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ALL ALASKA SWEEEPSTAKES PRE-RACE REQUIREMENTS - Click Here (PDF) Historic Race Rules - Click Here (PDF) Rules clarification statement & enforcement policy - Click Here (PDF) Interpetation of the rules supplement - Click Here (PDF)

HISTORIC ALL ALASKA SWEEPSTAKES RACE RULES

1. The race will start March 26, 2008 at 10:00 am, on Front Street opposite Barracks Square. Nome, Alaska; but the judges may, by unanimous decision, on account of stormy weather, postpone the race until a later date.
2. The route will be from Nome to Safety; thence to Dixon; thence to Topkok Hill; thence over or around Topkok Hill; thence to Timber Road House; thence to Council; thence over the head of Melsing Creek 11 Boston Creek, across the Fish River Valley to Telephone Creek, over the divide to Death Valley; thence across Death Valley to Camp Haven; thence to First Chance thence over the divide into Gold Run; thence to Candle, and from Candle to Nome over the same route.
3. Teams will start two minutes apart. The first team leaving at 10 am, and the time of each team starting be recorded as at 10 am.
4. Each team must take all of the dogs with which it started to Candle and return with the same dogs, and none others, to the starting point at Nome.
5. The team accomplishing this in the least time will be declared the winner of the race, and the team accomplishing this in the second best time will be declared second, and the team accomplishing this in the third best time will be declared third.
6. When any team in the race meets another, the right of way shall belong to the homeward-bound team and it shall be the duty of the person driving the outgoing team to get out of the way of the homeward-bound team and assist it in passing.
7. When one team shall overtake another team going in the same direction, the team behind shall have the right of way, and it shall be the duty of the driver in front to pull out of the trail and assist the driver of the team behind in passing; and in the event that one team shall pass another, and the team behind shall hang on to the team in front for half an hour, then the team behind shall have the right of way, and upon demand of the driver behind, the team ahead shall pull out of the trail and assist the team behind in passing: except that this rule shall not apply to the homeward stretch from Fort Davis to Nome.
8. Each team shall have the choice of its own sled subject only to the condition that some kind of a sled be drawn and at the option of the drivers, sleds may be changed during the race.
9. At all road-houses and public stopping places along the route, the first team arriving shall have the choice of public stable room, and any interference by any parties afterward arriving, is strictly prohibited.
10. During the race each team and it's driver shall have all of the assistance he desires, subject, however, to the following limitations:
    
    First: During the race no team shall be allowed at any time in any manner to use any other dogs than those started with.
    Second: Pacing in any and all of its forms is strictly prohibited; nor shall any team connected in any way with any team in the race, follow any racing team until all of the racing teams shall have passed the next telephone station; nor shall any such team precede any racing team on the trail by a less distance than one telephone station; and said team or teams shall at all times be subject to the directions of the judges of the race.
    Third: No team shall be allowed to secure any other team to haul any of its dogs or its driver.
    Fourth: No team shall have any person other than the driver take hold of the sled while the team is in motion, which interference is in the driver's power to prevent.
    Fifth: No teams shall have any person or persons to instruct the driver while his team is actually traveling.
11. The cruel and inhuman treatment of dogs by any driver is strictly prohibited under penalty of losing race and forfeiture of the owner's team.
12. Every person entering or driving a team in the race will be required to conduct him/her self in a perfectly fair and honorable manner, under penalty of forfeiture of the prize and his dog team, and expulsion from the
    club.
13. In awarding the cup and prize money, these ,rules shall be interpreted by the judges according to their spirit; it being understood that the race is to be awarded on merit, and not on technicality.
14. The driver of any team quitting the race shall report the same to the judges in Nome, before he/she makes any movement toward returning to the starting point; and thereafter, his/her movements shall be subject to the direction of the judges.
15. The race shall not be decided by the judges until all of the teams starting in said race have returned Nome, or the owners thereof waive the right of protest in writing; and in no event shall such decision be rendered until twenty-four hours after three teams shall have finished the course.
16. In the event of a driver of a team in the race being behind and away from his/her sled and team at the finish of the race, the finishing time of such team shall be the time the driver crosses the tape.
17. In consideration of the premises and the mutual premises herein contained each entry agrees with the Nome Kennel Club to abide by the rules of the race as herein set forth, otherwise to forfeit his team to the Nome Kennel Club: and for such purpose agrees to make or cause to be made, a bill of sale covering his/her team if so demanded by the judges of the race, and as evident of such agreement hereto sets his/her hand and seal.

