Contest is open to all persons who reside in Alberta and are 18 years of age or older (each a “Contestant”).  Employees of AMA and FMTA, as well as the immediate family members who reside in the same household of such persons are not permitted to be Contestants. No purchase is required to enter this Contest.

Contestants will receive an entry (each an “Entry”) when they send an e-mail to westworld.contests@ama.ab.ca which must include (a) Contestant’s name; and (b) Contestant’s daytime phone number and/or e-mail address.  Failure to include all the required information in an Entry may, at AMA’s sole discretion, void that Entry.

Entries shall only be accepted between 12:00 a.m. on February 1, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. April 31, 2012.  Contestants may only submit one (1) Entry per week being 12:00 a.m. on a Sunday until 11:59p.m.  Saturday.

There is one (1) prize to be awarded in this Contest (the “Prize”), being an all expense paid trip to Fort McMurray courtesy of FMTA.  The Prize includes the following:

• Round trip airfare for two from Edmonton or Calgary to and from Fort McMurray
• Four nights’ accommodation in a superior-class room at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Fort McMurray
• Four-day car rental for a full sized vehicle, which includes auto insurance, in Fort McMurray
• One round of golf for two adults at a Fort McMurray golf course, which includes cart rental
• Two adult day-passes to the Suncor Community Leisure Centre at MacDonald Island Park
• Two adult day-passes to Heritage Park
• Two adult day-passes to the Oil Sands Discovery Centre
• Experience the Energy Tour for two adults (subject to availability at time of booking)
• A $800 prepaid Visa card for meals while winner is in Fort McMurray
• A $350 shopping voucher to be used at the Peter Pond Shopping Centre in Fort McMurray

The Prize has an approximate value of $5,000 and is subject to the following conditions:

• Car rental is available only if there is a person who is age 25 or older with an Alberta Driver’s licence operating the rental vehicle;
• Insurance for the car rental is subject to the insurer’s terms and conditions.  If an automobile accident should occur, Contestant is responsible to pay the insurance deductible.
• Prize must be accepted as is unless otherwise agreed upon by AMA;
• The Prize is non-transferable;
• The Prize has no cash value; and
• Product and services which are included with the Prize (i.e. flights, round of golf) are subject to the terms and conditions of the vendor providing such products and services (together the “Vendors”).  Please contact Vendors for more details.

The Prize winner will be randomly selected in a draw from all valid and accepted Entries on May 14, 2012 at approximately 10:00am at the AMA Centre located at 10310 G.A. MacDonald Avenue.  All Entries have an equal chance of winning.  Chances of winning is dependent on how many Entries are received in this Contest.

AMA will then attempt to contact the Prize winner by telephone and/or e-mail. If for any reason it is not possible within a reasonable period to contact the Prize winner despite customary diligent efforts, AMA reserves the right to disqualify that Entry and select another Entry as the Prize winner.  The Prize winner must sign a contest prize acknowledgement and release form before the Prize will be awarded.

By entering this Contest, each Contestant:  (a) accepts these Contest Rules; (b) consents to AMA and FMTA publishing or announcing the Prize winner’s name and/or photograph in future publicity, without permission or compensation; and (c) releases AMA, FMTA and Vendors from any liability with respect to this Contest or redemption of the Prize.

AMA reserves the right to withhold the Prize or disqualify the Prize winner’s entry in the event that the Prize winner fails or refuses to comply with these Contest rules.

If, for any reason in the opinion of AMA, in its sole discretion, the Contest is not capable of running as planned or if the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the contest is corrupted or adversely affected, including by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or other causes beyond its control, AMA reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest including any method of entry.

AMA will not be responsible for telephone, technical, network, online, electronic, computer hardware or software failures of any kind, misdirected, stolen, incomplete, garbled or delayed internet/email computer transmissions on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Contestant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in the Contest.

AMA will not be responsible for, or accept any liability resulting from Entries that are delayed, lost, stolen or misdirected for any reason during their delivery to AMA whether by, but not limited to, Entries sent by e-mail online or through a data network.

