With $60,000 in guaranteed cash and prizes, the lure of the 2nd Annual Gimli Ice Fishing Derby in a few months’ time may prove to be irresistible to anglers from across the Interlake and beyond.
The winning catch will be rewarded with $15,000 cash and there will be plenty of ice action, food and fun for the whole family on Lake Winnipeg.
After a successful inaugural derby held this past March during the Gimli Ice Festival, the two charities behind the angling fundraiser – Marymound and Fish Futures – are gearing up for a “bigger and better” derby in 2024.
Marymound’s director of operations and fund development Mardy Yager said last year’s derby was a lot of fun, with 1,100 anglers hitting the ice and net proceeds of $36,000 that was split between the two charities to help support their respective missions.
“It was a fabulous day. The weather was great and the atmosphere was palpable. It was a great family event. There were prizes for kids given out randomly,” said Yager. “The community of Gimli loved it and there were lots of spinoff benefits, including the promotion of Gimli as a four-season destination. There were lots of hotel rooms rented, people packed into restaurants and bought groceries. It was a great event for the community.”
Yager said they’re hoping to see around 1,500 participants register for this year’s derby which will take place on the ice near Gimli’s South Beach neighbourhood during the Gimli Ice Festival weekend.
“We’d like to thank Gimli Ice Festival chairs Peter and Susan Holfeuer, who’ve been supportive and easy to work with on our derby. They’re real Gimli boosters and it has been a pleasure to work with them,” said Yager.
Half the proceeds from the derby will go towards supporting Marymound, a social services organization that helps children and families across Manitoba. Marymound operates a school in Winnipeg for children struggling in the public system dues to challenges such as family breakdowns, mental health or sexual abuse. The organization also has an off-campus school called Pathways which helps older adolescents and young adults obtain their Grade 12 diploma.
“The money that Marymound raises goes directly to programs for the kids we work with here. We might need something extra for the kids whether that’s a piece of sporting equipment, registration to an extracurricular activity, supplies for our cultural program or hamper supplies for our community hamper up in Thompson,” said Yager. “Wherever we see shortfalls in funding, our fundraising dollars fill in those gaps.”
Fish Futures is the recipient of the other half of the derby’s proceeds. The organization is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of freshwater fisheries through activities such as research sponsorship, including support for the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium and the Namao research vessel, habitat preservation and public education that promotes catch and release.
Deanne Evans, Marymound’s training and marketing manager, said Gimli businesses are on board with the derby because they saw the success of the first derby and “now want in.” And the two organizations are hoping to round up volunteers to drill holes in the ice and help with on-ice parking for about 700 cars.
“Businesses in Gimli want to be part of the derby because they loved the buzz in the community. We’ve had some businesses reach out to us to ask how they can get involved,” said Evans. “Because it’s growing, we’re going to need volunteers. We didn’t know how big it was going to be for the first derby. If there are groups in the community that’d be willing to volunteer their time and help out either on the Friday before [to prep for the derby] or day of the derby on Saturday, we love to hear from them.”
Yager said their lead sponsor for the upcoming derby is Home Hardware in Gimli and Winnipeg Beach, as well as Stringer Rentals & Power Products in Gimli.
Danny’s Barbecue & Smokehouse will have a food truck on the ice, Marymound will be bringing its hotdog cart and Gimli’s Flatland Coffee Roasters will be brewing up lattes and hot chocolate.
The 2nd Annual Gimli Ice Fishing Derby (catch and release) will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2024. Holes open at 9 a.m. with the derby running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. First prize is $15,000 cash, second prize is $3,000 and third prize is $2,000, plus the remaining $40,000 in cash and prizes. People looking for a Christmas stocking stuffer for the angler in their family can purchase a ticket now.
For derby rules and to buy tickets online, visit https://buytickets.at/gimliicefishingderby Tickets can also be purchased at Home Hardware in Gimli and Winnipeg Beach, the Gimli RONA store, Kast King in Gimli, and at Harvester Outdoors in Selkirk.
Follow the Gimli Ice Fishing Derby on social media.