RULES CLARIFICATION STATEMENT & ENFORCEMENT POLICY

CLARIFICATION

Like any code of rules, including Federal and State regulations—even the Iditarod, the
Yukon Quest and other racing events—rules have been evolving documents. Research indicates that this was true also for the All Alaska Sweepstakes races.

It shall be the policy of the Nome Kennel Club to adopt as the official rules for the 2008 centennial re-run of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race, the historical version of rules adopted for use in 1917. These rules are an update of the original version laid out in the Nome Kennel Club constitution, Article 3, in 1908/1909 and were adopted and (along with an Interpretation of The Rules Supplement) were used for the AAS 75th Anniversary Re-run in 1983. Many of them have also been adopted verbatim and in spirit for modern long distance sled dog racing.

In addition, in the 1908/1909 version of the rules “Each team entered … consist(ed) of as many dogs as the owner … deem(ed) fit.” However, historical photos generally indicate that 16 dogs were the average; thus, in the interests of the welfare of the dogs and to ensure adequate dog care—including the problems of taking care of too many dogs or the obvious problems of including too few—the Nome Kennel Club strongly recommends that mushers consider using the number of dogs that they can adequately care for and the number of dogs that will provide power enough to assure that their trip to Candle and return will be accomplished in a timely and humane manner.

ENFORCEMENT

The world in general, including the world of dog mushing, is considerably different in 2008, 100 years after the first running of the All Alaska Sweepstakes.

It shall be the policy of the Nome Kennel Club to instruct its judges for the 2008 Centennial running of the All Alaska Sweepstakes to interpret the 17 AAS rules as written, in the spirit of modern long distance sled dog racing rules, i.e. Iditarod and the Yukon Quest, for the protection of both the dogs and the mushers; specifically, but not limited to dog care, inhumane treatment, drug use—both for mushers and dogs—and sportsmanship!

These rules with the Interpretation of The Rules Supplement shall be enforced by a panel of one lead judge and five support judges, as was done in 1983.

INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES SUPPLEMENT

1. The race starts March 26, 2008, at 10:00 AM on Front Street.
   • (a) Entrants must be 18 years of age as of the starting date of the race.
     
   • (b) Entry fees will be accepted up until March 16, 2008.
     
   • (c) All mushers must sign a Release of Liability form which, among other
     things, certifies that he/she is in good health and that their dog team is in
     good health and that they both are prepared to run the race.
     
   • (d) Mushers must provide a written certification that all dogs entered in the
     race have current distemper, hepatitis, parvo, and rabies vaccines. The
     distemper, hepatitis and parvo vaccines must be given between April 15,
     2007 and March 12, 2008. The rabies vaccine must be given no later than
     March 12, 2008 and must be current through April 15, 2008.
     
   • (e) Mushers will leave the starting line in the order of draw in two (2) minute
     intervals. Late starting teams will leave in the order drawn two (2) minutes
     after the musher who drew last place has left.
     
   • (f) Mushers must be prepared with proper cold weather gear. (Seward
     Peninsula storms are historical and care should be taken for extreme
     conditions.)
     
   • (g) The vet check is March 24 and 25, 2008 by appointment with the lead vet
     in Nome.
     
2. The checkpoints are Nome, Fort Davis, Hastings, Cape Nome, Safety, Solomon, Topkok, Timber, Council, Boston, Telephone, Haven, First Chance, Gold Run, Candle and return by the same route. A musher is required to personally sign in at all manned checkpoints between Nome \and Candle, including the finish line at Nome.
   
3. A drawing for starting order will be held the day just prior to race day, March 25, 2008, at 1:00 PM at the Nome Mini Convention Center and is open to the public. The results of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Queen contest will be announced determining the prize money for 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. place finishers. A professional mushers’ meeting with race officials (closed to the public) will be held immediately following the drawing. All mushers must be present at the meeting and the drawing. The time differential will be made up at a randomly selected checkpoint decided by the lead judge just prior to the race start at 10:00 AM on March 26, 2008. Mushers should not sign in at this checkpoint until the dog count and dog identification is verified by the checker and himself. The differential checkpoint will remain confidential until the first musher’s arrival at that point.
   
