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Criticizing the OFSC


GrizzlyGriff

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I have read much criticism of the OFSC but seeing many accolades for clubs.  I must admit to not knowing much of the internal workings of the OFSC but last year I rode 6400 km in a not so great winter.  Conditions were always great for what we had.  Surely the OFSC is doing some things right.  I hear of groomers being moved to different districts when they have snow.  Must require smart co ordination. I get a lot for my permit fee.

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29 minutes ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

I have read much criticism of the OFSC but seeing many accolades for clubs.  I must admit to not knowing much of the internal workings of the OFSC but last year I rode 6400 km in a not so great winter.  Conditions were always great for what we had.  Surely the OFSC is doing some things right.  I hear of groomers being moved to different districts when they have snow.  Must require smart co ordination. I get a lot for my permit fee.

There have been large funding changes made that will severely effect the funding of the cottage belt. Large traffic and difficult terrain cost dollars to groom. 

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Frustration, for those that are a little more aware of the OFSC, tend to be towards to the administrative staff vs. the individual clubs.

Those that are perhaps not as aware of the OFSC workings, tend to show their frustrations towards the clubs.

Most clubs tend to do extremely well with what they are provided to make the sport what it is.

At the end of the day, it is mostly good people doing what they love for the good of the sport

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12 minutes ago, Wildbill said:

 

Which cottage belt? Do you mean adversely affected? Seems solid here in the Kawarthas

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6 minutes ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

Which cottage belt? Do you mean adversely affected? Seems solid here in the Kawarthas

The Muskoka Parry Sound area for sure the current funding model has resulted in deficit budgets in these areas our terrain is much more challenging than the kawarthas along with often a longer season and huge traffic 

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Right.  I love that area and visit every winter.  Hope it works out.

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15 minutes ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

Right.  I love that area and visit every winter.  Hope it works out.

Sometimes criticism is good it helps us see our weaknesses and it is an important part of democracy 

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Agreed. But its all I hear about the OFSC

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My wife is therefore a huge advocate for democracy. Our local club is in better shape than 10 years ago. It certainly does require people doing what they love at the grassroots level. I have never had to deal with ofsc. I'm just a grunt volunteer and happy with that.

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I thought traffic was worked into new model of mots.  

Here in D5 some trails can see hundreds of sleds per day too. Surely ofsc knows top trails in most regions will require more frequent grooming in populated area's. 

when I was in mattawa last year they have one groomer that goes out 10 to 12 hours a night. Not a chance it could keep up to traffic last winter and sure enough it broke down two days into my ride in the area. Then all complaints start flooding in from various riders. This is during a winter when d5 and d9 have tons of groomers setting around. I believe a groomer from d9 was eventually moved to help out along with an operator. Too late to save my ride in that area last winter.  

Maybe instead of buying more groomers we need to buy trucks and flat beds to move groomers in a timely fashion when break downs occurs and clubs need help. 

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1 hour ago, Viperules700 said:

I thought traffic was worked into new model of mots.  

Here in D5 some trails can see hundreds of sleds per day too. Surely ofsc knows top trails in most regions will require more frequent grooming in populated area's. 

when I was in mattawa last year they have one groomer that goes out 10 to 12 hours a night. Not a chance it could keep up to traffic last winter and sure enough it broke down two days into my ride in the area. Then all complaints start flooding in from various riders. This is during a winter when d5 and d9 have tons of groomers setting around. I believe a groomer from d9 was eventually moved to help out along with an operator. Too late to save my ride in that area last winter.  

Maybe instead of buying more groomers we need to buy trucks and flat beds to move groomers in a timely fashion when break downs occurs and clubs need help. 

As of yet there has been no fair way of measuring traffic found 

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34 minutes ago, Wildbill said:

As of yet there has been no fair way of measuring traffic found 

Maybe we need one of those fancy scan app symbols built into each trail permit. Then club volunteers could stand on a busy trail for an hour or two during peak times and scan permits and info could go directly to ofsc. Keep date, time permit number, which area rider was from etc. It sure would be neat to do this around the province on peak times and see what traffic is really like. Can't cost much to do this and only need a smart phone to scan symbols and an app or data base of some sort to collect and store data. 

 

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Oh God.  Don't ask the OFSC to get involved with another software project. :lmao:

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So I would like to hear some of the good things from those who know

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6 minutes ago, sledjunk said:

Oh God.  Don't ask the OFSC to get involved with another software project. :lmao:

Lol. Has to be some way to track riders easily. Maybe teaming up with spot and doing a mass discont with each trail permit. If I could get a spot for season for like 50 bucks and OFSC could track my movement and get sos help if needed, it would be win win.  Mark's partnership getting old, time they offered something useful and could use data to better trail system, it would be a win, win. 

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2 hours ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

Agreed. But its all I hear about the OFSC

I think you hear pushback when decisions are made that affect a club or district in a negative way and no input was asked, or input was ignored. Then there are things like the classic, where stats were simply made up and shoved down the throat of the membership. That left a bad taste in many mouths and helped fuel a disconnect between clubs and the head office. 

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27 minutes ago, Viperules700 said:

Maybe we need one of those fancy scan app symbols built into each trail permit. Then club volunteers could stand on a busy trail for an hour or two during peak times and scan permits and info could go directly to ofsc. Keep date, time permit number, which area rider was from etc. It sure would be neat to do this around the province on peak times and see what traffic is really like. Can't cost much to do this and only need a smart phone to scan symbols and an app or data base of some sort to collect and store data. 