Information is collected in accordance with the AMA Privacy Policy.  Any personal information obtained in the course of running this Contest will be used for the administration of this Contest but not distributed to any third party.  A copy of the AMA Privacy Policy is available at all AMA retail locations and online at ama.ab.ca.  As per AMA’s privacy policy, AMA does not sell or redistribute any personal information. AMA will not enter into correspondence with any Contestant except with the Winner, and at AMA’s own initiative.

In these Contest rules, words importing singular include the plural and vice versa.

These Contest rules shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Alberta.

Any inquiries or concerns relating to the Contest should be addressed to AMA at PO Box 8180, Station South , Edmonton, Alberta T6H 5X9 Attention:  Corporate Communications or westworld.contests@ama.ab.ca.

By entering the Contest, all entrants agree to be bound by the Contest Rules and release all parties associated with this Contest from any liability with respect to the Contest or Prize.
All decisions by AMA with respect to all aspects of this Contest are final.

The Getaway
In the pages of Alberta’s history books, much ink has been spilled on the subject of Medicine Hat. It’s where natural gas was first discovered in Alberta, back in 1883. Abundant gas reserves, along with tax breaks and access to 100 kilometres of CPR track, sparked a homegrown industrial revolution in the area. Factories making everything from crayons to bricks sprang up all around town.

One of those factories was Medalta Stoneware. By the end of the 1920s, the company was producing 75 per cent of Canada’s pottery. Its distinctive grey crocks, jugs, bowls and pitchers were sought after across the country.

Today, the iconic factory and its beehive kilns anchor Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District. Visitors to the Medalta site can tour a newly renovated museum, which houses more than 30,000 pottery pieces. Give yourself plenty of time to stroll through the interactive displays, watch the historical video footage and browse at the gift shop, which sells retro Medalta pottery made on site. Don’t leave without popping into one of the rare circular kilns. If your schedule permits, get your hands dirty in a pottery class.

The Hideaway
Managed by Stagewest Hospitality, the Medicine Hat Lodge Resort, Casino & Spa is a popular spot on the dinner theatre circuit. Many shows that pass through Calgary and Toronto make an appearance here. Past performances have included Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Shirley Valentine and Fab Forever. In late February, the resort will mount Motown Gold, a tribute to the soul sounds of the ’60s.

While this 190- guest-room facility is one of eight Stagewest properties in Canada, there are special touches here, such as a collection of Medalta Stoneware on display at the Jungle Café. Amenities include pet-friendly rooms and suites with kitchenettes.  –Tracy Hyatt

The Inside Track
Art attack: The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, which houses the Medicine Hat museum, archives and art gallery, as well as a performing arts theatre, is as lauded for its glass building as for its impressive collections and shows (esplanade.ca). Hive minds: Sketchbooks are welcome at HiveHub, a co-op where visitors can hang out and talk to artists in their studios (hivehub.ca). All you can eat: The historic Hargrave-Sissons Block on Second Street is home to Inspire Studio & Gallery, an art spot and café (inspireart.ca). One block west, Twist Wine Bistro and Restaurant offers tapas plates, such as Spanish lamb meatballs and marinated olives (twistmedicinehat.com).

Arctic winds hammer mercilessly across Gull Lake’s frozen flatness. You could die out here. Drag out a plywood shack, however, then auger a hole through nearly a metre of ice, and suddenly you’ve got yourself a microscopic palace of iconic Canadian recreation.

Now you’re living. Unfold the camp chairs, light a propane furnace and hook a smelt on your rod. With the lake floor no more than eight metres down, it’s a quick drop to where the wintering fish hunt for sustenance.

This 80-square-kilometre lake, halfway between Calgary and Edmonton, is a so-so fishery in summer, but frozen it piques the appetite of pike, perch, walleye, whitefish and freshwater ling cod or, as the locals around here call it, “poor man’s lobster.”

