Race Procedures

updated November 2005

A. Race Schedule

1.  To the extent possible, races shall be scheduled at times that will allow equal participation by a majority of the members of the Association.

B. Signups and Drawings

1.  Each team must be signed up by the driver or his designee by the time and at the place announced by ADMA.

2.  Fees must be paid at the time of signup as follows:

a. Entry fee: 1% of the purse except for the Open North American, where it is $200 or 1% of the purse, whichever is greater.

b. Trail fee: $1.50 per mile with a maximum fee of $40.00.

c. Membership fee: as set according to procedures in the bylaws and paid once per season.

d.  Race fees are not refundable unless the race is cancelled.

3.  A drawing shall establish the starting positions of teams from a random selection of numbers as follows:

a. Challenge Series races: no later than the Saturday immediately prior to the scheduled race date.

b. Championship races: at the time and place announced by ADMA.

4.  Any team may request to go out at the end of the field. Such requests must be made at signup. If more than one team requests to go out at the end of the field, those teams will receive their starting positions as a separate group.

5.  Kennel entries must be handled as follows: single entries in each class may be entered by kennel name, and the driver must be declared at the time of check-in. Additional kennel entries in the same class must declare the driver(s) at the time of the draw.

6.  Post entries will be allowed as follows:

a.  In Challenge Series races post entries for skijor must be submitted by 10:00 a.m.; post entries for 4-dog must be submitted by 10:30 a.m.; post entries for 6-dog and mid-distance must be submitted by 11:00 a.m.; and post entries for 8-dog and open classmust be submitted by 11:30 a.m. Post entries will pay an additional fee of $5. Challenge Series races that are postponed after the draw, or that are rescheduled with less than one week's notice, may be post-entered at no additional charge.

b. Post entries will not be accepted for limited class championship races.

c. For Open class championship races, post entries must be submitted by 10 minutes prior to the draw for starting positions. Post entries will pay a fee of $100 in addition to regular entry and trail fees.

7.  The driver or designated representative must physically check in his/her team at the race site with the proper person at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start of that race or heat.

8.     Postponements:

a. Any race may be postponed due to unsafe trail conditions as determined by the race marshal.

b. Challenge Series races will be postponed if the temperature at the Fairbanks International Airport is –25° Fahrenheit or below at 8:15 a.m. on the day of the race. The temperature reported at 907-452-3553 at the cut off time, regardless of time of update, is considered the official airport temperature.

9.  Cancellations:

a. Any race or heat may be cancelled by a majority vote of the board of directors and the race marshal.

b. The finish order of teams in a race cancelled after one or more heats will be determined by the total elapsed time at cancellation.

C. Starting

1.  Teams will leave the starting line at intervals which will be specified at the drawing or driver’s meeting.

2.  While on the race trail, each driver must wear a number corresponding to the number of his/her starting position. The bib must be worn from the time the team crosses the starting line until the team crosses the finish line.

3.  In Challenge Series races, the skijor class will start at 10:30 a.m., 4-dog class will start at 11:00 a.m., and 6-dog or mid-distance class will start at 11:30. The 6-dog class will start at 11:45 a.m. if more than fifteen 4-dog teams enter. There will be an interval of 15 minutes between the start times of all other classes. If warranted by signups and acceptable to the race timers, intervals between start times may be increased.

4.  The Gold Run and the Limited North American Championships will start at 11:00 a.m., and the Open North American Championship will start at 1:00 p.m., except where the number of teams entered necessitates an earlier start. The interval between classes for championship races will be 30 minutes. Starting times announced at drawings may be delayed due to post entries.

5.  In the event of teams not checking in, the starting time of subsequent teams will be moved forward.

6.  A start/finish chute shall be designated by the race marshal.

D. Race Officials

1.  The race marshal shall be chosen by the board of directors.

2.  Timekeepers and judges shall be appointed by the race marshal.

E. Etiquette

1.  Each driver is responsible for keeping the holding area clean.

2.  Drivers should drive so as to minimize impacts to the trail, and are expected to report dangerous conditions to trail maintenance personnel.

