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Wawasee Kiwanis Club would like to have 8 inches of solid ice on Lake Syracuse Feb. 13 and 14, with a temperature between 20 to 30 degrees.
Otherwise, their annual snowmobile races will be canceled for the second year in a row.
"Last year, we weren't able to do it at all," said Greg Long, committee chair, "it's the El Ni-o effect."
The dates of Feb. 13 and 14 are the alternatives date for this year after the original dates of Jan. 23 and 24 were canceled.
"This year, we had 6 inches of good ice and then we got the blizzard. There were snowdrifts of 10 to 20 inches," Long said.
He said in the last 10 years, there have been three cancellations. Back in the '80s, Long said, they would have tents, hot air balloons and a train of snowmobilers carrying torches. With the weather changes, the "carnival" has been taken out of "winter carnival."
"You go through all the planning stages, you get all your permits, and then nothing," Long said. "When we do have it, it's a substantial fund-raiser for the Kiwanis."
Historically, family games on snowmobiles were held. Some events were held where a person drove around an obstacle course and was timed. One event featured blindfolding the snowmobile drivers while a person behind them guided them by telling them which way to turn, Long said.
Funds raised by the snowmobile races go to Riley's Children Hospital, Indianapolis, local scholarships, and to help needy families in times of crisis. The priority, Long said, was on local projects.
"As far as participants," Long said, "we've had people from Illinois, Michigan, Ohio. A majority of our participants are local. There's quite a group in our area that participate."
Long said the snowmobile races have been going on for more than 17 years. The Lakeland Snowmobile Club held races originally and then was approached by the Wawasee Kiwanis.
"The Kiwanis Club came to us and asked us to put on some games (for the winter carnival)," Long said.
The Syracuse Chamber of Commerce was the nucleus of getting the winter carnival going, he said. And the support of the chamber and other businesses and organizations has helped the annual snowmobile races to continue.
"Lakeland Snowmobile Club is still involved, they provide concessions," he said.
"A big stumbling block for years was insurance," he said. "We didn't need insurance for years because we had it under Kiwanis International. About four years ago, our Kiwanis International excluded any kind of racing events from the insurance."
Now, Rinker Boat Co. and United Auto Workers Local 1405 have cosponsored the insurance for the last few years.
The race course is 660 feet long and races include studded, nonstudded and Kitty Kat snowmobiles.
"Seeing the Kitty Kat races is really fun to watch," Long said.
Registration will be daily from 9 to 11:30 a.m. with a drivers' meeting at 11:45 a.m. Races begin each day promptly at noon and last until dark, Long said.
"If you enjoy seeing the performance of a snowmobile in action, it's pretty exciting," he said.
Fees are $20 for first class and $10 for each additional class. Drivers can and do register for more than one class.
"We pay a 50 percent payback for each class," he said. "The racers get something tangible back."
Long said many of the winners usually give back their winnings to help support the fund-raising efforts of the Kiwanis.
"That would probably be a highlight, having people participate and just give all their winnings back," he said.
A radar run is also held daily during the snowmobile races from 9:30 to 11 a.m. There is a $1 donation charge per run. Long said many people like to use the radar run to see how fast they're actually going and to fine tune their snowmobiles. There are no prizes for the radar run, but, Long said, people have gone as fast as 118 to 119 miles per hour.
While the snowmobile races are held on Lake Syracuse at Lakeside Park, Long said, "We have been looking for a landowner to lease a strip of land to have this event on whether we have ice or not. It would be an alternative to the bad ice conditions."
He said they would need about 1,500 to 2,000 feet of a relatively flat area in Syracuse.
