2024 Copper Basin 300 Race Rules
The Official Race Rules for the 2024 CB300 Sled Dog Race, have been adopted by the CB300 Board of Directors.
Pre-Race Rules
RACE REGISTRATION: Entry fees of $500.00 will begin processing on the race website, www.cb300.com, starting the first Saturday in October (October 7th, 2023) at 10:00am.
LATE REGISTRATION: Late registration will begin on December 1, 2023, and the fee will be $650.00.
CANCELLATIONS: Cancellations will be handled as follows: During the months of October and November, 50% of fee will be refunded; Month of December, 25% of fee refunded; after December 31st, no refund will be issued. Declaration of Cancellation must be made via email (copperbasin300@gmail.com) to establish cancellation date, refund amount, and removal from entrant list. Cancellation form must be signed and returned for issuance of refund.
ENTRY: Race field is limited to the first 50 mushers officially signed up. Entry is considered official when application is received, all required information is submitted and entry fee is paid in full. Entries are accepted via online entry or US Postal Service. A wait list will be started for entries in excess of 50 teams. Entry refunds will be given to waitlisted entrants not allowed to compete due to a full field of 50 teams. Starting order will be determined at the musher’s meeting on January 12th, 2024, with the musher’s drawing for bib number based on musher sign ups.
All entrants must be mushers in good standing with the Copper Basin 300 (CB300).
RACE ROUTE: Race route is to be determined and posted by official sign-up date unless otherwise amended by the Board of Directors. The CB300 is a 300-mile race with a minimum of 18 hours total layover taken only at official checkpoints.
RACE MEETINGS: Each musher is required to have their dog team checked by the race Vet team at the mandatory Vet Checks starting at 10:00am on Friday, January 12th, 2024. Vet checks will run from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Mushers must register at CB300 Race Central from 10am - 4pm on Friday, January 12th, 2024. At registration, mushers are required to sign a liability release form statement, other race documents and promotional materials.
Musher and handler meetings will take place starting with the handlers meeting at 5:30pm and mushers meeting following at 6:00pm. Race rookie meeting will immediately follow the bib draw of the race meeting. Location for all meetings will be given at race signups.
Attendance at the pre-race mushers meeting Friday the 12th of January 2024 at 6:00 pm is MANDATORY.
VET CHECK: Each musher is required to have their dog team checked by the race Vet team at the mandatory Vet Checks starting at 10:00am on Friday, January 12th, 2024. Vet checks will run from 10:00am to 4:00pm at Race Central.
If you are unable to attend the Vet check on Friday, January 12th, 2024, due to circumstances outside your control, you must contact Race Central prior to 3:00pm, race officials will determine the appropriate time to have you dog team checked.
All dogs must have current Rabies and Distemper/Parvo vaccinations. Proof shall be presented at registration in the form of a detailed purchase receipt. No Proof, no race!
RACE PURSE: Race purse will be determined and announced at the Musher meeting on Friday January 12th, 2024. Awards presentation will be at a time and place to be announced in December. All mushers should attend. Any musher not attending will forfeit all winnings
SPORTSMANSHIP:
a. Mushers and their crew MUST demonstrate sportsmanship like conduct during all parts of the CB300 race.
b. Any conduct determined to be inappropriate toward the CB300 race officials or volunteers will result in a penalty or immediate disqualification from the race and will no longer be in good standing with the CB300 Sled Dog Race.
c. This will be determined by the Race Marshall or CB300 Board of Directors President.
General Race Rules
I. MANIDTORY GEAR: Mushers are required to always carry the following gear: (Mushers may not check in at the next checkpoint without listed gear)
1. Cold weather sleeping bag
2. Hand ax with overall length of 22 inches
3. One pair of snowshoes with bindings, each snowshoe to be at least 250 square inches in size. Collapsible snowshoes are not permitted.
4. Three-gallon capacity cooker and cooking gear. All “fuel” must be in a clearly marked fuel container. Fuel will not be allowed to be carried in thermoses or other drink containers. This is to help with the possibility of mushers drinking this “fuel”.
