Arctic Winter Games Returning to Fairbanks, AK, in 2028

Just months after deciding to move to a three-year cycle, organizers of the Arctic Winter Games are scrapping that plan, restoring the Games’ traditional two-year cycle and confirming that Fairbanks, Alaska, will host the event in 2028. 

“The Arctic Winter Games provide an important opportunity for northern athletes to compete, develop their skills, and build lasting connections across the circumpolar North,” Northwest Territories Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Vince McKay said. “We look forward to supporting Team NT as preparations begin for the 2028 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks.”

Held every two years since 1970, the Arctic Winter Games bring together participants, spectators, sponsors, and volunteers from regions and territories all across the north for one week of winter sports competition and cultural celebration. The Games feature roughly 2,000 youth participants from the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Alaska, Kalaallit Nunaat, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Northern Alberta, and the Indigenous people (Sami) of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The competitors, who are primarily under 18 years old, take part in 20 different sports, including alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, to win unique Ulu medals, inspired by a traditional, all-purpose curved knife used by Indigenous people of the Arctic.

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Back in December, the Arctic Winter Games committee approved a move to a three-year cycle. This meant that following the 2026 Games held in Whitehorse, Canada, they would not have been held again until 2029. At the time, committee President John Rodda said that the decision was about “supporting the long-term sustainability of the games and maintaining the quality and integrity of it,” according to CBC.

Ultimately, the committee decided to return to its original two-year cycle following “an extraordinary proposal from the Fairbanks community at a pivotal moment for the Arctic Winter Games movement,” Rodda cited. After spending four months reviewing the Fairbanks community’s proposal to host in 2028, the committee formally awarded the event to Alaska’s second-biggest city.

The Arctic Winter Games’ news release also stated that returning to a two-year cycle “provides greater certainty” for future athletes, coaches and organizers, “while strengthening long-term planning across the Arctic Winter Games movement.”

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For Arctic Winter Games competitors, a two-year cycle offers more chances to compete in sports that are often overlooked. Sports like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and even alpine skiing and snowboarding are typically difficult to compete in at a youth level, given popular interest in other sports. Many secondary schools, especially in high northern regions, do not offer organized competition. But the youth-focused Arctic Winter Games give young athletes a platform to compete at a high level against others from different regions across the northern parts of the globe.

Having previously hosted the Arctic Winter Games in 1982, 1988 and 2014, the committee considers Fairbanks one of the “most experienced host communities.” The committee’s executive director, Moira Lassen, said the decision to return to Fairbanks “marks the start of an exciting new chapter.”

“We look forward to working with the Fairbanks 2028 Host Society, our participating contingents, sport partners, and volunteers to deliver an exceptional Games experience for northern youth across the circumpolar North,” Lassen said.