The Yukon River will soon be frozen.

And while athletes are gearing up for winter sports, organizers of the Yukon River Quest remain undeterred.

Registrations are now being accepted for the 14th annual Yukon River Quest (YRQ), which will be held from June 27 to July 1.

Registration for the 14th annual Yukon River Quest (YRQ) – which will be held from June 27 to July 1 – opened Nov. 1.

Within the first 24 hours, 10 teams had registered for the 705-kilometre (438-mile) wilderness adventure-paddling race, a.k.a. the Race to the Midnight Sun. Paddlers race round-the-clock with just two mandatory rest stops of 10 hours over the course of the entire event.

Online entry forms are available on the race website, www.yukonriverquest.com. Entry fees remain at $850 per person for voyageur canoe teams of six or more paddlers.

Deadline for entries is May 15, but teams are encouraged to register early due to the worldwide popularity of the event.

There is a limit of 100 canoe and kayak teams, which includes a limit of 30 solo teams. These solo teams should register immediately to reserve a slot, according to organizers.

Paddlers should have race or wilderness paddling experience. All boats must meet the specifications defined in the 2012 YRQ rules posted on the website.

One new rule is that all teams must have a SPOT device mounted on top of their boats and activated for tracking, which will allow teams to be followed during the race from links on the YRQ website.

"We are introducing this technology into the race to increase safety while decreasing the administration effort required in the past years,” YRQ president Stephen Mooney said.

"Introduction of mandatory SPOTS will allow better tracking of the racers along the river and the ease of mind for family and friends to watch their progress through the internet.”

There are other perks to bringing the River Quest into the 21st century, Mooney added.

"The new software along with the SPOT devices will allow people to experience the race online from around the world. Support crews and race volunteers will have estimated arrival times into Carmacks and Dawson which will ease the tension of not know when teams arrive,” Mooney said.

The 2012 race purse will be $36,000 if a full roster of 100 teams registered by the May 15 deadline. Otherwise the purse is adjusted downward on a percentage basis.

There are overall cash prizes for each class – tandem canoe, tandem kayak, solos and voyageur canoes – as well as prizes for the top three in each division.

There also are $500 cash prizes for the top all-Yukon canoe and kayak teams, and the top First Nations team. Several special awards are also donated by Yukon sponsors. A complete prize breakdown can be found in the race rules on the website.

Mooney said the Yukon River Quest remains a popular paddling event, even in uncertain economic times. After registrations reached record levels in 2008, they dropped somewhat in the past few years, when between 70 and 80 teams started the race.

"Prize money will be increased if racer turnout is higher than last year,” he said.

In 2011, 72 teams from 10 countries started the race. Weather cooperated during the 13th annual YRQ, with 55 teams finishing – which is above average.

The Yukon River was at its highest level of the summer during the YRQ, but lower than in past years.

The Texans repeated as overall champions with a time of 42 hours, 17 minutes and were challenged for a time by the top mixed voyageur team from the Yukon, Sausages and Mussels, who set a new mixed record with a time of 44:37. The only other broken record was by solo canoer Gaetan Plourde of Ontario, who knocked two hours off his 2010 time to finish in 48:28. The course record still belongs to Canadian voyageur Team Kisseynew's winning time of 39:32:43, set in 2008.

Jeff Brady

The Skagway News