Quads and motorbikes will ride chainsaw tires across a frozen lake just east of St. Albert this weekend as part of an all-new ice race.
The inaugural Battle in the Cattails ice race is this Feb. 22 and 23 at the Cattail Crossing Golf and Winter Club four kilometres east of St. Albert. About 70 guests will watch some 30 daredevils race ATVs, UTVs, and motorcycles across a frozen lake in pursuit of cash prizes.
It’s the first time that there has been an ice race near Edmonton in over a decade and the first time there’s ever been one open to side-by-sides (off-road vehicles with at least two side-by-side seats and a roll cage), said assistant organizer and veteran ice racer Sheldon Warwick.
“We’re bringing ice racing back to the city.”
Cattail Crossing owner Mark Beck said he came up with the idea for this ice race 1.5 years ago when looking for a new winter event to host at his course. (The course has previously hosted curling, ice tennis, pond hockey, and winter mini-golf events.) Employee Daniel Sahaidak connected him with Warwick to organize an ice race.
Unlike other ice races, Warwick said the Battle in the Cattails will have easy access to bathrooms, shelter, and hot food from the golf course’s facilities. Guests will also be able to park on solid ground instead of on a frozen lake.
Most ice races in Alberta are held at remote lakes that are costly and time-consuming for riders to reach, Beck said.
“Now they can literally load up their machine, drive over, and in 20 minutes they’re racing.”
Short sprints
St. Albert ice race fans might be most familiar with the Numb Bum 24 — a 24-hour endurance race held for many years at Sandy Lake before it moved to Grande Prairie in 2024.
Instead of one long race, Warwick said the Battle in the Cattails would consist of many 10-to-15-minute sprints to keep wear and tear on riders and rides to a minimum. Racers will compete to see who crosses the finish line first after three or four laps, with winners in each class taking home trophies and cash prizes.
Warwick said he and workers with HML Construction (which Beck owns) have built a 2.2 km track atop a lake on the golf course for this event — golfers might recognize the lake as part of the course’s driving range. The track features banks, curves, straightaways, and a “pretty awesome hairpin” near the audience’s viewing area. Guests should expect to see plenty of drifting and speeds of up to 185 km/h.
Warwick said racers will have to equip themselves with protective gear and endure minus 20-to-30 C conditions as they ride. For traction, they will use screw-studded tires that bite into the ice like chainsaws.
“The traction is phenomenal,” he said of the tires.
“Racing on ice is almost like racing on pavement.”
Warwick said he hoped to draw about 30 racers to this year’s event. Should it catch on, it could eventually host over a hundred like other Alberta ice races.
An avid off-roader, Beck said he planned to be at the starting line this weekend with his Polaris side-by-side to try ice racing himself.
“It’s pretty extreme, and I like extreme.”
Tickets to Battle in the Cattails are $11.98 ($22.63 for families). Gates open at 8 a.m. both days. Visit cattailcrossing.ca for details.
