Aviemore Turns Arctic This Winter

NEWS RELEASE

17 January 2005

Aviemore Turns Arctic This Winter

You are invited to send a reporter/photographer to the 2005 Aviemore Sled Dog Rally site, Loch Morlich, Aviemore, on Thursday 20 January at 10.30am. Alternatively, you can arrange photographs of the huskies pulling sleds on snow and interviews with the competitors by calling the numbers at the end of this release.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - that's the hope of the competitors at the Aviemore Sled Dog Rally next weekend.

Mushers from throughout the UK will gather in the forests around Aviemore for the biggest event in the British husky calendar - and they're hoping for plenty of the white stuff to make it a real arctic experience.

Sled dog rally enthusiasts will be continuing a racing tradition, which is now almost a century old. Around 200 teams of dogs from all over the country will be straining at the leash on January 22 and 23.

With competitors ranging in age from just eight to 60, there's something for all the family to see at this great spectator event, which has grown from just a dozen teams in 1984, to more than 200 at this year's race.

Organised by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain, sponsored by the dog food manufacturer Husse and in conjunction with Forest Enterprise, the rally is run on tracks around Loch Morlich in the shadow of the Cairngorms.

The event is the biggest gathering of its kind in the UK for dogs, which were first bred to pull sleds in Arctic conditions hundreds of years ago.

The rally features teams of between two and eight dogs running at up to 20 miles an hour over a gruelling, four-mile track. Along with the Siberian huskies, rally dogs include Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Dogs and Canadian Eskimo Dogs.

And, even if there's no snow at ground level for the event, the races will still go on with mushers using a three-wheeled rig that looks like a bike without a seat.

Sled dogs are coming from as far as the Isle of Wight and Devon for one of the most challenging and prestigious of the British Siberian Husky Club's series of rallies.
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Notes to Editors:

1. The Event

The 2005 Aviemore Sled Dog Rally will be the 22nd Aviemore rally; the first race took place in 1984 with just 12 teams. Last year over 220 adult and 25 junior mushers (ages 8-16 years) took part.

There are seven adult classes:
A - 5-8 dogs
B - 4-6 dogs
C - 3-4 dogs (Siberian Huskies only)
C2 - 3-4 dogs (mixed Sled Dog Breeds)
D - 2 dogs (Siberian Huskies only)
D2 - 2 dogs (mixed Sled Dog breeds)
E 2-3 dogs

The main rally is held over the weekend of 22 and 23 January. Start times on the first day are by random draw but the Sunday's starts are on the basis of first-in, first-out - that is, the fastest time of Saturday in each class starts the Sunday heat. The team with the fastest time over the two days wins their class. The event starts at 9.30 am each day and viewing is free for the general public. Teams run at either two-minute intervals (A and B Class) or one-minute intervals for the remainder (C,D,E). This creates a very fast moving event. Starts for the A and B teams are very exciting and so are the finishes for the C, D, E classes with up to seven teams in view at the finish.

The race is open to five pedigree-registered Sled Dog breeds: Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Huskies and Canadian Eskimo Dogs. Many of the dogs running at the Rally will also be competing at Crufts Dog Show in March.

Competitors come from all walks of life, including nurses, policeman, executives, company directors, aircraft engineers, vehicle technicians, secretaries, sales assistants to name but a few. Not much notice is taken by the competitors of another's 'outside life' - they're all together in one large family to enjoy what they like to do best, to be with their dogs.

2. The Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain

This was set up in 1977 to promote the interests of the Siberian Husky as a pedigree breed. It provides information, help and advice to all those interested in the Siberian Husky, whether they are owners or not. The Club holds Open and Championship shows each year and working rallies take place throughout the winter months. The health and welfare of the Siberian Husky is particularly important and the Club runs a national welfare scheme for any unwanted Siberian Husky. The scheme is funded entirely by voluntary donation. Further information on both the Club and Siberian Husky can be found on the web site: www.siberianhuskyclub.com .

For further information contact the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain:

Penny Evans on 01908 609796 or 07789 801 951
Judy Wakker on 01786 822583 or 07766 915633

Date:14 Jan 2005, Author: Judy Wakker