Iditarod Trail Committee follows the correct trail

Frontiersman editorial board

The 2004 Iditarod is already making headlines for an unexpected come-from-behind victory. Rachael Scdoris, an 18-year-old musher from Bend Oregon, was essentially banned in June from running the 2004 race. At issue was the fact that Scdoris is legally blind, and she had asked for accommodations that would have provided two people on snowmachines to follow her along the trail to help her negotiate some of the trickier spots. Originally, feeling the exceptions would present an unfair advantage, the Iditarod Trail Committee decided to table Scdoris' request indefinitely.

But Rachael Scdoris is not one to walk away from a challenge. She's already an accomplished musher who has run in other long races. She'd made up her mind to run the Iditarod, and she continued to press the ITC to at least give her request fair consideration.

On Friday, meeting behind closed doors, the ITC did just that and surprisingly voted unanimously to allow a compromise that gives Scdoris the opportunity to run the Last Great Race.

Though the ITC won't allow Scdoris to use two snowmachines, they will allow her to have one leading dog sled with a musher that will be able to talk to Scdoris via radio. It's a compromise Scdoris and her team can accept, and it's a decision that deserves much praise -- though it's sure to draw some fire, as well.

Some fans and mushers have expressed concern that allowing an accommodation for Scdoris would diminish the integrity of the Iditarod, or that it would give Scdoris an unfair advantage over other mushers. Some have made comparisons to Casey Martin, the golfer who petitioned the PGA tour for the right to use a cart during tour events. Martin has a muscle disease that causes pain and fatigue in his legs. The PGA has successfully blocked Martin's push to join the tour. There are clear differences between Martin's case and Scdoris'. Scdoris will still have to qualify for the Iditarod, like everyone else. She'll have to endure all the same physical and mental challenges that make the race what it is. In fact, because her visual interpreter will have to run a second dog sled, Scdoris will probably face even more difficulty than the average musher. Now there are two sleds and two teams that have to overcome the challenges of the race. The possibility for things to go wrong will effectively double.

The compromise is a good one, however, and the decision to let a qualified, experienced musher participate in the Last Great Race is one that will reflect well on the ITC for a long time. We congratulate the ITC for reaching the right decision, and we congratulate Scdoris for her courage and for winning the opportunity to follow a dream.