COLLINGWOOD – It’s not your typical hand of poker. There are no small round tables with poker chips, but there are cards and eager players all wanting to win.
The Cumberland Snowmobile Club hosted their annual poker rally fundraiser Saturday afternoon. But the typical game of poker took on a bit of a twist. Instead of staying inside, the players travel to different checkpoints on the snowmobile trails. The course the players travel on is about 80 miles, travelling to neighbouring towns such as Springhill.
“At each check point, they pull two cards then they come back here and play their last hand,” said volunteer Anita Seaman. “Whoever has the best poker hand gets a prize. We also have door prizes and we do random draws.”
Despite most of the rally being played out in the snow along the course, Seaman said it draws in a crowd.
“They don’t mind playing out there,” she said. “We were fortunate today that the weather was nice. Last year, we tried three times and couldn’t pull it off because of the weather.”
Club president, Greg Morash, said the rally is a great way to get people out on the trails and enjoying the great outdoors. Although there is only one winner, Morash added that no one leaves empty handed.
“We try to get everyone to go home with a gift for their day.”
Although everyone had a chance to win some snowmobile gear, hats and other prizes, Morash said the rally was all about bringing family and friends together to enjoy the trails.
“It’s about having a good time out on the snow. It’s quality time with friends and socializing,” he said. “It’s not about racing, it’s about spending quality time together and seeing beautiful Nova Scotia, parts people sometimes wouldn’t get to see.”
Morash said the rally had 176 participants, their best year so far. All money raised from the rally goes to the club to help maintain their snowmobile trails.
jturner@amherstdaily.com
