On this last day of the Ivakkak 2003 dog team race, Kuujjuamiuq Charlie Watt Jr. came out victorious as he crossed the finish line in Akulivik on this 24th day of March, after covering over 400 miles of terrain since the start in Kangiqsujuaq, almost two weeks ago.

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With an early morning start on this last day of the Ivakkak 2003 dog team race, the qimutsiit reached their final destination early in the afternoon. The first team to cross the finish line was the one of Peter Kiatainaq, from Kangiqsujuaq, at exactly 1:24:43 PM. As everybody rushed to congratulate him, thinking he was the new Ivakkak champion, they soon realized that, overall, the next dog team to come in, a little less than one minute later, at 1:25:42 PM to be precise, was the real champion for this third edition of the Ivakkak dog team race. Charlie Watt Jr. of Kuujjuaq was the master of this dog team, who conquered the 400 miles distance from Kangiqsujuaq to Akulivik, to win this race. Charlie has been participating in Ivakkak since its debut in 2001. He was then in third position. The next year, in 2002, he came out second, just one minute behind the champion then, Junior May, one of his best buddies from Kuujjuaq as well. This year, if he wanted to move up in rank, he had no other choice but to win this race, which he did with great honour. The dedication that he has shown to his dogs over the last few years has finally paid off. In fact, Charlie trains his dogs almost everyday in the winter, every chance that he’s got, also taking good care of them in the off season, hunting and fishing to feed this pack of hungry wolf-like animals. Congratulations Charlie! The Ivakkak 2003 champion will not only leave with the Ivakkak cup, but will also go home with $3500 more in his pocket offered by Makivik, and a brand new Honda ATV TRX 400, prize worth $9549.99 offered by the Federation of Co-ops in Northern Quebec (FCNQ), as well as First Air tickets for two to Montreal and two nights for two at the Dorval Travelodge. Peter Kiatainaq, who had been leading this race from the start, all the way to Ivujivik, and who could have also won this race, only five minutes or so behind his friendly rival, has been proclaimed Rookie of the year, leaving with a glass trophy on which his name is engraved. In second position, Peter will go home with $2500 offered by Makivik, not to mention that Pat’s Parts will soon deliver a nice Yamaha EF2600 Generator to his door. Quaqtamiuq Willie Kulula Sr., who was just behind the two leaders, in third position, went home with $1500 offered by Makivik, as well as a brand new Coleman stove and a Northern Expedition sleeping bag offered by the Northern store of Kuujjuaq. For his persistent performance, he was also granted with the Perseverance Award. In fourth place, Bobby Novalinga of Puvirnituq went home with $1000 from Makivik, as well as a glass trophy, earning one of the Sportsmanship Award for playing fair with everybody. Juani Beaulne, who was last to finish, but not the least, was granted the other Sportsmanship Award, for his athletic performance, as he ran with his dogs most of the way, trying to get ahead. Juani also goes home with a glass trophy, as well as $200 offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik. In fifth position this year, the first Ivakkak champion, in 2001, Tamusi Sivuaraapik of Puvirnituq went home with $500 and was proclaimed the Veteran of the year. At 61 years old, the well-known qimutsiti is still in great shape and can teach younger ones more than his share. Harry Okpik of Quaqtaq, who finished last in 2002, moved up to the sixth rank this year, a great performance which won him the Most Improved Award, a glass trophy and $200 offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik. Some say that if the race would have lasted a couple more days, Harry may have well finished in the top five, as he kept moving up in rank every day during the race. Charlie Inukpuk of Inukjuak, the elder of the group with Tamusi, finished in seventh position this year and was granted one of the Fellowship Award, for helping other teams in trouble along the way. Just two ranks below him, in ninth position, Aisara Kenuayuak of Puvirnituq, obtained the other Fellowship Award, also helping other teams when their dogs where tangled on the trail, or picking up equipment dropped by other qimutsitiit on the trail. Kuujjuamiuq Rina Snowball, who started and finished the race with George Annanack’s dogs, arrived eighth overall, moving up one rank. Rina and George were granted the Team Spirit Award, for quite obvious reasons, as they teamed