5. Adequate food for dogs and musher.
6. Eight booties for each dog.
7. Assigned CB300 sled banner (banner to always be visible)
8. Each musher must carry a “Vet Book”, (provided by the CB300), and have a mandatory vet check at their selected 6-hour layover checkpoint. This vet book will be part of the mandatory gear and must be returned to the CB300 at the completion of the team’s race.
II. RACE TRAIL: The CB300 is a 300-mile race with a minimum of 18 hours required rest time taken only at official race checkpoints. The course covers 300 miles within the Copper River Basin with official checkpoints being:
Start: Glennallen
1: Red Eagle Lodge in Chistochina
2: Meires Lake Roadhouse
3: BLM Sourdough Campground
4: Lake Louise Lodge
5: Tolosna Lake Resort
Finish: Glennallen
a. Official trail routing with start/finish locations will be determined and announced before December 1st, 2024.
b. The trail will be broken and marked prior to the race. However, due to weather conditions there will be no guarantee of broken trails during the race.
c. Mileages may vary from map and will be available online approximately 3 days prior to the start of the race. However, trail conditions may delay this process.
d. Mushers must follow the described trail given at the mushers meeting and as marked. Leaving the marked trail for ANY competitive advantage will result in immediate disqualification.
III. CHECKPOINTS:
a. Mushers must personally sign in and out of all checkpoints
b. Musher MUST have all mandatory gear when signing in checkpoints.
c. All mushers can take sleep/rest in their dog trucks or other designated places at the checkpoints.
d. Mushers must have a handler at each checkpoint, if handler is not present at the checkpoint when the musher and team arrive, the team will be parked and the musher may begin dog care, but the official time of rest will not begin until handler arrives.
e. All handlers will have the responsibility to:
1. Prior to teams’ arrival, handler should meet and gather all important checkpoint information from the checkpoint personal. (Water source, sleeping/drying locations, Vet team location, parking area, location to dispose of used straw, and exit route.)
2. Assist with Parking the team
3. Delivery of drop bags to mushers – CB300 will not deliver any drop bags to checkpoints.
4. Handlers MAY NOT Haul water
5. Help maintain order within the dog team while musher is sleeping
6. Take responsibility of all dropped dogs
7. Rake up, bag, and dispose of all used straw and trash.
8. DO NOT LEAVE the checkpoint until parking spot has been determined by race personnel to be clean. If handler leaves the checkpoint without cleaning up the parking spot, a penalty will be added to the musher.
9. Race officials will provide trash bags.
IV. RUNNING THE RACE:
a. Teams will leave the starting line in two-minute intervals. Any musher who cannot leave the starting line in the order drawn will start after the scheduled departure time of the final team. The Race Marshal may disqualify any musher that cannot leave the starting line within sixty (60) minutes of the last team’s scheduled departure time.
b. Only one musher per team is allowed. Mushers must be at least eighteen (18) years of age by the start of the race.
c. No musher may tamper with another musher’s dogs, food, or gear.
d. Any sled that has been damaged beyond repair may be replaced with the approval of a CB300 Race Judge. All sled repairs must be performed by the musher. No significant alterations as to weight or size will be allowed.
e. Pacing is not allowed.
f. A musher may not receive outside assistance or planned help with their team or equipment. All care and feeding of dogs will be done only by that team’s musher.
g. Mushers may only accept food and/or lodging from sources available to all mushers.
h. A driverless team or loose dog may be stopped and secured by anyone. The musher may recover their team by foot, musher, or vehicle and continue the race. Any assistance must be reported to a Race Judge at the next checkpoint.
i. A musher may not be accompanied by or accept assistance from any motorized vehicle except when recovering a loose dog or driverless team.
j. A musher wishing to withdraw must do so at a checkpoint or disqualification will result.
k. Mushers shall always conduct themselves in a courteous and honorable manner. Race Officials, media, and volunteers are all equal participants in this event, and it is the musher’s responsibility to always maintain a courteous rapport with them.
l. Mushers must start the race with no fewer than eight (8) dogs and no more than twelve (12) and must finish the race with no less than five (5) dogs in harness. No dogs will be added or replaced after the start of the race.
m. The CB300 will be a 300-mile race with a total of eighteen (18) hours of layovers (plus start differential). Layovers are composed of one mandatory and a time accumulation (details follow).
n. One (1) mandatory layover of six (6) hours plus start differential at any checkpoint. An additional accumulation of twelve (12) hours at any of the checkpoints. IN 30 MINUTES, INCREMENTS.
