Junior North American/IFSS Junior World Championships 2001

IFSS JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP—DAY 1
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
By Sally Bair, IFSS Secretary General

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA USA—The roster of competitors for the 2nd IFSS Junior World Championship read like a who’s who in the Mushers’ Hall of Fame; but, in fact, they were second and third generations of these icons, the Attlas, Gavins, Wrights, Erharts, Kriskas, Kokrines.

The first day’s events began with cloudy skies and temperatures of around 20 degrees F. The 8 Dog class was first out of the chutes, with Kelly Wright of Alaska smoking up the trail in a time of 28:45.860. Sigurd Erdal-Åse of Norway was second with a time of 31:18.776.

In the 1 Dog class, Alex Downey of Pennsylvania USA was blown away with his placing. He ran the 200 yard course in 22.685 seconds, closely followed by Forrest Sylvester of Alaska with a time of 23.570 seconds. It was noted that a few of these young mushers wiped out at Dead Man’s corner, but most went the distance without mishap.

Rebecca Baxter of NWT, Canada led the 2 Dog class in a time of 3:15.698 for the 1 mile course. She was closely followed by Siri Raitto of Alaska, whose time was 3:18.735. Curt Kokrine of Alaska bested a field of thirteen in the 3 Dog class with a time of 12:29.855, fifteen seconds ahead of Haley Ford of Alaska.

In the 4 Dog class Frank Attla eked out a 1st place finish for the first day with a time of 11:54.552, barely 3 seconds ahead of Erik Mårtenssen of Sweden. The 6 Dog class saw Carey Erhart of Alaska pull out a winning time of 14:10.846 over Al Palma, Jr., also of Alaska.

Six juniors from Sweden added to the international flavor of the event. Barb and Lisa Moore and other Fairbanks mushers loaned dogs to the youngsters, and judging from their performances, the dogs were indeed well picked assets.

The first day was rounded off with a dinner/dance complete with dance lessons.

Day 2: IFSS Junior World Championship
Fairbanks, Alaska
February 24, 2001
By Sally Bair, IFSS Secretary General

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA—The second heat of the IFSS Junior World Championships dawned with crystal clear skies and a temperature warming to 10 degrees F. and saw the jockeying of many positions in the various classes. In the 1 Dog class, Pennsylvanian Alex Downey, ahead of a 21 field after Friday’s heat, crashed on Dead Man’s Corner, more than likely squelching his chances of a trophy. Forest Sylvester of Alaska took over the coveted 1st place with a 2-day time of 49.361 seconds. Laurn Debuse of Alaska took over 2nd place with a total time of 50.317 seconds.

In the 2 Dog class, Rebecca Baxter relinquished her 1st place from Friday’s heat to Megan Tuttle, who completed the two days’ heats in a total time of 6:50.725, only seven seconds ahead of McKenna Ford.

Curt Kokrine was able to hold on his first place in the 3 Dog class after the two days. He clocked in a total time of 24:47.643, but Sean Sylvester is barking closely at his heels only a split second off the pace.

In the 4 Dog class, Frank Attla, leading after Friday’s heat, encountered problems on the trail, enabling Michael Baxter of NWT, Canada to take command of the lead with a two day total time of 23:05.614. Jon Paul Perry trails Baxter by 40 seconds. Erik Martenssen of Sweden, who was in 2nd place after Friday’s run, encountered a squirrel on the trail. Apparently his lead dog, Sandy, likes these animals, having previously vanquished one on the trail.

Al Palma of Alaska turned in a superb run on Saturday to cop the lead position from Carey Erhart with a total time of 27:57.538. Erhart is behind in 2nd place by 25 seconds, and Jenna Dittmar of Wisconsin USA slid from 5th to 3rd place with a team of borrowed dogs from a collection of kennels. She trails Erhart by only seven seconds.

In the 8 Dog class, Kelly Wright of Alaska maintained his 1st place position with a total time of 1:01:37.438, almost a minute of closest competitor Sigurd Erdal-Åse of Sweden. Kelly comes from Rex Jones’ mushing school in Chugiak, Alaska, and, according to Jones has “matured a lot in the last year as a musher and as a person.”

The juniors look forward a swimming party on Saturday evening and to the last heat of this three-day race on Sunday, capped by a banquet and awards ceremony. Browse to http://www.fjdma.org/results/2001jnac.html to see the statistics and pictures from the two days of racing.

