The relay started in St. John’s, Newfoundland on January 9 and finished in White Rock, British Columbia on March 7, 2006.

To date the WOW Relay has raised $800,000 for breast cancer research since the inaugural relay in 2003.

“The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is thrilled by the results of the 2006 Polaris WOW Relay. As they travelled coast to coast, this dedicated team of riders and coordinators raised over $250,000! The Polaris WOW Relay is truly a unique event and a tremendous example of how individuals and communities can make a difference,” said Leslie Denier, Chair, National Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. “The support, awareness and funds raised by this event will make a great impact as the Foundation strives toward a future without breast cancer.”

Polaris is the main sponsor of the 2006 International WOW (Way Out Women) Relay, a cross-continental snowmobile relay ride by women to raise funds for breast cancer research in Canada and in the successful parallel ride in 2004 in the United States for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The ride has become a biennial event and Polaris will provide snowmobiles, riding gear and support vehicles for the team of women riders to ride across the country in 2008. Three women from each province will be selected to ride the snowmobiles across their home region. The riders will make appearances en route at schools and public gatherings to raise funds and raise awareness of the need for breast cancer research and examinations. At each provincial border the sleds will be handed off to a new team of women riders.

The WOW Relay was started in 2003 by 2 Polaris employees in the company’s Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba to raise funds and show support for a co-worker undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The 2003 Relay raised over $175,000 for the Canadian Foundation and the 2004 relay raised over $196,000 in Canada and over $176,000 in the Untied States for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

More than 30 women of greatly varied backgrounds took part in the 2006 relay. Each day, groups of women rode the Polaris snowmobiles across their home province, collecting donations and encouraging support of breast cancer research at every stop. Most of the participants were avid snowmobilers, but there were also newcomers to the sport, especially V.I.P. participants such as breast cancer survivors or riders whose lives and families have been touched by the disease.

An estimated 233,000 women in the United States and Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 45,200 will die from it. An estimated 1,640 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

Supporters Win Polaris Snowmobiles
Relay participants and supporters who collected at least $250 in pledges or contributions were eligible to win a 2006 Polaris 550 Classic snowmobile donated by Polaris.

The winner of the snowmobile is the 2006 WOW Relay Prince Edward Island team, Nadine Hendricken, Stacey Ferguson, Roberta Barrett and Melissa Bruce, the Provincial Ride Coordinator who submitted their pledges together as a team and won as a team.

"On behalf of the PEI WOW team, we are very excited to be the winners of the 2006 Polaris 550 Classic. Our team worked very hard at fundraising individually, and as a team. We are very thankful to Polaris Industries and all the sponsors, family, friends, and donors who made our WOW experience very memorable." said Melissa Bruce.

A huge thank you to our ride Sponsors
We are proud of our sponsors who are doing their part in the battle against breast cancer. These sponsors value their community and are doing their part to help find a cure.

Polaris Industries has provided all the snowmobiles, oil, clothing, truck etc. for the WOW Relay.

Featherlite Trailers supplied our 4 place enclosed trailer.

Sled Trails Television will be airing portions of our ride and is dedicating an episode to promote the WOW Relay, women snowmobiling and our journey to find a cure.

Thank you to Supertrax International, Snow Goer Magazine, SnoRiders West and Motoneige Quebec for covering our efforts from beginning to end to help promote our cause.

We would like to welcome Shell Canada, our newest sponsor, for fuelling our sleds and helping us to get from one end of the country to the other.

I would also like to thank Sunwest graphics for all our WOW decals for the truck, trailer and our sleds.

Globalstar for providing us with satellite phones; our lifelines.

Guppy Graphic Designs who professionally designed our brochures, posters and media kits and a big thank you to Leamarc Inc. for printing them. And to Parenty Reitmeier for translating all our printed materials for our French speaking enthusiasts.

Maximum Impact has printed our memory flags that each rider proudly displayed on her sled, each rider dedicated their portion of the ride to a survivor or in memory of a dear friend or family member.

General Electric and Unicity Customs Services once again provided their financial support.

We are grateful to the hotels, gas stations and restaurants along the way who welcomed us and provided accommodations, fuel or meals for our WOW Teams.