BRP Lanches Avy coarses....

[whitegold]

Valcourt, Québec October 8, 2010 – BRP is taking proactive steps this season to ensure snowmobilers are better informed and aware of avalanche safety issues by offering seminars at 15 different locations throughout western Canada.
The outreach program will feature a three-hour seminar conducted by a certified avalanche safety instructor, and is taught from the snowmobiler’s perspective. The courses are free of charge and open to owners of all brands of snowmobiles. Most will be held at BRP Ski-Doo snowmobile dealer locations as part of their Open House events with other entertaining activities going on at the same time.
Working with curriculum developed by the Canadian Avalanche Centre, BRP has created an outreach program tailored to the snowmobiling public. “This program will provide participants with a basic awareness of avalanches and avalanche terrain,” said Ian Tomm, executive director of the Canadian Avalanche Centre. “The intention is to raise awareness of the risks of backcountry sledding and encourage participants to continue with their avalanche education and take a two-day Avalanche Safety Training course.”
In light of the incidents involving snowmobilers in the past two years, BRP is taking a lead role in spurring awareness and educating the snowmobile public on the potential dangers of avalanches. “We recognize the need to increase safety awareness,” stated Robert Lumley, vice-president, Sales and Marketing, Ski-Doo/Sea-Doo. “This program will help bring the avalanche safety message to our customers quickly and more effectively,” Lumley added.
Seminar locations and dates:
British Columbia:
• Banner Recreation (250-979-2889) in Kelowna, BC on October 14, 7-10 p.m.
• RTR Performance (250-374-3141) in Kamloops, BC on October 15, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
• Playmor Power (250-359-7111) in Slocan Valley, BC on October 18, 7–10 p.m.
• Forest Power Sports (250-563-1021) in Prince George, BC on October 28, 7-10 p.m.
• Greater Vancouver Power Sports (604-888-8700) in Vancouver, BC on November 3, 7-10 p.m.
• No Limits Motorsports (604-815-4444) in Whistler, BC on November 8, 7-10 p.m.
• Best Western Hotel in Princeton, BC on November 9, 7-10 p.m.
• Glacier House Resort in Revelstoke, BC on November 10, 7-10 p.m.
• Evergreen Industrial (250-847-4456) in Smithers, BC on November 15, 7-10 p.m.
Alberta:
• Mr. R’s (403-380-3376) in Lethbridge, AB on October 19, 7-10 p.m.
• A&E RV Sales and Service (403-362-6401) in Brooks, AB on October 20, 7–10 p.m
• Bow Cycle South (403-441-1299) in Calgary, AB on October 21, 7–10 p.m.
• Riverside (780-458-7227) in St. Albert, AB on October 25, 7-10 p.m.
• Martin Motorsports (780-452-2790) in Edmonton, AB on October 26, 7-10 p.m.
• Stojans (780-568-2934) in Grand Prairie, BC on October 27, 7-10 p.m.
More information on Ski-Doo snowmobiles can be found at
www.ski-doo.com - BRP Ski-Doo. To register for a course, contact a host dealer directly.
To register for a two-day Avalanche Safety Training Course, contact the Canadian Avalanche Centre at Welcome to avalanche.ca or 250-837-2141.
Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 90 countries.
Bombardier Recreational Products -
Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Evinrude, Johnson, Can-Am, Rotax, E-TEC and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates.
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For information on the company:
Johanne Denault
Manager, Corporate Communications
Tel: 450.532.5173
johanne.denault@brp.com

 

[Orrin]

Wow, I never thought BRP would step up to the plate like this. This almost changes my attitude about BRP corporate. Cudo's

 

[Work2Ride]

Valcourt, Québec October 8, 2010 – BRP is taking proactive steps this season to ensure snowmobilers are better informed and aware of avalanche safety issues by offering seminars at 15 different locations throughout western Canada.


• Stojans (780-568-2934) in Grand Prairie, BC on October 27, 7-10 p.m.

