June 29, 2010
Arctic Winter Games International Committee Via Email [email protected]
Dear Mr. Gerry Thick:
RE: Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society Final Report
We are pleased to attach our final report including all appendices for your review and information. We confirm we are forwarding copies as follows:
1. (1) electronic copy and one hard copy to Mr. Arcand, the President of the 2012 Host Society; 2. (1) electronic copy to each of the participating units.
Should you require anything further or have any questions regarding the report, please contact me or Francois directly.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you on behalf of myself and the Management Team and Volunteers for your assistance. Our Host Society and City are very proud of the 2010 Games and your wisdom, experience and direction certainly played a large role in our success.
I would also like to wish you continued success in the development of the Arctic Winter Games. Yours and your committee’s endeavours serve an important purpose to the youth of our circumpolar north.
Sincerely, Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society
DEBBIE REID PRESIDENT /dl cc.
Mailing Address: Suite 3010 #3, 9899 – 112 Avenue Grande Prairie, AB Canada T8V 7T2 Physical Address: #13, 11500 100 Street Grande Prairie, AB Canada T8V 4C2 Phone: 780.538.4777 - Fax: 780.532.7397 www.awg2010.org Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society FINAL REPORT
A. Executive Summary and Recommendations Host Society Structure
B. Administration 1. General Games Management 2. Insurance 3. Merchandizing 4. Forms and Policies
C. Finance and Fundraising 1. Finance 2. Fundraising
D. Care and Comfort 1. Accommodations 2. Catering/Food Services 3. Medical 4. Security 5. Transportation
E. Culture and Ceremonies 1. Opening and Closing Ceremonies 2. Sport specific Opening and Closing Ceremonies/Medal Presentations 3. Cultural Program 4. Entertainment Program 5. Welcome and Send Off
F. Communications and IT 1. GEMS 2. Systems 3. Telecommunications 4. Registration and Accreditation 5. Results
G. Marketing and Public Relations
1. Decorations and Pageantry 2. Media 3. Publications 4. Souvenir DVD 5. Tickets 6. Ulu News 7. Trading Post 8. Pin Production/Trading Centre 9. Additional Marketing and Public Relations Activities
Page 1 of 2 H. Sport Facilities and Equipment
I. Volunteer and Protocol 1. Volunteer Recruitment and Recognition 2. Guest Services 3. Language Services 4. Registration and Accreditation
J. Sport Technical
K. Recommendations to Arctic Winter Games International Committee
L. Recommendations to Chefs de Mission/Mission Staff
M. Miscellaneous 1. Legacy(ies) to the City of Grande Prairie
Appendices
A. Organizational Charts B. Staff and Job Descriptions C. Policy Manual – also contains Main Agreements D. Official Languages Plan E Chart of Accounts F. Sponsorship Package G. Gameswear for Sponsors Plan H. Food Services Request for Proposals I. Food Services Contract J Box Lunch Schedule K Copy of menus L. Opening and Closing Ceremonies Scripts M. Sport Specific Opening Ceremonies Script and Medal Presentation Script N. Sample Waiver for Photography Mentorship Participants O. Ticket Taker Manual P. Pin Design Request for Proposals Q. Pin Production Request for Proposals R. Activity Book S School Package Information T. Sport Equipment Inventory Purchased U. Venue Team Leader Concept V. Volunteer Job Description Form and Volunteer Job Descriptions W. Speed Skating Coaches Letter
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Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society FINAL REPORT
A. Executive Summary
VISION: The 2010 Arctic Winter Games are a participant focused circumpolar celebration of sport and culture inspiring a legacy of individual and community growth.
MISSION: Working with the International Committee, we will organize and operate a technically sound, participant focused and responsibly managed Arctic Winter Games in March 2010 by providing effective leadership that engages the support of the community.
• In anticipation of being awarded the Games, Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society was incorporated as a society on January 25, 2007.
• The City of Grande Prairie was awarded the 2010 Arctic Winter Games on January 31, 2007.
• The City of Grande Prairie appointed Debbie Reid as President of the Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society. The City provided Ms. Reid with the authority to recruit the members of the Host Society.
• The City of Grande Prairie and the Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society entered into an Agreement whereby the Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games Host Society was contracted to manage and stage the Games on behalf of the City.
• The City of Grande Prairie had two appointees on the Host Society Board of Directors.
• The County of Grande Prairie (a funding partner) also had two appointees on the Host Society Board of Directors.
