FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2008

Registration opens for 2009 Yukon River Quest
“Race to the Midnight Sun” will have new start in 11th year

WHITEHORSE, YUKON – 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 June 28, 2009.

The 740-kilometer (460-mile) wilderness adventure paddling marathon is held on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City in Canada's Yukon Territory. 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 after this deposit 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 12 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.

“We had a good run from Main Street over the first 10 years of the event, but the bigger numbers over the past few years has made it very difficult to coordinate the Le Mans style start there without it disrupting traffic in the downtown area,” said race spokesman Jeff Brady. “It will be easier for our racers and our volunteers to have the start closer to the river.”

Brady added, “We’d like to thank the City of Whitehorse parks and tourism departments for working with us to make this happen. It should be a great start. The public will be able to fan out on the river bank from Rotary Park to Main Street for great views of the mass of teams as they jump in their boats and head down the river.”

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 (7 hours) and Kirkman Creek (3 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 Yukon River Quest is one of the premier events in the north and the paddling world. It has been featured on the BBC and CBC, in numerous paddling and adventure magazines around the world, on the Sleepmonsters.com website, and in the National Film Board of Canada’s critically acclaimed “River of Life”.

For more information, view the pre-registration instructions, rules, and numerous paddler preparation links on the race website.

The race is organized by the Yukon River Marathon Paddling Association, based in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. 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, 2008. 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 867-333-5628.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jeff Brady, info@yukonriverquest.com