Fairbanks and the Arctic Winter Games

Though we weren’t able to attend the winter Olympics in Sochi, this past weekend, our unit got a little flavor of what the games might have been like. We had the privilege of volunteering with the 2014 Arctic Winter Games held in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Arctic Winter Games, held every two years, is a “high-profile circumpolar sport competition for Northern and Arctic athletes” – mainly youth, ages 12-18.  There were 9 “contingents” of athletes: teams Alaska, Greenland, Sapmi (a group of indigenous peoples of northern Scandinavia), Yamal (one of the provinces of Russia), and several teams from various regions of Canada. Approximately 2,000 athletes from these respective teams competed in any one of 20 events, ranging from traditional native games to winter snow sports to games like basketball, indoor soccer, and ping-pong.

As volunteers, our group did just that – volunteer. The first evening volunteering, we set up beds and accommodations for teams as they arrived. It was a fun to be amongst the athletes: a group from Russia participating in wrestling, an entourage of Norwegian cross-country skiers, a number of Greenlandic youth taking part in traditional native sports, and more. At times there were language barriers, but smiles basically transcend all obstacles and I could identify with these teenagers as they engaged in horseplay and chased each other through the halls. (Another humorous thing was seeing many athletes from outside the US or Canada flocking to the vending machines and McDonalds of Fairbanks - quintessential “American” institutions, for good or for worse…)

Most of my volunteering, however, consisted of event photography. Several months ago when applying to be a volunteer, the position of photographer caught my eye. Over the course of the three days, I photographed volleyball, indoor soccer, and slalom snowboarding. My photography background consists almost entirely of nature photography, but I enjoyed this jaunt into new subject matter. Also, it gave me an excuse to be up and close to the games!

I came away from my time at the Arctic Winter Games with a heightened appreciation of the diversity of the world. This event is such a cool fusion of cultures, people, languages, and traditions. An interesting moment occurred at the Opening Ceremonies when a local high school vocal group sang all the national anthems of those represented at these games. I don’t tend to be an overly patriotic individual, but hearing all the national anthems made me proud to live in a world with so many diverse, unique, and rich groups of people.

Of course, we also had time to explore Fairbanks outside of the Arctic Winter Games. Our first night up, we headed out of town to Chena Hot Springs and enjoyed some time in the springs, around which a resort has sprouted up. The springs are an average of 106 degrees year round, and we heard stories from previous units of how exciting it was to have your hair freezing while your body was surrounded by warm water. However, for the first half of our long weekend, it was rather balmy: 45 degrees when we arrived in Fairbanks. Though we were mostly appreciative of the lack of -40 degree temperatures (something that Fairbanks is known for), no hair froze during our stay in the springs. That night, we stayed at a public use cabin, enjoying the wood stove, our warm sleeping bags, and a short ski jaunt in the morning.

The public use cabin

cooking up breakfast

During our time volunteering, we were fortunate to stay in the house of a member of fledgling Fairbanks Mennonite fellowship. Like a good number of homes in Fairbanks, this house did not have running water. As such, we filled up a 5 gallon jug every day in town to replenish what we had used the day before. Nevertheless, it was a great place to stay and we were all very comfortable.

The house at night with the moon

The outhouse with red heat lamp!

Fairbanks is known for hosting the World Ice Art Championships. We got in on the festivities one afternoon and meandered through the multitude of ice sculptures. Ranging from single block carvings to huge, towering creations, we were in amazement at the skill of these ice carvers. Artists come from all over the world to compete in this event, each producing a magnificent ice creation in the end. 

Leah getting eaten by an ice bear.

And so, we returned home after our long weekend, a little tired, but with plenty of memories of Fairbanks and the Arctic Winter Games.

Though Fairbanks is known for its good northern lights, this is the best we saw during our stay. Still fun, though!