Sporting, outdoor events set as fund-raisers

Raising funds for worthy causes through sports and outdoor recreational activities has become one of our finer Maine traditions.

The winter of 1992-93 which will, officially, be upon us in a few short days, is no exception to this practice.

Already, participants and volunteers are being sought, through sport, to help ease the burden of those who bear the costs, and pain, of illness.

Pledge forms are available by calling Sugarloaf/USA at 207-237-2000 for the 10th annual Canadian Club Celebrity Cup, scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 29-31, which will benefit the Jimmy Fund.

All proceeds from this event go to Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support its efforts in cancer research and the treatment of children and adults stricken with the disease.

The weekend, which allows those who participate to work alongside celebrities from Hollywood, national sports teams, and politics, includes the third annual Sugarloaf/USA Jimmy Fund Ski-Along sponsored by Unicel.

The Ski-Along will be held Jan. 30 with Jim Lonborg, the 1967 Cy Young Award winner from the Boston Red Sox, as honorary chairman. –

For those who prefer their outdoor activities to be motorized, an opportunity to participate in a two-decades-old tradition awaits them in February.

The 20th Annual MS Snow Challenge, to be held in Rangeley Feb. 26-27, is a weekend of snowmobiling that has, since 1973, raised money for multiple sclerosis research.

More than 1,400 Mainers stricken by MS, and their families, who daily battle this disease whose cause is still a mystery and for which there is no known cure, have benefited from the Snow Challenge in which 100 snowmobiles are entered.

This year’s Challenge is going to be a change from the recent past, according to Cynthia Baker of the Maine Chapter of the National MS Society.

Most recently, the event has been held in Oxford in southwestern Maine, but has moved north to Rangeley in search of one of the most basic ingredients of a successful snowmobile outing: snow.

“For the last three or four years, we haven’t had snow,” Baker explained, “so we’ve not been able to conduct the 50-mile ride. Instead, we’ve used frozen lakes and run snowmobile games.” Snowmobilers have been very supportive of the event, she said, but missed the fun of the ride.

This year, after taking a good look at the map, Baker said, “We decided to go where the snow is.”

Baker is hoping the new location will put life back into the 50-mile ride, for which participants gather pledges to raise funds for the organization.

“We’re very excited about going to Rangeley,” she said. “We’re hoping to bring the real fun back to this event.”

The Rangeley Snowmobile Club and Town of Rangley are the official hosts of the Challenge, along with past hosts, the Oxford Rock-O-Dundee Riders and the Windham Drifters.

Activities include a pre-registration party Friday night, and the Saturday morning ride followed by an awards dinner. Groomed trails will greet the riders who can warm themselves beside a bonfire at the half-way mark.

The state of Maine, Baker reported, has the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis, per capita, in the United States. She added that the disease, which strikes young people betwen the ages of 20 and 40, is more prevelant in cold regions.

Snowmobilers who would like to participate in this worthy event may obtain further information by contacting Baker at 1-800-639-1330.