Pour something invigorating from a Thermos and peer down that hole. There’s an undeniable Zen to ice fishing, even when, as is the current fashion, a submerged video camera reveals the comings and goings of future catches.

Alas, city slicker, the want of a shack and an ice drill normally prevents you from joining this
rural communion. It needn’t, though. One local outfitter offers the entire rigmarole for daily and even overnight use. Fish on, Johnny Canuck.

Fort McMurray and the Municipality of Wood Buffalo is also a terrific place for summer fun. Indeed, the long summer days of Northern Alberta make the region a summer haven. One of the best ways to see the sights is to canoe the historical travel and trade routes followed by the early trappers and explorers (Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest expanse of wilderness preserve in North America established in 1922 to protect the last remaining herds of wild bison, is a great destination for canoe and portage enthusiasts; it is best accessed by float plane). You can also explore sand dunes, hike innumerable trails (the Birchwood trails are a must-see) and of course fish in pristine waters.

Golfers take note: in addition to fabulous hotels, restaurants and shopping, Fort McMurray also has three 18-hole courses located within the majestic boreal landscape, and the Suncor Community Leisure Centre contains athletics courts and an aquatic facility. Alternatively, you can spend the day slip-sliding away at the water park at MacDonald Island Park.

History and culture buffs will find much of interest at Fort McMurray thanks to organizations such as the Fort McMurray Historical Society, which has preserved the region’s unique legacy by creating its very own time capsule: a genuine heritage village. Heritage Park is a 6.6 acre exhibition of historical buildings, railways cars, museums and remnants of the city’s roots as an early fur trade settlement. Additionally, the nearby Marine Park with five historic vessels is Alberta’s only surviving ship yard.

More urban-oriented pursuits include playing squash, curling or taking a yoga class at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre in the heart of MacDonald Island Park; browsing Peter Pond Shopping Centre; watching an Oil Barons hockey game; or taking a guided tour of the Oil Sands Discovery Centre, where guests can view the Cyrus, an 850-tonne excavator considered to be one of Canada’s largest land-based industrial vehicles (another activity related to the Oil Sands is the Experience the Energy tours available between May and September). The end of each day heralds relaxation in the form of a spa or sauna treatment or dining on sushi, curry, and other international (as well as local) cuisine.

Specific destinations such as Vista Ridge All Seasons Park are one way to indulge in a variety of activities within a single convenient location. Vista Ridge has been called the best non-mountain winter recreation in Alberta and has long been a popular family gathering place. It has eight ski runs for everyone from the most experienced athlete right down to the greenest of novices. Rails, a half pipe and jumps are enjoyed by snowboarders, and the park also contains five lanes for tubing enthusiasts (plus 190 tubes to ride and a Magic Carpet lift to bring you back up to the top if the hill once you complete your run).

Fort McMurray and the Municipality of Wood Buffalo is a true northern gem with enough recreation, sports, art and culture to compel guests to visit again and again. Discover what real summer magic is all about by contacting Fort McMurray Tourism to plan your vacation.

Do you know how close you can legally park to a stop sign? How much space to leave between your vehicle and the one in front of you in normal driving conditions? Which way to point your wheels when parking uphill (on the right) on a street with a curb?

If you’re like many Alberta motorists, you probably don’t, because it’s been years since you’ve had any formal driver training. (For the record, the answers are: five metres, the distance travelled in two seconds and to the left.) Only 11 per cent of Alberta drivers who took a test on road rules as part of a 2010 AMA Foundation for Traffic Safety Research study got a passing grade.

The study also found that the longer the time since the drivers had got their licences, the less they knew about the current rules. “

The longer you’ve been driving, the likelier it is that you’re breaking some rules without even realizing it,” says Rick Lang of AMA Driver Education. “Driver education should be about lifelong learning.”

Traffic rules and driving guidelines change over time. An example: do you know the correct position for hands on a steering wheel? You probably think it’s 10 o’clock and two o’clock, but it’s actually nine and three. This guideline changed several years ago when airbags became a common feature on North American vehicles.

