Willow Junior 100 postponed

WASILLA — The weird and wild weather that’s hit Southcentral Alaska for the last month continues to spoil plans to host winter sporting events.

The Willow Junior 100 sled dog race is the latest event blown off the slate. The 100-miler was set to start Friday afternoon at Vern Halter’s Dream a Dream Dog Farm kennels near Willow. Monday, organizer Chris Stitt said race officials have long been worried about the fate of the 2014 race, and were finally forced to postpone the event until March 28.

“We still don’t have the snowfall. It’s all ice. It’s way too dangerous for the children and the dogs,” Stitt said.

Stitt said race organizers have seriously pondered the likelihood for hosting the race for the last three weeks.

“It melted then everything froze,” Stitt said.

When looking at the conditions, safety of the young mushers and their teams is paramount, Stitt said.

“The trails being so icy, children may not be able to control (their teams). Out on the ice, there’s no way stopping the dogs in time. It’s not say for the children. It’s definitely not safe for the dogs,” Stitt said.

Stitt said finding the place in the winter schedule was also difficult.

“There’s not a lot of holes,” Stitt said of the schedule.

There were a number of conflicts, including Junior Iditarod, Iditarod and Arctic Winter Games.

The Willow Junior 100 features a pair of 50-mile legs and a 10-hour mandatory layover. Eleven junior mushers, including eight from Wasilla or Willow, are listed in the 2014 field. The race is intended for mushers ages 17 to 20.