodeo and WPCA Dodge Pro Tour, as well as the 25th annual Demolition Derby. More rentals for this facility was another accomplishment.
Adding to the list, is confirmation of next year's Dinosaur Derby. Vice president of the Ag Society, Larry Duxbury, received correspondence from Wayne Overacker, president of the WPCA, confirming the organization’s intention to sign with the Ag Society.
“I would like to put the record straight and advise you of what our board has decided in terms of returning to Drumheller as we are currently at the end of a three year contract,” stated the message. “We have decided that we would like to sign a one year contract with some stipulations as to improvements that we would like to see before signing a longer term contract.”
These stipulations include improvements to turn number three on the track, improvements to the barn area, and working to build tarp sponsorship from the local area.
“This is not only a Drumheller situation (tarp sponsors) but one that applies to most of the venues that we race at,” states the correspondence.
The Stampede and Ag Board has gone through a number of changes over the past year, but they are looking forward to next season and have interest from a number of other events for the venue, including motorsports associations.
Duxbury said not long after the new board was put in place, they explored the idea of using the half-mile track for motorsports events. They long since abandoned the idea because due to the size of the track, the speeds of the cars would increase, resulting in the need for more safety barriers They agreed it would be cost prohibitive to erect the necessary barriers.
“We do not have the safety equipment, or the maintenance equipment to put cars on the track,” said Duxbury
They plan to have racing return, but on a 3/8-mile oval built inside the half-mile track.
“At no point in time will cars be in the outside track,” said Duxbury.
He says there won’t be as many automotive events as Hidden Valley Motorsports Park had. They are going from a quarter-mile track to a three-eighths oval. This will allow for higher caliber, faster cars that are better equipped.
As well as races, they are looking at bringing back the 4H club to their facility, and possibly bull riding events, wild pony races and amateur rodeo.
“It has to be a multi-use facility to sustain itself,” said Duxbury. “All the groups up there are going to work together, it makes our resource pool that much better.”
“First, we were able to recover from a very large deficit; the facility has undergone some health authority upgrades as well as a thorough cleaning,” stated the report.
Some of the accomplishments outlined were hosting the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Rodeo and WPCA Dodge Pro Tour, as well as the 25th annual Demolition Derby. More rentals for this facility was another accomplishment.
Adding to the list, is confirmation of next year's Dinosaur Derby. Vice president of the Ag Society, Larry Duxbury, received correspondence from Wayne Overacker, president of the WPCA, confirming the organization’s intention to sign with the Ag Society.
“I would like to put the record straight and advise you of what our board has decided in terms of returning to Drumheller as we are currently at the end of a three year contract,” stated the message. “We have decided that we would like to sign a one year contract with some stipulations as to improvements that we would like to see before signing a longer term contract.”
These stipulations include improvements to turn number three on the track, improvements to the barn area, and working to build tarp sponsorship from the local area.
“This is not only a Drumheller situation (tarp sponsors) but one that applies to most of the venues that we race at,” states the correspondence.
The Stampede and Ag Board has gone through a number of changes over the past year, but they are looking forward to next season and have interest from a number of other events for the venue, including motorsports associations.
Duxbury said not long after the new board was put in place, they explored the idea of using the half-mile track for motorsports events. They long since abandoned the idea because due to the size of the track, the speeds of the cars would increase, resulting in the need for more safety barriers They agreed it would be cost prohibitive to erect the necessary barriers.
“We do not have the safety equipment, or the maintenance equipment to put cars on the track,” said Duxbury
They plan to have racing return, but on a 3/8-mile oval built inside the half-mile track.
“At no point in time will cars be in the outside track,” said Duxbury.
He says there won’t be as many automotive events as Hidden Valley Motorsports Park had. They are going from a quarter-mile track to a three-eighths oval. This will allow for higher caliber, faster cars that are better equipped.
As well as races, they are looking at bringing back the 4H club to their facility, and possibly bull riding events, wild pony races and amateur rodeo.
“It has to be a multi-use facility to sustain itself,” said Duxbury. “All the groups up there are going to work together, it makes our resource pool that much better.”