On the road, a knowledge gap can have serious consequences. “The majority of crashes are preceded by at least one traffic violation,” Lang says. So how does the average driver stay road-savvy? “If you want to find out how good you are, take a lesson or a driver’s assessment,” suggests Lang. For about $120, an instructor can tailor a private two-hour assessment and lesson for you.

These refresher courses aim to keep you driving safely, whether you’ve been on the road for five years or 50. Of course, all drivers should begin their lifelong education with training from a provincially licensed driving school (such as AMA Driver Education, where novice courses include 18 hours of classroom instruction). From there, Lang advises recharging your knowledge and skills every three to five years. Start by reading up on the current road rules (see the Basic Licence Driver’s Handbook online at transportation.alberta.ca/733.htm). Then visit ama.ab.ca/driver-education to take a learner’s practice exam.

If this sounds taxing, remember: driving errors can cost you fines and demerits. If you accumulate eight demerits, the Department of Transportation sends you a courtesy letter. Pile up 15 and you get a registered letter suspending your licence. This happens more often than you might think – as of March 31, 2011, there were 2,739 drivers in Alberta with demerit-related suspensions.

But there’s a silver lining. Alberta drivers can participate in a government-approved driving program, such as AMA’s Demerit Reduction Defensive Driver Course, every two years to remove up to three demerit points from their record.

Watch video of AMA’s Rick Lang discuss winter driving and winter tires
The grip factor
Where the rubber meets the road, there are huge differences in tire construction. Winter tires, which sport the mountain-and-snowflake symbol, are made of a softer compound that retains elasticity down to –40 C. Coupled with tread designs that take larger bites out of snow, and channel ice and water away, this improves stopping distances, traction and handling ability in cold weather – by as much as 50per cent, according to some tests.

All-seasons, on the other hand, start to harden and lose traction at around 7 C. Some all-season varieties, known as “mud and snow” tires (stamped with the “M+S” symbol), have a tread pattern designed to channel mud and snow away, but they generally use the same hard rubber compound as other all-season tires. A new tire category, “all-weather,” has also appeared on the market, offering slightly better winter traction than all-season tires, but still not matching the coldweather performance of true winter tires (nor the warm-weather performance of all-seasons).

Buy winter tires or make do?
So should you buy winter tires? The answer is as individual as each driver, says Randy Loyk, AMA manager of technical services. “They do cost a bit more, and require the effort of changing them over each year, but if you’re driving in rural areas or in places where snow isn’t cleared regularly, you may want to consider it ,” he says. Ask yourself a few questions to decide whether you need winter tires: will you be driving rural, uncleared areas, or mainly on cleared city streets and highways? Do you often have to drive in several inches of snow or otherwise poor conditions?

Four for the win
Can you get away with just two winter tires? That’s asking for trouble, according to Transport Canada and the Rubber Association of Canada. Tires are designed to perform optimally as a set of four. Installing just two at the front will result in poor vehicle handling – it could cause you to go off the road backward in a turn, for example. “Issues with the drive train can also arise in all-wheel or four-wheel-drive vehicles if just two tires are replaced,” says Loyk.

Baby your tires
To prevent uneven tread wear and ensure proper contact with the road, keep your wheels properly aligned. It’s ideal to have your alignment checked twice a year – the seasonal tire switch is a perfect time. Use your vehicle’s prescribed alignment settings, as opposed to the tire manufacturer’s. Also stay on top of your tire pressure, which affects handling, tire wear and fuel efficiency. Check it at least once a month. When your tires aren’t on your vehicle, wrap them in airtight, opaque bags and store them in a cool, dry, ventilated location to protect the rubber. Stored tires should be kept away from electric motors and welders, as these produce ozone, which will damage rubber over time. If your extra tires are on rims, deflate the tires to 15 psi and stack them – four high is the maximum. If they’re not on rims, store them upright. Rotate your stored tires monthly to avoid deformations.