Ice Stix is a game which can be played by a varied group of boats... you might have a DN or two, a couple of Arrows, and an old stern- steerer. Racing wouldn't make sense. But Ice Stix takes advantage of other aspects of iceboating besides absolute speed, such as starting off, planning a course, stopping and securing the boat, etc. Of course it is important to point out that anyone having any sort of race or rally on the ice would be responsible for making sure that all participants would know of any unsafe areas, and that the running of the event would not cause a safety hazard for the entrants OR observers and bystanders. This is why it is important to provide a map of the course, with any dangerous areas marked out.
Materials:

1) Four coffee cans nailed to wooden stakes. 2) A set of 4 colored dowels, 1/2" diameter, 6" long, for each boat entered. A different color is needed for each boat. 3) A stack of xeroxed maps of the lake used.

How To Play:

The coffee cans are placed around the lake in interesting places. They can be spots which would take a little planning to get to, such as a cove shielded from the prevailing wind, another on the other side of a patch of rough ice, etc. One dowel of each color is put in the cans. The maps are then marked with the location of the cans, along with any dangerous ice, and handed out to the sailors. At a signal, the sailors must start from shore, board their boats, and collect all the dowels of their assigned color. It will be up to the individual crews in what order they pick up their dowels, and what course they take around the lake. The first crew to return with all four of their dowels, run to shore, and deposit them into a pail, wins. If any coffee can is upset in the course of the game, it must be reset by the crew which disturbed it. Any crew removing any but their own color dowel from a can is disqualified. Ice Stix will help to "even the odds" between boats which would not usually compete in a standard race... a slower, but more handy boat might have a chance against a faster, but more unwieldy one. Good planning, piloting, and parking of the iceboats will be major factors in the game.

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