麻豆社区

On Sept. 3, the board of directors of the Yukon Quest International Association (YQIA) on the Canadian side cancelled the 38th running of the Yukon Quest.

In June, it was agreed upon that the Yukon and Alaska boards would hold two separate races as it would not be feasible to run the 1,000-mile international event because of COVID-19 pandemic. The race on the Canadian side was slated to begin on Feb. 6, 2021.

COVID-19 measures and lack of sponsorship money were cited as the reasons the Quest board decided to veto the race.

This has left some mushers feeling disappointed and angry at the boards鈥� decision.

鈥溾�楧isappointed鈥� doesn鈥檛 cut it,鈥� Hans Gatt, a four-time Yukon Quest winner, said this week.

鈥淚鈥檓 angry. Sporting organizations everywhere are trying to figure out ways of restarting. The board seems to lack leadership and motivation.鈥�

When it was announced the Quest would be holding two separate races, Gatt said it was welcomed by the mushing community.

鈥淲hen it was announced there were going to be two races, I thought this was good news,鈥� said Gatt.

鈥淔or mushers, we all got excited. We thought we had an opportunity to show something new; show people a race can be done that is more dog-friendly.鈥�

To help the board, Gatt said, a meeting of about 17 mushers was held to come up with ideas on how a race could be done.

鈥淎ugust 7, we had the meeting, and within a few hours we had the groundwork for a race,鈥� said Gatt.

鈥淚t was 450 miles from Dawson to Whitehorse. It was dog-friendly to a tee, and it was figured out by mushers.

鈥淲e handed that over to the Quest board, so it was a huge surprise and huge disappointment when they decided to not do anything.鈥�

Gatt said the Yukon Quest has played a huge role in his mushing career, which is why he is feeling both sad and angry about the decided outcome.

Nathaniel Hamlyn, a two-time 1,000-mile finisher and who raced the YQ300 in 2020, was a part of the meeting.

鈥淭he purpose was to talk options to put forth to the Quest board,鈥� said Hamlyn. 鈥淥ut of that meeting, about 10 teams were committed.

鈥淲ith that interest to do something, I was shocked it was cancelled because there was enough interest to have a race in Whitehorse.

鈥淔or kennels, racing is a big part of the year. They should see the support side from mushers and thought there would be more activity.鈥�

Gatt said the number of committed mushers grew to 20 with mushers outside the Yukon鈥檚 bubble also interested if they were allowed to come race.

The shuttered borders were another factor the board cited in its decision to cancel the Quest鈥檚 38th running.

Hamlyn said the board should have looked more within the territory.

鈥淚 think they focused too much on teams outside the territory,鈥� said Hamlyn.

Having a shorter race, Hamlyn said, would have opened the door for more mushers who may not have been keen to run 1,000 miles.

鈥淎t the meeting, there were new mushers or mushers who hadn鈥檛 done a thousand miles before,鈥� said Hamlyn. 鈥淎 shorter race attracts more teams.鈥�

Despite the surprise, Hamlyn said, he doesn鈥檛 want to come down to hard on the Quest, and understands there would be lots to organize, but it鈥檚 an opportunity missed.

鈥淭hey are still doing a race in Alaska,鈥� said Hamlyn. 鈥淭his was a year to get creative and get more teams involved. The spirit of the Quest is distance and self-sufficiency. You don鈥檛 need to have checkpoints in the communities.鈥�

Rob Cooke, a seven-time Yukon Quest 1,000-mile veteran, said it was a mixture of sadness and disappointment when he learned about the news.

鈥淚 saw it coming,鈥� said Cooke. 鈥淭he board was working hard to look at different options. Sponsorship is hurting, and there was the concern with going into the communities because we are still in a pandemic. I think they made the sensible decision.鈥�

Alaska is going ahead with a race that follows the regular YQ300 route.

The name has been changed to 鈥淭he Summit Quest鈥�, as it includes two of the 1,000-mile race鈥檚 highest climbs, Rosebud and Eagle Summit.

鈥淭he Alaska side is in a different position,鈥� said Cooke. 鈥淭wo Rivers is remote, Mile 101 is only a checkpoint for the Quest and Central is a small community. Circle is the only First Nation community, so if they鈥檙e happy鈥�.鈥�

Cooke believes it is important that at least one race is happening for fans in February and believes the race will come back in 2022.

鈥淚 trust it will be back in 2022,鈥� said Cooke. 鈥淭here is always concern the race could just drop off for people, but I鈥檓 sure this is just a blip.鈥�

Cooke said he, along with other mushers in the territory, are all looking for other races.

If it goes, Cooke said he will be doing the Percy DeWolfe and local Dog Powered Sports Association of Yukon (DPSAY) races like the Carbon Hill and Granger Grind.