Hi Boys and Girls,

By now, I’m sure you have seen that Ellen Halverson was withdrawn from the race. Some of you are asking what that means. Scratched: This is the most common why a musher leaves the race. It is a decision made by the musher and is usually made due to concern for their team. Other reasons can be the health of the musher. Sometimes a musher is injured or gets ill on the trail and cannot continue the race. The most important part is that the musher makes the decision. Withdrawn: The decision to be withdrawn is made by a 3-judge panel. 2 or more of the judges must agree to withdraw a musher. The musher is then involuntarily eliminated from the race, which means they did not make the decision themselves. It was made for them. It does not mean the musher did anything wrong. The decision was made to withdraw Ellen due to Rule 36 which states “A team may be withdrawn that is out of the competition and is not in a position to make a valid effort to compete.” Mushers work very hard to prepare for the race. Any reason for them not to continue the race is very disappointing to them. Remember the decisions are always made in the best interest of the team (dogs and musher).

Have a great day,

Gypsy