Teams
The Arctic Winter Games showcase the incredible diversity and talent of northern athletes, with each team bringing its own unique history, culture, and values to the competition. On this page, you’ll find a summary of each competing team and their journey to the Games.
TEAM ALASKA
Established in 1968 as a non-profit, Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska (AWGTA) cultivates and celebrates sport, social exchange, and culture. Team Alaska strengthens Alaska’s communities by providing young athletes with the opportunity to compete in friendly competition while sharing cultural values from northern regions around the world. In 2024, Alaska proudly hosted the Arctic Winter Games in the Mat-Su Borough, marking the first time the region welcomed athletes from across the Circumpolar North.
The largest of the American states was once a part of imperial Russia. Purchased from the Czar in 1867 for $7.2 million, Alaska remained a territory until statehood was granted in 1959. Gold rushes were abundant in Fairbanks, Nome, Iditarod, Hope and Juneau. Copper strikes at Kennecott, and oil rushes on the Kenai Peninsula and along the North Slope have all contributed to Alaska’s diverse economy and population. Alaska is one of the least populous of the American states, with fewer than 650,000 residents, primarily along the railroad route between Anchorage and Fairbanks. About 30% of the state’s population is aboriginal.
The capital city, Juneau, is located in the southeastern panhandle along the 1,000 mile Inside Passage that shelters shipping from the North Pacific Storm Track. The largest city in the state is Anchorage. Fairbanks, the Golden Heart of the state’s interior, has seen a rapid expansion in gold mining.
Alaska’s flag represents the constellation Ursus Major, the Big Dipper or Great Bear, the primary celestial landmark and navigational guide in the northern latitudes. The gold stars of the state’s flag are displayed on a blue background. Alaska’s team colors are blue and gold.
TEAM ALBERTA NORTH
Alberta North joined the Arctic Winter Games in 1986 and hosted for the first time in 1994 in Slave Lake. The fourth-largest of Canada’s provinces, Alberta is the southernmost participant in the Games. Participation is limited to regions located north of the 55th parallel.
Traditionally associated with wheat farming and cattle ranching, this region experiences a cold continental climate during the winter. The province stretches more than 1,200 km from its southern border with the United States to its northern border with the Northwest Territories. Alberta is Canada’s largest producer of oil and gas, including vast reserves of oil sands. It holds approximately 50% of Canada’s coal reserves and is home to a major petrochemical industry based on its gas and hydrocarbon resources. Agriculture remains a mainstay of the province, along with the forestry and pulp industries.
The province’s flag features the coat of arms on a blue background. The team colours of Alberta North are royal blue and white.
TEAM GREENLAND
Greenland has been participating in the Arctic Winter Games since 1990. In 2002, Greenland hosted the Games for the first time in Nuuk, and they last hosted the Games in 2016. Greenland is the most northerly of the jurisdictions involved in the Arctic Winter Games.
Considered part of North America, Greenland is the world’s largest island. Two-thirds of the island is located above the Arctic Circle, and approximately 85% of its landmass is covered by ice. Transportation between the island’s towns is solely by sea, air, or even by dog sled in some areas. The majority of settlements are in the southwest, where the climate is mildest.
Greenland’s population consists mainly of Greenlandic people, a mixed race that resulted from interactions between Inuit and Europeans, mostly Danes, beginning in the 18th century. Today, the island’s residents enjoy self-government under Danish sovereignty. Their economy is primarily based on the fishing and mining industries.
Greenland’s flag is red and white, featuring horizontal bars of opposite colors and a circle displaying the inverse colors, slightly off-center to the left. The team colors are red and white.
TEAM NUNAVIK-QUEBEC
Nunavik-Quebec, also known as Arctic Quebec, participated in the Arctic Winter Games in 1972, 1974, 1976, and 1986. Participation resumed again in 2000 and continues to this day.
