SSCT e.V.
The Sled Dog Sport Club Thuringia e.V. was founded in 1990, only a short time after the political change in East Germany. Only 2 years earlier, the first ever sled dog race had taken place in Thuringia in the GDR.
At the beginning, the main focus of the club was almost exclusively on purebred sled dog sport, but as time went on, the number of members grew and the club opened its doors to non-Nordic sled dog breeds as well, and mushers of all classes and varieties of sled dog sport joined the club.
Over the years, the SSCT e.V. with its currently almost 70 members has gained an excellent reputation nationally and internationally as the organiser of various racing events, e.g. in Frauenwald, Oberhof or Mühlberg. The highlight so far was the WSA Sprint World Championships Snow in 2006 in Frauenwald; the SSCT was also supposed to host a WSA Sprint World Championships there in 2016 – but it had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
As one of the few sled dog sports clubs in Germany, the SSCT is a member of the State Sports Federation in Thuringia and can therefore rely on a good network and the support of organised sports in Thuringia.
WSA
The World Sleddog Association (WSA) is the international umbrella organisation for purebred sled dog sport. This means that it is exclusively committed to the original Nordic sled dog breeds – such as the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute or Greenland Dog – and to the task of preserving these millennia-old breeds for the profession for which they were bred: The pulling work in front of sledges, skis, training carts, bikes or scooters. The WSA was founded in Germany in 1995 and since then has regularly organised World and European Championships in all types of sled dog sport (snow and dryland, sprint, middle and long distance).
The now world’s largest sled dog association for purebred classes has also always been committed to the training of mushers, helpers and race judges. With the rapprochement to the IFSS (as a breed-open sled dog world federation) and to the IOC (for the entire organised sport), the WSA wants to promote the further recognition of the sled dog sport.
Currently, 32 national federations on 4 continents are affiliated to the WSA.
Mühlberg / Drei Gleichen
The village of Mühlberg in central Thuringia is better known to many Germans as a motorway exit and part of the municipality of Drei Gleichen. This gets its name from the characteristic 3 castle ruins that characterise the landscape there.
Mühlberg was first mentioned in a document as early as 704, making it the oldest village in the state of Thuringia, located in the middle of Germany.
Mühlberg lies on the southern edge of the Thuringian Basin, in the foothills of the Thuringian Forest, directly on the A4 motorway. About 1300 inhabitants live there today. The village has a strong agricultural character; in addition to several horse farms, Mühlberg is best known in the region for its golf course – which is exactly where the WSA-Dryland World Championships 2023 will be held.