Open North American Championships

Last updated

The Open North American Championships is a sprint sled dog race held in Alaska. It is the longest continuously run sled dog race in the world. [1]

The 2021 film Underdog tells the story of a Vermont dairy farmer who competes in the race. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race</span> Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at least 5 must be on the towline at the finish line, cover the distance in 8–15 days or more. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams but evolved into today's highly competitive race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sled dog</span> Working dog

A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sled dog racing</span> Sport

Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sled dogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Husky</span> Dog type

Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that maintain arctic breed traits represent an ever-changing crossbreed of the fastest dogs.

The Fur Rendezvous Festival is an annual winter festival held in Anchorage, Alaska, in late February. The self-styled "largest winter festival in North America", Fur Rendezvous is highly anticipated by many Anchorage-area residents as marking the beginning of the end of a long winter and the approach of spring. In 2012, Fur Rendezvous was selected as the number one winter carnival in the world by the National Geographic Traveler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iditarod Trail</span> Long-distance trail

The Iditarod Trail, also known historically as the Seward-to-Nome Trail, is a thousand-plus mile (1,600 km) historic and contemporary trail system in the US state of Alaska. The trail began as a composite of trails established by Alaskan native peoples. Its route crossed several mountain ranges and valleys and passed through numerous historical settlements en route from Seward to Nome. The discovery of gold around Nome brought thousands of people over this route beginning in 1908. Roadhouses for people and dog barns sprang up every 20 or so miles. By 1918 World War I and the lack of 'gold fever' resulted in far less travel. The trail might have been forgotten except for the 1925 diphtheria outbreak in Nome. In one of the final great feats of dog sleds, twenty drivers and teams carried the life-saving serum 674 miles (1,085 km) in 127 hours. Today, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race serves to commemorate the part the trail and its dog sleds played in the development of Alaska, and the route and a series of connecting trails have been designated Iditarod National Historic Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurohound</span> Dog breed

A Eurohound is a type of dog bred for sled dog racing. The eurohound is crossbred from the Alaskan husky and any of a number of pointing breeds ("pointers"), but most often the German Shorthair Pointer,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Seavey</span> American dog musher (born 1959)

Mitch Seavey is an American dog musher, who won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska in 2004, 2013 and 2017. At age 57, Seavey is the oldest person to win the Iditarod in 2017. His son, Dallas Seavey, won the 2012, 2014, 2015 2016, 2021 and 2024 Iditarod; his 2012 win made him the youngest winner ever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonhard Seppala</span> Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer, and musher (1877–1967)

Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala was a Norwegian-Kven-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome, and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics. Seppala introduced the work dogs used by Native Siberians at the time to the American public; the breed came to be known as the Siberian Husky in the English-speaking world. The Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, which honors excellence in sled dog care, is named in honour of him.

Libby Riddles is an American dog musher, and the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramy Brooks</span> Alaska Native dog musher, kennel owner, and motivational speaker

Ramy "Ray" Brooks is an Alaska Native kennel owner and operator, motivational speaker, and dog musher who specializes in long-distance races. He is a two-time runner up in the 1,049+ mi Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska, and a former winner of the 1,000 mi (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race across both Canada and the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Mackey</span> American dog musher (1970–2022)

Lance Mackey was an American dog musher and dog sled racer from Fairbanks, Alaska. Mackey was a four-time winner of both the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyster</span> Dog breed

The Greyster is a type of sled dog bred for sled dog racing, especially dryland sports like canicross and bikejoring. The greyster is crossbred from the Greyhound and the German Shorthair Pointer.

<i>Spirit of the Wind</i> 1979 American film

Spirit of the Wind is a 1979 American Northern film directed by Ralph Liddle and starring Chief Dan George, Slim Pickens, Pius Savage, and George Clutesi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Federation of Sleddog Sports</span>

The International Federation of Sleddog Sports is the global governing/sanctioning body of sleddog sports. It represents 49 national sleddog sport federations and organizations that are overseen by the board and six continental directors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Attla</span> Native American dog musher

George Attla was a champion sprint dog musher. Attla won ten Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Championships and eight North American Open championships with a career that spanned from 1958 to 2011. Attla was the subject of a 1993 book titled George Attla: The Legend of the Sled-dog Trail, by Lewis "Lew" Freedman.

Kati Dagenais is a musher, an athlete in sled-dog racing. In 2009 she won the title of world champion in sled-dog racing in the 4-dog and 6-dog categories. In 2013 she won the world championship in 8-dog racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaskan husky</span> Dog breed

The Alaskan husky is a breed of medium-sized working sled dog, developed specifically for its performance as such.

Underdog is a 2021 documentary film about a Vermont dairy farmer's quest to race his dogsled team at the Open North American Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.

References

  1. Jones, Caleb (Mar 15, 2024). "The historic Open North American Championships is set for its 78th running". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved Oct 1, 2024.
  2. Anchorage, Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media- (Dec 10, 2021). "Dairy farmer's Alaska sprint mushing dreams come true in new documentary 'Underdog'" . Retrieved Oct 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Official website