STEPHEN RICCIO
BRISTOL Jan. 13, 2021
The Bristol sled dog races that were scheduled for January 2021 have been officially cancelled, as organizer Denis Rozon said the government’s imposed COVID-19 restrictions make it nearly impossible to host.
The event was scheduled to go down on . . .
Jan 23 and Jan. 24.
“We could do it, but we could have [25] maximum people on the site here … and the last race we had in 2019, we had on Saturday only 3,000 spectators,” Rozon explained. “With 25, what are we going to do with that because we have so many sponsors and they want spectators. And just the racers [are] like 300 teams, so imagine.”
The races typically draw teams from all over Canada, the United States and even Europe. The dryland races planned for October 2020 also had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.
Rozon said that he still has big plans for 2021, with a world championship event just recently scheduled to take place in October.
“That’s the big one that we want to have, everything is signed and that will be decided in July,” he said. “I think with the vaccine and everything, it should be ok.”
He said that a similar world championship tournament took place in the Pontiac in 2015.
Rozon emphasized that although dog sledding and racing events have had to be postponed or cancelled during the pandemic, dog sledding tours were still available through Timberland Tours, the Bristol-based company that he operates.
“We have the OK for that because eight, nine people at a time [is allowed] and we can do it here no problem,” he said.
He added that his business had suffered significantly this winter due to losing some customers that would normally come from Renfrew, Pembroke and Ottawa that have been discouraged from crossing the border.
He said that while things are still open and running, it’s been difficult having to feed 40 dogs with seriously reduced income.