• A Retreat was held for the Management Committee 3 years out from the Games. This was a critical element in the planning for the Games. o This was designed as a Team Building exercise; o “Why are you here?” was a crucial component of the Retreat; o The Retreat formalized the total commitment of the Board members to the Games; o The Management team stayed intact from this point to the end of the Games. This is truly an accomplishment for the members and evidence of the benefits of the exercise.
• The Host Society established a strong positive relationship with the International Committee. Understanding that the International Committee is the guardian of the traditions of the Games and accepting their experience, wisdom and knowledge, the Host Society worked in concert with them to safeguard the integrity of the event, contributing to the success of the 2010 Games.
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Host Society Structure:
The Grande Prairie Host Society was structured as part of the City of Grande Prairie but as its own entity. This structure proved very successful and it is recommended as a model for future host societies.
The benefits of this structure include the following:
1. With a separate entity, all financial records are maintained within the society. There is no mixing with the municipality’s regular financial processes. This provides the City, the International Committee, and the Host Society with a more accurate accounting of what it takes to host the Games. 2. This structure allowed the City to track its own contributions without stress and/or administrative activity on the Host Society. The City is in a much better position to track its own activities. The direct costs to the Host Society i.e. facility costs were recorded and provided to the Host Society for inclusion in their budget. 3. This was a much better working group. It allowed prominent and talented community members to be involved. Specific expertise could be sought and used where necessary. 4. Corporate entities were more apt to become involved as sponsors as their contributions were dedicated to the event. Some organizations would only contribute with a separate entity in place. 5. With a Council member and a City employee on the Management Committee, good communications existed. This kept both parties aware of developments, challenges, etc.
With this type of model it is important for the municipality to remember that they still “own” the Games and have responsibility for them. There were some disconnects of this through the term but things came together very well for the Games themselves.
Further evidence that this model should be the preferred model is that these Games produced one of the best Games experiences ever for the participants, set new standards of hosting, provided at a cost similar to the 2008 Games and achieved a surplus. This is outstanding considering that Grande Prairie went through a recession leading to the Games.
As a note of recommendation to future hosts, it is absolutely imperative that strong communications exist between the groups. Activities such as City Council/Games Executive meetings, City Manager/Games General Manager meetings, and joint functions did a great deal in keeping the parties aware and current.
The committee makeup of the Host Society is provided on the attached Organizational Chart. This makeup suited the nuances of Grande Prairie and area and, for the most part, worked well. The Host Society made some changes to the committee assignments based on circumstances.
One move was Merchandise was given to Administration. This was due to the expertise of the Director of Administration. Close communications were maintained with the Marketing Division to promote the Games Store, Gameswear Fridays, and other activities affiliated with Merchandise.
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The second move was Registration and Accreditation going to Volunteer and Protocol from Communications and It. This move aligned some of the activities better between volunteer recruitment and registering in GEMS. It was also due to expertise that existed with the Director and Assistant Directors of Volunteer and Protocol.
Assumptions The success of any Games is the ability to eliminate Assumptions. There are many means of doing this and the Host Society must adopt those that work for them. Addressing Assumptions is a matter of communicating. The atmosphere around the Host Society must be one of encouraging questions, seeking answers, identification of responsibilities, and accounting for these responsibilities. The intent is to eliminate questions and confusions surrounding any area of responsibility or management. If this atmosphere exists, cross-divisional communications will exist and Assumptions will be eliminated.
Recommendations:
• Conduct an initial retreat: o To set vision and values; o For team building/bonding exercise to create momentum; o Motivational exercise; o Meet and greet board members; o Note: Operations are the purpose of this retreat; • Conduct formal, regular meetings with the President, the Directors, and the General Manager: o This is used as a unifying process; o It provides for effective 2-way communications; o This activity keeps the commitment made at the initial retreat in the forefront. • Develop and implement a system to manage “Assumptions”. • Incorporate regular Cross-Divisional meetings. • Train all Management Committee members on SharePoint. Conduct the training early to ensure better communications throughout. • Include the following in the Staff Orientation Program: o An understanding of the work that the volunteers have done to date; o A description of the roles the volunteers have played and will play as the Games continue; This relates to how the staff will support the volunteers in assisting them in making plans become reality; o Identify the philosophy of staff operations i.e. positive attitudes; o Incorporate training on SharePoint and other operational programs.
