The Hudson Bay Quest, a dog sled race between Churchill and Gillam, is being cancelled for the second straight year, this time due to a lack of registrations and the logistical difficulties presented by the lack of rail service past Gillam.
Race organizers announced the cancellation of the 2018 race on their Facebook page Jan. 16, saying that the registration deadline had passed and they did not have the minimum number of six teams they required in order to proceed.
“As you all know we faced serious issues with the logistical portion of the race pertaining to the movement of mushers, handlers and committee members due to the closure of the rail line,” said the announcement. “We hope that these issues are fully worked out by July of this year and that we can then look forward to having a 2019 race. We will keep everyone in the loop on the progress of the rail line issues and the committee should meet in mid July to discuss the 2019 race.”
Organizers had decided in early December to try to go ahead with this year’s race despite the lack of train service on the Hudson Bay Railway past Gillam. Rail service on that stretch of track has been suspended since last June as a result of spring flooding that damaged the track.
“This will be our MOST self-sufficient race yet,” said a Dec. 1 Facebook post. “We are working on the logistical possibilities, but racers will need to get themselves to and from the start, the finish and back.”
A few weeks later, organizers announced that they would need at least half-a-dozen registrations to go ahead and that nor more than 10 teams would be able to enter.
The 2017 race, which was due to have taken place last March, was cancelled as a result of the massive blizzard that hit Churchill and much of the rest of Northern Manitoba beginning March 7.
