MUSA NEWS:

IFSS 2011 World Championship Applications Available for Team USA

June 28, 2010

Monticello, MN – Applications for Team USA participation in the 2011 IFSS World Winter Championships in Norway are now open. They can be downloaded in MS Word by going to Mushing USA’s website (www.mushingusa.org) and clicking on “Norway 2011 WCh” on the main menu at the left. Anyone wishing to compete in the World Championships must complete an application even if they have received an automatic berth. Those not having been granted an automatic berth will have their application evaluated and prioritized by the MUSA Selection Committee. Applications are due to MUSA by September 15, 2010. Final selections to represent Team USA will be made and competitors notified by October 10, 2010.

IFSS Anti-Doping Training Seminar

September 27-28, 2010

May 19, 2010

Funäsdalen, Sweden, 15 May, 2010 – IFSS (International Federation of Sleddog Sports) has scheduled a two-day training seminar for prospective Doping Control Officers (DCO) and Assistants (DCA) as well as National Anti-Doping Officials for Monday and Tuesday, September 27-28, 2010, in conjunction with its General Assembly to be held near Dublin, Ireland, September 25-26, 2010.

All interested persons are welcome to register for this Anti-Doping seminar. However, participation is limited to twelve persons, and reservations must be made to the IFSS Anti-Doping Chair Person, Carin Ahlstedt, at  antidoping@draghundsport.se as soon as possible and at the latest by September 1^st. The participants will then receive a list of documents, mainly from the WADA website, which are to be studied in preparation for the training seminar. Interested persons are also requested to copy email IFSS Secretary General, Sally O’Sullivan Bair (sbair@tds.net) with their reservation.

The seminar itself is free of charge, but accommodation and travel are at the expense of each Federation/participant. The trainer will be Carin Ahlstedt, official DCO trainer for IFSS. The training will conclude with a written test, which is required for those who wish to gain IFSS DCO certification. Candidates who pass the exam must officiate as a DCA at, at the minimum, one approved race event and, preferably under two different DCOs, and upon recommendation from these DCOs, may then apply for an IFSS DCO certificate.

In the near future each Federation will be obliged to report on Doping Control of Dogs at minimum in connection with their National Championships and International Events and also report educational work aimed at both athletes and race judges.

This means that each Federation – or a group of Federations together in a Region – must nominate both an Anti-Doping Official (Contact Person) and at least one Doping Control Officer (DCO) for Dogs to be able to meet these obligations. From the beginning those two positions may be held by the same person as human resources may dictate. However, as soon as possible, each Federation – or each Region – should have different people in the two positions for Results Management reasons.

Carin Ahlstedt is also willing to offer her services to come and hold training seminars on a national or regional basis as well, possibly together with some of the other already certified DCOs, if they get travel and accommodation costs covered by the organizer. However, offering this training seminar in conjunction with the IFSS GA will hopefully provide the opportunity to coordinate the Anti-Doping Education and attendance as a delegate at the GA.

IFSS Council Approves 2011 Norway WCh Schedule

April 22, 2010

Monticello, MN – The Council of the IFSS (International Federation of Sleddog Sports) has approved the tentative schedule of events for its Winter World Championships (WCh) in Norway, 2011. MUSA will soon open up the application process for Team USA. To get the schedule, please click here for a downloadable PDF.

Mushing USA Appoints Anti-Doping Committee

Oxford, Maine – Mushing USA, the national governing body of sled dog sports in the USA, has appointed three members to its Anti-Doping Committee. Previously appointed as chairperson was Sally Bair, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS) and member of MUSA’s Board of Directors. Serving with Bair will be Jerry Vanek, Donna Davis, and Diane Locotos Stewart.

Donna Davis is a pharmacist (Duluth, MN) who is also a musher. Jerry Vanek (Angus, MN) is a former musher. Also a veterinarian for such major sled dog races as the Iditarod, he is certified by the ISDVMA – International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association. Diane Locotos Stewart (Ipswich, MA) is a chemist and musher. All are very qualified persons with impressive résumés.

Each national sports federation is required by the mandates of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to set up its own anti-doping committee. Presently, the work of the Mushing USA committee is only minimal, primarily in the sphere of keeping abreast of any new developments in the world of doping control for both people and dogs. It is required to provide all Mushing USA athletes with anti-doping education so that they know their rights and responsibilities with regard to doping control and the principles of the Anti-Doping Code.

Currently, one of the barriers to more work is the USA Anti-Doping Agency's hefty price for granting TUEs (Therapeutic Use Exemptions). Dogs do not need TUEs. When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and WADA can sort out the TUE issues, there will gradually accrue more involvement of MUSA’s Anti-Doping Committee. This will include carrying out and following all the procedures for drug testing in the USA for MUSA-sponsored competitions such as regional or national championships.