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B. Administration
1. General
• Under the direction of the Director of Administration the General Manager was responsible for all administrative functions. As the Host Society was a separate entity from the City of Grande Prairie, all office functions and Games management, including financial management were completed through the Games office.
• Games Office was a large space and included sufficient space for the Games Store and some storage. Besides the normal day to day business, the office is the collection point for all of the equipment and supplies which are being collected for the Games. We had to obtain a trailer for storage outside the office as the Games approached.
• A staff handbook with job descriptions was developed and is attached as an Appendix. The General Manager and Executive Assistant shared the day to day management of the Games Office.
• Biggest challenge faced is communication. It is very difficult to bridge the communication between the full time office staff and the volunteer directors and committees. The office staff working full time has much information and knowledge not known by the volunteer directors and committee members.
Staff Plan
• The Staff Program underwent a variety of changes through the term. The original program was designed based on the Staging Manual and the Host Society’s initial plans. The program was revamped in 2009 to better align with the actual activities and to provide support to more divisions. The program was based on the Team Approach and is highly recommended for future host societies.
• The revamped program provided much greater flexibility in assigning staff to where the need was. Position titles were changed to Project Coordinator, Program Assistant and Volunteer Assistant which better reflected the operational mode. Many activities, such as Volunteer Rallies, had all staff members playing roles which enhanced the project, made better use of the volunteers, and created cross-divisional communications.
• The Volunteer Coordinator position had its own challenges. The need for Criminal Record Checks proved to be very time consuming and tedious, GEMS required extensive training, and the communications to volunteers was onerous. The use of a “Volunteer Team” helped streamline the duties and proved to be much more effective and efficient.
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Recommendations
• Use the Team approach and adopt the positions to meet this style.
• Positions need to cover the areas as noted in the Staging Manual. The positions must also align with the structure of the Host Society.
• Incorporate “Any other duties as assigned by the General Manager” into all positions.
• Ensure all divisions have staff support.
• Hire outstanding people in critical areas. Ensure the pay grid is appropriate.
• Place the right person in the right job.
• Have Fun every day.
General Recommendations: • When hiring staff consideration should firstly be given to the volunteer base as this assists with continuity from the committee to the day to day activities of the office and organization.
• Games office needs to be expandable and should be near a large storage facility.
• Regular meetings beginning early involving all divisions are a must to ensure that all information, specifically cross-divisional, is shared on a regular basis. It is also nearly impossible to maintain regular office hours to ensure that staff and volunteers are working closely; for example Games Mixers.
• Consideration should be given to operating the office on a ‘flex-time basis’ in order to staff the office for up to 10 hours per day, thus allowing volunteers full access.
• Conduct cross-divisional meetings with all divisions present on a regular basis, for example 1 ½ year out, 1 year out, 6 months out and 3 months out.
• Assumptions are an element that can make or break any Games. There are many means of noting Assumptions and monitoring the process on eliminating these Assumptions. The cross-divisional communications are an integral part of this process but they are only successful if all parties are open to questions and are prepared to provide answers or find the answers. Assign specific tasks to specific individuals and hold them accountable.
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2. Insurance • Games Vehicle Insurance was obtained locally and was part Gift in Kind. There was one Games vehicle for the General Manager and staff use. Insurance for all other coverage including office space and the various certificates required was obtained through AAMDC which is an insurance provider for municipalities.
• Rental vehicle insurance was a challenge as the vehicles being provided for the Games were coming from local dealerships. Dealers provided new vehicles complete with insurance and licensing. All other vehicles were covered by the Games insurance policies.
Insurance Recommendations:
• One provider/broker handling all areas with insurance simplified the process.
3. Merchandising
The Merchandise Program was successful. The program generated revenues that assisted the Host Society in achieving a surplus. The program also generated awareness and interest in the Games as the merchandise was seen everywhere. Gameswear Fridays, a program where companies wore Gameswear on Fridays, was an effective program in this regard.
The selection of suppliers was done by an RFP. A decision was made to purchase locally and 5 companies submitted proposals. The final decision on merchandise to be ordered was made by the Director of Administration in conjunction with the General Manager and the Merchandising Coordinator. All the companies received portions of the Games orders based on what their strengths were.
A Games Store was established early on. This was made possible because the space for the Games Office accommodated it. The store was set up and operated by Games staff until the store was officially opened in September 2009. Having the space early on allowed for more sales and the ability to initiate programs such as Gameswear Fridays sooner rather than later.
