Fairbanks, Alaska, to host 2028 Arctic Winter Games

Fairbanks, Alaska, will host the 2028 Arctic Winter Games, the AWG International Committee announced Tuesday.

It will be the second time in three games that the U.S. state has hosted. The Matanuska-Susitna borough, in the towns of Wasilla and Palmer, welcomed circumpolar athletes, coaches and cultural performers in 2024.

“Fairbanks submitted an extraordinary proposal at an important time for the Arctic Winter Games movement,” committee president John Rodda said in an email. “Working with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the School District, the State of Alaska, and many community partners, they clearly demonstrated their readiness to host.”

For the 2026 Arctic Winter Games, which were held in Whitehorse, Nunavut sent 313 participants while Nunavik sent a team of 58 athletes.

The Nunavut Sport Federation posted on Facebook that each sport will begin identifying athletes for Team Nunavut over the coming months.

As planning has just begun, more details will follow later about specific venues in Fairbanks, which has a population of about 32,000, while the borough it sits in has a population of 95,000.

“Fairbanks has excellent facilities and a long history of hosting major winter-sport events,” Rodda said.

After Hay River and Fort Smith, NWT, hosted the 2018 games, the 2020 games were set for Whitehorse but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next games didn’t take place until 2023 in Fort McMurray, Alta.

When asked if the AWGIC had concerns about going back to Alaska so soon, Rodda said the strength of the Fairbanks proposal was not the only consideration.

“Awarding the 2028 Games also allows us to restore the Arctic Winter Games to our traditional two-year cycle, providing greater certainty for athletes, contingents, volunteers, and future host communities,” Rodda wrote.

The event was originally scheduled for 2029, according to the Sport Information Resource Centre.

The Arctic Winter Games had at least one Russian delegation from 1992 to 2018, but athletes from the Yamal, Chukotka, Tyumen and Magadan regions of the country have been barred from participating since Russia invaded Ukraine, in February 2022.

“We are following the work of our international sport partners and researching a return-to-play process [for Russian athletes],” Rodda said. “For the 2028 Arctic Winter Games, there will be no changes.”

The Arctic Winter Games International committee said in a release that they will announce the dates for the 2028 Games in the coming weeks.

Alaska will look to use homefield advantage to win even more of the ulu-shaped medals for first, second and third place finishes. Team Alaska left the 2026 games in Whitehorse as the run-away winner, racking up 227 ulus, 53 more than the second-place team from Yukon. Team Nunavut ended up with 55 medals in Whitehorse, while Nunavik won 12.

Team Nunavut shared the Hodgson Trophy Award for sportsmanship and fair play with the team from northern Alberta.