Mushing USA is pleased to have such an auspicious team on its Anti-Doping Committee.

IFSS Selects Two USA Skiers for Scandinavia’s Training Camp

Oxford, Maine – The International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS) has announced its selection for a training camp to be in Sweden at the end of February, 2010. Two skijorers from the USA will be attending: Jason Sperry (New  York) and Jim Benson (Minnesota).

The primary goals of the camp are to improve the abilities and performance of those wishing to compete in the Nordic disciplines at the IFSS World Championships in Norway in 2011 and to give the training camp participants the skills and tools to enable them to go back to their own countries and educate others, further helping to develop skijoring and pulka.

Sperry has competed in many Nordic skijoring races, including the 2009 IFSS World Championships in Daaquam, Quebec. He is anxious to be exposed to Scandinavian skijor methods and philosophies. He has organized skijor camps and wants “to take what I learn in Sweden and Norway and bring that back and utilize the information at the camps and clinics I have been working on in the US.”

Like Sperry, Benson is an experienced skijorer but has never competed internationally against the best of the best. He has developed a training curriculum that is currently being used by his local Minneapolis club, the Midwest Skijorers Club, of which he is currently president. The Scandinavian training camp “is a very unique opportunity to further broaden the spectrum and depth of our training venues for the benefit of the sport and participants at all levels,” Benson commented upon learning of his selection.

Both Sperry and Benson as also anxious to develop their skills in Nordic pulka. They are both also looking forward to competing in the 2011 IFSS World Championships in Norway and are grateful to IFSS for giving them the opportunity to further their skills in such an auspicious venue as the training camp. In all, there will be twelve participants in the camp, selected from all over the world among thirty-three, very qualified applicants. Benson and Sperry are proud to have been selected.

IFSS World Cup Accreditation &

World Championship Selection for 2011 Team USA

The Mushing USA Board of Directors passed a resolution at the June, 2009, Congress that states that IFSS World Cup points will be used for part of the selection process for Team USA for IFSS World Championships. What does this means for anyone wishing to go to the 2011 WCh in Norway? Although final selection criteria are not yet established and ultimately must be approved by the Mushing USA board, it would behoove any prospective 2011 Team USA athlete to compete in at least one 2010 IFSS World Cup event in the class in which he/she wishes to be accepted for 2011 Norway WCh Team USA.

Be aware that Race Giving Organizations (RGOs) are not required to accredit every class that is eligible for accreditation. They may pick and choose.

IFSS has set aside $10,000 to help defray travel expenses to Norway for those traveling from overseas. How this money will be allocated is yet to be decided by the IFSS Council. In the past it has been based on a set amount for the musher and an amount per dog (up to a limited number of dogs).

IFSS 2009-2010

World Cup Series

Sign up now as an IFSS World Cup Event for 2009-2010!

Winners qualify for IFSS 2011 World Championships in Norway!

What is IFSS World Cup?

The IFSS World Cup Series offers a worldwide ranking system for mushers. It provides opportunity for promotion of mushing and mushers and welcomes participation from race giving organizations (RGOs) in each class from all regions of the world.

2009-2010 World Cup and 2011 World Championships

Entry into the World Championship is in part based on a competitor’s World Cup ranking for the past year. The first three finishers in the 2010 World Cup in each class in each region will automatically be awarded a World Championship berth for the World Championship to be held in Norway in 2011. In addition, medalists in the 2009 IFSS World Championship in Daaquam (Canada) will be eligible to enter in the same class.

Each country is also entitled to three berths in each sprint and Nordic class in the 2010 World Championship in Norway. However, there is no limit to the number of entries into the  mid-distance and long distance classes. Criteria for selection of the teams is up to each IFSS National Federation (IF). Mushing USA has set World Cup ranking as part of its criteria for Team USA 2011 Norway.

IFSS, together with the 2011 host, the Norwegian Sleddog Federation (NHF), will also be offering  travel money to help defray costs for those competitors traveling from overseas to Norway.

South America has already staged its Continental Championships in both dryland and snow, and snow races are around the corner in the northern hemisphere. Offer your USA mushers a part of the action in Norway!

Sign up now for

2009-2010 IFSS World Cup! 

Visit the IFSS website at: www.sleddogsport.com

for the World Cup application and information.

For additional information or to apply for your race, you may also contact:

Team USA Picks up Medals at Dryland World Championship

By Sally O’Sullivan Bair

Saguenay (Quebec) Canada – Four inches of slushy snow on Tuesday before the start of the IFSS (international Federation of Sleddog Sports) World Championships didn’t deter race organizers from having a superb trail at Saguenay (Quebec) Canada. Snow crews worked hard to clear the trails of the white cover prior to the race start.