An Online program was implemented but was not successful. The cost of shipping items to points in the circumpolar north attributed to the lack of success of selling online. We did not see much activity on this element at all. The web page was used to promote items and did receive good activity. It was used when new lines or items were added to the product lines.
Gameswear Fridays was a huge success. A number of companies and organizations took part in this program with some incorporating their own logo on the clothing. The program was structured to encourage companies and organizations to wear Gameswear on Fridays. For purchases over certain amounts, the purchaser received discounts which prompted increased sales while making the program more attractive.
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A Point of Sale (POS) system was brought on to track sales and inventory. The system, for the most part, worked well. There were issues during Games week as a number of kiosks were set up and tracking became difficult. Regular inventory counts were done leading up to the Games and reports generated from the POS system were used to provide updates to the Management Committee.
Paid personnel were used in the Store from August 2009 to the end of March 2010. Volunteers were also used to cover peak selling times, to cover for staff days off and to cover for extended hours. This worked well as a strong selling team was built. All training, schedules and purchases were handled by the Merchandise Coordinator.
Pin selling was incorporated into the Merchandise Program. This was confusing as some pins were for sale while others were not. All costs were included in the Merchandise product costs which skewed the profit/loss numbers.
Games week was very hectic. Kiosks were set up in strategic locations and gradually eliminated as the week progressed. Eventually only the Games Store and the booth at the Games Trading Post remained open. To clear out as much stock as possible, discounts and sales were introduced on the last days of the week. These were extremely successful in eliminating inventories. The discounts were continued on until the end of March with any remaining inventories donated to charities.
Merchandising Recommendations:
• A Games Store is a great way to operate allowing for regular retail purchases.
• Implement a POS system at the beginning. Monitor it continuously.
• If kiosks are used, keep them separated from the general “store” for tracking and accounting purposes.
• Employ a program like Gameswear Fridays as it generates revenues, interest, and participation.
• Pins. Try to keep the pins for sale separate from the pins being given out. Have a strong pin person run your program.
• Budget for a breakeven program.
4. Forms/Policies/Contracts • Forms and Policies were created as required based on the International Committee policies and the Staging Manual. Policies are attached as an Appendix.
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• Other contracts were prepared based on required needs. Other than the facility agreements and sponsorship agreements, the following were a list of contracts completed.
AGREEMENT NAME AWGIC and City of Grande Prairie City of Grande Prairie and Host Society Province of Alberta and Host Society Internet Secure Merchant Contract Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association Volunteer Training Workshops Agreement Translations – Publications and Media Releases Translations – Website Provision of Food Services Official Photographer Agreement Pin Design Pin Production Opening and Closing Ceremonies Production Theme Song UPS Mailbox Agreement Visa Truck Rentals – Vehicle Agreement Dream Digital – Website Odutola Law Chambers – Intellectual Property By the Book Office Services Artwork Donation Agreement Drum Rental Agreement Opening and Closing Ceremonies Technical Production
Copies of Agreements available upon request.
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C. Finance and Fundraising
1. Finance • A detailed description of expenditures will follow in audited report.
• First step was to prepare a summary budget.
• Seven local chartered accountants were recruited who acted as “budget buddies “ to the various directors to fill in the summary budget.
• A budget workshop was held in November of 2007 with the budget buddies and all the Management Committee to go through each budget in detail and eliminate as many of the cross divisional items as possible. At this meeting it was decided to treat all budget line items as cash until they could specifically be identified as Gift in Kind. Gift in Kind would not be recorded in the books as a core expenditure until its use could be identified and its true value ascertained. A contingency of 10% was provided for in each division.
• A budget template developed by the International Committee was used that listed each division and brought the totals of each division into a combined budget for the whole Games.
• The decision was made to use Simply Accounting as the software program to do the accounting for the Host Society and shortly thereafter a bookkeeper was hired.
• This was the first budget that was approved by the Management Committee.
• Another mini budget review was held in January of 2009 where the budget was revised downward by approximately one million dollars as expenditures now could more specifically be identified and the contingency was reduced to 9% of each division’s expenditures.
• As the Games came closer to reality it was clear that a report was needed to tie in the Vandelay system used to record pledges with the accounting records so a report was developed to do this. A copy of this report as at January 25th 2009 is attached for reference.
• Six months prior to the Games the General Manager reviewed with each of divisions budgets with the Directors and Chairs and further savings were identified which were incorporated into the new report. This review identified all expenditures which were cash so we were able to identify the cash requirements of the Host Society.