4. Mushers will leave the starting line with all the dogs in harness on the towline. While racing on the trail, all dogs must remain in harness on the towline or in the basket. A dog cannot be towed behind the sled or run loose in front of the team. Injured or fatigued dogs must be carried safely and comfortably in the basket. Injured dogs must be carried to the nearest checkpoint (where a veterinarian is available), for treatment by a race veterinarian. In any case, if the dog is allowed to continue in the race, a fatigued or injured dog will ride with the musher in the basket until it is capable of running on the towline or all the way back to the finish line. If a dog needs vet care, the service is available.
   
   An injured dog may be hauled in a bag with its head out. Care must be taken to handle and attend to the dogs in a humane manner as stated in Rule No.11.
   
   No drugs are allowed. A vet will not administer a disallowed drug. The drug rules (No. 29 & No. 39) from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for the mushers and the dogs will be enforced. Download ITC Rules (PDF) (The rules are also available on the ITC web site at www.iditarod.com or can be requested to be sent via mail at 907-376- 5155.)
   
   All dogs will be chipped prior to the race by the musher with microchips to ITC standards and capable of being scanned by ITC equipment. Mushers must provide a complete list of microchip implant numbers to Race officials at the scheduled pre-race vet check. Random checks will be conducted by Race officials prior to the race to determine compliance. Each team will
   be randomly scanned and random urine samples will be drawn from winning teams.
   
   
   There are no official dog drops; however, the Lead Judge (Race Marshal) upon recommendation of the Lead Veterinarian, may in the interest of dog care and humane treatment require a dog to be dropped to save its life with veterinary care in any checkpoint a veterinarian is available. Official veterinarian determination on the dog’s condition or ability to continue in the race is final. The team dropping the dog will not be eligible for first place and will receive a ten (10) hour time penalty, but will be allowed to continue and officially finish the race in Nome, providing there are no other rule infractions. All other rules, including, but not limited to, dog care, handling and transporting will apply. The penalty will be assessed to the team’s elapsed time upon the team’s finish in Nome. Dogs held and cared for by Race Veterinarians will be transported to Nome by Race officials and treated until they are able to be released to their owner when he/she arrives back in Nome.
   
   
   If a team has an expired dog, Race officials must be notified as soon as possible and the dog will be dropped at the next checkpoint. If a musher with an expired dog chooses to complete the race he/she will not be eligible for first place and will receive a (10) hour time penalty. An expired dog must be covered at all times. If a musher is carrying an expired dog between Fort Davis and the finish line at Nome, the musher must notify the finish line judge immediately on arrival. The dog must remain covered and
   will be delivered to officials away from the finish line at a location determined by officials. Any expired dog will be turned over to Race officials and will be necropsied by authorities designated by the Nome Kennel Club at their expense.
   
   Only dogs suitable for arctic travel will be permitted to enter the race. Suitability will be determined by Race officials.
   
5. The first place winner will be awarded one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and a replica of the original Sweepstakes Trophy. Second and third place winners will receive a trophy and money raised proportionally in the Sweepstakes Queen Contest according to the Queen Contest rules. Additional mushers may receive prize money to be determined according to the number of queen entrants and the money raised.
   
   
   The prizes will be awarded in a ceremony on April 1, 2008 at 6:00 PM at the Nome Recreation Center. All official finishers who have crossed the finish line up to two (2) hours before the awards presentation must be present and the winner must have his/her lead dog(s) present for recognition. Any musher arriving after this time is welcome to attend and will be given the
   opportunity to appear before the audience.
   
   
6. Self Explanatory.
   
7. Self-explanatory; however, if a musher believes that another is not complying with this or any other rule, he may protest in writing to the nearest race judge. Protests can be received by a judge during the entire race and for 24 hours after the third musher arrives back in Nome. (See No.15 for information on the Protest Waiver form.) The traditional no-man’s land or “no giving trail” shall apply on the return trail from Fort Davis to the Nome finish line.
   
   
8. Self-explanatory; however, drivers may not be changed during the race.
   
   
9. This rule applies to the musher only since there are no longer public stables.
   No dog teams will be allowed in any private buildings along the trail. Any
   checkpoint capable of lodging mushers will be announced at the musher’s
   meeting the day before the Race.
   
   
10. Self explanatory. In addition, this means that all assistance, including straw, food drops or other assistance is the responsibility of the musher.
    
