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PHOTOS: Sask Winter Games competitors get involved at Canadian Challenge

Feb 18, 2014 | 3:23 PM

paNOW Staff

Prince Albert’s downtown was all a buzz on Tuesday as the 2014 Canadian Challenge kicked off on Central Avenue.

Seventeen teams from the 12, eight and open-dog races are involved in this year’s event that stretches as far as La Ronge.

This year the Saskatchewan Winter Games are running alongside the race and some competitors from the southeast male hockey team had a chance to participate.

“We decided to get our boys out of the Athlete’s Village just because we don’t have a hockey game until about 5 tonight, so we thought we’d bring them down here to see this event. Most of our kids are from southeast Saskatchewan so they’ve never been up in the bush or seen a dog race,” said Rod Venroth, director of operations for southeast zone male hockey team.

Race organizers approached the team and asked if they wanted to help get the dogs lined up before they took off from the start line.

According to Venroth, the organizers asked if the boys were scared of dogs and he said, “no absolutely not, we’re not scared of nothing.”

The race also helped get the kids out of his hair, he added smiling to the coach of the time.

“They’re getting involved and having fun, so it’s a good experience for the kids,” he said.

The southeast team will play the gold medal game on Wednesday.

Lone woman among men

A lone woman will be competing against seven male mushers in the 12-dog race.

Megan , from Logan Lake, B.C., has had experience in the Canadian Challenge, but it didn’t turn out like she had hoped. Routley said her dogs had gotten sick, so she had to scratch the event.

This year she has the same strategy but hopes her “dogs don’t get sick.”

Routley is aware she’s the only woman in the 12-dog race, but she said she’s prepared. “You have to be willing to get dirty and banged up and you can’t have nails.”
She even has her sights set higher than the Canadian Challenge—next Routley wants to take part in the Yukon Quest.

“I like being on the trail with my dogs and I like camping with my dogs so this is a good venue for it,” she said.

The hardest thing about the race will be the weather, according to Routley. She said the recent warm-up and fresh snow could make for a “punchy trail.”

“I was in the Yukon just before this and it was plus 10 C in the day and plus 6 C at night; super warm, super warm in the North, so that’s really tough on sled dogs. They like 20 below,” she explained.

Three-time Canadian Challenge winner Gerry Walker said he’s also concerned about the weather, but what he isn’t worried about is the competition.

“I’m not going to look at anybody else; I’m hoping they’re looking at me. I’ve won this three times, so they got to look at me,” Walker said.

The man from Pierceland, Sask. has participated in the race around 11 times and has the same strategy.

“I always starts this race with just running a nice, relaxed pace the first half of the race; really not racing just running a smooth dog team and having a terrific trip North. If you get to north end with a good, big, strong, healthy, happy dog team, you’re going to be a contender coming back,” Walker explained, motioning to his team that was standing in the sun, calm and collected.

In the end Walker said the Canadian Challenge is a tremendous commemoration of a historical way of life and he hopes other people will get involved to keep it alive.

To view more photos from the event click here.

sstone@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahstone84