2010 Great Rotary Ice Fishing Derby
 

The dates have been set, and even though we're all ready for the big ice out, it may be time to mark your calendars for the 2010 Great Rotary Ice Fishing Derby. The Derby will be held the weekend of January 31, 2010. We plan to once again, have the free Tip-Up Talk ice fishing seminar event on Friday night, January 30 at the Meredith Community Center. Prizes for the event will be announced in the late summer/early fall on this site and the Meredith Rotary site (www.meredithrotary.org) as well as local newspapers. Have a great Spring and Summer.

Thanks Donna.

Question, Is this one of the earliest dates for this event or is it me? Was there reasoning behind making it the end of January as opposed to February? Again, thanks to you and those who do all the hard work on this event.

Date of Derby
 

Hi-The date is determined by a couple of factors: The Superbowl-we certainly can't compete with that, so always wait until the date for upcoming Superbowl is announced before we even discuss a date. Then, we have to deal with the school vacations in February that cross-over weekends-can't compete with family vacations either!! Then, we try to not compete with the sled dog races that are held in Feb.... and there are only so many weekends. You can't schedule too far out, because the sun is really warm at end of Feb, beginning of March, and you can't schedule too early, because the ice may not be there. Every year the Derby Chairmen (3 of them) are extremely anxious about the final date. We've only moved the date once that I can recall and that was just a couple years ago. Moving the date throws a wrench into everything!

I can't wait.....I just hope that the ice will be thick enough by then. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. :coolsm:

Why is it scheduled for January this time? Seems a tad early.

Deciding Derby Date
 

I think I posted this earlier, but can't seem to find it!!! The date of the Derby is determined by the date of the Super Bowl, and when the MA/NH February school vacations begin/end. We cannot compete with the Super Bowl, so always have to wait until the Super Bowl date is determined and made public. The school vacation weekends are also cause for concern: many families from MA and NH take some or all of that time off to go skiing, or Disney World or whatever, and the hotels/inns get booked up-can't compete with that either. It's always a bit tricky for the Derby Committee - but keep in mind that last year, the Derby occurred during first weekend of Feb, which is only one week later than the 2010 Derby date, and we had plenty of ice last year. It's always up to Mother Nature in the end. We have only postponed the Derby due to poor ice conditions one time in 31 years that I can recall.

Derby Date
 

I can't wait... just still hoping the derby is the last weekend of January