F. Drug Testing—General

1. A veterinary committee consisting of five ADMA members will be appointed by the ADMA Board of Directors. In the case of a conflict of interest, which includes a veterinary committee member having a team, individual dogs, or immediate family member as a driver in the race class in question, said person on the veterinary committee shall not participate in any activities pertaining to drug testing of that race class, including selection of drugs to be tested or analytical test method; dog teams or dogs to be tested; or sampling and transport of samples. Further, veterinary committee members with a conflict of interest shall not serve as recipients of drug testing results or participate in decision-making concerning any drug test results for that race class. In the event of a conflict of interest by a veterinary committee chairperson, an interim chairperson will be elected. The veterinary committee may also draft alternate members if needed to replace committee members with a conflict of interest for one or more races.

The members of the veterinary committee will elect a chairperson. The veterinary committee will:

a. Estimate drug testing expenses for the current race schedule for budgeting purposes,

b. Determine the number of teams to be tested and how they are to be selected,

c. Appoint a race veterinarian,

d. Review drug testing results in consultation with the race veterinarian and decide if a hearing is needed,

e. Call for a hearing if necessary.

2.  The ADMA Board of Directors and veterinary committee will approve which races will have drug testing and how many teams will be tested. If drug testing is to be done it will be announced prior to the drawing.

3.  Drivers will be notified by the race marshal at the race drawing that urine samples will be collected for drug testing. The race marshal will explain the procedures at the drivers’ meeting.

4.  Drivers will be issued a drug declaration/agreement form by the race marshal at the drawing if urine is to be collected at that race. Each driver must list all medications administered during the current race season to dogs that will be run in his/her team during the race. This form must be handed in at check-in before the driver can be issued a bib.

5.  The veterinary committee has the right to test any and all dogs from each team selected for testing. The dogs must be running in the race in the driver’s team that day. Dogs to be sampled will be picked by the urine collection team and will be marked so it can be verified that they are in the team.

6.  In addition to urine testing, the veterinary committee may also elect to take blood samples for drug testing from race teams according to a sample plan for a given race class or classes or from any team based on failure to acquire the necessary urine sample. Urine or blood testing may also be performed at the race marshal’s request on any dog or team. Urine or blood will be collected after the last team has finished the heat.

7.  The urine collection team will be supervised by the race veterinarian. All blood samples will be collected by a licensed veterinarian.

8.  Collection and recording of samples:

a. The competitor with his/her dogs must report at least one hour before the start of the event so that the appropriate dogs may have urine collected.

b. Collection of urine will be performed at the selected competitors’ dog trucks. Dogs must not be let out of their boxes until the urine collection team has arrived at the truck and is ready to collect samples. The veterinary committee shall select volunteers who will be stationed in the holding area for each race and who will remind drivers not to drop dogs until samples are taken. Any dogs dropped from a dog truck and allowed to urinate in advance of drug testing on a test day may be disqualified from running in the race by the race marshal, or may be blood-sampled following that day’s race.

c. The competitor shall have fulfilled his/her duty to submit to the drug testing only after the requested number of his/her dogs to be used in the race have delivered the required volume. If within 30 minutes before the official start of a competitor the collection team has not collected the urine from a selected dog, the collection team must come back after the driver has run the heat of the race to collect the urine or a blood sample.

d. A minimum of 50 ml of urine and/or 18 ml of blood must be collected from each dog to be tested.

e. For each sample, the competitor will be allowed the choice of sampling containers from a number of clean unused containers.

f. The sample shall be collected, sealed, and labeled with indelible ink in the presence of the competitor.

g. The competitor will check to make sure that the code on each collection/shipping container is the same as that entered against the competitor’s name on the drug testing form.

h. The signatures of the competitor and official of the urine collection team must appear on the drug testing form, confirming that the above procedures have been carried out and that the driver has read and agrees to abide by the rules.

