Work continues and entries are coming in. It’s starting to look like a good time again! The boys are out cutting willows and grooming the trail this weekend; it will be ready for the Neckbone, now postponed to Feb. 4 and 5, and that will give us a good idea of how it will run. Lots of work every year with regrowth, deadfall, washouts etc. etc.
Tickets are out for our 50:50 draw. If we sell all of them, the winner would take cash winnings of $6,250, so if you can help sell some, please let us know. My friend and I sold 11+ books of 20 at the La Ronge Coop this past two days, so people are buying!
As far as I know, to date we have 8 entries for the 12-dog race, which is great – and there’s still a month to go! 8-dog and Juniors are considering their options. So far three in the Open race, which is pretty much for fun. Excellent. We do fun well!
We have had several people point out inconsistencies on our website; we will do our best to correct them, but with our webmaster currently somewhere way south of here and his assistant very busy with a real job, it may take a while. We beg your patience. One day we may get enough sponsorship to be able to have an office with those capabilities, but for now we must rely on volunteer help.
By Feb 2, the day after our next board meeting, we should have a much better idea of where we stand financially, and hope to finally be able to post a purse. I know it’s frustrating, but we cannot promise what we don’t have, so again, we ask for your patience. We are doing our best and then some. We do want the race to continue and improve, but we’re finding that a lot of corporate sponsors think very regionally, and if things are in the north that’s no concern of Saskatoon’s, even if we’re a national/iinternational race. I will try to address this when I meet with the Saskatoon Rotary Club on Feb. 8, and see what they might suggest.
Keep watching for updates – only a month to go!
Gill

The snow just won’t quit in La Ronge – another 3 inches last night. But it’s also not cold, so we do have some slush on the lakes. The southern portion of the trail is not so well endowed, although the boys report that what’s there is getting well packed by snowmobile traffic.
The board has made the decision to start the race north of Prince Albert at the Buckland Arena, since there is still open water on the Saskatchewan River. Berm construction to facilitate bridge repairs this winter has changed the water flow in the river, and we don’t want any mishaps trying to cross! The Buckland people will have concessions going at the start line, and there’s lots of parking in the adjacent school yard.
We will be back to following the highway ditch to Christopher Lake too, to facilitate the audience and avoid confusion in the fields!
The board is still chasing funds – so far only about 37% of our minimum target in the bank (and only 25% of last year’s expenses). We would like to go better than target in order to cover expenses and pay a reasonable purse. We are looking at ways to save money – we are not paying staff this year, which means the office is not as functional; we will pay for fewer hotel rooms, and try to get gas covered by an in-kind sponsorship. The board members also contribute their expenses over the months, often up to $1,000 per person, which should not have to happen but it’s reality.
We are discussing ways to reduce the cost of the banquet, and are looking into a less formal scenario.
We have approached many sponsors who have not yet replied, and we’re hoping they will soon, in a positive way.
Raffle ticket sales are slower than expected – if anyone can sell some for us, please call! (Must be sold in Saskatchewan). Bernie has some in PA (763-1539) and Gill has some in La Ronge (425-3826).
We will be using the McLennan River campground as the midway checkpoint, rather than Weyakwin. This evens out the distances between Elk Ridge and LT’s. Sheldon Roberts of PA has kindly offered to clean out the camping loops with his bobcat. Thanks Sheldon!!
As the saying goes, we keep calm and carry on! We hope to have good news by our next board meeting Feb. 1.
Looking forward to seeing you all next month!

Happy New Year to all!
Thanks to Sid, Cliff and everyone who was out working the trail this weekend. They’re doing it for the Neckbone as well, so it will be well proved out by the time the Challenge runs. The Neckbone is slated for Jan 28 and 29, and runs from Stanley Mission to Weyakwin over two days.
I’ll be heading south today and checking snow conditions on the southern part of the trail, but it looks like we’ll be OK.
Entries are coming in now – I understand three teams are coming from Churchill, Man. We have at least five others that I know of. The fun begins!
We have the 50:50 tickets – only 2500 sold, $5 apiece – talk to a board member to get some to sell! (Sorry, they can only be sold in Saskatchewan). If we sell them all, the winner gets $6,250 in cash – well, probably a cheque!)
We’re watching the river ice in Prince Albert, and may have to start north of the river if conditions are not good. Stay tuned . . .
Sorry we still can’t post a purse – still looking for sponsors – will post as soon as possible. We have a board meeting this coming week and will review our position then.
In the meantime, onward and upward – keep training and we’ll keep working the trail and the money end.
51 days to go . . . .
Have a great holiday and drive safe, whether road or trail.

Snow in La Ronge – put the quads away!