V. PASSING:
a. All teams must follow the course as marked.
b. When one team approaches within fifty (50) feet of another team, the team behind shall have the immediate right-of-way upon demand except within one mile of the finish line (no man’s land).
c. The passed team must remain behind at least 5 minutes before demanding the trail.
d. Ski poles may not be used within one hundred (100) yards of another team.
VI. PENALTIES:
a. The Scale of penalties involved with breaking of CB300 rules are as following:
a. Time Delay
b. Monetary Penalty
c. Withdrawal
d. Disqualification
e. Future Ban from CB300 Sled Dog Race
b. The Race Marshall and Race Judges have the authority to withdrawal a team that is out of competition or no longer making a valid effort to compete.
c. A musher has up to one (1) hour after finishing the race to file any grievances.
VII. DOG CARE AND HUMANE TREATMENT
a. Mistreatment of dogs will be cause for immediate disqualification from the CB300. Such action will be reported to all major race organizations. The Race Marshal and Race Judges have authority over this matter. If further arbitration is required, it will be by a quorum of the CB300 Board of Directors in a timely manner.
b. All dogs entered the CB300 Sled dog Race are under the jurisdiction of the CB300 Head Veterinarian and Veterinary Crew from the time of entering staging area before the race until the completion of the race.
c. All dogs are subject at any time to an examination by race Veterinarian staff prior to, during, or immediately after completing the race.
d. The CB300 Veterinarians, Race Judge, and or Race Marshall may make an on-the-spot decision regarding the health and care of a dog.
e. Injured, sick or fatigued dogs may be returned at any checkpoint. All returned dogs MUST be seen by a race Vet before leaving the checkpoint with the musher’s handler.
f. Whips or other violent tactics will not be permitted
g. Drivers will have the means to safely carry dogs in the sled. Dogs will not be led behind the sled.
h. No drug which may suppress the signs of illness or injury may be used on a dog. A musher may not inject any substance into his or her dogs. No other drugs or other artificial means may be used to cause a dog to perform beyond its natural ability. The CB300 adopts the Iditarod’s list of prohibited drugs.
i. Dogs demonstrating aggressive behavior and deemed by Race Marshal or Head Veterinarian to be a risk to other people or dogs will be withdrawn from the race.
VIII. EXPIRED DOG
a. Any dog that expires during the race must be loaded and covered in the sled and taken to the next checkpoint or the checkpoint just passed and submitted to the Race Marshal, a Race Judge, or a Race Veterinarian. All dog deaths will be treated as a priority, with every effort being made to determine the cause of death in a thorough and reliable manner.
b. The Race Marshal or his/her appointed judges will determine whether the musher should continue or be disqualified.
c. Dog deaths resulting in disqualification are:
• Signs of cruel, inhumane or abusive treatment
• Cause of death is heat stress or hypothermia
d. A musher will be disqualified if he/she had been advised in writing by a race veterinarian or judge to drop the dog at a previous checkpoint, but opted not to do so, unless the cause of death is clearly unrelated to this written recommendation.
e. The musher will not be penalized and may continue the race if:
• Cause of death cannot be determined.
• The cause of death is due to a circumstance, nature of trail, or force beyond the control of the musher. This recognizes the inherent risks of wilderness travel.
• Cause of death is from some unpreventable or previously undiagnosed medical condition.
f. Mushers will be responsible for any veterinary fees incurred by an injured, sick, or expired dog.
IX. DROPPED BAGS
a. All Dropped Bags must be in a gunny type bag and clearly marked with mushers name, checkpoint, and numbered
b. CB300 does not provide fuel/heet for any of the checkpoints. All “fuel” must be in a clearly marked fuel container. Fuel will not be allowed to be carried in thermoses or other drink containers
c. Dropped bags will be the responsibility of the handlers and must be at the checkpoint prior to their teams’ arrival.
d. CB300 will not be responsible for returning any dropped bags from any checkpoint to race central.
e. Any drop bags or gear left at a checkpoint on Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, will be disposed of if the musher has not contacted CB300 race central.