Grande Prairie, AB Im guessing..

Looking forward to it as Zactracs only comes to GP near the end of the season.

 

[whitegold]

Personally, I think every mountain rider should try to get in on one of these courses, it's FREE!!! .... what more could we ask for.... Thanks BRP!

 

[Ministik Man]

It would advantagous for you to review what this AVY AWARENESS Course offers

Check Zac's Tracs Website which will help explain the differences between a 3 Hour Avy Awareness or and 8 hour Avalanche Skills Traiiing Course:

1 -

2 -

The 3 hour course will definately open your eyes to all the wrong/bad habits you have done in the back country

The 8 hour AST1 class will teach you what to look for and avoid but if trouble stricks how to use a beacon, shovel & probe in the back country.

But check out the programs and dates that best suit you at

 

[snoqueen]

I think it's great that BRP has stepped up to the plate and is offering a little seminar on avy awareness. I really think this a BIG step towards getting sledders educated. However, my fear is that people will think that this will replace the real AST 1 course, and won't bother going and taking the AST 1. I took the AST 1 course last winter and was shocked to find out the mistakes I used to make. It gives you all the tools that you need to be able to be able to sled safely in the backcountry. There is no substitute for the AST 1, and it's the ABSOLUTE minimum that sledders should have.

 

[whitegold]

It would advantagous for you to review what this AVY AWARENESS Course offers

Check Zac's Tracs Website which will help explain the differences between a 3 Hour Avy Awareness or and 8 hour Avalanche Skills Traiiing Course:

1 -

2 -

The 3 hour course will definately open your eyes to all the wrong/bad habits you have done in the back country

The 8 hour AST1 class will teach you what to look for and avoid but if trouble stricks how to use a beacon, shovel & probe in the back country.

But check out the programs and dates that best suit you at

I agree.... I took an avy course a few years ago and it was a 2 day course.... one day in a class room and one day on the moutain. I just figured that this is the minimum any mountain rider should take..... and it is free. The course that i took was expensive!

 

[sub zero]

yamaha did it last year in our area,. now brp steps up. this is awesome. maybe next year polaris will take its turn? would be great to see them take turns promoting such an awesome event such as this.

 

[Zacs]

yamaha did it last year in our area,. now brp steps up. this is awesome. maybe next year polaris will take its turn? would be great to see them take turns promoting such an awesome event such as this.

Yes, this series of BRP avy awareness seminars is an excellent step in getting the message out to our community. BRP corporate and the dealers have done well (with a rather short timeline) to promote the events and the response has been great. I think that the success of this BRP program will encourage more dealers of all colors to help host and promote local courses for the future.

Regarding Polaris' role in snowmobile focused avalanche awareness..if it weren't for Polaris and High River Motorsports (HRMS) Randy and I (Zac's Tracs) would have packed it in 6 years ago. We have been working to bring avy classes to our community for over 10 years. For years we couldn't give away avalanche courses and our costs far, far exceeded any amount of revenue that we made each year. HRMS recognized that we were losing heart and Polaris agreed that we were a good cause. Whew! :d

The Alberta Snowmobile Association (ASA) should also be recognized for the immense amount of support for the avy message over a couple of decades. Support for courses, safety materials, tradeshow space, print advertising....
Darcy Svederus with the ASA was one of our avalanche instructors 12 years ago. I have no idea how long he worked with the Canadian Avalanche Association and Bruce Jamieson to create the sledding course manual and to tweak the ski based professional and recreational avalanche classes to better fit the snowmobile audience.
I still remember how humbled we felt after taking Darcy's evening seminar in 1998. We thought we were safe ...trouble is, 'ya don't know what ya don't know'. Man did he ever open our eyes...we promptly went out and upgraded our beacons and bought probes! We were still using beacons with an earpiece and no visual display! What we put on our sleds and what we chose to put in our packs changed big time as well.

How many of you made changes to your riding choices or gear following an avy class?!
What was the most surprising thing that you learned from your first course?