Who wants to go to Norway for the Arctic Winter Games?

The Sámi people of Scandinavia have expressed an interest in hosting an edition of the Arctic Winter Games within the next decade.

The games, which focus on northern youth sports and were first held in Yellowknife 54 years ago, have rotated through parts of Canada, Alaska and more recently Greenland in the decades since.

Sápmi has never hosted, but Arctic Winter Games international committee president John Rodda told Cabin Radio the games could go to Lillehammer, in Norway, as soon as 2030.

However, Rodda cautioned, there are immense logistical and financial challenges to overcome before such a plan could go ahead, at a time when the Arctic Winter Games is trying to find ways to keep costs – and climate impact – down.

“It’s an interesting concept. We did hear from representatives of Lillehammer, which has Olympic experience, and I’m not too concerned from a venue standpoint,” Rodda said.

“It’s premature at this point. My guess would be, if they want to put forth a strong bid, it may be 2030 or 2032.

“There’s also the economics, the cost of going to Norway. That all has to be run up the flagpole and openly discussed with all the government representatives, the funders.”

Britt Somby, leader of Sámi sports federation the Sámi Valáštallan Lihttu, or SVL, told Cabin Radio hosting the Arctic Winter Games “is SVL’s dream.”

However, Somby said no agreement had been reached with the municipality of Lillehammer to stage the games or submit a bid.

“How we should proceed is a mystery to me. When it comes to Sámi issues in Norway, it is generally difficult to reach out and create commitment,” Somby said by email.

“The relevant places in Norway are Lillehammer, Trondheim and Oslo. Trondheim has said no, Oslo has not responded, and Lillehammer is unsure. This is the situation for us today.”

If Lillehammer does eventually partner with the SVL to submit a bid, Rodda says he expects “tremendous enthusiasm” from other teams – and athletes who might have the chance to go.

“A lot of us were saying, ‘Wow. Who would have thought we were going to Europe?’ There was a pretty enthusiastic response,” Rodda said.

“But we haven’t openly thrown that out there as an option, because we don’t have a strong commitment coming from the people in Norway.

“I’ve heard that we will be receiving something.”

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