North Bay, Ontario September 8-13, 2003 Hosted by North Bay and District Retriever Training Club

The National Retriever Club of Canada

The North Bay and District Retriever Training Club are proud to host the 2003 Canadian National Retriever Championship near North Bay, Ontario.  This is the first time the North Bay grounds have been used for a national event and we anticipate it will provide a memorable and challenging venue for this years trial. The North Bay and District Retriever Training Club was formed in 1980  and currently has 12-15 members.  From its core membership, a hard working and dedicated team of workers has been assembled to organize and coordinate this event.

LOCATION

North Bay is a vibrant community of 53,000 people nestled between Lake Nipissing and Trout Lake in the province of Ontario.  The City of North Bay is situated between a number of major centres such as Toronto, Ottawa, Timmins and Sudbury and is located approximately 3.5 to 4 hours drive due north of Toronto.
See typical times and distances to other centres in Canada and USA for more information       

TRANSPORTATION

North Bay is readily accessible from the north and south on Highway 11 and from the east and west on Highway 17.  The local airport has several flights a day to Toronto and other Canadian cities and car rentals are available at the airport from most of the major North American rental agencies.

HEADQUARTERS AND ACCOMMODATIONS

The Field Trial Headquarters will be located at the Pinewood Park Inn, in the town of Callander.  Callander is approximately 10 km south of North Bay.  Rooms will be available for competitors and spectators at reasonable rates.  For those interested, The Pinewood Park Inn also has an attached par three golf course.  There are also a number of other motels and restaurants in a wide variety of price ranges in the area.  Camping facilities are also available throughout the area.  See City of North Bay Accommodations for more information.

GROUNDS

The grounds will consist of local land and water sites located near North Bay.  The land will consist primarily of rolling hay fields and pastureland that have been used previously for licensed trials.  Water sites will consist of a variety of stick ponds, beaver ponds, cattail swamps and open marshes.  Properties vary from private to crown owned public lands.  Not only will the grounds provide challenging tests on both water and land for the competitors but the Northern Ontario scenery will provide a spectacular background for everyone's enjoyment. Together with the variable rolling terrain and picturesque background, the gallery setups are expected to provide superior viewing for the tests. Food and refreshments will be available at the trial grounds.

ENTERTAINMENT

Two evenings of fun filled entertainment including a gala banquet to kick things off are planned for the enjoyment of participants and spectators alike. The banquet will be held at the Pinewood Park Inn on Saturday, September 6. A workers party is scheduled for later in the week.

North Bay is well known in Ontario for its tourism and Lake Nipissing is one of the best pickerel lakes in the province. For those wanting to spend some quality time before or after the trial enjoying excellent fishing in this area bring along your gear. Golfing is also available at several local courses. Additional tourism information including accomodations, camping facilities, amenities and key contacts can be viewed on the City of North Bay web site.

WEATHER

Weather is unpredictable in September and anything from early snow to late heat waves could occur.  Winds are generally from the southwest and breezy at this time of year.

PRETRIAL TRAINING GROUNDS

Sites shall be selected and prepared for those people wishing to train prior to the event on grounds similar to those that will be used at the event. Pretrial training areas will be designated in close proximity to the headquarters.

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