Balmoral, Manitoba September 19-25, 2004 Hosted by Manitoba Gun Dog Association

The National Retriever Club of Canada

The Manitoba Gun Dog Association has a membership of approximately 80 enthusiasts of which many are active field trial participants.  The club has hosted an annual licensed trial for over 60 years and was pleased to have previously hosted the 1982 and 1992 National  Retriever Championship.  The MGDA is excited and proud to have been selected by the National Retriever Club of Canada to host the upcoming 2004 National  Retriever Field Trial Championship to be held from September 19^th to September 25^th, 2004.

Location

The City of Winnipeg is located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, almost at the geographic centre of North America. Winnipeg is situated in Latitude 49 degrees 54 minutes North, Longitude 97 degrees 8 minutes West, 64 km south of Lake Winnipeg and 97 km north of the boundary line between Canada and the United States of America, almost midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and at an altitude of 232 m above the seaboard level of New York.

The event will be held on the challenging grounds owned by the club, located 45 minutes northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our grounds are 160 acres in size with a good mix of land and water. Improvements undertaken in 2002/2003 to the east side of the quarter section has increased our usable land by about 20 acres. We have implemented a three year grounds improvement program which will add further additional usable land and water for trialing. To get to our grounds take highway 7 from Winnipeg, go  approximately 35 km north of Winnipeg Perimeter Highway (101), turn left onto 88th Road North and go 15 km west to the MGDA grounds.

Transportation

Winnipeg is accessible by any mode of transportation. The Trans-Canada Highway #1 is the main highway that passes through Winnipeg linking this city with the rest of Canada.  There are also several good highway routes extending south to the United States.  Winnipeg’s international airport provides service to and from all major Canadian and US cities.  There are also connector flights to Winnipeg from many of the smaller regional airports in surrounding provinces.  Car rentals are also available at the airport from the major North American car rental agencies. Highway 7 is the main link to the MGDA grounds on the north side of Winnipeg.

Climate

In this region of Manitoba in September, you can expect average temperatures of 6 to 18 degrees Celsius .  In fall the days are generally sunny, can still be  humid, but usually are typical fall weather.  Winds are typically out of the north west and weekly precipitation varies.

Accommodations

The Field Trial headquarters will be located on the field trial grounds.

There are motels located in a number of communities in close proximity as indicated on the following list. Camping facilities are also located on the trial grounds for those competitors wishing to “rough it”, although availability may be limited. Other campgrounds in the surrounding area are also listed.

(Camping @ Trial Grounds - reservation necessary through Fred Benjaminson e-mail fdb@mts.net )

Hotels/Motels:

Bed & Breakfasts:

Campgrounds:

Distance to Trial Grounds

Entertainment

A full program of social activities are planned to ensure an enjoyable and memorable experience for all competitors, spouses and friends.  This will include an opening banquet on Saturday evening, a workers’ party on Wednesday night and a daily informal bar at the headquarters.

Souvenirs

An assortment of souvenirs will be available at the national championship event as well as several preceding club trials in the area.

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 during the trial.  Pretrial training areas will be posted prior to commencement of the trial.

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