Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association

Two Rivers, Alaska - Home of the finest mushing on Earth!

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20

                                  Stage 1 - Friday 19th

                                  Stage 2 - Saturday 20th

                                  Stage 3 - Sunday 21st

ELECTRONIC RACE REGISTRATION FORM

Frosty Dog Registered Mushers

PRE-RACE RULES

Qualifications: All drivers must be members in good standing with the TRDMA. Drivers must be at least 18 years of age by the start of the race. No one convicted of animal abuse or neglect will be eligible to enter the race. TRDMA may honor censure by any other sled dog racing organization.

Fees: Entry fee for the Stage Race is $200 for TRDMA members and $225 for non-members. Entries postmarked after February 15th will have a $25 late fee assessed, payable at the Drivers’ meeting. Race will be limited to 35 teams.

Purse: Minimum purse will be 50% of the total entry fees received. Payout will be as follows:

Frosty Dog Purse

1^st: 50%

2^nd: 30%

3^rd: 20%

Registration: Completed race entry forms must be postmarked no later than midnight Feb. 15th, 2010. Late entries will be accepted until the start of the drivers’ meeting.

Withdrawal prior to the race start: An entrant withdrawing prior to the race start will be refunded his or her entry fee. Teams that withdraw after that time will forfeit their entire entry fee.

Draw for start position: Start position will be determined by luck of the draw on Friday Feb. 19th, 2010 at the registration at Pleasant Valley Store. The order of the draw will be determined by a draw by the musher. Race bibs will be distributed at that time.

Mandatory Driver's meeting: Attendance at the drivers' meeting is mandatory. Any driver not in attendance is subject to penalty or disqualification. The drivers’ meeting will be held immediately following the bib draw.

Awards: Awards presentations will be held Sunday, February 21^st, 2010 at Angel Creek Lodge at 4pm . Time may be changed based upon driver finish times. Menu will be lasagna and chicken as entrees with soup or salad to start, and dessert. Price will be $20 for finishing banquet.

Race cancellation: If the temperature at the Pleasant Valley Store is colder than -35 degrees Fahrenheit at 12:00 pm on February 19^th; the race will be postponed or cancelled at the Race Marshall’s/drivers’discretion. When in doubt, call Pleasant Valley Store for information. After the race is started, it will continue regardless of temperature.

In the event of low snow/no snow conditions, the race will be cancelled no later than Feb. 15^th. If possible, a different race trail may be substituted if conditions support an alternate route.  Notice of low snow/no snow race cancellation will be posted on the TRDMA web site and a best-effort attempt will be made to contact registered drivers by telephone and/or email.

Food drops:

·                                 There are no food drops for this race!

Proof of vaccinations required: All dogs must have current rabies, distemper, and parvo vaccinations with proof available to be presented to the race veterinarian upon request prior to the start of the race. Copies of rabies certificates and purchase receipts for distemper/parvo vaccines are acceptable as proof.

Vet check: Dogs will be checked for health and fitness by a licensed veterinarian or veterinary technician starting at 3PM on race day. Dogs considered unfit will not be allowed to start the race.

GENERAL RACE RULES

Mandatory gear:

·                                 One set of booties per dog 

·                                 Headlamp

·                                 Snow hook

·                                 Cable gang lines

                  Assigned starting bib which, must be visible at all times

·                                 Mushers must have both a handler and a dog truck

Mandatory gear will be checked starting one hour before each stage begins on. All gear and equipment must be in good operating condition or else team will not be allow to race.

All mandatory gear must be in sled bag at the start of each stage.  Lost mandatory gear must be replaced prior to signing in for each stage or a penalty will be assessed for each item. Drivers must have all mandatory gear when leaving a checkpoint.

Keep the trail clear: Drivers resting their team must keep the trail clear of their dogs, food and gear at all times, i.e. you must not interfere or obstruct the passage of other teams and must camp at least 10 feet off the trail.

One driver per team: Only one driver per team.

Following the trail: The trail is broken into three stages:

Stage 1: 20 mile Friday night run on the world famous Two Rivers trail system starting and ending at Pleasant Valley Store 5pm

Stage 2: 40 mile run on Saturday afternoon starting at Two Rivers Lodge with some exciting hills to navigate starting at 12pm ends Pleasant Valley Store

Stage 3: 30 mile dash to the finish line on Sunday starting at Pleasant Valley store and ending at Angel Creek Lodge start at 10am

Trail right-of-way: When one team approaches to within 50 feet of another team, the team behind shall have the immediate right-of-way upon demand, except within one mile of the finish line. The driver ahead must stop his or her dogs and hold them to the best of his or her ability for a maximum of one minute or until the other team has passed, whichever occurs first. The passed team must remain behind at least five minutes before demanding trail right-of-way.

Littering prohibited: A minimum thirty minute time penalty will be assessed for littering on the trail or at checkpoints. Booties are considered litter.

