Julie Martin of Palmer traded Arctic Winter Games pins that she collected while volunteering during the 1996 Chugiak/Eagle River games with Wyatt Cyre, 11, of Whitehorse on Monday, March 11, 2024, who traveled to Alaska to cheer on his sisters as they compete for Team Yukon in hockey and badminton.
The Arctic Winter Games are a weeklong Olympics-style event held every two years for youth athletes, with 20 sports including snowshoe races, Dene Games, badminton, hockey and more. More than 1,800 athletes from Alaska and seven regions of the circumpolar north compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in the shape of ulus. The Games were last held in Alaska in Fairbanks in 2014.
While pin enthusiasts this week said collecting them is an obsession for some and its own form of sport for others, more than anything else, trading Games pins gives athletes and fans a way to connect with one another, they said. What Wyatt may not know, she said, is that by trading pins with strangers, he’s also learning to build global friendships.Cheryl Jobson of Grande Prairie, Alberta, displays her collection of pins.
Team Alaska athlete Malcolm Fuetta, who traveled to Mat-Su from Juneau to compete in Arctic sports, sat on the floor next to a North Alberta athlete to offer some tips during the Alaska high kick competition Wednesday. After showing the North Alberta athlete a different way to hold his foot, Fuetta moved back to the sidelines while the athlete completed his kick, successfully sending the ball bouncing into the air.