The 2022 Yukon River Quest (YRQ) will feature a record number of teams. According to a YRQ press release, 119 teams are registered for the race.

YRQ board president Deb Bartlette said that shouldn’t be a surprise, as the 2020 race was cancelled due to the pandemic and the 2021 race was called off due to flooding.

“I get emails every day from paddlers about how excited they are to actually be able to come back, or to come to the Yukon for the first time and to be able to race this year,” said Bartlette.

The race starts June 22 with 257 paddlers representing 13 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S.A.

They’ll be racing for a purse of $59,000.

Changes for this year’s race include:   • Two start times at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. due to higher water levels limiting shoreline access.

• Two checkpoints at Carmacks at the Coal Mine Campground and the Bridge Site (the old YG campground). The Bridge Site will accommodate solo and tandem canoes and kayaks.

• A new checkpoint at Minto resort replaces the Coffee Creek checkpoint. This is the first time the race will have two road-assessable layover checkpoints.

• Teams must take a mandatory 10-hour layover which can be split up between the Carmacks and Minto checkpoints at the racers’ discretion.

This year’s race is dedicated to long-time paddler Ingrid Cox, who died of cancer in 2021. It also remembers race stalwarts Robert Carlin “Buckwheat” Donahue Jr., Linda Rapp, Shelley Gellatly, and Bob Daffe.

Water levels are currently being monitored to assess risk. Any changes to the final race format will be made and relayed to racers by June 10.

The awards ceremony will take place outdoors at Fort Herchmer, behind the Commissioner’s House in Dawson City.

Masks are strongly recommended at indoor locations along the race route and where people will be in close proximity to each other.

The race can be followed from June 22-25 on the Race Tracker link at https://www.yukonriverquest.com, or check in for updates on YRQ’s Facebook and Instagram pages.