2012 Race Rules Update

by Todd Brassard
on February 29, 2012

Download the 2012 Race Rules (updated 2/28/2012)

Revision #1 (page 3)

The CopperDog 35 (CD35) is a 35-mile (approx.), single stage, 6-dog competitive class race.

Revision #2 (page 3)

• BOARD OF DIRECTORS – The governing body of the CopperDog 150 races responsible for all aspects of planning and execution of the event.  The Board of Directors has absolute authority over all aspects of the CopperDog 150 event.
  
• RACE DIRECTOR – Is responsible for planning, promoting, managing, and timely execution of all technical aspects of the race; responsible for overall event operation and safety.
  
• RACE MARSHAL – Is responsible for the enforcement of CD150 Race Rules in a manner that provides all participants with fair and non-biased competition; oversees the Race Judge(s); has final authority, except where overruled by the Board of Directors, on all aspects of the race from the mandatory drivers meeting through the awards banquet.”

Revision #3 (page 5)

The CD150 Board is responsible for the bib draw and will conduct the bib draw:

prior to the mushers meeting. Bib numbers will be drawn in four rounds.

• Round 1 will be for mushers who registered for the race before or on November 1,  2011 from a pool of bib numbers equal in size to the number of mushers who quality for the first round bib draw.  Lowest numbered bib numbers will be pooled.
  
• Round 2 will be for mushers who registered for the race before or on January 1, 2012 from a pool of bib numbers equal in size to the number of mushers who quality for the second round bib draw.  Lowest numbered bib numbers of the bib numbers that have not been issued will be pooled.
  
• Round 3 will be for mushers who registered for the race on or before February 20, 2012 from a pool of bib numbers equal in size to the number of mushers who quality for the third round bib draw.  Lowest numbered bib numbers of the bib numbers that have not been issued will be pooled.
  
• Round 4 will be for mushers who registered for the race after February 20, 2012 from a pool of bib numbers equal in size to the number of mushers who quality for the fourth round bib draw.  Lowest numbered bib numbers of the bib numbers that have not been issued will be pooled.
  

Revision #4 (page 9)

Mandatory Gear For CD150:

• Race Bibs (must be worn by musher with number and sponsor visible at all times while on the trail)
• Musher’s veterinary log book
• If cable gangline, cable cutters capable of cutting gangline (not a Leatherman or similar utility knife)
• Dog harnesses with reflective material or tape
• Two (2) complete working headlamps
• Sleeping bag with an artic rating of 0ºF (zero degrees) or colder
• One set (4) of booties per dog
• A musher determined portion of food per dog (when leaving start and each checkpoint)
• One day’s ration of food for the musher leaving each start and each checkpoint
• Knife (recommend in an easily accessible location)
• Ax (minimum size 22 inches)
• First aid kit (for musher and dogs) including Ace bandages and pressure dressings for severe bleeding
• Compass
• Waterproof matches or a lighter
• A  musher’s headlamp must remain on at all time after dusk.
• Red blinking light on lead dog is mandatory after dusk and they must be working at the start of the race.
• Promotional materials, as determined by the BOD.
• Snowshoes  (optional)

Revision #5 (page 9)

Mandatory Gear For CD35:

• Race Bibs (must be worn by musher with number and sponsor visible at all times while on the trail)
• Musher’s veterinary log book
•  If cable gangline, cable cutters capable of cutting gangline (not a Leatherman or similar utility knife)
•  Dog harness with reflective material or tape
• Two (2) complete working headlamps.
• One set (4) of booties per dog.
•  Knife (recommend in an easily accessible location)
• First aid kit (for musher and dogs) including Ace bandages and pressure dressings for severe bleeding .
•  Compass
•  Waterproof matches or a lighter
• A musher’s headlamp must remain on at all time after dusk.
•  Red blinking light on lead dog is mandatory after dusk.
•  Promotional materials, as determined by the BOD.

Revision #6 (page 10)

Acceptable Equipment:

• MP3 Player (without phone/two-way radio capabilities)
• CD Player
• Standard AM/FM Radio
• GPS equipment

Prohibited Equipment:

• No cell phones
• No two-way radios

Any musher found with prohibited equipment during race will be penalized.

Revision #7 (page 11)

Mushers may retain (keep and take home) the following race materials at the conclusion of the race: Race Bib.

