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 2023 Arctic Winter Games held in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
PurposeSports for the Arctic
PresidentJohn Flynn [1]
Website arcticwintergames.net

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 Governor Walter J. Hickel of Alaska, Stuart M. Hodgson, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and Yukon Commissioner James Smith. 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. Since then, the Games have been held on 15 occasions in different locations in the Arctic region, with participation steadily growing. The games in 2002 were the first jointly hosted Arctic Winter Games, by Nuuk, Greenland, and Iqaluit, Nunavut. During the 2023 games, Prince William, heir to the Canadian throne, spoke virtually with nine participants. [2]

The next Arctic Winter Games take place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska [3] from March 10-16, 2024. [4]

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, Russia
  5. Russia - four regions (former member)

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. [5] [6] [7] 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. [8]

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 + Iqaluit Greenland + 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 [3] United States
28 2026 Whitehorse Canada [9]
29 2028 Northwest Territories
30 2030 Nunavut
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 Milton Hodgson, former Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. [10]

The past winners of the trophy are: [10]

Year(s)Winner
1978Alaska
1980–1988Yukon
1990Alaska
1992Northwest Territories
1994Greenland
1996Northwest Territories
1998Yukon
2000Nunavut
2002Greenland
2004Nunavut
2006Alaska
2008Nunavut
2010Alaska
2012Nunavut
2014Greenland
2016–2018Alaska
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2023North Alberta
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

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Arctic Winter Games International Committee" . Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  2. ↑ Davison, Janet (February 12, 2023), The royals have their causes, but how much difference can they make?, CBC News, retrieved June 4, 2023
  3. 1 2 Arctic Winter Games 2024 to be hosted in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
  4. ↑ "Mat-Su 2024 Arctic Winter Games" . Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  5. ↑ Arctic Winter Games International Committee (2006). "Medal standings". Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
  6. ↑ "50th Anniversary of the Arctic Winter Games" (PDF). arcticwintergames.net. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "About the Arctic Winter Games". arcticwintergames.net. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Games and Galleries" . Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  9. ↑ [originally to be hosted by Yamal-Nenets, Russia, but withdrawn by committee due to war against Ukraine]
  10. 1 2 "Hodgson Trophy" . Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "ULU News Gallery". Arcticwintergames.org. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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