• This has allowed us to finish the Games under budget and with a small surplus.
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What Went Well • The use of budget buddies to help the divisions understand the financial requirements • The method of recording Gift in Kind and the identification of “core” Gift in Kind and non-core. Non-core Gift in Kind was not counted in budget as it did not contribute to the expenditures necessary to carry on the Games.
• The reporting template that tied in the sponsorship reports to the actual accounting figures.
• The General Manager’s understanding of the budgeting process and his tight control of the expenditure process.
• The use of Simply Accounting as the accounting program combined with a bookkeeper that understood all aspects of the program.
What Could Be Improved
• Getting the budget buddies introduced earlier in the program and having them more involved in the actual activities of the divisions so they became a part of the that divisions team to greater extent than they did.
• As the Games neared some of the divisions felt they were not getting enough detail from the budget reports provided as they were too general.
• The budget should have been broken down for reporting purposes to the divisions to provide a closer detail all of the expenses for which they were accountable.
Finance Recommendations:
• Each division should have a budget buddy and that person should have a workable knowledge of the budgeting process.
• Gift in Kind should not be recognized until it is valued and determined that it is a core expenditure.
• A form of report as attached should be used to reconcile the pledged funds with what has been received and cash expenditures needed to put on the Games. We found getting Gift in Kind was much easier than cash so accounting for cash needs versus cash received and spent is very important.
• The summary budget used was useful to the Finance Director, however a more detailed broken down report which can be obtained from Simply Accounting and modified in Excel that breaks down the expenses into more line items and compares them to the line item budget would be useful to the Directors of the divisions.
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2. Fundraising
Committee
Initially, the Sponsorship Committee was designed to incorporate a broad representation of our community. In theory, the members could attract participation within their own areas of interest and comfort. We had involvement, and frequent overlap, in the following areas:
Banking Hotel/Accommodation The Chamber of Commerce Rotary Clubs Automotive Professional Services Western Cree Tribal Council Communications Nitehawk Ski Area Wapiti Nordic Ski Center Montrose Cultural Centre Event Planning The Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie Small Business General Manager (GM) Marketing/Administrative Assistant Development Officer
Board
By association, all members of the Management Team are members of the sales team. They have to be aware that the decisions they make and actions they take impact the success of the sponsorship effort. Their promotion of the Games is what resonates throughout the community; the message must be positive at all costs. Every sponsorship prospect is a resource for volunteers, sport chairs, venue people, Gift in Kind in all of its variations, and opportunities that may not be evident at first blush. A big board cannot be small picture.
Staff
In general, the Games staff are really the ones that make things happen. They do an enormous amount of work. The Development Officer and Games GM are integral to the function of this Division. The transactions that occur with fundraising can rarely take place outside of business hours. This becomes somewhat problematic with a committee made up of volunteers that trudge off to their real jobs everyday. The GM’s pervasive coverage of the various divisions provides valuable input to this group. You cannot expect a team of volunteers to understand the complexities of the Games. Everything streams through the office and the staff involvement provides direction and feedback necessary to make the contacts and requests.
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With respect to the Development Officer, sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs. Over the course of three years the organization hired four development officers. In fairness to both sides, two went on to pursue gainful opportunities and that makes sense. We were fortunate to land on an intelligent, hardworking, well-connected and amiable lady that made the other three look like they were standing still. The key ingredient was that she was a trusted member of this community. And, given the progress that was made in the final 12 months I would suggest that three years out is too soon to hire for this position. The fundraising project has to have an entrance that is timed just right to avoid becoming invisible when you really put the push on.
Market Segment & Order of Ask
Funding Partners and Government Contributors
In our case this meant the Government of Alberta and its various divisions, the City of Grande Prairie, the County of Grande Prairie, the MD of Greenview, and Heritage Canada. Contributions from this sector made up a large percentage of the overall budget (close to 60%). The requests/applications often involve time, paperwork, and presentation but the value far outweighs the effort. These are motivated contributors and they are obliged to be there. The applications should be done as early as possible given their importance and the work involved in the presentations.
