Arctic Winter Games

Last updated

Arctic Winter Games
Arctic Winter Games Logo.jpg
Arctic Winter Games Logo
First event1970 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Occur every2 years
Last event 2024 Arctic Winter Games held in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
PurposeSports for the Arctic
PresidentJohn Rodda [1]
Website arcticwintergames.org

The Arctic Winter Games are a biennial multi-sport and indigenous cultural event involving circumpolar peoples residing in communities or countries bordering the Arctic Ocean.

Contents

History

The Arctic Winter Games were founded in 1969 under the leadership of Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel, Stuart (Stu) M. Hodgson, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and James Smith, Commissioner of Yukon. The idea to "provide a forum where athletes from the circumpolar North could compete on their own terms, on their own turf" came from Cal Miller, an advisor with the Yukon team at the 1967 Canada Winter Games.

In 1970 in Yellowknife, Canada, 500 athletes, trainers and officials came together for the first Arctic Winter Games. The participants came from the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska. Participants now come from Alaska, Northern Alberta, Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik, Northwest Territories, Greenland, Finland and Norway. The games in 2002 were the first jointly hosted Arctic Winter Games, by Nuuk, Greenland, and Iqaluit, Nunavut. During the 2023 games, Prince William held a video conference with nine participants. [2]

Designed to celebrate the unique sports and cultural heritage of the Arctic, the Games showcases a diverse range of competitions, traditional sports, and cultural events. With a strong emphasis on fostering friendship, cultural exchange, and athletic excellence, the Arctic Winter Games has become a platform for showcasing the talents and traditions of northern communities.

The next Arctic Winter Games are scheduled to take place in Whitehorse, Yukon from 8–15 March 2026. [3]

Nations

  1. Canada - five regions (Alberta North, Northwest Territories, Nunavik, Nunavut, Yukon)
  2. United States - one region (Alaska)
  3. Greenland
  4. Sápmi - the region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia

Contingents

Since 2004 the same nine contingents have participated in the Arctic Winter Games. Another four contingents have taken part in the games throughout the games' history: Russia, Magadan, Tyumen and Chukotka. In the table below is an overview of each contingent's appearances throughout the games. [4] [5] [6] Prior to the 2000 Arctic Winter Games Nunavut was part of the Northwest Territories. After division in 1999, Nunavut competed as separate contingent.

ContingentYear
70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 23 24
Alaska XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Northwest Territories XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Yukon XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nunavik —XXX————X——————XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alberta North ————————XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Greenland ——————————XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Russia ———————————X———————————————
Magadan ————————————XXXXXX—————————
Tyumen ————————————XXX————————————
Chukotka ———————————————XX——————————
Nunavut ———————————————XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sápmi —————————————————XXXXXXXXXX
Yamal —————————————————XXXXXXXX——

Editions

An athlete performing a two-foot high kick at the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Two-foot high kick.jpg
An athlete performing a two-foot high kick at the 2008 Arctic Winter Games

Host cities have been in Canada, the United States, and Greenland. [7]

The Arctic Circle, currently at roughly 66deg north of the Equator, defines the boundary of the Arctic seas and lands Arctic (orthographic projection with highlights).svg
The Arctic Circle, currently at roughly 66° north of the Equator, defines the boundary of the Arctic seas and lands
A political map showing land ownership within the Arctic region Political Map of the Arctic.pdf
A political map showing land ownership within the Arctic region
#YearHost CityHost Country
11970 Yellowknife Canada
21972 Whitehorse
31974 Anchorage United States
41976 Schefferville Canada
51978 Hay River / Pine Point
61980 Whitehorse
71982 Fairbanks United States
81984 Yellowknife Canada
91986 Whitehorse
101988 Fairbanks United States
111990 Yellowknife Canada
121992 Whitehorse
131994 Slave Lake
141996 Chugiak / Eagle River United States
151998 Yellowknife Canada
162000 Whitehorse
172002 Nuuk and Iqaluit Greenland and Canada
182004 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Canada
19 2006 Kenai Peninsula Borough United States
20 2008 Yellowknife Canada
21 2010 Grande Prairie
22 2012 Whitehorse
23 2014 Fairbanks United States
24 2016 Nuuk Greenland
25 2018 Hay River / Fort Smith Canada
- 2020 Whitehorse (cancelled)
26 2023 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo
27 2024 Matanuska-Susitna Borough [8] United States
28 2026 Whitehorse [a] Canada
29 2028 Unknown [b]
30 2030 Nunavut Canada
31 2032 Yukon

Hodgson Trophy

The Hodgson trophy for fair play and team spirit is awarded at the end of every games. The trophy is named for Stuart (Stu) Milton Hodgson, former Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. [10]

The past winners of the trophy are: [10]