The event took place over four days, from October 29 through November 1, 2009, in the LaBaie District of Saguenay (Quebec) Canada. The Bec-Scie Center in Saguenay hosted the four-day event. The nature center is named after a hooded merganser duck that inhabits this river area.

Hills and curves dominated the forested trails of the Bec-Scie Nature Center, separating the elite athletes from their up and coming rivals. Race Marshall Robert Schiesser of Switzerland was impressed with the event “with the effort the local people have put into making this a really good race.”

 Approximately 100 teams from Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, France, and the USA vied for medals in the twelve classes.

The first day’s events saw cloudy skies with a temperature of about 40° F (4.4° C). Scooter 1-Dog class, Bikejor, and 4-Dog Cart classes wrapped up on Friday, October 30, after two days of competition. The day was overcast but remained relatively cool, in the range 4 to 6 degrees Celsius. The trail was damp and some sections were quite muddy. 

Saturday began the Canicross, 2-Dog Scooter, and 6-Dog and 8-Dog Cart classes. Warm temperatures and intermittent rain showers greeted competitors. Cart classes were delayed and their course shortened due to temperatures being too warm. Saturday was capped with a Halloween dinner and dance with live music. Crazy clowns from Team Canada stole the show and got everyone onto the dance floor. 

The sun shone on Sunday and cooler temperatures prevailed. Competitors and spectators alike enjoyed the mass start Canicross relay, which was won by Poland. 

Poland and Norway dominated many of the classes, but USA teams made respectable showings in the 4-Dog Cart class where they copped silver (Jessica Doherty) and bronze (Liz Bailey) medals. Brittany Colbath picked up a bronze on the Women’s Senior Bikjoring class, and Ed Clifford and Fred Derksen earned gold and silver, respectively, in the Veteran Men’s Bikjoring class. Clifford also took home a gold in the 8-Dog Cart, with Josh Mercure winning a bronze in the 6-Dog Cart class. Christina Dawn Eagle glided to a 2-minute win in the Women’s Senior Canicross class, while Liz Bailey managed another medal, a bronze, in the same class. Diane Locotos took home the gold in the Women’s Veteran Canicross. The Canicross Relay team of Liz Bailey, Jason Sperry, and Christina Dawn Eagle picked up the silver medal.

IFSS thanks the Saguenay organizing committee for its wonderful hospitality and for putting on a successful event.

Complete race results are on the IFSS website (www.sleddogsport.com).

East Meets West Dryland Sled Dog Race Gears Up to Welcome Mushers

Clearwater, MN – The organizing committee for the East Meets West Dryland Sleddog Race is swinging into high gear in preparation for the November 14^th &15^th  debut in Clearwater’s Warner Lake Park.  Race Coordinator Monica Jendro is excited about all that will be available to mushers and the public: “We will have a smorgasbord of concessions throughout the two days as well as a “Meet the Mushers Dinner” on Saturday evening where anyone and everyone can mix and mingle with competitors and find out more about this exciting aspect of sled dog sports.” Events will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Of course, the public is welcome to come and see for themselves as the dogs and mushers ply the trails on Saturday and Sunday. In fact, the public can even participate and get their feet wet in dryland racing by entering a canicross “Fun Run” event to be held on Saturday! All you need is a dog and a leash. If you have the specially designed canicross belt and a sled dog harness, all the more power to you!

Canicross is essentially running with your dog in harness and attached to the musher via a line and a specially designed belt.  However dryland racing offers a variety of new sled dog sports. Bikejoring is done with one or two dogs and an experienced musher on a suitable bike.  Scootering is also done with one or two dogs and specially designed “mountain scooters.” Then there are rig races, where mushers ride a light-weight, wheeled cart pulled by a team of dogs, typically two to six.

Dryland sled dog racing is a relatively new aspect of sled dog sports, but it has caught on rapidly throughout Europe and now, also in North America. 

Over 100 competitors from throughout North America are expected to be competing for a $10,000.00 purse in 12 classes of racing. The event is sanctioned by the International Sled Dog Racing Association and accredited by the International Federation of Sleddog Sports with collaboration by the North Star Sled Dog Club of Minnesota.

Host Joel Nelson, himself a former champion musher, can hardly contain his enthusiasm: “What can you say, a $10,000 purse, trophies, free T-shirts for mushers, along with a great meal for participants.  Mushers will finally be treated like the professional athletes they are!”

For further information please visit www.isdra-dryland-racing.info or call Monica Jendro at 320-282-2824

Mushing USA is a 501(C)(3) tax-exempt organization.