Registrations are now being accepted for the 11th annual Yukon River Quest, the longest annual canoe and kayak race in the world, which will be held June 24 to 28, 2009.

The 740-kilometer (460-mile) wilderness adventure paddling marathon is held on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City. New online entry forms were made available via a link on the race website www.yukonriverquest.com over the weekend.

Deadline for entries has been moved up to April 15, 2009, but teams are encouraged to register early due to the growing worldwide popularity of the event.

There remains a limit of 100 canoe and kayak teams, which includes a limit of 20 solo kayak and 10 solo canoe teams.

These solo teams should register immediately to reserve a spot. All boats must meet the specifications defined in the YRQ rules on the website.

Entry fees have been increased nominally to pay for processing through eventsonline.ca. The fees are now $714 (CAD) for tandem canoes and kayaks, $408 for solo canoes and kayaks, and $205 per person for voyageur canoe teams of six or more paddlers.

Each team captain also must submit a refundable $200 rescue deposit cheque in the event that the team, along with its gear, has to be evacuated by safety boat.

Team biographies will appear on the race website and paddler information for a team is received.

The 2009 race purse has been increased to $36,000 (CAD) from $31,000 in 2008.

This includes new open, mixed and women's divisions in the growing voyageur class. The top three teams in each class will receive additional cash prizes on top of what they receive for placing in their divisions.

A complete prize breakdown can be found in the race rules on the website. There again will be $500 cash prizes for the top all-Yukon canoe and kayak teams, as well as several special awards donated by sponsors.

One major change in 2009 will be a new start location for the Yukon River Quest. It is being moved off Main Street to Rotary Park, where the race will begin at noon in the grass by the gazebo with the historic SS Klondike looming in the background.

Paddlers will have a 300-meter run to their boats.

In 2008, registrations hit the 100 mark for the first time, and a record 89 teams actually started the race, with 70 finishing in Dawson City. Canadian voyageur team Kisseynew set a new course record in 39:32:43 to beat the 2007 winners from Texas by a half hour.

Other records were broken in solo men's kayak, solo canoe, mixed canoe, women's kayak, and mixed kayak.

Teams must finish the YRQ in 60 hours to receive prize money, but many do the race for the personal satisfaction of staking their claim to a coveted finisher pin in historic Dawson City.

Aside from two mandatory layovers at Carmacks (seven hours) and Kirkman Creek (three hours), teams paddle non-stop in a true "Race to the Midnight Sun."

Last year, paddlers from a dozen countries signed up for the event.

It is supported by more than 120 volunteers. The race is organized by the Yukon River Marathon Paddling Association.

Major logo-level sponsors in 2008 were the Whitehorse Star, Canadian Rangers, Yukon Emergency Measures Organization - Whitehorse, Faro and Carmacks SAR, the HMCS Whitehorse, Kanoe People - Clipper Canoes, Air North, yukoninfo.com, Northland Beverages - Aquafina Water, Norcan - Klondike Motors, Up North Adventures - Spirit of the North, and the Klondike Visitors Association - Diamond Tooth Gerties.

The YRMPA will be holding its Annual General Meeting at Sport Yukon at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 13. New members are welcome to attend.

If anyone is interested in joining or becoming a volunteer for the event, please contact the race organization at info@yukonriverquest.com or call 333-5628.