9.  Storage and disposal of samples:

a. Before packing for shipment, it will be confirmed that all samples taken are present and that the numbering is in accordance with the list of codes. This list of samples will constitute a chain of custody form. All individuals handling the shipping container must acknowledge receipt of the container by signing the chain of custody form and will note whether the shipping container is sealed when receiving and transferring it.

b. Sealed samples for analysis shall be placed in a locked cooler. Only members of the veterinary committee and the laboratory shall be in possession of the combination. The samples for analysis shall be sent to the laboratory as soon after the end of the competition as possible.

c. The samples will not be opened during the time between when they are originally sealed at the collection site and when they are received by the lab. A lab official must acknowledge on the chain of custody form that the sealed shipping container and all samples were received with seals intact.

d. Portions of each sample not used in the first drug analysis will be held in the original sampling container under suitable storage conditions at the laboratory until:

    1. the first result is negative

    2. in a case where a foreign substance is detected, a confirmatory test has been completed and all hearings or legal action have been resolved.

10. Communication of results and hearings

a. The results of the drug tests will be held in confidence until completion of any hearings.

b. The veterinary committee chairperson and one other member of the veterinary committee will be named as recipients of the drug testing results mailed by the analytical laboratory for each championship race. The results will be reviewed by the veterinary committee, the race veterinarian, and the race marshal to determine if possible drug rule infractions have occurred due to the presence of substances not allowed under Section D(5) of the ADMA race rules in the urine/blood of the competitor’s dog(s).

c. If a substance is found that is not allowed under Section D(5) of the ADMA race rules, confirmatory analysis shall be requested by the veterinary committee.

d. Upon confirmation by the laboratory of a substance not allowed under Section D(5) of the ADMA race rules in a dog(s), the competitor must be informed by the veterinary committee chairperson that a rule infraction has possibly occurred.

e. The veterinary committee chairperson will arrange a hearing within 30 days between the competitor concerned and the drug review board, composed of the veterinary committee, the ADMA president, the race veterinarian (nonvoting), and the race marshal. The competitor will be allowed to explain how the substance was to be found in the dog(s). In all cases the competitor must represent himself/herself. Witnesses may also present testimony. Afterward, the drug review board will meet in closed quarters to determine whether a drug rule infraction has occurred.

f. Veterinary committee or drug review board members who are under review for a possible drug rule violation must be removed from their position until the matter is resolved.

11. All competitors and their assistants shall cooperate with the race veterinarian, veterinary committee, and urine collection team, and shall conduct themselves in a sportsmanslike manner. Failure to cooperate with officials in any aspect of drug testing may result in disqualification of the team and driver.

G. Awards

1.  In each class, open, 8-dog, 6-dog, 4-dog, and skijoring (1-, 2-, and 3-dog), there will be a points system whereby a championship is awarded to the driver with the most points at the end of the race season, based on finishes in the Challenge Series races:

1st place: 5 points

2nd place: 4 points

3rd place: 3 points

4th place: 2 points

5th place & lower: 1 point

In the case of a tie in accumulated points, the points champion will be determined by a tie-breaking procedure applied in the following order:

Sportsman’s class drivers are not eligible to receive points.

2.  Challenge Series prize checks, trophies, or awards will be awarded after the race. Sportsman’s class drivers will not be eligible to receive prize money.

3.  North American Championship prize checks and trophies will be distributed at the North American Banquet, except as noted below.

4.  Jeff Studdert awards will be distributed after the race. Challenge Series points championship trophies will be awarded at the Limited North American drawing. Other awards will be distributed as desired by the membership and race sponsors.

5.  In any race in which drug testing is done, prize money will not be awarded until test results have been received and evaluated by the veterinary committee.

6.  A projected schedule for receipt of drug-testing results and release of prize money will be given to participating drivers by the veterinary committee prior to the race. This schedule is for guidance to the driver and is nonbinding. The fact that purse money has been distributed prior to the issuance of a drug test laboratory report shall not be deemed a finding that no foreign substance has been administered, in violation of these rules, to the dog or dogs of the team driven by the person earning such prize money.

7.  No individual inquiries will be answered by any veterinary committee member regarding the expected date of receipt of drug testing results or disbursement of prize money. 

8.  No purse will be awarded in any class with fewer than four (4) entrants at the time check-in closes.

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