Volunteer Registration – Start, Restart, Trail, and Other

    Register for Anchorage, Wasilla, Restart in Willow, and Trail during the 2023 Iditarod. You must be 18 years or older to register as a volunteer. If you have already filled this form out, DO NOT FILL IT OUT AGAIN. Each individual must register separately. If you have questions about any job area on this form, please view this page of our website for additional information-https://iditarod.com/resources/volunteers

    Contact Information















    Note: Preference may be given to Members.
    If you are not a Member yet and would like to learn more about it, click here.
    Some volunteer positions are granted only to ITC Members.

    Visitors to Alaska Complete the Following

    Arrival:
    Departure:

    Race Headquarters – The Lakefront, Anchorage, A Millennium Hotel
    Please check the areas you wish to work

    yes Volunteer Registration Desk
    yes Call Center: Customer Service, Technical assistance, Race Information.
    yes Return Dogs at the Lakefront or trail
    yes Vet Techs – prior to race (ECGs and bloodwork)

    Sales
    Please check the areas you wish to work

    yes HQ Sales
    yes Start Sales
    yes Restart Sales

    Tech Team
    Please check if you wish to work

    yes A group of tech-savvy individuals who are able to assist groups with computer setup, troubleshoot digital connections at the hotel and on the trail, and help set up and assign trail computers and other communication tech. Tech team members will work in Anchorage and be available from a week before to a week after the race.

    Anchorage Start, Saturday
    Please number your top 3 preferences for the areas you wish to work..

    Musher Parking – Early Saturday Morning
    Provide early morning security and assist Mushers in locating their staging/parking place.
    Trail Guard – Public Relations/Safety, Start Day (Saturday)
    Positions available from 4th Ave to BLM Headquarters. Duties include keeping trail clear of pedestrians; adding snow back to the trail at roadway/trail crossings.
    Security – Public Relations/Safety
    Duties include keeping public separate from race participants, staffing public crossings of staging areas and keeping the trail open within the staging area.
    IditaRider Program Volunteers – Assist with the Friday IditaRider meeting and as needed, may include some assistance on Saturday.
    Dog Handlers, Special training & certificate required. Volunteers should be physically fit! Volunteers will assist mushers from parking space to Starting Line on 4th Ave..

    Yes Check here if already certified (MUST be 18 years or older). If you are not certified you will need to take the Dog Handler class, contact Dog Handler Coordinator to register. Class is filled on a first come basis. Limit 75.

    Wherever Needed, Start Day
    End of Anchorage Start at the BLM
    BLM Volunteers needed in multiple positions: Dog Handlers, Security, and Trail Guard. Volunteers should be familiar with Anchorage and have transportation.

    Re-start, Sunday
    Please check the areas you wish to work..

    yes Volunteer Check-in, 6am first shift – 4pm last shift.
    Check in and registration of volunteers as they arrive for duty. Includes verifying registration status, dispensing armbands, and helping volunteers locate their assigned position. (Restart Day: Sunday)
    yes Load Truck – (Saturday) Wasilla ITC
    yes Unload Truck – Willow, Saturday, usually late afternoon or early evening –
    Load/Unload areas: Involve loading all equipment and fencing at the storage facility in Wasilla and transporting it by truck to Willow and unloading it. Some set up maybe included. This takes places on Saturday afternoon/evening. (The equipment is then reloaded on to the truck on Sunday evening after the event and transported back to Wasilla, where it will be unloaded and returned to storage Monday morning.)
    yes Early Sunday Morning Setup, Restart Day –
    Includes assembly of fencing to secure staging and chute areas as well and set up of other equipment required at the event. These activities occur on the the early morning of the Restart.