IFSS JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP — DAY 3 (FINAL DAY)
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
FEBRUARY 25, 2001
By Sally Bair, IFSS Secretary General

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA—The third and final day of the IFSS Junior World Championship saw more flip-flopping of positions as mushers peddled their best to pick up valuable seconds. When all was said and done, Laurn Debuse of Salcha, Alaska, captured the top honor in the 1 Dog class with a total three day time of 1:15.237, only a split second ahead of 2nd place finisher Forrest Sylvester of Fairbanks. Megan Tuttle of Fairbanks claimed 1st in the 2 Dog class with a winning total time of 10:11.569, 29 seconds ahead of McKenna Ford. In the 3 Dog class Sean Sylvester of Fairbanks flipped places with Curt Kokrine to cop 1st place with a time for the three days of 39:43.722, only a second ahead of Kokrine.

In the 4 Dog class, Jason Baxter of Inuvik, NWT Canada, managed to repel a strong challenge from Frank Attla, who had the fastest time for days 1 and 3. Baxter had a total time of 37:37.976,nearly 30 seconds ahead of Attla. Al Palma of Alaska relinquished his top position in the 6 Dog class after Saturday, jockeying with Carey Erhart again, who took home the 1st place medal with a total time of 47:08.715, only seven seconds ahead of Palma. 8 Dog class competitor Kelly Wright of Chugiak hung on to his 1st place with a total time of 1:39:24.849, nearly four minutes of Sigurd Erdal-Åse of Norway.

Kelly Wright, winner in the 8 Dog class, commented that he had really good runs all three days. The sixteen-year-old had a bit of trouble one-day, but it was not significant. On Sunday two moose jumped across the trail in front of him. Several of the 8 Dog mushers also reported moose on the trail. Luckily, none of the moose interfered with the teams, and they had disappeared by the time subsequent classes took to the trail. Wright said that what he liked best about the race was the sportsmanship shown by all the clean passes. Kelly has been mushing for 3 1/2 years under the coaching of Rex Jones. His dogs in the 8 Dog class come from Egil Ellis (Sweden) and Norway.

Two-Dog class victor Megan Tuttle is seven years old and in the first grade. Her leaders were Lucy and Jasper. She has been mushing since she was two years old and felt good about winning being especially pleased that her dogs went so fast. Megan would like to go on into bigger classes (more dogs) eventually.

In the 1 Dog class, five-year-old Lauren Debuse has been around animals all her life. She ran Dillon, who really likes to run. She had previously told her father that maybe she really didn’t want to win after all since she would have to go up in front of everybody to accept the trophy. The upshot was that she did go up in front of the people at the banquet to accept her trophy and did so with poise and dignity.

Twelve-year -Jason Baxter, winner in the 4 Dog class, had good runs on all three days. On Sunday, he ran into a bit of down time because his wheeler got a leg over the neckline. He has been mushing for eight years and has a small kennel of about fourteen dogs. His leaders were Raggy and Anne. He most enjoyed the challenge of the competition and the superb set up of trails. George Attla and Grant Beck are his favorite mushers. But it was Tim White who nicknamed him the “Delta Rocket” after seeing him smoke out the other teams in the Yellowknife, NWT Canada, race a few years ago. Jason was sponsored by Dowland Contractors — Inuvik/Anchorage.

In the 3 Dog class, nine-year-old Sean Sylvester clocked in the winning total time. A fourth grader, Sylvester had good, clean runs all three days. On the first day, however, he thought maybe his dogs weren’t as fast because it was warmer out. His leaders were Gringo and Mo. Sean is a member of the Fairbanks Junior Dog Mushers’ Association.

Carey Erhart of Fairbanks, who is sixteen years old, said it really felt good to win the 6 Dog top honor. Her parents do a lot of training of the dogs, but she also does her share of training and dog chores. Her leaders were Limo and Conan. A participant in the sport for the past thirteen years, she attributes her performance in this race to her good leader, Conan. Her dream is to run the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, where she can picture herself going up Cordova Hill. The most valuable piece of advice she has received is “Don’t look behind you.”

The juniors, parents, and guests joined together Sunday evening at the River’s Edge Restaurant in Fairbanks for the banquet and award ceremonies. In accepting their awards, the young mushers extended their appreciation to the sponsors, their parents, most of all, the dogs. Each also received a trophy to commemorate the event, a piece of equipment (collar, harness, etc.), and their bib. They then made the rounds of the icons of mushing who were present to get their autographs on the bib. George Attla and Gareth Wright each had quite a line of kids waiting their turn for their signature.

IFSS extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to the Fairbanks Junior Mushers’ Association for their hard work in making this race a success.

Browse to http://www.fjdma.org/results/2001jnac.html to see the statistics and pictures from the three days of racing.

More info on the Junior North American/IFSS Junior World Championships Race:
Race Results
Photos
Race Rules and General Information
International Federation of Sled Dog Sports (IFSS) Web Site