Number of dogs: Drivers are allowed to have a pool of 16 dogs.  All dogs must be registered w/ appropriate vaccination records at the driver’s meeting prior to the race start.  Drivers must start the race with no fewer than eight (8) dogs and no more than twelve (12).  Drivers may pull dogs from their pool.  This pool is on the honor system.  Any driver who is found pulling dogs from outside their registered pool will be automatically disqualified from this race and banned from all future all TRDMA races.  Drivers must finish with no fewer than five (5) dogs. No dogs can be added to a team after the start.

Dog marking: The Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association may mark all dogs leaving the starting line.

No loose leaders: Loose leaders are not allowed. A driver must make every effort to secure a dog that becomes loose.

RUNNING THE RACE

Race start: Stage 1 of the race will start at 5:00 pm on Friday Feb. 19^th.   Stage 2 will start at 12:00pm on Saturday Feb. 20th  Stage 3 will start at 10:00 am on Sunday Feb. 21st. 

Starting interval: For Stage 1 teams will leave the starting line at two-minute intervals.  For Stage 2 the race follows a reverse starting order at two minute intervals.  Stage 3 will start using the actual standing order of the teams.  Any team that cannot leave the starting line within one minute of its designated time will be required to start two minutes after the scheduled departure of the final team. Any team that cannot leave the starting line within 30 minutes of the last team's scheduled departure will be disqualified.

Time penalties: All time penalties accrued will be applied to the mandatory layover or at the finish.

Protests: A driver may protest any action of a competitor that he/she feels is contrary to the intent of these rules. To be recognized as a legitimate protest, the infraction(s) observed by a musher must be presented to a race official in writing at the musher’s earliest convenience (next checkpoint preferably), and in no case more than twenty-four (24) hours after a musher finishes the race.

Appeals: Drivers may appeal Race officials’ decisions or penalties assessed by submitting, in writing, an account of the circumstances surrounding the decision or penalty being appealed. The appeal must be submitted to a race official no more than 24 hours after the incident or driver’s race finish, whichever is later. An Appeals Board will be convened within 24 hours of the appeal being received. The Board will consist of an Association Director, a Rules Committee member, a Race committee member and, if veterinary issues are involved, a Race Vet. An informal hearing will be held at that time. Decisions of the Appeals Board will be final.

DOG CARE

Mistreatment prohibited: Mistreatment of dogs will cause immediate disqualification from the Frosty Dog. Such an action will also be reported to all major race organizations. The race marshal will have absolute authority over this matter.

Signal whips: Signal whips will not be permitted.

Drugs and drug testing: No injectable drugs may be used unless administered by the race veterinarian. Oral or topical drugs that may suppress the signs of illness or injury may not be carried or used. No drugs or artificial means may be used to drive the dogs beyond their natural ability. Race officials may require urine or blood samples for random drug testing. Drivers will be required to cooperate with race officials to accomplish the gathering of samples.

Expired dogs: Any dog that expires during the race for any reason must be taken to the next checkpoint or returned to the checkpoint last passed and submitted to the race marshal, a judge, or a race veterinarian. A licensed veterinary pathologist or veterinarian will perform a necropsy on all expired dogs. The driver will be responsible for necropsy expenses. The death of any dog may result in the disqualification of the driver, and/or prohibition from entering future races.

Tampering: No driver may tamper with another driver's dogs, food, or gear.

Sleds: Only one sled may be used during the race. Sled must have brush bow, sled bag, and braking device. Any repairs must be done exclusively by the driver. No significant alterations as to weight or size will be allowed. Sled and equipment must be in good repair. Equipment will be inspected before the musher will be permitted to start the race.

Race assistance: No planned help is allowed in the race, except that drop bags will be delivered to the checkpoint by race officials. No driver may receive outside assistance between or at checkpoints unless an emergency exists. The driver must not accept assistance in the feeding or care of his or her team or for sled repairs.

Cell phones will not be used during this race for any reason, except if an emergency arises. If a driver is caught using the cell phone for any reason, except an emergency, the driver will be disqualified.

No driver will accept any assistance from a motorized vehicle, including pacing. A lost team will not be disqualified if the driver regains control of it, provided the team and driver complete the course and comply with rules, including checkpoint requirements. A driver may receive assistance from another driver in recovering a lost team. Motorized assistance will not be allowed, or disqualification will result.

Outside assistance will be allowed only if a team is unmanageable, except that handlers may help in and out of a checkpoint. The race marshal's decision concerning this will be final.

Withdrawal from the race: A driver wishing to withdraw may do so only with the race marshal.

Courteous behavior: All drivers shall conduct themselves in a courteous and honorable manner at all times. Officials, media, volunteers and fans are all equal participants in the race and it is the driver's responsibility to maintain a courteous rapport with them at all times.

Frosty Dog Race Description: The trail route and description will be posted to the TRDMA website (www.trdma.org) no later than February 15th, 2010, or by postal mail by request.

( THIS TRAIL DESCRIPTION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.  UPDATES WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE   www.trdma.org   OR DIRECT NOTIFICATION FOR ENTRIES RECEIVED)