Snow will definitely help things along – I for one was getting a little worried, especially at the south end of the trail! I should have more faith in winter!
We have our first entry! – Stefaan signed up last week (congrats, Stefaan), and we’re now waiting for some others we have heard are imminent.
Bernie is keeping some office hours but he has places to be too, so if he’s not there, call him on the cell at 961-9873 and he’ll meet you. Julie is not working this year, which makes things a little more difficult in terms of contact. I was planning to spend a day in the office last week with my computer to get some things organized, but my laptop has gone missing after a trip to Saskatoon, so I have nothing to work on.
Your board is hard at work trying to drum up sponsors – between us we have approached more than 45 potential sponsors, but the money is slow in coming. It’s getting a lot harder, with many now requiring online applications which cuts out the personal approach and makes it more impersonal (and easier for them to say no, in my opinion). Also, we have to do evaluations and there’s a lot of admin time. We’ll keep you posted.
We are discussing trying out SPOT GPS this year, at least on the 12-dog sleds – still looking for the expertise to turn that into a trackable web page. That stage likely won’t happen this year – we’ll just test the feasibility. The final decision will be made at the Jan 4 board meeting.
We had an inquiry about a youngster (15) running the 8-dog race, and there’s nothing in the rules to say he can’t, so we look forward to his entry!
We are considering changing the Weyakwin checkpoint to split the run from Elk Ridge to LT’s more evenly. Currently looking at the feasibility of using the McLennan River campsite, just south of Halfway House, which might work if it’s well ploughed out. There’s a small overflow area at the top of the hill too. We’re checking with Highways to see if they will clean it out for us. Be nice to get feedback on that.
Merchandise – we still have a lot of shirts etc left from last year so we will focus on selling those; we are adding some logo’d neckwarmers to the lineup for something new.
Our 50:50 raffle tickets will be ready next week; please let Bernie know if you can sell some for us. There are 2500 tickets at $5 each, for a potential cash prize of $6,250. Not bad!
Till next time – keep in touch – keep us on the straight and narrow, which you always do!
Merry Christmas to all! See you on the trail in 2012!

2012 Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race Rules

OK the 2012 rules have been posted on the website.  2012 Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race Rules

I believe all the dates and times are correct and there is a small change to 8 dog mandatory vet check. It is now at LT’s Wildness checkpoint.  If there are any changes in the future, we will let you know.  Visit our website at www.canadianchallenge.com

2012 Challenge under way.

It’s about time we got this blog going for this year – people have been complaining there’s nothing on here! Too much real work going on, and too much travelling, at least on my part!
We have been busy though. We had a good week at the PA Exhibition, selling hamburgers and other good stuff to raise money for the race. Lots of work, and the eventual net was about $7,500. A far cry from the $50,000 we’re looking for to out on the race.
We have approached a number of sponsors, and have commitments of $10,000 so far. Still looking for a multi-year name sponsor – any suggestions?
We held a very successful vet clinic in September. Our race vet for the last few eyars, Ruth Sims, came all the way from B.C. to put it on, showing what to look for int terms of the health of animals and teaching mushers how to massage their dogs for flexibility and relaxation. We had 28 mushers out for that, and we’d love to see them all enter one of our races!
The 2012 race starts on Monday Feb. 20 with the Musher’s Banquet in Prince Albert, where mushers, sponsors and dignitaries get together for the last good meal the mushers will likely get for the week.
The start line on Central Ave. comes alive the next day at noon, and it’s off to the races!
The entry forms are up on the website, along with the rules (there may be some minor tweaking but essentially they’re complete).
Bernie is looking after our office this year – Julie, regrettably, will not be there. She was the one who kept Bernie in line so not sure what will happen!!! (Kidding!)
If you need more info you can also call Gill at 306-425-3826 (H) or 306-425-7280 (cell).
We are planning a 50:50 cash raffle if we ever get the application approved – if you can sell tickets for us, please call. We will print 2500 tickets and sell them for $5 each, so the maximum prize will be $6,250 in cash.
Sponsorship is an ongoing challenge, so any suggestions for people to approach would be welcomed.
Well, back to the grindstone – if you need info, call!
Cheers
Gill

From the Awards Breakfast

Richard Todd wins the 12 dog vet award. Jillian Taylor gets the award in the 8 dog Race.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Last musher home

The 2011 Canadian Challenge officially ended at 3:58 am Saturday Feb. 26, 2011 when Charlie Lundie crossed the finish line in 7th place with nine dogs in harness and one alongside. Congratulations Charlie on finishing the race and earning the red lantern!

Two Teams across the finish line

#7 Sid Robinson arrives to claim 5th place at 12:58 with 10 dogs. Sid finishes with a smile, as always. Those who know local musher, Sid, know that he comes off the trail with a positive outlook and great sense of humor!

#5 Luke Naber arrives at 01:02 with 6 dogs in team, 1 in the basket who was stiff from running too hard early in the race. This is Luke’s first time running the 12 dog, so he has now completed a 6, 8 and 12 dog race in the Canadian Challenge.

All dogs have crossed the finish line earlier than we had expected, which is a great sign. The current temperature is around -20celcius, which is perfect for dog sledding.

Congratulations to both teams! Charlie Lundie will be arriving later this evening.

The breakfast banquet starts at 9am tomorrow. Here’s to a good rest for the dogs and mushers who have done such an extraordinary job!

A riddle for all…

How far did the Old Speckled Hen travel for this year’s Canadian Challenge?