If fans want to continue cheering bull and saddle bronc riders, calf ropers, barrel racers and everything else that happens at a rodeo, they are being asked show up at a community informational meeting being held March 2 at the Kamsack seniors’ centre.
At its meeting on January 30, town council decided that “due to the fragile nature of the ice arena surface at the Broda Sportsplex, the skating rink area will no longer be available for purposes other than ice-related events.”
The aging chemical tubing embedded in the concrete floor of the rink has been leaking and an expensive solution is being used as a stopgap measure to halt the escaping coolant, but council has yet to decide what it will do to rectify the situation. The options are to either re-do the concrete floor with new tubing, which will be a rather expensive undertaking, or to replace the existing concrete with sand, a less expensive fix, but hereby restricting the rink’s use to ice-related activities.
This, in effect, means that the Kamsack Indoor Rodeo will not be able to stage its 19th annual rodeo in that facility at the end of September which is the normal date for the rodeo weekend.
And the rodeo committee, which is now exploring its options, has decided to start with a public meeting to get a feeling of what the community wants.
“It will be important for everyone interested in the future of rodeo in our community to attend,” said Dave Matechuk, president of the rodeo association. “Those attending the meeting will be under no obligations; they’ll be there simply to help us to determine if there is enough interest to continue.
“So, sponsors, volunteers, spectators and generally everyone who loves the sport of rodeo, please come to the meeting,” he said.
Attending the meeting along with committee members will be members of the boards of the Manitoba Rodeo Cowboys Association (MRCA) and Canadian Cowboys Association (CCA) which are the sanctioning bodies of the Kamsack rodeo. Jim Lawrence of Prime Time Rodeos of Kennedy, who has been the rodeo’s stock contractor for the past several years, will be at the meeting as well.
Members of those boards are eager to see the Kamsack rodeo continue, Matechuk said, adding that among the options to be considered is to have the rodeo outside, likely at the Kamsack Sportsground, and probably about a month earlier than the indoor rodeo.
“It is do-able,” he said. “We could get everything ready for an outdoor rodeo in August, but that would take community support.”
Another option that the committee is exploring is to construct a post-frame building similar to Naclia’s arena near Norquay, which could accommodate not only the rodeo, but other events that can be best held on a dirt floor, including team penning competitions, and dirt bike events.
“Kamsack residents should know that the community’s indoor rodeo has put Kamsack on the map,” he said, explaining that often when travelling to other communities and people learning where he is from they often say, “Oh yes, you’re from Kamsack; I was at the rodeo.
“Kamsack has become known for holding a high quality rodeo, and it would be a loss if that does not continue,” he said, adding that each year the indoor rodeo is held on two days, with each one attracting as many as 500 people in the audience in addition to the many competitors.
To underscore his claim that the Kamsack rodeo is indeed of a high calibre, Matechuk listed the names of several well-known and accomplished rodeo athletes who have performed in Kamsack, including Tanner Byrne of Prince Albert, and Dakota Buttar of Kindersley who are among the top PBR (Professional Bull Riding) athletes in the world, and Orin Larson of Inglis, Man., who is ranked among the top Candian bareback riders in the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association).
“The list goes on,” he said. “They’ve all competed in Kamsack, and the Kamsack rodeo audience has been treated to some of the best competitors in the sport.
“We on the committee want to continue devoting our hearts and souls into it,” he said. “We will if we have the support of the community.”