    Limitations:
    
    1. Self-explanatory.
       
    2. Help can be received only at checkpoints (No crew help between checkpoints). Another musher may assist in catching a lost team between checkpoints. No other help may be exchanged between mushers between checkpoints. Any emergency* help on the trail between checkpoints must be reported at the next checkpoint and authorized by the lead Race Judge. If a pit crew is moved on the trail, they may not move at the same speed as any musher or specifically the musher they are connected with. (To avoid possible infractions, Race officials suggest all food and personal gear should be in place prior to the race ahead of the first musher or behind the last musher.) Infractions of the Race rules by pit crews or other persons providing musher assistance may/will penalize the musher involved. THERE WILL BE NO PACING nor will another pit crew hinder in anyway another driver. No one can hold up a sled or touch a sled between checkpoints or hinder another driver in any fashion. (*Emergency means dire need or threat to the lives of the dogs and musher.)
       
    3. Self-Explanatory.
       
    4. Self-explanatory. In addition, drivers must be the sole driver at all times.
       
    5. There will be no instruction to or from the musher between checkpoints
       from the air, the ground, or by radio or any other fashion.
       
       
       
11. There will be no abuse or disregard of any dogs. All dogs must be maintained in good condition. All water and food must be ingested voluntarily. There will be no cruel or inhumane treatment of dogs. Cruel or inhumane treatment involves any action or inaction, which causes preventable pain or suffering to a dog. Harnesses must be padded. No whips are allowed! NOTE: In an excerpt from the Nome Nugget Mining edition 1908, “The distance was made four hundred and forty miles in order to force the drivers to nurse their dogs…! To further insure against any cruelty or over taxation of the strength and endurance of the dogs, a very salutary rule was adopted, that each driver must return to the starting point with every dog that he started out with and
    none others, so that the driver of each team was forced to take the utmost care of each dog in order to comply with the rule.” No one convicted of a charge of animal abuse or neglect, as such is defined under Alaska State law, may enter the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race. Compliance with this rule is absolutely mandatory!
    
12. All mushers must use civil conduct and act in a sportsmanlike manner. Abusive treatment of anyone is prohibited.
    
    
    Drugs or alcohol impairment and drug use by a musher during the race is prohibited. The specific standards set in Rule No. 29 of the ITC official rules for 2008 will apply.
    
    
    No oral or topical drug which may suppress the signs of illness or injury may be used on a dog. No injectables may be used in dogs participating in the Race. No other drugs or other artificial means may be used to drive a dog or cause a dog to perform or attempt to perform beyond its natural ability. The specific standards set in Rule No. 39 of the ITC official rules for 2008 will apply.
    Download ITC Rules (PDF) (The rules are also available on the ITC web site at www.iditarod.com or may be requested to be sent via mail at 907-376-5155.)
    
    
    There may be numerous wildlife along the trail. In the event that an edible big game animal, i.e., moose, caribou, muskox, is killed in defense of life or property (DLP), the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint. Following teams must help gut the animal when possible. No teams may pass until the animal has been gutted and the musher killing the animal has proceeded. Any other DLP animal killed must be reported to a race official, but need not be gutted. No litter of any kind may be left on the trail, in camps, or in checkpoints. All material remaining at a checkpoint must be left in designated areas.
    
    
13. Self-explanatory. (See the Rules Enforcement Policy) In addition Race judges are responsible for interpreting and enforcing the rules in the spirit and intent of the 1917 rules. Policy and rules infraction may result in issuance of warning, time penalty, withdrawal or disqualification. Disqualification will be considered as a last resort in all cases except with an infraction of Rule 11. Disqualification requires a unanimous decision of a three (3) member panel appointed by, and including the Lead Judge. Race Officials decisions are final. There is no official appeals structure.
    
    
14. Self-explanatory. (Musher agrees with the rules before starting the race and will be prohibited from continuing until all teams have passed on their return to Nome).
    
    
15. In conjunction with Rules Supplement No. 7, if, 24 hours after the third team crosses the finish line, there are teams still on the trail, all mushers agree to waive the right to protest by signing forms provided at checkpoints. All protests must be filed with Race officials before or by the time the third team crosses the finish line in Nome.
    
    
16. Self-explanatory.
    
    
17. The musher agrees to the rules and guidelines of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race by signing a Nome Kennel Club “Conditions of Race” Statement. Race vets act as professional support to mushers and race judges with no other authority. Race Judges have equal authority with the exception that major decisions will require the concurrence of the lead judge. ALL JUDGES’ RULINGS ARE FINAL.