The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Racing a snowmobile is a big feat for anyone, but one local racer is starting out young. Corbin Collier of Creighton is going into his second year of organized racing Ð and he's only nine years old. Though he isn't entirely sure where the desire to race came from, Corbin isn't new to the snowmobiling world. He's been going for rides since he was two and a half. Once he started driving, his dad, Tad Collier, says he just kept getting better and better. "He (saw) snowmobile racing and wanted to try it," said Tad. "Lo and behold, last he year places second in the championships." Last winter, Corbin entered the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships and walked away with second place for his age group. He will be returning to Beausejour, Man., for his second competition in hopes of claiming first place this year. Excitement runs through Corbin as he suits up and takes his place on the starting line with five others Ð both male and female. He says his game plan is to "get ahead of everyone" Ð a simple goal, yet easier said than done. Both Corbin and Tad joke that it's always the girls who come in first place Ð but Corbin still sets his sights on finishing before them. His competitive natures carries past snowmobiling as Corbin also competes in BMX biking. But for the winter months, he spends his time practicing on his snowmobile at Phantom Lake. Tad says the duo spend roughly 10 hours a week and one day on the weekend doing time trials and getting ready for the competition. In February, Corbin competed in Beausejour, where he placed first in nine out of the 10 races in which he competed. He took second in the other race. Results from that weekend have him, his family and mechanic, Kenny Erickson ready for this weekend's national championship. Corbin will be taking two sleds to the championships Ð a Polaris 120 Pro X and a Polaris 120 Dragon. Knowing that it's a dangerous sport, Tad says it's still exciting as he watches his son from the sidelines. "It's a lot of work and time," he says. "But it's fun." Like any sport, Tad says it's not all fun and games. Corbin helps to fix his snowmobiles and is learning about how they operate. In the beginning, Tad says they were a little leery when Corbin mentioned he wanted to race. "But we thought we'll let him give it a try. We weren't expecting him to do so well, but he amazed us all," said the proud father. American riders have fine-tuned engines and Tad said to keep up with the sport, they were required to keep their sled just as fine-tuned. Corbin's Dragon is the newest addition and is more fine-tuned than the Pro X. While there is a lot of time, effort and work that goes into the sport, there is also time for fun. Corbin says he gets a chance to meet up with friends that he has met through the sport. His friends in Creighton all think it's "pretty cool," he said. Back in December 2007, Flin Flon hosted a snowcross event at Centoba Park. While he had been on the sled for a number of years, Corbin had not thought of racing one Ð until then. Tad said that is when his son's desire to race came.
