Norway’s Arctic University of Tromsø is introducing a course in dog-sledding, which will be the first of its type in Europe. The course, to be taught at the university’s campus in Alta, will be obligatory for all students majoring in the university’s three-year Arctic outdoors program.
The dog-sledding course will also be offered from 2015 as an elective for student athletes and those taking the standard one-year course of study in friluftsliv (outdoor life). Those completing the course will receive 10 points towards graduation requirements.
Students will be taught both in and out of the classroom, with the area’s annual Finnmarksløpet (a major dog-sledding competition) being a natural portion of their practical experience. The 1,000-kilometer dogsled race begins and ends in the city of Alta in Finnmark County.
Svanhild Pedersen, manager of Finnmarksløpet, called introduction of the course “fantastic, claiming it will raise the profile of dog-sledding as sport and also as a major outdoor activity in Northern Norway and other wintry areas. “It’s also a fine development in the ongoing cooperation we have with the university,” Pedersen told news bureau NTB.
newsinenglish.no staff
