SportsEvents Magazine

JAN 2016

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www.sportseventsmagazine.com January 2016 35 SPORT Report t have been the most recent multiple-year host locations for the championship event. Baker said he has been talking to people in Isle again for the 2016 season championship, along with people in Brainerd, Minn. "We prefer to lock in the champion- ship at a particular site for a longer peri- od of time, say, three years," said Baker. "We need ice early, and dependable ice. We pick cold-climate places with good access to the competition lake and a quality fshery. Most of that you can fnd in lots of places, though." Most major ice fshing competitions, including but not limited to NAIFC, require ice thick enough to support doz- ens or hundreds of people along with many of the small shanties or cabins many ice fshers use for some measure of protection against the frigid weather con- ditions. Competitors also typically use trucks or snowmobiles to get to and from the exact competition spot, though Baker said that a few NAIFC competitions have been "walk-to" events. The primary host sponsors for the NAIFC events are Chambers of Commerce and city and county tourism organizations. The lack of a true national governing body makes statistics on ice fshing in the United States hard to determine. A 2014 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, indicated that more than 25 percent of Americans participate in some type of snow/ice activity, and around 2 percent reported participation in ice fshing, a number totaling more than 5,000 indi- viduals. Anecdotal evidence suggests the actual participation number is high- er than that. n There are several trade shows specifcally for ice fshing and related activities in northern regions of the United States, including Milwaukee, Wis.,and Duluth and Blaine, Minn. The largest ice fshing show in the country is held annually in early December at the St. Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn. The St. Paul Ice Fishing & Winter Sports Show features nearly 200 exhibits on display that warm the hearts of ice fshers and attract thousands from the region. n ICE FISHING SHOWS Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza

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