Arctic Winter Games Logo |
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| First event | 1970 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada |
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| Occur every | two years |
| Last event | 2010 Arctic Winter Games held in Grande Prairie, Alberta |
| Purpose | Sports for the Arctic |
| President | Gerry Thick |
| Website | ArcticWinterGames.org |
The Arctic Winter Games is an international biennial celebration of circumpolar sports and culture.
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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 Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska. Since then, the Games have been held on fifteen occasions in different places and with ever more participants from more and more places within the Arctic region. The games in 2002 were the first jointly hosted Arctic Winter Games, by Nuuk, Greenland and Iqaluit, Nunavut.
A total of nine contingents participated in the Arctic Winter Games. The same group of teams also made up the participants of the previous games [1]
The Hodgson trophy for fair play and team spirit is awarded at the end of every games. The past winners of the trophy are:[2]
| Winner | Year |
|---|---|
| Alaska | 1978 |
| Yukon | 1980-1988 |
| Alaska | 1990 |
| NWT | 1992 |
| Greenland | 1994 |
| NWT | 1996 |
| Yukon | 1998 |
| Nunavut | 2000 |
| Greenland | 2002 |
| Nunavut | 2004 |
| Alaska | 2006 |
| Nunavut | 2008 |
| Alaska | 2010 |
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