Revision #8 (page 13)

Start Timing

Mushers are assigned pickup times in advance by race officials.  A race volunteer will remind each team of their pickup time at 12 and 6 minutes prior to that pickup time.  Mushers must have their teams hooked up and ready to go at their pickup time.   Volunteer handlers will help move dog teams to the starting gate.

If a musher has missed their pickup time and is not ready to go by 2 minutes before their starting time, the musher will be assessed a 20 minute penalty and leave the starting shoot 30 seconds after the last team in their class. If this happens with two or more teams, they will leave at two-minute intervals in the order that they were originally scheduled to leave.

If a musher has missed their pickup time, but is able to making to the starting chute within their 2 minute time slow, the mushers official starting time is the time they were schedule to depart, not the time they actually departed.

If the race is at fault for not delivering a musher to the starting chute on time, or the musher is brought up out of order by the race, the musher will depart the start chute at the first opportunity (usually on a 30 second interval).  The recorded time will be the actual time the musher left the shut.

A team arriving late to the starting gate, will not be allowed to interfere with the start of teams who arrive on time.”

Revision #9 (page 8)

Chiropractic manipulation, Acupuncture, and Therapeutic Laser are recognized veterinary treatment modalities and, as such, their use during the Copperdog 150 is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Race Veterinarian.  Because it is impractical for the race veterinary team to ensure these treatment modalities would be uniformly available to all competitors, their use will be prohibited from the pre-race veterinary exam to the end of the race. If, after consulting with the Chief Race Veterinarian, a competitor feels their dog needs to treated with one of these modalities, a decision may be made to allow the use on that dog, but that dog must be dropped from the race.

2012 Mushers Schedule

Click here to view full-sized schedule (PDF)

• Adopt-a-Musher Host Family Program

by Todd Brassard
on January 26, 2010

The CopperDog 150 is launching a new program this year, the Musher Host Family Program.  The purpose of this program is simple, to identify people in our local communities who are interested in hosting a musher and their team for one or two nights and connect them with mushers who need a place to sleep.  This is the first year for this exciting new program.

When are host families needed?

• Thursday, March 1 – Within 30 miles of Calumet
• Friday, March 2 – Within 30 miles of Eagle Harbor
• Saturday, March 3 – Within 30 miles of Copper Harbor
• Sunday, March 4 – Within 30 miles of Calumet
  

What do host families provide?

• Provide a quiet place for mushers and handlers to sleep
• A safe place to park their truck so they can feed and care for their dogs.
• Providing a meal is optional, but a nice touch

What can host families expect?

• Dogs sleep in the truck and are not allowed to run free
• Dogs may bark and may make noise
• Mushers may arrive late and depart early

How do I get involved?

If you are interested in being a host family or if you are a race team in need of a host family, or just want more information about the program, please contact Melissa Goulette, our Host Family Coordinator at melissagoulette@copperdog150.com or just give her a call 906-337-3031.

Many great friendships are formed when hosting a team.  It’s a great opportunity for a host family to learn about mushing and how these amazing athletic dogs are cared for.  The host family also ends up with a team to cheer on in the race.

Notice: New Waiting List Policy

Posted by Todd Brassard on 11/7/2011

Dear Mushers,

When we opened up registration for the 2012 CopperDog 150, we hoped mushers would register early.  We put together a six month incentive program to entice teams to sign-up early and save money.  We had high hopes for our approach.  What we did not expect was that the 150-mile race would be filled within 10 days of opening registration.  We were caught unprepared and had no policy or systems in place to manage waiting lists.

Earlier, we had also made the difficult decision to limit the number of teams to 30 for the pro race and 15 for the short race.  We say “difficult decision” because we want to give every team who wants to experience our beautiful country and friendly communities an opportunity to participate.  Initially we “thought” we were prepared to receive 40 teams and 25 teams in the long and short races, respectively, but a series of concerns arose from our race planning team, past race officials, and chief vet.  Their concerns were that increasing the size of our race too quickly could reduce the quality of our event and possibly undermine our own race philosophy.

The heart of our philosophy is “happy healthy dogs, happy healthy mushers.”  We had a great second annual event in 2011, but there were plenty of problems that were identified that require fixing for the 2012 race.  We quickly realized the right thing to do is to preserve the same race size as in 2011 for 2012 to solve problems and improve overall race quality.  If our expectations are met with the upcoming race we anticipate increasing the registration limit of the 2013 CopperDog 150 accordingly.

