Minnesota Legends Rapala® and Polaris® Team Up to Tackle the Tundra

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Historic Brands Celebrate Partnership With Ultimate Ice Fishing Giveaway

MINNETONKA, MN - For residents of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, two legendary brands have risen above the ranks of the average outdoors company. Whether it’s hooking a Walleye or feeling the thrill of speeding across a frozen lake for the first time, Rapala®, the most trusted name in fishing, and Polaris®, a recognized leader in the powersports industry, have helped define the Minnesotan way of life for decades.

In 2012, Polaris Industries Inc. formed a strategic partnership with Rapala to become a member of its ICE FORCE™ family of brands  which includes a number of other Minnesota-based companies such as StrikeMaster®, MarCum Technologies and Otter™ Outdoors  and ice heads from Warroad to Albert Lea couldn’t help but take notice.

“The day Polaris joined ICE FORCE was truly a historic moment for the outdoors community,” says Tom Mackin, president of Rapala USA. “Never before has one name been able to provide hardwater anglers everything needed for a lifetime of action on the ice. In union with Polaris, we’re thrilled to offer our customers the best the ice fishing industry has to offer.”

With the addition of Polaris’ innovative snowmobiles and off-road vehicles to ICE FORCE, for the first time ice fishing fanatics can tow a state-of-the-art Otter shelter to the perfect honey hole, crush ice with a powerful StrikeMaster auger, locate lunkers with a pinpoint-accurate MarCum sonar system and hook hawgs with the world’s favorite Rapala and Respected Rapala brands baits, all with products from one trusted source.

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This winter, to celebrate the partnership’s second year, ICE FORCE and Polaris are offering angling afficianados the chance to win a king’s ransom in top-notch gear with the ICE FORCE / Polaris 2013 Ultimate Ice Fishing Giveaway Sweepstakes.

A dream come true for anyone passionate about the great outdoors, fans can enter the 2013 Ultimate Ice Fishing Giveaway Sweepstakes by visiting www.facebook.com/ICEFORCEUSA. In February 2014, one lucky entrant will walk away with a grand prize of more than $10,500 in ICE FORCE products, including a custom ICE FORCE 2014 Polaris Indy® Voyager 550 snowmobile complete with a powerful 550cc two-stroke engine, PRO-RIDE™ chassis, coil-over rear suspension and 144-inch track ideal for tearing across acres of Minnesota’s frozen lakes and snow-covered trails.

“The ICE FORCE / Polaris 2013 Ultimate Ice Fishing Giveaway Sweepstakes is not only a chance to thank our fans for their years of loyal support, it’s also an opportunity for them to see the true power of ICE FORCE firsthand,” says Marc Hoffman, corporate marketing manager at Polaris Industries Inc. “The sweepstakes winner will be set for life with everything they need for the ultimate ice fishing experience.”

The grand prize winner will also receive a MarCum LX-6 Digital Sonar System, a StrikeMaster 8-Inch Honda Lite Power Auger, an Otter Pro XT1200 Lodge, plenty of rugged ICE FORCE apparel, and hundreds of dollars worth of Rapala Jigging Raps® and Jigging Shad Raps®, VMC™ jigs and spoons, Trigger X® soft baits and Sufix® ice fishing line.

Rapala was unofficially founded in 1936 when Lauri Rapala invented the Rapala fishing lure. Rapala has grown from humble beginnings to become a market leader in the fishing tackle industry. The brand’s functionality and high quality are known by fishermen worldwide. Rapala maintains its strict standards of craftsmanship while delivering its fishing products to anglers in more than 130 countries. For more information on Rapala, please visit www.rapala.com or www.facebook.com/RapalaUSA.

Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER® side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. For information about the complete line of Polaris products, visit www.polaris.com, www.facebook.com/PolarisOffRoad or www.facebook.com/PolarisSnowmobiles.