up to finish this race due to the particular circumstances of George’s late arrival for the race and the incident that took him out of the race thereafter. With their good team spirit, they will have to share the $200 prize offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik, but will both go home with a glass trophy. Adamie Qumak made it home to Akulivik in tenth position, welcomed by an anxious crowd of people awaiting his arrival, especially his wife Annie, and kids. Adamie was also given the Team Spirit Award for a sacrifice he made last year for the sake of the team. In fact, as it was mentioned before, their was an epidemic of Distemper in Akulivik last year, which took most dogs away in this town and prevented the Akulivik dog teams to participate in Ivakkak 2002, most of their dogs taken by the disease. Adamie’s dogs, who had fortnately been vaccinated against this disease, did not lose his dogs to the epidemic. But even though he had taken the right precautions, he didn’t want to take the chance to bring his dogs to Kuujjuaq, the start of the race last year, and risk contaminating most dogs in Nunavik, not completely sure of the vaccine’s effectiveness. He hence withdrawn from the race last year, putting the rest of the team’s best interest before his. For this gesture, he well deserved the Team Spirit Award, the glass trophy and the $200 that went with it, once again offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik. Nutaraaluk Iyaituk, who is also from Akulivik, did not have the same chance as Adamie, losing most of his dogs to the epidemic last year. Having managed to get a team of young pups together for this year Ivakkak, he was not able to make it home on his sled. One day short of his arrival in Akulivik, his dogs gave out, too tired to continue, and had to be brought home by snowmobile. But no matter what, Nutaraaluk kept his spirit up, just happy to have participated in this wonderful journey across Nunavik. This is why he was granted the title of Mr. Congeniality, for staying true to himself and keeping his spirit up all the way through, always with a smile ready for his peers. His good behaviour got him to come home with a glass trophy, as well as $200 offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik. Avataq, the Inuit cultural institute, also had an award to present to Nutaraaluk, for handling his dogs in the most traditional fashion, using only sealskin ropes and traditional harnesses, as well as promoting his ancestral knowledge of dog sledding. For this accomplishment, Nutaraaluk went home with an extra $500. The two other teams that were not able to finish the race, Willie Cain Jr. of Tasiujaq and Adamie Inukpuk of Inukjuak, also went home with a little something. Willie was granted the Dedication Award, for putting his dogs’ best interest before his. Caring for his dogs, as any qimutsiti does, he withdrawn himself from the race early enough not to wear off his dogs’ last burst of energy. Adamie Inukpuk, who also had to quit, having covered the longest distance out of all teams participating in Ivakkak due to off trail experiences, was granted the Best Effort Award. Both also went home with a glass trophy and $200 each, offered by PratteBélanger Chartered Accountants and Makivik. To add more excitement to the closing ceremony that was held at the Recreation Hall in Akulivik, the local Co-op also gave away various prizes to all Ivakkak participants, which were much appreciated. After feasting on country food (seal and caribou meat, mussels, etc.) and enjoying the sounds of a local band, everybody called it the night to go and finally get some rest after this long journey. Some teams will go home tomorrow and others the next day, with many stories to share with their family and friends when they return. Congratulations to all! Just for finishing this race, everyone of these qimutsitiit can go home victorious.

See you next year!

Rank		Racer		Today’s Time		Total Time
1.		Charlie Watt Jr.		4 hrs 25 min 42 sec		47 hrs 52 min 33 sec
2.		Peter Kiatainaq		4 hrs 22 min 43 sec		47 hrs 57 min 52 sec
3.		Willie Kulula Sr.		4 hrs 32 min 2 sec		48 hrs 12 min 22 sec
4.		Bobby Novalinga		4 hrs 58 min 3 sec		51 hrs 47 min 3 sec
5.		Tamusi Sivuaraapik		4 hrs 29 min 59 sec		55 hrs 18 min 28 sec
6.		Harry Okpik		4 hrs 54 min 48 sec		57 hrs 14 min 20 sec
7.		Charlie Inukpuk		5 hrs 53 min 1 sec		59 hrs 12 min 38 sec
8.		Rina Snowball		5 hrs 30 min 18 sec		67 hrs 20 min 51 sec
9.		Aisara Kenuayuak		6 hrs 37 min 14 sec		67 hrs 33 min 31 sec
10.		Adamie Qumak		5 hrs 51 min 14 sec		74 hrs 5 min 57 sec
11.		Juani Beaulne		7 hrs 21 min 51 sec		76 hrs 5 min 36 sec