No in-person Oosik Classic Ski Race and Tour for second year due to COVID-19

Clarification: The original story stated that the Oosik has been canceled. Denali Nordic Ski Club has requested that the wording be updated to reflect that the in-person race will not take place, but a virtual event is still planned.

The 2021 Oosik Classic Ski Race and Tour will not be taking place as normal for the second straight year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a post on the Denali Nordic Ski Club’s social media, its board of directors decided at its meeting on Wednesday that the event, which draws hundreds of skiers to Talkeetna every March, would not be in the community’s best interest during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In recent months, the Mat-Su has been above the state average for per-capita case counts of COVID-19.

Previously, the potential a multi-day event and other mitigation strategies were considered.  Laura Wright, the ski club’s coordinator, says the decision was discussed at length over the last month-and-a-half, and the canceling of this year’s Oosik was not taken lightly.

Wright says a virtual ski tour will begin in mid-February and extend through the end of March, and more details will be forthcoming.