Moose FM has uncovered the NWT’s leading sledders.
Contestants gathered at the weekend’s Long John Jamboree, in Yellowknife, to test their wits and homemade sleds against our demanding snow hill.
Each entrant had three attempts using their own unpowered sled designs.
Sara Mercer won the farthest distance contest in the 12-and-under category, thanks to an astonishing second run.
“She didn’t actually know about it until yesterday afternoon,” said Sara’s mom, Goldie. “We spent a couple of nights making the sled for her, and it was a surprise for her yesterday afternoon. She was pretty excited to be able to do it.
“That second one, she remembered the tips her dad and pop gave her yesterday to keep her knees up and go the farthest distance that way.
“She was having fun with it.”
Having just as much fun was Ron Allen, winner of the farthest distance in the adult category.
Allen turned up with a homemade entry comprising parts from various old luge sleds.
“It’s been sitting in the basement for about 10 years, so I figured it was time to get it out and have some fun,” Allen told Moose FM.
“At the tender age of 41 or 42, I ran into some people playing with luge, and decided I had to try it.
“Up here it’s a little harder to do – but this isn’t the first hill I’ve gone down.”
William Hefford almost exactly matched Allen with his entry, a chair mounted on a pair of skis.
The junior award for the best northern sled design went to an entry demonstrating imaginative use of an upturned ironing board (pictured), though some work on speed and stability may be required before next year’s event.
