Whitehorse will be hosting the six sports that were cut from the 2016 Arctic Winter Games.

The Yukon government and the City of Whitehorse announced Thursday afternoon they will be hosting the 2016 Arctic X Games for hockey, figure skating, speed skating, dog mushing, gymnastics and curling.

“Because of capacity and infrastructure challenges, a number of sports were not included in the Greenland Games,” Community Services Minister Currie Dixon said in an interview this morning. “So Yukon stepped up to the plate and offered to host these games and we announced yesterday we will host these games.”

Dixon said for many young athletes in the North, the Arctic Winter Games represents the highlight of their careers, so it was important to ensure the athletes in the six sports did not miss their opportunity.

“While we appreciate there is a little bit of experience lost by not going to Greenland, we wanted to make sure they could compete in these games, and that is why we stepped up to the plate.”

Competing in the Arctic X Games will be the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Alberta and Alaska, and the Games will run at the same time as the regular Arctic Winter Games.

The international Arctic Winter Games committee announced in 2012 the Games in Nuuk, Greenland would be scaled back. The announcement was immediately greeted with scorn. The international committee, however, insisted participating jurisdictions should not have been surprised. Everybody knew and accepted in previous discussions that achieving the goal of moving the Arctic Winter Games to smaller communities would require a reduction in the number of athletes and sports, the international committee said back then.

Then-Community Services minister Elaine Taylor vowed in 2012 to make sure all sports and athletes would be accommodated somehow.

Dixon announced yesterday the government is committing $100,000 to the Arctic X Games.

Sport Yukon president George Arcand said the government has also provided a full-time employee to serve as staff co-ordinator for the Games.

The host society will be comprised of Sport Yukon and the local governing bodies for each spot, he explained.

Arcand said the governing bodies have agreed to organize and provide the volunteers required to hold their events. The Yukon Amateur Hockey Association, for instance, will look after the hockey with assistance from Whitehorse Minor Hockey, he explained.

“Every organization is really stepping up and providing an incredible amount of effort and time to organize these sports so we want to make sure they get thanked.”

He said based on the 2012 Arctic Winter Games hosted by Whitehorse, the cost of the week-long Arctic X Games is estimated at $500,000, or approximately $1,000 for each athlete.

Unlike the normal practice where the host city covers the general cost of hosting the Games, the X Games will be covered by a $1,000 contribution from each of the participating jurisdictions for every athlete they send, Arcand explained.

He said the Yukon government’s contribution of $100,000 is based on the number of athletes the Yukon intends to field.

It’s expected a total of 420 to 475 will participate in the Games, he said.

Arcand said as the Yukon is saying farewell to its team bound for Greenland, it will be welcoming participants from the four other jurisdictions.

The Department of Education has already been approached about providing schools to accommodate the athletes during the 2016 spring break, as is typical for an Arctic Winter Games year here, he said.

Similarly, Arcand added, Yukon College has been asked to serve as the meal centre, just as it did in 2012.

The X Games are not allowed to use any of the logos or other branding that belongs to the Arctic Winter Games, Arcand pointed out.

He said they’ve already commissioned a local artist to come up with a logo the Arctic X Games will use to brand itself. The logo, he added, would be on the flag if the host society decides to fly a flag, and it will help determine the design of the medals.

Arcand said whether the X Games will also include a cultural component has yet to be determined.

Discussions about providing for the sports not included in Greenland have been been going on in earnest for about 15 months, he said.

Ideally, Arcand said, they would have been up and running six months ago.

“But we will get it done,” he said. “This kind of thing is important to keep the kids competing and to give them a chance at their Games experience.”

Said Whitehorse Mayor Dan Curtis: “With our experience hosting national and international sporting events, we are aware of the benefits they bring for our athletes, sport community, local businesses and the broader Yukon public. Whitehorse has existing infrastructure that can accommodate these events and we know the value of hosting games like these can last for generations.”

City manager Christine Smith said the city’s contribution of approximately $50,000 will come from donation of facility rentals such as arena ice time, subject to budget approval by city council.