Arctic Winter Games
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Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Mission Statement
As the official representative of the State of Alaska, to promote and integrate athletic and cultural activities for the youth of Alaska with the youth of the circumpolar arctic.
Click here to see the Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska bylaws
About Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska
Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska is the organization charged with the tasks of organizing, outfitting and transporting the Alaska Team to the Arctic Winter Games. Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska is a membership organization governed by a 12-member Board of Directors drawn from around the State of Alaska. The board elections are held every year, with members serving staggered 3-year terms.
If you would like to support Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska by joining as a biennial or lifetime member, you can do so by downloading a membership form, using the link below.
Download a membership form and become a member of the corporation
Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Trust Fund
The Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Trust Fund is a fund created by the state legislature for the purpose of accepting tax-deductible donations, the purpose of which is to create an endowment sufficient to operate Team Alaska in perpetuity.
As of fall 2006 the balance in the fund is over $125,000. The fund-raising goal is in excess of $10,000,000. Your contribution, no matter how small or large, will help Team Alaska reach its goal of financial self-sufficiency.
Download a copy of a donation form for the Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Trust Fund.
The Arctic Winter Games and Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska
The Arctic Winter Games is a biennial sport and
cultural program that brings together youth from the circumpolar north to
compete and perform. The governments of Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest
Territories created the Arctic Winter Games in the late 1960’s, during the
first Hickel Administration. The Arctic Winter Games International
Committee/Corporation (AWGIC) was formed at that time, with corporate
directors from each of the participating units. The role of the Arctic
Winter Games International Committee is to oversee the long term viability
and the strategic direction of the Games. In addition, the AWGIC is
responsible for selecting the host site for each Games three years prior to
the Games, for supervising and implementing the technical aspects of the
sport competition at the Games, and for monitoring the progress of each Host
Society as they prepare for the Games.
Yellowknife hosted the first games in 1970. The teams from those three
governmental units supplied all the participants in those original Games.
Since 1976, teams from outside the original three units have joined in the
Games. Alaska has hosted the Games in 1974, 1982, 1988 and 1996. At the 2006
Games in the Kenai Peninsula participants will include nearly 2000 young
people and their coaches from Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut,
Northern Alberta, Greenland, Tyumen (Russia) and Chukotka (Russia), as well
as a Sami team drawn from the north of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Competition will be held in 20 sports: Alpine Skiing, Badminton, Basketball,
Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing, Curling, Dene Games, Dog Mushing, Figure
Skating, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Indoor Soccer, Inuit Games, Short-Track
Speed Skating, Snowboarding, Snowshoe Biathlon, Snowshoeing, Table Tennis,
Volleyball and Wrestling. A group of cultural performers from each
delegation will also perform throughout the week.
The government of the State of Alaska created the Arctic Winter Games Team
Alaska Corporation to act on the state’s behalf in organizing the Alaska
Team to the Games. What was initially a very small group of athletes and
coaches participating in 10 sports, has grown to a group of approximately
375 coaches and athletes participating in 20 sports. The cost of operating
Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska through a biennial Games Cycle is
approximately $300,000, exclusive of travel costs, which can add up to
$500,000 per games, depending upon the location of the Games.
Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska is responsible for all aspects of
preparation for the Games: establishing selection procedures and criteria
for coaches and athletes in all 20 sports; for communicating information
about the Team Alaska program through the media, including the World Wide
Web, for procuring team uniforms for the opening and closing ceremonies, as
well as for competition, for arranging travel not only from Alaska to the
Games, but from outlying communities to the points from which Team Alaska
flies, or buses, to the Games, and for supervising the Team Alaska effort at
the Games by assisting and supporting the coaches and athletes on Team
Alaska to ensure that they can compete without hindrance and otherwise
participate to the fullest degree possible.
Team Alaska has been supported through a combination of state grants,
corporate sponsorships, philanthropic grants, and registration fees paid by
all members of Team Alaska. Registration fees for members of Team Alaska are
typically $450-$550, and have ranged in recent years from $250-$750. The
broad range reflects the variation in travel costs, depending upon the
location of the Games
The other principal entity in the Arctic Winter Games structure is the Host
Society. Host Society is the term used by the Arctic Winter Games
International Committee to describe the corporate entity charged with
organizing and conducting the Games. The Host Society is a completely
separate entity, in every respect, including finances, from both the Arctic
Winter Games International Committee and Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska.
Even though the 2006 Games are in Alaska, and Team Alaska will work together
with the Host Society on some aspects of the Games, the two are completely
separate.
Download a membership form and become a member of the corporation.
Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Board of Directors:
Randy Pitney, Fairbanks, President
Jeff Bush, Juneau
Joe Crosson, Anchorage
Ken Larimore, Fairbanks
Joe Nava, Fairbanks
Randy Phillips, Eagle River
James Powell, Juneau
Chris Spoerhase, Eagle River
Phyllis Tate, Fairbanks
Dixie Waddell, Chugiak
Bonnie Williams, Fairbanks