Thursday, September 18, 2003
Updated: September 19, 7:43 PM ET
18-year-old requests special accommodations for race
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A legally blind teenager from Redmond,
Ore., hopes to persuade Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officials to
make special accommodations so she can compete next year.
Rachael Scdoris, 18, was scheduled to speak to the board at a
meeting Friday.
She has a retinal condition that impairs her ability to see
clearly. Scdoris wants the board to approve a plan that would allow
two people to ride on snowmobiles in front of her team and behind
it, and communicate with two-way radios, advising her of trail
conditions.
Current race rules allow competitors to receive assistance only
from competing mushers in an emergency. Mushers also are restricted
to traditional forms of navigation, including maps and magnetic
compasses.
Verbal coaching from non-competitors and use of radios and other
communications equipment is forbidden, as is pacing dogs behind
snowmobiles.
"We are focusing on a positive decision on Friday," said Paul
Herschell, her agent in Portland, Ore. "Obviously there are legal
options available, but we have not discussed them."
Scdoris plans to spend time in Alaska this winter, working with
Iditarod veteran Dan MacEachen, to prepare herself physically for
the race, Herschell said.
MacEachen, of Snowmass, Colo., a veteran of six Iditarod races,
is prepared to be one of her visual interpreters for the race.
"This lady is legally blind," MacEachen said. "She would much
rather prefer not having us out there. There is a psychological
advantage to having an interpreter out there. It's not that she
wants it. She absolutely has to have it."
Many Iditarod veterans expressed concern over the safety of
Scdoris and her team, should she be allowed to compete.
"It's an unsafe endeavor for the dogs who are driven by a
driver who can't see," said four-time Iditarod champion Martin
Buser, of Big Lake. "It's unfortunate, but certain things we just
can't do.
"I think it is an endeavor that she should refrain from, just
for the safety of the dogs."
Lynda Plettner, another Iditarod veteran from the Big Lake area,
said what Scdoris should be doing is the serum run, a dog mushing
adventure from Nenana to Nome, which follows the Iditarod.
"The serum run is designed to do a big dog mushing event, with
all the help that you want," she said.
Five-time Iditarod champion Rick Swenson, an Iditarod board
member from Two Rivers, has opposed to special allowances for
Scdoris.
"She can sign up under the same rules as the rest of us," said
Swenson, at the last board meeting in June. "If you start making
accommodations for individuals, where are you going to draw the
line?"
Scdoris, whose father, Jerry, operates a commercial dog sled
tour out of Mount Bachelor, Ore., has paid the entry fee for
Iditarod 2004. She is one of 81 entrants to date, including 29
rookies, signed up to start the race in Anchorage on March 6.
