By Kirstie Simpson, Head of Ski Patrol and Mountain Safety, Mount Sima (kirstie.avalanchenorth@gmail.com)
The Arctic Winter Games (AWG) were held in Whitehorse, Yukon, from March 8 to 14, 2026. Twenty-two CSP patrollers, including one visiting patroller from Ontario, provided medical services for the games. There were 2,000 participants in the games and 2,000 volunteers to support them!
The AWG, hosted first by the Northwest Territories (NWT) in 1970, provides young athletes with an opportunity to compete in friendly competition while sharing cultural values from northern regions around the world. The AWG includes eight contingents, with all participating countries limited to locations north of the 55th parallel.
The contingents are – Alaska, Alberta North, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Nunavik-Quebec (Arctic Quebec), Nunavut, NWT, Sapmi, and Yukon. Sapmi is a northern Scandinavian region spanning northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. The Sami are the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Sapmi Region.
There are 20 sports included in the AWG, ranging from the typical winter sports of cross-country, snowboard, alpine, and biathlon, as well as a few northern twists such as snowshoe biathlon and snowshoe racing. In addition, there are a number of indoor winter sports such as hockey, speed skating, and figure skating, as well as sports more associated with summer games such as volleyball, badminton and archery. The big draw for many is the Arctic sports and the Dene games.
Arctic sports generally refer to a set of traditional games that, since time immemorial, have been a part of life for Inuit peoples across a vast area stretching from Alaska to Greenland. These games were used to develop individual physical abilities, from balance and flexibility to strength and pain tolerance, that were crucial for collective survival in a challenging natural environment. Many of the Dene games, like the Arctic Games, have their origins in hunting and fishing, including the snow snake, which replicates hunting of caribou, seal and ptarmigan from great distances with great accuracy!
The CSP team for the games was amazing, putting in a huge amount of time and effort in very cold conditions to support a successful Arctic Winter Games.
Thanks to Yukon Zone CSP members Amy Martell,, Ben Feltmate, Bill Mann, Brendan Rea, Chantal Smith, Chris McCutcheon, Darryl Kenney, Dayna Harder, Heather Swystun, Joel Witten, Ken Howard, Kirstie Simpson, Kristina Gardner, Marie Watts, Maxime Bonnevoy, Pauli Thierbach, Sylvie Geoffroy, Tim Sellars, Theresa Landman, Trevor Short, and Valerie Girard, as well as Ontario Division, Chicopee Ski Club members Paul Chin and Jacqueline Chin. Honourable mention to Katie Flear, also from Chicopee, who came to guest patrol for one day!
In addition, Chantal Smith was lead for physiotherapy, Ken Howard was lead for volleyball and Tim Sellars and Kirstie Simpson were ski patrol co-leads for the AWG medical committee, preparing and meeting for almost a year out from the games.