 

NO. That would end up costing over 100k, and the data would not help. Data is only as good as those using it, and history has shown that the ofsc is not really good at statistical analysis and then using it to develop a course of action.

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44 minutes ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

So I would like to hear some of the good things from those who know

I think there is a lot of bitching going on because you all must have too much time on your hands.  Go out in the garage and grease your sled.  Polish the tunnel. Get your trailer in order.  etc. Keep occupied. The sport will die because of ever decreasing cold to keep trails and no OFSC administration can stop it.  Maybe instead of more horsepower in the sled, we need the ice maker on board dumping out crushed snow just in front of the sled.  Maybe ACME makes one.

 

The ITG works OK for me.  I never used the trail planner on the old one anyway.  I ride with a cheap NUVi GPS and last years TrakMaps.  They are never up to date anyway so who cares.  Always know where I am and don't need a damn cell tower to tell me.  I take paper maps even though they are not as good as they used to be.  If each intersection had a number and the number was on the map like District 9, you could never get lost unless you are a complete retard.  And I take a real compass.  You know the one that uses the earths magnetic field.  It will work until the poles reverse.

 

 Ordered my 3 trail passes the second week of October.  Got them the next week.  Of course there was going to be rush at the end but he who hesitates is lost.

 

I have a 1200 km + trip in February all planned for 6 of us. Hotels and lodges booked.  No stress here.  Chill out.  Go outside and cool off.

 

BP

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x2  I still believe there are a lot of sledders that love the sport as much as everyone else but don't have the time to volunteer or bitch about everything.  If I could ride 5000mi a year I would but that isn't happening.  I take what mother nature and the ofsc gives us a be thankful that I can still enjoy a sport that I love.

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For sure the Ofsc does a lot of good. To make everyone happy isn’t possible. The Ofsc is trying to get the permit money on the trails in stead of spending it on admin cost and wrong investments. Sometimes it bites back, an example there was the problems with the permit buying site. If there was no Ofsc and they didn’t distribute the money from the “south to the north”, there would be no trails anymore in the north. The north is happy with the money but they like as everyone to get more money. The south has no problem with sending money to the north but not too much money. The Ofsc has done a lot on trail work with grants from Tourisme and I think most projects were a success. The ofsc has always helped out clubs with buying new groomers and still is. I can go on and on and can give lots of examples. Did the Ofsc everything right? Oh hell no, but who works and try to do things right makes mistakes. Space for improvement? Always. 

If you look at the clubs, they all have the same mission, making well groomed and well signed trails. Some clubs are doing their s great and other clubs less. Some clubs know their weak points and are trying to make it better, others are old boys clubs. Do the clubs work together? Some do a great job, others are “selfish”. The idea behind MOTS is getting better groomed and better signed trails in Ontario. Does this works? If the clubs want to work this, it will. So far as I see, there are clubs who like MOTS but not in their backyard. If you look back, in the 70’s we were grooming with bed springs and snowmobiles. Now we have great groomers and great drags. For sure, everyone can drive a groomer but isn’t a good groomer operator and know how to make well groomed trails. Also here I can go on an on. We came a long way and we have still ways to improve. 

Advise for everyone who complains:

- get involved in your local club

- go to the board meetings, they all must be open for members

- going to the meetings, you will hear what is going on at the Ofsc, District and club level

- volunteer with signage and trail work 

- ask questions

- after one year going to the club meetings, forward your name to be available for the board

Doing this all, you will see that you can spend 100 or 500 hours a year, there is always things for improvement.

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5 hours ago, Greggie said:

For sure the Ofsc does a lot of good. To make everyone happy isn’t possible. The Ofsc is trying to get the permit money on the trails in stead of spending it on admin cost and wrong investments. Sometimes it bites back, an example there was the problems with the permit buying site. If there was no Ofsc and they didn’t distribute the money from the “south to the north”, there would be no trails anymore in the north. The north is happy with the money but they like as everyone to get more money. The south has no problem with sending money to the north but not too much money. The Ofsc has done a lot on trail work with grants from Tourisme and I think most projects were a success. The ofsc has always helped out clubs with buying new groomers and still is. I can go on and on and can give lots of examples. Did the Ofsc everything right? Oh hell no, but who works and try to do things right makes mistakes. Space for improvement? Always. 

If you look at the clubs, they all have the same mission, making well groomed and well signed trails. Some clubs are doing their s great and other clubs less. Some clubs know their weak points and are trying to make it better, others are old boys clubs. Do the clubs work together? Some do a great job, others are “selfish”. The idea behind MOTS is getting better groomed and better signed trails in Ontario. Does this works? If the clubs want to work this, it will. So far as I see, there are clubs who like MOTS but not in their backyard. If you look back, in the 70’s we were grooming with bed springs and snowmobiles. Now we have great groomers and great drags. For sure, everyone can drive a groomer but isn’t a good groomer operator and know how to make well groomed trails. Also here I can go on an on. We came a long way and we have still ways to improve. 

Advise for everyone who complains:

- get involved in your local club

- go to the board meetings, they all must be open for members

- going to the meetings, you will hear what is going on at the Ofsc, District and club level

- volunteer with signage and trail work 

- ask questions

- after one year going to the club meetings, forward your name to be available for the board

Doing this all, you will see that you can spend 100 or 500 hours a year, there is always things for improvement.

Well said

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I volunteer for our club and have been out this year .but going to meetings is like going to a council meeting you come out shaking your head 

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