Normally one of the largest sporting events for the Yukon, the Arctic Winter Games have been somewhat lost among the giant that is the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

With test event after test event for the 2007 Games scheduled to hit Whitehorse over the next year, including one at Mount Sima this weekend, more than 340 Yukon athletes, coaches and mission staff will depart the territory for Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Saturday and Sunday, hoping to draw some of the attention back to a competition that is a very big deal for a lot of Yukoners.

'For a lot them, it's their Olympics,' explained Team Yukon Chef de Mission, Trevor Twardochleb, in an interview from Vancouver on his way to the Games earlier this week. 'They might not have an opportunity to ever make it to a Western Canada Summer Games or a Winter Games. I know there's a few kids who have gone to many Games and to them, it may not be such a big deal.

'But you see that kid that gets their uniform for the first time and it's just amazing how excited they are. I think that's really what it's all about.'

The athletes will be competing in 20 different sports over seven days, starting Sunday. At the 2004 Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Alta., the Yukon enjoyed a banner year, bringing home 108 medals 38 gold, 33 silver and 37 bronze. From alpine and cross-country skiing to Dene games, figure skating, indoor soccer, snowshoeing and speed skating, our athletes cleaned up. Team Yukon finished third overall in the medal standings, behind host Alberta North and Alaska.

'We sent a pretty strong team last time,' agreed Twardochleb. 'I would like to think that we're going to at least do as well, but in looking at a lot of the kids that are coming in and talking to a lot of the coaches, I think we're sending a younger team, maybe less experienced. But I think there's some potential.'

The spirit of the AWG is not so much about medals though, as it is 'an amazing multicultural sport competition, mixed with social exchange and lots of cultural diversity,' he said. As well as Alberta, Alaska, N.W.T., Nunavut and Yukon, competitors come from Greenland, Scandinavia (Sami), Yamal (Russia) and Nunavik-Quebec.

There are cultural and artistic displays and performances throughout the Games, as well as movies and group outings planned for all the athletes to get together.

'I want to make it as easy as possible for them to perform their best,' said Twardochleb, when asked what his goals are for these Games.

'A lot of them have the goal of winning, but at the same time, I want them to have fun, I want them to develop as a person. I want them to be put under pressure, but do really well under pressure, and become a better person and a better athlete for it.

'That's all we can ask.'

For the first time in several years, wrestling will once again be a sport at the AWG, which Twardochleb said is good news, since the Yukon used to be a powerhouse in the sport. Coach Don Marrin will take five wrestlers all male to Alaska this weekend.

'It sort of went by the wayside just because people were burnt out,' explained Twardochleb. 'It's nice to see that sport back in the fold.'

However, this year's AWG haven't been without some challenges. Last month, the Augustine Volcano, which is about 200 kilometres southwest of Kenai, erupted and spewed ash over surrounding areas. There was initially concern the air quality in the area may be tough for the athletes competing outdoors.

But Twardochleb said the only way the Games may be affected now is if the volcano erupts again this weekend, delaying flights into the peninsula.

The other concern was with the distance between some venues. Alpine skiers and snowboarders will be using Alyeska Ski Resort, which is in Girdwood a two or three hour drive from Kenai, where the athletes will be housed. That means the skiers and boarders will be forced to sit on a bus for a few hours before competing every day.

'You'd hate to have to travel that far to compete, but everybody is going to have to do it,' said Twardochleb. 'At least they'll be riding coaches. They won't be jammed in a school bus, so it will be fairly comfortable. And once they're at the hill, or once they're back down (at the athletes village), they're going to be taken care of.'

The curlers will also face lengthy drives every day at the Games, as they are staying in Soldotna, but the curling facilities are in Homer, about an hour and 20 minutes away.

Transportation and the time it takes to travel to venues is almost always a complaint at every Games or major sporting event, but that's something Whitehorse hopes to change when they get their opportunities to show off their hospitality over the next couple of years. One of the things visitors for 2007 test events are most pleased with is how close together all the facilities in Whitehorse are.

Sport Yukon is holding a pep rally to officially send off the AWG athletes at 6 p.m. today, at F.H. Collins Secondary School. Team Yukon will also announce this year's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies at the pep rally. In 2004, cross-country skier and multiple AWG gold medalist Brittany Greer carried the flag.