Smaller contingent, but Alberta North still expected to do well

The medal count will in all likelihood be down.
And though it will not have as many participants as last time, Jerry George, the chef de mission for the Alberta North squad, believes his side is still capable of registering a second-place finish at this year’s Arctic Winter Games.

The games, which will be staged in Whitehorse, are scheduled for Mar. 4-10.

Alberta North will send a contingent of about 225 to Whitehorse.  About 190 of those will be athletes and the remainder coaches and support staff.

Since it hosted the last AWG in Grande Prairie in 2010, the Alberta North side was allowed to have a full complement of 300 individuals at that competition. But organizers have decided to limit the numbers. Alberta North finished second - behind only Alaska -  at the 2010 AWG. It captured 145 medals, including 43 gold. Alaska won a total of 251 medals.

George said Alberta North will be aiming to finish right behind Alaska again in this year’s medal standings.
“I think that will still be our objective going into the games,” he said. “I don’t think that’s out of reach.”

The AWG have been staged every two years since 1970. During its early years the AWG featured three competing teams - Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Alberta North was added in 1976.

There are nine teams that take part now, representing regions of the circumpolar world. The others are Nunavut, Northern Quebec, Greenland, Russian reps called Yamal and a team dubbed Sampi, representing parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Since organizers want to limit the number of athletes and coaches at the AWG to about 2,000, only the three founding members are allowed to field teams of 300.

A total of 19 sports will be offered at this year’s AWG:  alpine skiing, Arctic Games, badminton, basketball, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, Dene Games, dog mushing, figure skating, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, snowboarding, snowshoeing, speedskating, table tennis, volleyball and wrestling.

Alberta North will have representatives in all the sports except basketball and table tennis.

The majority of Alberta North’s athletes will be teenagers. The sports being offered feature varying age groupings. But since the Arctic Games and Dene Games have open categories, some older individuals can also take part.

The Alberta North team is open to those who live north of the 55th parallel. Tryouts for the various clubs began this past fall and were completed by mid-January.

 George said Mother Nature did not co-operate as the dates for some of the outdoor competitions had to be delayed.

“We had a pretty mild winter, even in northern Alberta,” he said, adding some organizers had to wait for suitable weather conditions to stage their tryouts.

This year’s AWG will also include a cultural component. All nine of the participating contingents are invited to bring performers (singers, dancers, groups) to take part in the cultural festival. Besides various concerts held throughout the week of the AWG, there will also be a pair of galas featuring the performers representing the competing teams.

A dance group from Fort McMurray will be representing Alberta North.