Chugiak sled dog racer Jennifer Sterling was selected to represent Team USA at the 2009 IFSS World Championships in Quebec, Canada, in January. Pictured with her lead dog, Eriel, and a team dog, Gillie, Sterling will compete in the 6- and 8-dog classes. Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE

Team USA officials announced the selection of Sterling in a Nov. 15 press release, setting her on a whirlwind of activity as she prepares to make the 10-day, 4,000-mile journey across Canada for the competition.

“We only have weeks to get everything together before we have to leave,” Sterling said. “That includes planning for the trip, training the dogs and securing the sponsors necessary to get to the race.”

Sterling will compete in the 6-dog and 8-dog sprint races during the world championships, which also includes mid-distance sled dog, polka and skijoring races.

“It's really a big honor to be selected for this race,” she said. “Right now I think there will be 400 dog teams from more than 25 different countries competing. So to be among those selected to not only represent the U.S., but also Alaska, is quite an honor.”

The Sterling family has a connection to Alaska's mushing heritage. Her husband Nathan's great grandfather used a dog team to deliver mail in the 1940s on the Kenai Peninsula.

“To continue that legacy of Alaska's original dog mushers in this unique international event is truly something special,” she said.

Other Alaskan sled dog racers invited to represent the U.S. include Arleigh Reynolds and Jennifer Probert of Fairbanks and Kim Wells and Beverly Stevens of Anchorage.

Competing in the world championship event is a goal the Sterlings set three years ago for their 43-dog Sundog Racing Kennel.

“We thought the race was going to be in Anchorage,” she said. “So we decided to begin planning for it back then. Now that it is in Canada, we'll just have to take our dogs on the road.”

Daaquam was selected over Anchorage and Colorado to host the world championships by the IFSS board of directors in February.

Sterling credited the stellar performance of her dogs over the past two years for her selection to Team USA.

The Sterling's sled dog team has been driven by both Jennifer and Nathan in races leading up to the championship, and they will both get a chance to run the dogs on the trip south.

The couple plans to stop in Fort Nelson, British Columbia so Nathan can compete in the Canadian Open.

“It will give a some of the dogs a chance to stretch their legs and run before the world championships,” she said.

Sterling is hustling to ensure her and her dogs can get to the race.

“We figured that we'll need to raise about $15,000 just to cover the costs of getting to and from the race,” she said. “That doesn't include tending to the dogs, we'd have to pay for that even if we stayed home, so we're not counting that as what we need to raise through sponsorships in order to compete.”

The funds will cover fuel cost for the dog truck, meals and lodging for Sterling and her husband, a new set of studded tires for the truck and any other incidental expenses, Sterling said.

To help raise funds Sterling, with help from friends and family, will host a silent auction and holiday cookie decorating event at the Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center Dec. 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The fundraiser falls on the day of the first race of the season, which is at the Montana Creek Trails on mile 94 of the Parks Highway,

“After the race we'll have to race back to Chugiak for the event,” Sterling said.

The Sterlings seek sponsors, both for the trip and for the individual dogs in their kennel.

Visit www.sundogracingkennel.com and select the “sponsorship” tab for information about sponsorship opportunities.

“I think the neatest thing we offer is the bootie jar,” Sterling said of the ways to sponsor the team. “It gives people the opportunity to donate anywhere from $1 to, I guess, $1 million if they want to. If we can get all of our dogs sponsored, that would give use about half the money we need for the trip.”

The Sterlings and their dogs will be on hand during the Winter Wonderland Walk and Tree Lighting celebration on the night of Dec. 5 in Eagle River's Town Square Park.

“They've come out for the past two years with dogs and sleds,” said Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Susan Gorski. “It's exciting to see such a good representative of both sled dog racing and our community have an opportunity to showcase their talents at the world championship level.”

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, December 4, 2008.