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Cold weather forces cancellation of Big Jig
Eigth annual ice fishing competition cancelled due to frigid wind chills
BY BILL LANDMARK
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/20
TYLER SWEENEY / STATESMAN
Brian Ries, Sean Butler and Keith Egan walk on
the ice on a frigid Duluth day.
TYLER SWEENEY / STATESMAN
Brian Ries bundles up against the cold wind
while walking on an ice shelf.
Minnesotans have been known to welcome the cold, and the harshness of the winter. However, there comes a point where the cold is too cold. Dangerous wind chills approaching 50 degrees below zero forced the cancellation of UMD’s eighth annual Big Jig Ice Fishing Contest on Pike Lake last weekend. The Big Jig Ice Fishing contest is UMD Athletics’ biggest fundraiser and draws over a thousand anglers annually. On average, the Big Jig raises $50,000 for UMD Athletics, said UMD athletic director and event coordinator Bob Nielson. “The money collected goes towards scholarship funds,” said Nielson.
The money goes into a general fund that is utilized to support scholarships for all athletic programs. The good news is that the cancellation of the Big Jig will not affect scholarships for UMD student athletes, said Nielson. “There are a lot of other sources of fundraising,” said Nielson. “We will have to focus on bringing in some money from other areas.” It was a tough decision for Nielson and other event coordinators to cancel the event, but the safety of the 300 UMD students that work during the event had to be taken into consideration, as well as the safety of all participants.
“We talked directly to the National Weather Service on the Friday and Saturday prior to the event to get the best and worst case scenarios,” said Nielson. “The National Weather Service predicted the wind would not die and actual temperatures were to be well below zero with wind chills from 30 to 50 degrees below zero.” According to the National Weather Service wind chill chart on weather.com, frostbite on exposed skin would occur in less than 15 minutes.
Many students feel event coordinators made the right decision in canceling the event. “It was exceptionally cold,” said junior Josh Schaack. “It hindered the plans that I had for the weekend.” However, it was surprising to hear what students thought about the fundraiser. “I don’t think fundraisers should be canceled,” said sophomore Tom Haroldson. “People would have shown up if it had been rescheduled.”
Senior Rod Houdek agreed, that under the conditions, UMD made the right decision to cancel the event, but still would have liked to compete. “It would have been better for UMD to reschedule the event,” said Houdek. “That way they could make more money from concessions and extra ticket sales.”
Even though the event was canceled, the drawing for top prizes was still held Sunday evening in Romano gym. “There were over 150 people,” said Nielson. Of the top prizes, Jeff Olson won a Honda TRX 250 ATV donated by RJ Sport and Cycle, Ryan Lawrence won a 2008 Scion XB donated by Kolar Autos, Mike Sarkela won a 2008 Yamaha Grizzly 350 ATV donated by RJ Sport and Cycle and Ken Clark won a 3-day houseboat trip donated by Voyagaire Houseboats. Other donors for the event included Gander Mountain, Gemini Marketing, Fisherman’s Corner, Cub Foods, UMD Athletics and Wells Fargo.
The cold may have taken the event this year, but many are looking forward to the return of the Big Jig next year.
