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travel / adventure zone
| The Adventure Zone |
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| (Photo used with permission from the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Host Society) |
Polar Power
Northern athletes suit up for the Arctic Winter Games 2008
By Tracy C. Read
From March 9–15, 2008, the city of Yellowknife, NT, will
host the 20th edition of the Arctic Winter Games, an athletic and
cultural event that has revolutionized sport in the North.
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Arctic Winter Games 2006, Kenai, Alaska (Photo used with permission from the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Host Society)
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Fittingly, “Northern Stars — Inspired by Dreams” is
the theme of the 2008 Games: the much-anticipated biennual competition
is the culmination of a dream shared by two former commissioners of
the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Back in 1967, Stuart Hodgson
and James Smith watched helplessly as their athletes were roundly
pummelled at the Canada Winter Games in Quebec. Reasoning that Northern
athletes would be perpetually handicapped by inadequate resources
and facilities at home, the two bureaucrats hatched a plan to level
the playing field.
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(Photo used with permission from the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Host Society)
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In 1970, with the Alaska governor on board and a start-up budget of
less than half a million dollars, Yellowknife hosted the inaugural
Arctic Winter Games (AWG), a unique celebration of amateur sport and
culture. In the opening ceremonies, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
greeted some 500 participants from the Northwest Territories, Yukon
and Alaska to take part in 10 sporting events.
It’s the little competition that grew — in leaps
and bounds. This year, the original contingents are joined by participants
from across the circumpolar region: northern Alberta, Nunavut, Nunavik,
Greenland and Yamal-Nenets (a district of Russia) are all sending
athletes. The Sami, the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia,
will also be represented. More than 2,000 athletes will take part
in 19 sports, including cross-country skiing, curling, dog mushing,
skating, hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing, badminton, basketball,
gymnastics, soccer, volleyball and wrestling.
But by far the most popular spectator sports at the AWG are the
Inuit and Dene games, traditional forms of competition that feature
unusual tests of strength and strategy. Equally distinctive is the
AWG’s dedication to cultural exchange among circumpolar citizens.
Contingents are invited to send non-competing teams in the performing
arts. These young artists take part in both scheduled and spontaneous
performances that not only entertain, but serve to build and reinforce
a sense of community.
For AWG founders, organizers and participants, the success of
the 20th anniversary Arctic Winter Games and the achievements of
participating youth are part of the dream.
For more information, visit www.awg2008.ca.
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