Prince Albert gears up for games

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As April 16 approaches, activities are increasing in Prince Albert in preparation for the 21st annual First Nations Winter Games.

"It's like I'm doing 60 things at the same time," says Prince Albert Grand Council sports and recreation coordinator John Fitzgerald.

"It's a good thing that I've got [assistant director] Mel [Mercredi] here to help me out."

This year's winter games will see a slight change in format from past years, to help cut down the cost and give athletes, coaches, and chaperones a chance to spend some Easter holiday time together with their families.

"We're dividing the games up into two parts, with the young group coming in first and the oldest coming in [last]," explained Fitzgerald.

The first three age groups to see action will be the novice, atoms, and peewee groups, with the bantams and midgets coming in to compete in the second half of the games.

"That means we'll be hitting 1,370 people, coaches, chaperones, and athletes in the first part, and then halfway we'll be going to 1,780 chaperones, coaches, athletes in the last section.

"The reason why we're doing that is because for a long time the summer games and the winter games have cost us a fortune, and this way it cuts us down to half the food, half the accommodation, half the security . . . Everything's half, so that's good for us," Fitzgerald said.

"Easter holidays is when we have the games, and the kids go from school to the winter games, and then to school. They don't get any holidays anymore. That way families can get together for the Easter holidays."

This is not the first time the Prince Albert Grand Council has hosted the winter games, said vice chief Leonard Hardlotte.

"We hosted the games in 1995, and we were very successful and we had a lot of athletes here. We even beat the attendance of athletes for the [North American] Indigenous Games, so we were very proud of that fact. And also, we weren't ruined financially by those winter games, and the competition was very high."

This year's edition of the winter games will be showcasing a couple of new events -arm wrestling and women's hockey.

"It's interesting to find out who's the strongest person out of all the councils. Everybody would be wanting to know, and somebody would be going home proud because they're able to outdo everybody else," said Fitzgerald about the arm wrestling competition.

"The arm wrestling will be going men's and women's, and we'll have two weight categories and two age groups, so that should be fun."

Fitzgerald expected the addition of women's hockey to be interesting as well.

"We've been working with women [in the past] in the broom ball area. Also, long term, women's hockey will be working with the men's hockey, so the public will likely show more to both women's and men's hockey."

Competition in women's hockey will be open to girls aged 13 to 17.

" We might have some 12 year olds, and even some 11 year olds, but we're kind of wary," says Fitzgerald. "The reason why we put 13 is because we're worried about maturity of kids. If you've got a kid that weighs 60 pounds, and you've got one that's 180 pounds, and they collide against the boards, then you'd have a little girl hurt."

Another new feature of this year's games is a wellness program, something Fitzgerald feels will be an asset to all of the athletes.

"Our health department came up with an idea of trying to promote wellness at the summer and winter games. [This] means that there will be stations set up for the kids to learn about wellness, from smoking to drinking water to dental health to safe sex and alcohol consumption. I think it's a worthwhile area to get into, especially with the age group."

Of course, the other events that have been common to the games before are still there, such as boys hockey, boys and girls volleyball and badminton and girls broom ball.

As is the case with any games that are run, a lot of the work done on a day-to-day basis during the games themselves is done by volunteers, nd both Hardlotte and Fitzgerald understand the value of these people.

"Last time, we had some great volunteers, First Nations and non-First Nations," said Hardlotte.

"We have people calling again and we look forward to meeting with all the people who are volunteering. We hope to do some special things for the people that volunteer shortly after the games, as we did last time. We made sure that we had a great supper for them at one of the hotels, the Prince Albert Inn, and we made sure they had a great band for the dance that we hosted for them."

Fitzgerald suggested any and all potential volunteers sign up early and avoid the rush.

"The longer they wait, they might not get the areas they want. This wellness program would be a great area to work in, working at the hotels, working with the VIP's opening ceremonies, all those key areas. We need people working at each of the sporting venues, working at the door."

A games office and souvenir store has been set up in the Gateway Mall in downtown Prince Albert, and will be operating until the games are over. The office is being manned by students from Prince Albert Urban Services' Youth Internship Program (YIP).

"Most games do [have an office], and in First Nations, the recreation person's office becomes the office. We wanted something separate where the public could get involved with it," Fitzgerald said.

The First Nations Winter Games in Prince Albert will run from April 16 to 20. For more information about the games or to volunteer, call the Prince Albert Grand Council at (306) 953-7200.