The Iditarod Trail Committee Board voted unanimously today to not allow 24-year-old Travis Beals of Seward to compete in next year’s sled dog race because of charges he faces in a domestic violence case.
Board members issued the announcement in a Facebook post Friday saying it will not accept race applications from Beals next year, “and for an indefinite period of time thereafter.”
The board stated that the indefinite period of time would be determined based on Beals’ completion of court ordered rehabilitation related to the charges.
The charges against Beals stem from a December 21 incident. It was reported to authorities that he put a woman into a headlock, picked her up off the couch, took her to the door of a cabin they shared in Willow, Alaska, and pushed her outside.
Neither Beals nor the Iditarod Trail Committee Board members responded to request for comment and questions Friday.
The announcement from the committee cited Rules 1 and 2 as the basis for not allowing Beals to compete, although those rules do not address domestic violence directly.
Rule 2 does state: “The ITC reserves the right to reject any entry due to entry number limitations and to reject any entry not deemed in conformance with these policies and rules or from mushers who do not exemplify the spirit and principle of the Iditarod Trail Committee as set forth in the rules, policies, bylaws and 2016 Race Rules 5 of 16 mission statement.”
That rule does address criminal charges relating to animal abuse.
The Committee stated in their announcement that they are taking time to review its rules and policies as a better way to address the pervasive problem of domestic violence in the State of Alaska.
The charges against Beals were first brought to light by independent Alaskan journalist Craig Medred on his website.