2016 Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival registration opens Jan. 1

Lottery system replaced with limited enrollment on website

UPDATE: Registration for the Chequamegon Fat Tire Fest will open at noon on January 1 rather than at 12:01 a.m. as originally announced. "We have reconsidered our previously announced online registration opening time," CFTF Director Gary Crandall wrote in an email sent December 2.

Gone is the lottery system that has long determined entry into the main events at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. On New Year’s Day, online registration will open and the first 3,100 mountain riders to sign up will line up on for the September 17, 2016, races.

Split between 2,100 participants in the Chequamegon 40 and 1,000 in the Short & Fat, the event sells out every year. For the first time in the 34-year history of the festival, enrollment will be available at www.cheqfattire.com beginning at 12 p.m., January 1, 2016, and will remain open only as long as it takes to fill.

This is a change from the random registration lottery system in place since 1999.

“We decided to change our approach and offer a first-come, first-served registration for several reasons,” CFTF Director Gary Crandall said.

“First, by doing so we hope that we will eliminate any potential ambiguity in the registration process as athletes are encouraged to sign up as quickly as possible to assure themselves a spot,” he said.

“Secondly, this system will also be easier to execute from an administrative standpoint, and has been proven successful for other well-known limited enrollment events,” Crandall said, adding, “We feel it will be a good change, easier to understand and administer.

Crandall said he believed the “50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon” essay contest will continue “as a way to distribute some reserved entries after we are filled, just like we did with the lottery.” And volunteers selected on the GU Clean Up Crew will continue to receive reserved entries for the event the following year, he said.

The entry fee will be billed at the time of registration as long as race spots remain available. Of the total 2016 entry fee charged individual riders, $5 will be shared by the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation and the International Mountain Bike Association to support local trail advocacy.

The 2016 CFTF is presented by Trek and produced by Life Time - The Healthy Way of Life Company. For complete details of the registration procedure and other event information, visit www.cheqfattire.com. Direct all correspondence to CFTF, P.O. Box 267, Cable, WI 54821, and 715-798-3594 or via email to cheqfat@lifetimefitness.com.