Nunavik’s big annual dog race sets off

The dog team of Peter Boy Ittukallak and Juani Nutaraaluk takes off at the March 22 start of Ivakkak 2010 in Quaqtaq.. (PHOTO BY PIERRE DUNNIGAN)

Billie and Willie Cain Jr. from Tasiujaq launch their dog team in Quaqtaq at the March 22 start of Ivakkak 2010. (PHOTO BY PIERRE DUNNIGAN)

Sixteen dog teams set off March 22 from Quaqtaq for the 450-kilometre Ivakkak 2010 dog-sled race to Kuujjuaq, where they’re expected to arrive March 30.

But by the end of the first day, only five teams had reached the first checkpoint near Pingurjuarusiq, where officials had set up camp in a nearby cabin.

Of the five teams who made it to the checkpoint, Willie Cain Jr’s team was the first to arrive at 4:17 p.m., followed by Noah Annahatak’s team at 4:40 p.m..

The three other teams came in after dark, all within an hour, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m..

The 11 other teams lagged 22 km behind these five teams because earlier they veered off track towards Ungava Bay.

As the wind grew stronger and the dogs grew weaker, these teams set camp in Iqaluppilik.

First-time racers Allen Gordon and his partner Toommy Kooktook, one of the five teams to make it to the checkpoint, were the first to take off in Quaqtaq on March 22.

Teams left the start-off at one-minute intervals.

Nunavik Rotors took than residents in Quaqtaq out by helicopter so they could see the dog teams heading out on the race trail.

Makivik Corporation started the Ivakkak- which means “running at a comfortable speed” in Inuttitut, to promote Inuit husky dogs and revive the Inuit tradition of dogsledding.

Makivik, Air Inuit and the FCNQ are partners in the organization of the annual event.

Air Inuit is transports the dogs from the communities to the starting point and then back home at the end of the race, while the Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec provides dog food to all the teams as well as supplies to the participants and support crew in the co-op stores along the way.

At the finish line, the 2010 Ivakkak champion receives the large, silver-plated Ivakkak Cup, a $12,000 gift certificate from the FCNQ co-op association, a $7,000 cash prize from Makivik. and a pair of return tickets to Montreal from First Air and Air Inuit, as well as gift certificates for a hotel stay at the Dorval Airport Travelodge.

To follow the race on a daily basis, log on to the race’s website at www.ivakkak.com.