Revised - Registration for the 2022 Yukon River Quest (YRQ) will feature new staggered dates by class commencing Nov. 1, and continuing on Nov. 8 and 15 for the return of the “Race to the Midnight Sun” on June 22-25, 2022.

The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and in 2021 due to high river waters.

The 715-kilometre marathon paddling race is run on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City.

The 2022 field has been expanded to 150 teams.

Race registration will start at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 for voyageur and C4 canoes; Nov. 8 for tandem kayaks and canoes; and Nov. 15 for solo canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards (SUP’s).

Team captains will be required to pay a $50 race deposit to be added to a wait list in order of registration.

There is also a limit to the number of voyageur canoes (20) and solo craft (75).

A new Half Race from Whitehorse to Carmacks will be limited to 15 additional teams.

Peter Coates, president of the Yukon River Marathon Paddler’s Association, explained the changes.

“The first big difference is that we are only asking for the $50 wait-list fee. That is because there is still uncertainty surrounding COVID,” Coates said.

“The assumption is that things will be clearer in the spring and we will ask for the full race fee then. We do not want to be in the position we were in 2020 where we had to refund race fees to a lot of teams.

“The second difference is that we are registering big boats first, then a week later the tandems, then a week after that the solos … the reason we are doing this is that the race entry has had to be configured oddly so we are only taking the wait-list fee, and we want to avoid the tsunami of entries we had in 2019,” Coates said.

“If things start going wrong, we want it to be a manageable problem.”

A press release from race organizers said “the YRQ welcomes the return of an international field, but paddlers and their crews will need to follow strict protocols for both entry into Canada and participating in this Yukon event.”

Entry fees are increased to $400 per team and $400 per paddler.

Prize money also rose to $64,000 CDN if there is a full field.

Teams will be divided into two fleets for 9 a.m. and noon start times next June 22.

Teams will also be split up into two camping areas in Carmacks. The second mandatory stop has moved to Minto Resort.

YRQ finishers will receive the “coveted” YRQ finisher pins. Half-Race finishers will also receive Half-Race pins.

Racers who have logged 5,000 and 10,000 kilometres are members of the “Great River Club” and receive special pins.

The YRQ course record belongs to voyageur Team Kisseynew’s with a time of 39 hours, 32 minutes, and 43 seconds in 2008.

The overall winning time in 2019 was 44:59:10 by the C2 team #wepaddletogether.

The 2022 race will be dedicated to long-time Yukon racer and organizer Ingrid Wilcox, who died earlier this year.