Libby Here!
Are you wondering how much money the winner got? How about the rest of the finishers? What other awards did mushers get?
The 2008 Champion, Lance Mackey got $69,000 and a NEW TRUCK.
That sounds like a lot of money. You should think about how much it costs to run a kennel for a full year. Make a list of everything you’d have to buy, everything from food, to vet bills, to supplies. Research the cost of items like musher clothes, dog sleds, supplies for the dogs, and other expenses, fuel to drive the dog truck from place to place or even how much it costs to run the dog kennel and take care of the humans that live there, too. After making your list, do you still think the winner gets a lot of money compared to what it costs to be a musher? Why do you think someone decides to be a musher?
The ‘Purse’ is the collected amount of money that goes to the racers. At the end of February, the exact purse payout is decided on and announced. Every musher who finishes the race gets a piece of the prize money.
These are all little details for you to think about when you think about the mushers in the race.
You can read more about the prize money (the purse) and the other awards that mushers get by going to the following website: Click to read more.
Article in the For Teachers New Article section of the website.
Zuma’s Article (Scroll to find the article!)
You can read about the awards at the Press and Media section of the website. Click Media Guide and look on page 19. You can read about this year’s awards and winners in the press release in the media section.
It is funny to think about a musher’s purse, don’t you think?
Just spinning some ‘de’tails’!
Libby