    Yes Check here if you have any physical restrictions that would prevent you from walking through potentially deep snow or impair your ability to lift/carry heavy objects. (For areas of Load/Unload/Set Up)

    yes Sunday Morning Musher Parking, Restart Day/Sunday
    Provide early morning security and assist Mushers in locating their staging/parking place.
    yes Sunday Morning and Afternoon
    Grill burgers for volunteers

    yes Trail Guard
    A trail guard is an individual that would be placed at a street or road crossing to control vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic. These locations typically are somewhat further away from the re-start line. The goal being to ensure the safety of both dog teams as well as spectators. You might have to walk thru deep snow or lift and carry heavy objects or be required to add snow back to the trail at crossings that are heavily trafficked.
    yes Security – Public Relations/Safety
    Typically positioned at public crossings in and around the chute and staging area. Their goal is to keep the public separated from the competitors, controlling the flow of spectators passing through those crossings, maintaining the integrity of fencing, and keeping the trail cleared for the competitors.
    yes Traffic Control/Parking
    yes Staging and Chute – Only indicate this area if the coordinator has approved you for this job assignment and/or you have worked this area a previous year..
    yes Dog Handlers – Special training & certificate required. Volunteers should be physically fit! Volunteers will assist mushers from parking space to Starting Line..

    Yes Check here if already certified (MUST be 18 years or older). If you are not certified you will need to take the Dog Handler class, contact: Dog Handler Coordinator to register. Class is filled on a first come basis. Limit 75.

    yes Tear Down, Evening after Restart

    Race Communications

    Yes Headquarter Comms at Lakefront Anchorage
    Yes Checkpoint Comms (Trail dates depend on checkpoint assignment)

    Before Race Week

    Yes Make Foot Ointment – Wasilla HQ
    Yes People Food Drop – Airland Transport, Anchorage.
    Yes Straw Drop – Airland Transport, Anchorage.
    Yes Musher Food Drop – Airland Transport, Anchorage.
    Yes Hauling Food Drop Load Out – Willow Airport, Anchorage
    Yes Jr. Iditarod – Wasilla.
    Yes Media Conference
    Yes Banquet Hostess..

    Additional Needs During the Year

    Yes Help at Volunteer Picnic (Last Saturday in June) – Wasilla HQ
    Yes Unloading Trailers at ITC – Date to be announced (after the race, about 2nd week of April)

    Checkpoint Trail Positions – (This is not Race Communications/Comms – please read the description carefully before checking this area.)
    Checkpoint Trail positions for volunteers are limited. These volunteers are generally responsible for set-up, maintenance, and dis-assembly of the Checkpoint. Assignment to these positions is most often based on previous experience and current skills. Many positions are held by volunteers who live along the Trail Route. These positions require long hours and work is performed outside in the winter weather during the Race. The time availability requirement for these Checkpoint Trail positions is a minimum of 6 days and some assignments can be as long as 16. To be considered for a Checkpoint Trail position, prior experience as a volunteer in other areas of the Race is a must. You must also be a member of the Trail Committee. Please renew your membership in advance. (DO NOT SIGN UP HERE for Trail Comms positions. Comms volunteers: please sign up in the appropriate area even if your assignment is at a checkpoint. Thanks!)

    Yes Checkpoint Trail Position – (Do not check here if you are registering for COMMS)

    Additional Information

    Any additional information you would like us to know?

    Yes Please agree: *Volunteers are not permitted to take photographs or video while on volunteer shifts. Going live on Facebook in restricted areas is not permitted under any circumstances due to copyright and media policy.

    COVID Statement: While the Iditarod continues to recommend Covid vaccinations for our entire community, we will not be mandating vaccinations for Iditarod mushers, staff or volunteers for the 2023 race. With regard to testing protocols, we are evaluating needs in conjunction with medical advisors, Iditarod communities, partners and stakeholders, while concurrently accounting for the projected trajectory of Covid cases in Alaska up until the race start. In 2021 and 2022 we spent considerable time and resources on testing protocols with the help of the State of Alaska, Dr. Jodie Guest, the Capstone Clinic and CUE Health and will continue to include them in future discussions.

    Our ultimate goal is to keep mushers, volunteers, and communities along the Southern Route safe, and we appreciate your understanding and patience as we sort through the appropriate testing and mitigation protocols. We will inform you with updates as we get closer to March 4, 2023, the start of Iditarod Fifty-One.

    If you have any question on the vaccination policy, please contact Covid-Prevention@Iditarod.com

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