For ten days and 130 kilometers, the 2007 Canada Winter Games torch will float down the Firth River through Ivvavik National Park, in north Yukon.

The Yukon torch, one of three currently traversing the territories, will be accompanied by Parks Canada officials and two Inuvialuit athletes on its journey through Ivvavik.

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, made the announcement today.

'The Torch Challenge is a way of celebrating the wealth of visitor experiences available in northern national parks,' said Ambrose. 'Projects like these are wonderful ways of building knowledge and connecting Canadians to northern national parks.'

Ivvavik National Park has the distinction of being Canada's first National Park established as the result of a land claim.

Parks Canada staff and the two athletes will fly into the remote headwaters of the Firth River in Ivvavik National Park. There they will launch rafts that will carry them and the Canada Winter Games torch to the Beaufort Sea.

'We are thrilled to have the Canada Winter Games Yukon torch spread the spirit and energy of the 2007 Games to the northernmost reaches of Yukon in Ivvavik National Park,' said Pam Boyde, torch relay committee chair.

'The spectacular Firth River slicing through the Arctic tundra, incising canyons and spilling out to the Beaufort Sea presents exciting and unique challenges. We are very pleased to be able to partner with Parks Canada to make this amazing event a reality.'

This torch challenge is just one of many events that have been ongoing since the launch of the torch relay in Ottawa on April 6. In the year preceding the Games, the torch will travel through every community north of 60. In each territory, Torch Adventure Challenges are exposing the incredible diversity and vastness of the northern landscape to Canadians.

August marks a busy month for the torch relay, as all three torches are making several stops and completing new and exciting challenges.

The Department of National Defence is taking the torch on two separate challenges.

Operation Beaufort will be a naval operation culminating with a torch relay visit to Holman, N.W.T., and Operation Lancaster a naval journey traveling the Eastern coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, making community stops in Pond Inlet, Clyde River and Qiqiqitarjuack.

All three torches will reunite in Whitehorse next February and together will light the Canada Games torch and cauldron at the opening ceremony.

The Games are Canada's premier multi-sport competition and are held every two years alternating between summer and winter.

They showcase our nation's top elite amateur athletes, many of who will go on to represent Canada at the international level.

The 2007 Games will be a major competition for many young athletes on their way to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.