Welcome to the Arctic Winter Games 2010
I say Welcome to the Arctic Winter Games 2010 because I’m not sure how many readers are familiar with these games or their history in Canada.
The first time I heard of them was from my friend Ann Peel, who had visited the games in her capacity as Executive Director of Right to Play, and who raved about the events, particularly the aboriginal arctic sports such as the One-Foot Kick and Arm Pull, and the differences in competitive culture displayed here, where participants in the same category offer advice and encouragement to each other throughout the process, and the audience, for the most part, is expected to be silent. My boys were young, and I was worried they were going to cause trouble, that they wouldn’t keep quiet, especially after taking them to the Olympics, Ann told me, but they were mesmerized by the athletes, their quickness, dexterity, balance, and stillness. In fact, they told me at the time that they liked the Arctic Games the best, Paralympics second, and Olympics third.
And so, I must admit, I do have high hopes for the next few days, and am eager to witness and write about the specific Arctic Sports, Dene Games, and Dog-Mushing competitions included in the sports schedule, and to give readers a sense of the cultural programming associated with these games.
First, however, some background might be useful for those of you (like me) who are unfamiliar with these games.
Commissioner James Smith (Yukon), Commissioner Stuart Hodgson (Northwest Territories) and Governor Walter Hickel (Alaska) began the Arctic Winter Games in 1969. The impetus behind the movement was to encourage quality competition among northern athletes who were otherwise isolated, and therefore facilitate development of physical and mental skills as well as cultural exchange. The first Arctic Winter Games was held in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in 1970 with three contingents from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska. Northern Alberta sent their first contingents in 1986. In 1988 invitations were also extended to Greenland, Northern Quebec, and Russia.
In 1988 it was also decided that the cultural events and arctic sports would be given more prominence and importance in the games, and that Dene Games would be added to the programming. In 1996 organizers agreed to shift the primary focus of the games to youth. By 2000 adults were only included in the culture, Arctic Sports, and Dene Games. The Sami People from Northern Scandinavia and participants from Yamal, Russia, also joined the games. (The rule for inclusion is that territories must lie above the 55th parallel.) And women and junior girls, traditionally barred from various Arctic Sports and Dene Games, were now given clearance to compete.
While my focus over the next few days will be to experience as a spectator as much of the aboriginal sports and cultural programming involved in these 2010 games in Grande Prairie, Alberta as possible, it should be noted that the majority of the sports programming does reflect more common global summer and winter Olympic sports categories, such as basketball, volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics, hockey, indoor soccer, figure skating, and more; furthermore, the majority of the participating body of youth are non-aboriginal. For many who live in the participating regions, this is the only major competition available to youth athletes, and part of the concept behind the games is to encourage more interaction and dialogue among diverse geographical populations, and among aboriginals and whites and other races.
The eight teams participating in these games are: Alaska, Alberta North, Greenland, Northwest Territories, Nunavik (Quebec), Nunavut, Sápmi, Yamal-Nenets, and Yukon. Participants can be as young as eleven in some sports (such as dog-mushing, which includes juvenile and junior categories), and as old as in their thirties for the Dene Games (which includes junior and adult categories).
I have already had the pleasure of experiencing some cross-cultural dialogue in my hotel bar, where several Games organizers and officials and media are also staying. While I was studying my city map, Börje Allas approached me to ask who I was and what I knew about the games. I told him I’m a writer and I was here to learn about the games. Me too, I’m here to learn about the games, he said. Then I can report back to Sweden about whether to increase our participation and become full partners. Right now the Sami People are guests of the games. As a guest, I learned, a team can only bring a certain number of people to participate in specific events. The Sami are participating in biathlon, cross-country skiing, and indoor soccer. To become a full partner requires more financial commitment to the games. To find innovative and practical ways to encourage greater physical health among the Sami people, whose health rates are poorer than the rest of the Scandinavian population, is a primary goal for Börje’s organization.
We have strong lungs, from running with the reindeer. I have run with the reindeer my whole life—this is why we are so good at biathlon, running, and skiing. My children run with the reindeer too, although most people herd with motorcycles now, my new friend told me. I asked him if there was a Sami game that might be added to the programming should they become a full partner. He informed me of a sport, much like biathlon, except instead of shooting, the competitor lassoes antlers or another object. If the lassoer misses, a penalty lap is enforced. I’m going to look forward to seeing that someday, I told him, and gave him a copy of Canadian Sports Stories. He was tickled pink to see that I thank Mats Sundin in my acknowledgements. Apparently, Mats fishes in his region of Sweden, among the reindeer. Today’s poem is for Börje Allas.
