The Alaska Dog Mushers Association has made the tough decision to move the staging area/start of the 2010 GCI Open North American Championship sled dog race to the Jeff Studdert Race Grounds (Musher’s Hall) located at 975 Farmers Loop Rd. The event, scheduled for March 19-21, usually starts on downtown’s Second Ave and races along Noyes Slough crossing College road onto the Creamers Field and ADMA trail system. The decision to move the starting area is due to safety concerns for the teams entering the race. The concerns lay in the Noyes Slough and the Chena River portions of the trail caused by Mother Nature and the lack of snow cover of those areas.
ADMA will host the weekend festival events at the Musher’s Hall during the Open North American Championship. The events will include a 1-mile Le Mans start skijor race, a 1-mile sprint snowshoe race, the famous Parka Parade, a kid’s pop scramble, annual Trappers Association fur auction, and food and craft vendors. We plan on working with the other partner groups in this endeavor to make it happen.
The race venue will offer excellent viewing for spectators at the Musher’s Hall, as well as the Creamers Field sections of the race.
For more information on the festival events, information on media access, and other general information please contact Kathy Fitzgerald at 907-385-7322.
The drawing for start positions remains as scheduled, 7:00 PM, Wednesday, March 17th at the Westmark Hotel.
For more information, contact Shannon L Erhart, ADMA President, 907-460-5216, adma@sleddog.org