Arctic Winter Games International Committee

The Arctic Winter Games International Committee oversees the high profile circumpolar sport competition by defining the strategic direction for the games, selecting host cities, awarding the Hodgson Trophy and providing overall governance.

History

In 1967, Cal Miller, Financial advisor to the Yukon Team is in Quebec City for the first Canada Winter Games and watches the more experienced southern athletes outplay his athletes from the North. At the same time, Stuart Hodgson, the commissioner of the Northwest Territories, is witnessing something similar with his team. It was then that Miller suggested creating their own games for the North – to provide a forum where athletes from the "circumpolar North" could compete on their own terms, on their own turf.

Commissioner James Smith (Yukon), Commissioner Stuart Hodgson (Northwest Territories) and Governor Walter Hickel (Alaska) began the Arctic Winter Games in 1969. All three men were concerned about the lack of competition that our northern athletes and coaches had access to, and the lopsided scores they were frequently exposed to when they participated in national events in the south.

The first Arctic Winter Games was held in Yellowknife, NWT in 1970 with three contingents coming from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska.