Tryouts for Team Yukon's Arctic Winter Games table tennis team begin tomorrow and Sunday, and female players are in short supply.

Club organizer Dave Stockdale says they are searching for female players to bring to the Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie with them.

"I'm desperately in need of girls (for the team),” said Stockdale. "Some of our kids have gone on to other sports.”

Stockdale would like to bring a fully rounded team to the games.

"We have absolutely no girls playing table tennis,” he said.

Girls are needed for the 17 and under and 14 and under team.

If no girls sign up, it would be the first time in almost 40 years that no girls went to the Arctic Winter Games for table tennis from the Yukon.

"This would be the first time that we have no girls playing in the Arctic Winter Games since 1970,” said Stockdale.

Stockdale has attended the games since 1970. He says there is probably no one who has attended the games more than him.

"I love it, it's just a wonderful event,” he said.

Stockdale doesn't just want to attend the Arctic Winter Games with the table tennis team, he wants to win.

"We used to dominate the table tennis,” he said. That was before table tennis champs Greenland and Russia began bringing teams.

"Greenland came in and insisted on having table tennis as one of the sports,” said Stockdale.

Since then Stockdale has wanted to bring the gold medal back to Whitehorse.

Also in the future for table tennis in Whitehorse is the national championships and Canada Summer games, both events that Stockdale hopes to attend with the teams.

Stockdale has heard there are a few girls in the right age group playing table tennis at Ecole Emilie Tremblay; he encourages those girls to come to the tryouts this Saturday.

As for the boys, Stockdale says there are quite a few out playing, but more are always welcome to come and tryout.

"(The) boys area is pretty good,” he said.

Stockdale says table tennis is similar to tennis, and tennis players may be able to find success at table tennis.

"If you can hit a ball in tennis, you can usually hit one in table tennis,” he said. "It's a similar kind of sport.”

Registration for table tennis is only $10. Tryouts for the girls team begin at 1:30 p.m. at Whitehorse Elementary School on Saturday. The Boys tryouts will start Sunday at 11 a.m. Registration for both days begins a half hour before the event. Entrance is through the back door at WES. Tryouts continue at WES at the same time next weekend.