Nunavik is the region of Quebec located above the 55th parallel. It is often included in the Arctic Winter Games because of the close cultural ties between its Inuit residents and those of Nunavut and Greenland. The Canadian Shield around Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay dominates Nunavik’s geography. Most of Nunavik-Quebec is covered by tundra, with vegetation predominantly consisting of moss and lichen. Nunavik-Quebec’s vast territory is mainly inhabited by Inuit, with a small Cree population in the more southern part of Hudson Bay.
The flag features the traditional fleur-de-lis in each corner on a blue background, divided by a white cross. The team colours are lime green and black.
TEAM NUNAVUT
Prior to 2002, Nunavut participated in every Arctic Winter Games as part of Team NWT. Since then, it has become a permanent member in its own right. Also noteworthy in 2002 was Nunavut’s first time hosting the Games in Iqaluit, alongside co-host Nuuk, Greenland.
Nunavut is Canada’s newest territory, created from the division of the Northwest Territories in 1999. It is characterised by vast expanses of the Canadian Shield and tundra, as well as most of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago. Like Greenland, some islands in the archipelago, including Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, have permanent ice caps and coastlines carved by scenic fjords. Due to the consistently low temperatures, no trees grow on any of these islands, even during the summer months.
The name Nunavut, meaning “Our Land” in the Inuktitut language, reflects the territory’s creation as a means of ensuring Inuit control over their traditional way of life. More than 80% of Nunavut’s residents are Inuit.
Nunavut’s flag features two vertical bars—one yellow and one white—with a traditional Inukshuk at the centre and a blue star offset in the top right corner. The team colours are red, yellow, and blue.
TEAM NWT
The Northwest Territories (NWT) was the first team to host the Arctic Winter Games in 1970 in Yellowknife, and most recently hosted the Games in 2018.
The Northwest Territories (NWT) is the second-largest of Canada’s three territories. It stretches from the 60th parallel to the North Pole and includes several large islands in the Arctic Ocean. To the west lies the Yukon Territory, to the north is the Arctic Ocean, and to the east is Nunavut. British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan are located to the south.
The first inhabitants of the Northwest Territories were the Dene and the Inuit, with communities developing around trading posts. In 1870, the area became Canada’s first territory. In 1999, the Northwest Territories was divided, creating the new territory of Nunavut.
The NWT flag represents Canada’s North, with blue symbolizing water and white representing ice and snow. At the centre of the flag is a shield, which became the official flag of NWT in 1969. Team colours are navy, sky blue, and white.
TEAM SAPMI
The Sámi are the Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia, inhabiting Sápmi, a region spanning northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula.
With a population of approximately 100,000, the Sámi have a deep cultural and historical connection to the Arctic. Traditionally, many Sámi were semi-nomadic reindeer herders, a practice that continues today and remains central to their way of life. The Sámi language consists of several distinct dialects, though only one is spoken across all Scandinavian countries. Despite historical challenges, the Sámi have maintained their cultural identity and celebrate their heritage through events such as the Riddu Riđđu festival. The Sámi flag has four distinct colours in it, the largest block of colour on the right is a dark blue, met with two thin strips of yellow and green. On the left is a larger stripe of red. All four colours are overlaid with a circle of red and blue, The team colours are red, yellow, blue and black.
TEAM YUKON
This will be the seventh time that Whitehorse has hosted the Arctic Winter Games, and Team Yukon has participated in every Games since their inception in 1970.
Canada’s north-westernmost area, the Yukon has a history that hints at its vast mineral wealth. Mining has been the leading economic activity in the region since the Gold Rush, and as resource development has progressed, the emphasis has shifted from gold to industrial minerals such as lead and zinc. Gold is still being discovered in large quantities in the territory.
Stretching from the St. Elias Range, which forms the Yukon border with Alaska and British Columbia, the Yukon extends to the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort Sea. Included within this area is the famous Klondike, home to the last great North American gold rush in 1898.
About 20% of Yukon’s population is of Aboriginal descent, and about 70% of the population resides in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon.
The Yukon’s flag has vertical bars of green, white, and blue. In the middle white section, above a wreath of fireweed, is the Yukon’s coat of arms. Team colours are black, red, and white.