Arctic Winter Games

About the Arctic Winter Games

The Arctic Winter Games is an international sport festival bringing together athletes from the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Alaska, Greenland, Russia (Yamal), Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Northern Alberta and the indigenous people (Sami) of Norway, Sweden, Russia and Finland.

The concept of the Arctic Winter Games was developed as a direct result of the experiences of Northern athletes at the 1967 Canada Winter Games.

Representatives of the Yukon and Northwest Territories realized that their teams were at disadvantage due to relatively small athletic pools, lack of facilities and infrequent training opportunities. Therefore, the concept of an event specifically designed for northern athletes was born.

The first games were staged in 1970 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and have taken place every two years since, alternating among participating jurisdictions.

Team Alberta North joined the Arctic Winter Games in 1986, and Alberta hosted for the first time 1994 in Slave Lake, and have since hosted in 2004 (Wood Buffalo) and in 2010 (Grande Prairie). In 2022, Alberta will host for the fourth time.