One immediate problem we were left to solve was developing policy and procedures for a waiting list.  After reviewing the policies of other events and consulting with a few friends that we deem to be experts, we are addressing this issue today.

Waiting List Policy:  When a musher wants to compete in the CopperDog 150, they register for the event through the web site or by phone, pay the registration fee online or by check and, if the race has openings, the mushers are registered in the event, otherwise, they go on the waiting list.  In either case, the musher must pay the full registration amount listed for that date.  When other teams withdraw from the event, or if the capacity of the event is increased, mushers will be registered in the order they appeared in the waiting list.  If registration availability does not permit a musher to make it into the event, they will be refunded 100% of their registration fee.

The most significant aspect of this policy is that all mushers pay the full registration fee up front.  This helps assure that teams serious about getting into the event put their names in the waiting list.

What does this mean if you are already on the waiting list?

We will be reactivating our registration system and asking that all mushers on the waiting list formally register and make payments through our online system.   You will have until November 15, 2011 to make a payment or your spot on the waiting list will be forfeit.  We will ensure that the sign-up order of the original waiting list (now removed) is restored during this 7-day-period.

Here is a link to the registration system:

http://www.copperdog150.com/Store/Catalog?CategoryID=3

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail or call me.  Thank you for your time and attention in this matter and for being patient with us as we adapt to new situations.

Kind Regards,

Todd Brassard
Race Director
CopperDog 150

2012 Sled-Dog Races

Join us in one of the Midwest's newest and most inspiring adventures in the sport of mushing.  Located in Upper Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, the sled-dog races are centered around the warm and friendly communities of Calumet, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor.  From the shores of Lake Superior to the peak of Brockway Mountain, the region offers picturesque trails, rolling back country, and an average 273 inches of snow-fall each year making the region perfect for a late season race.

CopperDog 150 Pro-Class

Date:
March 2 - 4, 2012

Format:
10-Dog, 150 Miles, 3 Stages

Purse:
$22,000 (1st - 12th)

Max: 30 Teams

Stages: 3 Stages

CopperDog 35 Competition

Date:
March 2, 2012

Format:
6-Dog, 35 Miles, 1 Stage

Purse:
$1,000 (1st - 3rd)

Max: 15 Teams

Stages:  1 Stage

2012 Race Rules

by Todd Brassard
updated September 23, 2011

Click on this link to view or download a copy of the 2012 race rules.  Let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or comments about anything you find in the rules.  The rules are subject to change, but we will provide notices when changes are made.

Click below to download/view the 2012 Race Rules

Click below to download/view the 2011 Race Rules
(for reference only)

2012 Race Route and Trail Data

by Todd Brassard
on September 22, 2011

Okay Mushers, this is actually data from the 2011 race route.  The 2012 race route is going to match last year's route to a high degree, but we are making a few changes.  As we get the course GPS data and update our maps, we'll update this information and make it available to you.

2011 Google Earth Data

If you haven't already taken a look at the CopperDog 150 trail using Google Earth, you are missing out on something super cool and a great way to look at trail information.  Download and install Google Earth; download the CD150 GPS Data; start up Google Earth and open the data file.  Use the navigation on the left to turn stages and/or crossings on/off, zoom in, or right click on a route to see elevation data.   Try it.  You'll like it.

CD150 GPS Data (recommend for usage with Google Earth)

2011 Google Maps

Take a look at the race route and trail crossing online with Google Maps.

Stage 1 - Calumet to Eagle Harbor
Stage 2 - Eagle Harbor to Copper Harbor
Stage 3 - Copper Harbor to Calumet
Stage 3 - Alternate Route from Copper Harbor to Calumet

2011 Trail Distances Data

We know that teams like to know where they are on the trail.  So we've prepared a chart with distance information. 

CD150 Trail Distance Chart

2011 Elevation Overview Maps

These maps are just screen shots from Google Earth.  These maps provide just a quickly overview of elevation vs. distance.

Stage 1 Elevation
Stage 2 Elevation
Stage 3 Elevation
Stage 3 Elevation (Alternate Route)

2011 Important Places
A Google map of important places in Calumet