HomePage

Welcome to the Sled Dog Rally Wiki!

This is the place to learn about the proposed Sled Dog Rally Race format, but it is more than that. It has been set up as a wiki (external link)

so that you may also edit and contribute to the definitions and rules. Let's all pull together to make this into a viable basis for an official rule set. If you are unfamiliar with editing wiki pages, use the sandbox for practice. There is a forum available for discussions, and comments may be added to most individual pages via the "add comment" button at the bottom. Registration of a username and password is required to edit wiki pages or post to the forum, to reduce the possibilities of vandalism and spam.

Any lack of coherent setup is because the site admin is a complete wiki noob. Please feel free to contribute to the overall organization of the wiki as well as the content. There is a structure for the rules. Please use it.
More existing materials and features are in the process of being added as time (and skill) allows. This site is very new, so please be patient and check back often.

The Beginning

The idea for the Sled Dog Rally Race format started cooking up while driving around the wilds of Sandwich, NH after the race awards breakfast in 2004. We were talking about mushers getting lost on race trails, and the excuses they use to explain why it is never their fault.

Someone said; " They ought to just say- The race starts here, and it ends there. Here's a map. You figure it out."

Hmmm...
So how could a race be run with the responsibility for navigation placed on the drivers but without scattering hopelessly lost dog teams across half the state?

The short description:

Please also see the Statement of Purpose.
The race will have a defined start and finish point, which may be either at the same location or at different locations. The race will run for a certain length of time, over a network of trails in a defined area. There will be a number of checkpoints located on the trail network. Each section of trail will be assigned a point value based on its difficulty, derived by a standard formula from its length and vertical rise. Each driver will plan his or her own course, and will be required to follow it. Drivers will accrue points for each section of trail completed in proper sequence. There are several scoring options, but the basic goal for the drivers is to score as many points as possible in the allotted time.