Next June will likely be an unprecedented financial windfall for Yukon tourism.

Along with the usual barrage of RVers and Alaskan cruise tourists at that time of year, Whitehorse will play host to not one, but two major international events.

The 2008 Junior Men's World Fastball Championships are scheduled to take place June 21-29 at the Pepsi Softball Complex, and now, with new dates confirmed you can add the 2008 Junior World Weightlifting Championships (JWWC), June 11-20.

Originally scheduled to take place in early May, the 2008 JWWC Host Society was recently forced to change the dates at the request of both the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IWF and IOC made the request mainly due to a conflict with Continental Olympic qualification events leading up to the 2008 Games in Beijing, which will be held just two months following the JWWC.

Moira Lassen, the president of the 2008 JWWC Host Society and Secretary General of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation, said the change was given serious thought.

'After many hours of negotiations and analysis with IOC members, IWF Secretariat, (the Beijing Olympic organizing committee), the Canadian Weightlifting Federation and host society representatives, it was realized that the benefits of the date change far exceeded the potential negative ramifications it could have within the sport and tourism sectors,' stated Lassen, adding they were determined to make the date work for everyone, particularly the IOC.

'(IOC president Jacques Rogge) strongly supports weightlifting as a basic sport.'

The first deadline within the Olympic qualification process is May 15, 2008 the time frame in which all Continental Qualification Events must be completed.

The date change was also made due to the Tripartite Commission deadline of May 31, 2008.

This date represents many deadlines, but most importantly the Final Allocation of Tripartite Commission Invitation places; the IWF determination of individual qualifications; (wild cards) and notification to national Olympic committees and national federations.

Tamara Goeppel, CEO of the 2008 JWWC Host Committee, said the date change could be a blessing in disguise.

'It could actually bring more people into the territory, because it's in June. There are more opportunities for people to take advantage of tourist activities, as well as more travel opportunities,' said Goeppel.

One of the concerns with moving the championships from May to June, was hotel space. May is typically a slower month for tourism in the Yukon, but hotel space in June is certainly limited.

The fastball athletes will be staying in dorm rooms at what was the athletes' village during the Canada Winter Games, so that was never an issue for that championship.

The JWWC host society is confident they can make everything work well.

'The host society acted diligently and secured hotel space immediately, and secured the venue as well,' stated Goeppel. 'Literally, when the new dates arrived, we immediately went out on the streets and knocked on everyone's doors. We're relieved we secured it.'

The Canada Games Centre will play host to both the competition and training sites for the event.

Goeppel and Lassen will be meeting with the management of various hotels this week to finalize details.

'A lot of them had great experiences from the Canada Games and wanted to benefit again in sporting activity,' added Lassen.

'The fact that it is an international event with cultures from over the globe living under their roof makes it even more exciting.'

The junior world weightlifting and fastball events next June will bring more than 600 athletes, coaches and officials into the territory from as many as 80 nations, and boast a combined estimated direct spending impact of $2 million.

With the JWWC event expected to garner at least 100 million viewers worldwide through TV coverage and internet pod-casting on the website, www.2008jwwc.com, Goeppel believes the economic impact could well exceed $5 million.

'If we as a city or territory are truly invested in becoming an international sport tourism destination, next June will be a true test,' commented Lassen.

Sam Coffa, the first vice-president of the IWF, recently visited Whitehorse for a tour of the venue and hotels as well as a meeting with the newly-formed risk management team for the host society.

Having a risk management team at a JWWC is precedent-setting, said Lassen. The team reviews what risks are in the human and financial components of the event, as well as venue security. Basically, they review each area, create problems and the solve them.

Coffa was impressed that the 2008 host society took the initiative.

'I am absolutely astounded by the foresight of the host society to properly assess the undertaking of hosting such a championship and to fully comprehend the risk involved,' said Coffa.

While in Whitehorse, Coffa also met informally with some local politicians and did some training with Yukon weightlifter Jeane Lassen. A former lifter himself, Coffa 'took delight in coaching an international athlete in her home gym.'

By the end of his trip, the IWF official was pleased with what he saw and confident the Yukon capital would be able to pull off next June's event.

'I understand it's a bit of a challenge in a smaller community such as Whitehorse. However, I know the people here are up to the challenge and I have every confidence it will be a stellar event.'

Whitehorse will be the northernmost host site in JWWC history, and with the 2008 event, Canada will become the only country to host a junior and senior world weightlifting championship within five years of each other.

Vancouver held the senior worlds in 2003.

For 10 days, spectators will be treated to phenomenal displays of athleticism, strategy and power, as the world's best under the age of 20 vie for weightlifting supremacy.

Yukoners will be able to watch young stars like Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilin, who dominated the 94-kilogram category in 2006 at just 18 years of age, come into their own on the territory's stage.

Previous host cities for the JWWC have included destinations such as Athens, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Sarajevo, Warsaw and Marseille.