Year(s)Winner
1978Yukon
1980Yukon
1982Yukon
1984Yukon
1986Yukon
1988Yukon
1990Alaska
1992Northwest Territories
1994Greenland
1996Northwest Territories
1998Yukon
2000Nunavut
2002Greenland
2004Nunavut
2006Alaska
2008Nunavut
2010Alaska
2012Nunavut
2014Greenland
2016Alaska
2018Alaska
2020AWG2020 host society volunteers and staff
2023Greenland
2024Yukon

Arctic Winter Games International Committee

The Arctic Winter Games International Committee consists of the following people [1]

Sports disciplines

A total of 29 sports have been represented at the Arctic Winter Games. Arctic Sports, badminton, cross country skiing, ice hockey and volleyball are the only sports to be featured in all editions of the Arctic Winter Games. [11]

The table below shows the sports and the years in which they have been a part of the Arctic Winter Games programme.

SportYear
70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 23 24
Alpine skiing pictogram.svg  Alpine skiing —X——————————XX—XXXX—13131313—XX
Archery pictogram.svg  Archery ——X——————————————————————XX
High kick pictogram.svg  Arctic sports ddXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX353535353535XX
Badminton pictogram.svg  Badminton XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX13X101010101010101010X
Basketball pictogram.svg  Basketball XXXXXXX—XXXXXXXXXXX222222XX
Biathlon pictogram.svg  Biathlon ——X—————XXXXXXXX—XX141414141414XX
Boxing pictogram.svg  Boxing X—X————————————————————————
Broomball —————————X—————————————————
Cross country skiing pictogram.svg  Cross-country skiing XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX242424242424XX
Curling pictogram.svg  Curling XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX2223—2XX
Snow snake pictogram.svg  Dene games ——————————XXXXXXXXX242424242424XX
Sled dog racing pictogram.svg  Dog mushing ——————————XXXXXXXXX6666—6——
Figure skating pictogram.svg  Figure skating XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX—XX13131313—13XX
Freestyle skiing pictogram.svg  Freestyle skiing ————————————————————8——————
Futsal pictogram.svg  Futsal ———————————————————————55XX
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg  Gymnastics ——X———X—XXXXXXXXXXX6666—6XX
Ice hockey pictogram.svg  Ice hockey XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX333323XX
Futsal pictogram.svg  Indoor soccer —————XXXXXXXXXXXXXX5555————
Judo pictogram.svg  Judo —XXXXXX————————————————————
Shooting pictogram.svg  Shooting XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX————————————
Short track speed skating pictogram.svg  Short-track speed skating ———————XXX——XXXXXXX20202020—20XX
Snowboarding pictogram.svg  Snowboarding ———————————————XXXX202020201620XX
Snowshoe biathlon pictogram.svg  Snowshoe biathlon ————XXXXXXXXXX—X—XX141414141414XX
Snowshoeing pictogram.svg  Snowshoeing ——XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX141414141414XX
Swimming pictogram.svg  Swimming ——d————————————————————————
Table tennis pictogram.svg  Table tennis XXXXXXX—————XXX—XXX141412121212XX
Volleyball (indoor) pictogram.svg  Volleyball XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX222222XX
Winter triathlon ———————XXXX————————————————
Wrestling pictogram.svg  Wrestling —XXXXX————XXXXXXXXX252525252625XX
X = The sport was featured in this Arctic Winter Games.
12 = The sport was featured in this Arctic Winter Games. The number indicates the amount of medal-giving events in that sport.
d = Demonstration sport with no medal-giving events.
P = The sport is planned to be a part of an upcoming edition of the Arctic Winter Games.
— = The sport did not feature in this edition of the Arctic Winter Games.

Arctic Winter Games alumni

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally to be hosted by Yamal-Nenets, Russia, but withdrawn by committee due to war against Ukraine. Yellowknife declined to host the games that year and Whitehorse stepped in. [9]
  2. ↑ Originally slated to be held in the Northwest Territories but Vince McKay, Municipal and Community Affairs Minister, said the territory would not be hosting the games. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 "About AWG / International Committee / International Committee Members" . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  2. ↑ Davison, Janet (12 February 2023), The royals have their causes, but how much difference can they make?, CBC News, retrieved 4 June 2023
  3. ↑ "AWG 2026 Coming to Whitehorse!" . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. ↑ Arctic Winter Games International Committee (2006). "Medal standings". Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  5. ↑ "50th Anniversary of the Arctic Winter Games" (PDF). arcticwintergames.net. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "About the Arctic Winter Games". arcticwintergames.net. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Games and Galleries" . Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Arctic Winter Games 2024 to be hosted in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
  9. 1 2 Williams, Ollie (20 October 2024). "NWT formally declines to host Arctic Winter Games in 2028". Cabin Radio . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Hodgson Trophy" . Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "ULU News Gallery". Arcticwintergames.org. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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