This year’s race scheduled to start on Feb. 24 in Kangirsuk

By Nunatsiaq News

Nunavik’s annual Ivakkak dog sled race is back for its 19th edition next month.

This year, the race is scheduled to start on Feb. 24 in Kangirsuk and is expected to end around March 6 in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Started by the Makivik Corp. in 2001, the Ivakkak dog sled race aims to promote the Inuit tradition of dog sledding in the region.

The race, held in different parts of Nunavik each year, tends to run along alternate coasts with last year’s competitors starting in the James Bay community of Chisasibi and racing northward to Inukjuak.

This year, mushers will depart from Kangirsuk, skirt around Ungava Bay, passing through the communities of Aupaluk, Tasiujaq and Kuujjuaq before crossing the finish line in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

While it’s expected that this year’s race will take 12 days, weather delays have forced previous races, such as the one in 2018, to be extended.

Last year, to better accommodate for weather, the race began at the end of February as opposed to late March, a scheduling change that will continue this year.

For more information or to register a team for the race, visit the Ivakkak website.