What is Snoman?
Snoman (Snowmobilers of Manitoba) Inc. is a non-profit organization representing 53 member snowmobiling clubs that maintain and groom over 13,000 kilometres of Manitoba’s scenic trails. Member clubs are financially supported through the sale of Snopasses.
Our Mission
Snoman (Snowmobilers of Manitoba) Incorporated is dedicated to providing strong leadership and support to its member clubs to develop and maintain safe and environmentally responsible snowmobile trails to further the enjoyment of organized recreational snowmobiling throughout Manitoba.
Our Vision
Snoman is dedicated to being an organization with a strong volunteer base, the safest trail system in North America, and sustainable funding.
Values
Communication
We strive for open and effective communications within our organization and the public and readily share information to keep everyone informed.
Teamwork
We promote cooperation and support among staff, board members, and partners to enhance our combined knowledge and achieve common goals.
Accountability
Through sound judgment, ethical behaviour, and fiscally responsible administration of resources, we are accountable to our members for decisions made, policies implemented, and actions are taken.
Transparency
We are transparent in the way we communicate with others, providing timely, relevant, and accurate information, and we encourage and promote participation in decision-making by all members of our organization.
Collaboration, Partnership, and Cooperation
We recognize and appreciate volunteers and partners that assist with the operation of our clubs, and we seek opportunities to form alliances with others to maximize our resources.
Change and Innovation
We are open to change and look for creative new ways to fulfill our vision, mission, and goals.
President’s Message
Greetings Passionate Manitoba Snowmobilers!!
Wasn’t that a tremendous season? We can, at times, be consumed by the noise, and this year that came in the form of a lack of fresh snow. Despite having no new snow for weeks at a time, our groomer operators did a tremendous job of preserving the base and providing a fresh ribbon to ride on week after week. We are likely on track for the second-highest groomed kilometers in the organization’s history.
The three pillars of organized recreational snowmobiling are landowners, volunteers, and the user pay model. I would like to start by thanking all the landowners that allow us to operate. Without you, our network would be incomplete and fragmented. To the volunteers, thank you and your families for the countless hours and dedication to recreational snowmobiling. It’s on the backs of volunteers that we manage the 13,000 km of trail network annually. It’s almost unfathomable at times the work that gets done by like-minded people who share a passion for the sport. Finally, the user pay system, thank you to those who purchased their Snopass. It’s with those dollars that Snoman and its 53 clubs are able to manage the longest trail network of any kind in the province of Manitoba.
Thank you to our Corporate Rider Partners for their support allowing more dollars to stay on the snow and to the many businesses that support their local clubs.
To the untrained eye, it may appear that once the grooming stops the clubs hibernate for the summer. However, the real story is nothing could be further from the truth. Now is the time of year that clubs switch gears and transition to removing seasonal signs and performing much-needed maintenance and repairs to their equipment. The need for volunteers is still critical, join a club and be a part of Team Snoman!
Ride Safe, Ride Often, Ride Right!!!
Jason Wiebe
President, Snoman Inc.
Our Staff
History
Snoman (Snowmobilers of Manitoba) Inc. was incorporated and registered under the ‘Companies Act’ on November 13, 1975. Snoman Inc. was established to:
- Advance organized snowmobiling in Manitoba;
- Coordinate matters of mutual interest for organizations that relate to snowmobiling;
- Develop snowmobile trails and associated facilities;
- Promote snowmobile safety;
- Consult with representatives from the public sector, private sector, and other provincial snowmobile associations across Canada;
- Assist with protecting the environment; and
- Perform desirable and lawful functions in the general public interest.
In 1994, Snoman Inc. and the Province of Manitoba entered into an agreement that enacted the Snopass, under the Crown Lands Act, Provincial Snowmobile Trail Regulation. The Snopass provides clubs with revenue to maintain designated snowmobile trails. Designated snowmobile trails provide:
- The safest alternative for riders to enjoy snowmobiling;
- Trails that help reduce trespassing on private property;
- Winter travel links to communities throughout rural and northern Manitoba;
- Dollars to businesses reliant on winter tourism;
- Tax revenue for both the federal and provincial governments;
- Increased revenue to snowmobiling related industries; and
- Economic benefit of more than three hundred million dollars annually to the Manitoba economy.
The Snopass system was created to provide a user-pay system. It ensured that riders who use the trail system were helping to fund its ongoing operating costs by paying into it. It provided Snoman Inc., its Regional Snowmobile Associations, and its member clubs a more stabilized funding base to help finance the operations and administration associated with snowmobile trail maintenance.