Legacy Partners & Previous Sponsors
The International Committee identifies organizations that have been repeat sponsors of the Arctic Winter Games. They recognize both Legacy and International Corporate Honor Role Sponsors. Because of their familiarity with the Games many of the sponsors from within these groups provided useful information and insight into the Games. Their experiences were tools for selling to new groups. We found that some prospects were jurisdictional and not able to participate in Grande Prairie. Overall, we were well received and encouraged by the involvement. ATCO Group was our largest corporate contributor and the Company’s attitude and people reflected the common commitment that most legacy groups had with respect to the Arctic Winter Games movement.
Large Corporate Contributors
This group was defined as both private and public companies that determine their community involvement on an annual basis. They often require the lead time to process requests. They may not have their head office in your community, they may have to defer to a board presentation/decision, they may want to host an event during the Games, they may want to partner, they may have deep pockets, they may come to you, but the decision is not made on the first visit over coffee.
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Financial Community
The banks are likely the most savvy investors given their depth in every community. There are very few events that have not crossed their radar and it is possible that they may have been waiting for the call. They each have their “pet” investments and all are genuinely interested in what you have to say at the onset. They do not want to compete at the event for the clients’ attention and would rather abstain than have anything but a clear image and message presented. With that in mind, we found that two institutions became very involved and committed their resources, people, and time with great enthusiasm. The others obviously weighed their options and backed off on this particular project.
Service Clubs & Organizations
Every community has a host of service clubs that do charitable work. These asks often require presentations and applications. General mandates may play a role in the decision making so the key is to do the research before presenting in order to strike a chord within the mandate.
Small Business Initiative
Every door has potential and it was within this local segment of the community that we found tireless volunteering, large contributions of Gift in Kind, positive attitude and response, and a real willingness to get involved. A company that may have been targeted for a certain dollar amount may surprise you in contributing double that in value in kind.
We launched a specific small business program that did not produce great results. Our 2010 Campaign was simple and we thought, straightforward. Give us $2010 by 2010 – installments, by credit card, as a donation – we tried to be flexible and thought the community would have the appetite for that amount. In fairness to the notion, a number of variables may have played a part in the lack of success such as the recession and the sheer number of asks that our local business community is subjected to.
Friends & Donors
Very few charitable receipts were issued but we were set up to accept donations of any size. We had hoped that we would see individuals donate by way of the 2010 Campaign.
Budget
Gift in Kind & Cash is King
The budget has to be accurate. The budget has to be transparent. It has to be broken down into cash required and Gift in Kind as soon as possible. The importance of this task cannot be stressed enough. If the point is being driven home during the final weeks of preparation it is too late and you will be reacting. That means it is not under control. The staff and volunteers do not sign up for chaotic scrambling and planning can avoid that. As stewards of the cash the Management Team is beholden to the benefactors and should take that job very seriously.
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Events
We launched our corporate campaign with an event hosted by Eddie the Eagle. Launch. Land. Lift-Off. The intent was to raise awareness and garner community support through a fun-filled weekend with no pressure to “give”.
Two casinos were granted to the organization – one in Edmonton and one in Grande Prairie. The Volunteer Division took leadership of these events.
At one year out we hosted another rather large event with a dinner, live and silent auction items representative of the contingents involved, and a concert/dance with Colin James as the headliner.
The events were not big earners but part of the fulfillment is celebrating the successes with the sponsorship community and those were the groups that typically attended.
Fulfillment & Delivery
This is the rewarding part of the experience but the area that can make or break all the work leading up to the Games. In hindsight, we should have had dedicated staff and volunteers that concentrated on nothing but the details of fulfillment. I felt that we did a good job but we could have done better.
Fundraising Recommendations
If you cannot impart a sense of urgency, do not be surprised when nothing gets accomplished. This is the mantra I would urge the next Management Committee to adopt. It applies to all areas - volunteer engagement, sponsor commitment, Management Committee deadlines, hiring staff, final report submission. If you start something too soon don’t be surprised when you get in a rush to wait. Consideration should be given to staggering the program starts to reflect what is efficient and effective. I believe that fatigue enters the equation, particularly where it pertains to sponsor attention, if you start too early and stick around too long. You can become the “community pariah” instead of the “sweetheart project” in a matter of months.
• Hire the Development Officer based on your plan. • Conduct research on your prospect’s needs and build your ask to fulfill those needs. • Monitor the cash and Gift in Kind levels. Assess the revenue generation based on cash requirements. • Have dedicated staff and volunteers in place to administer the fulfillment programs.
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D. Care and Comfort
1. Accommodations
Overall goals and objectives of the committee.
The participants were accommodated in the classrooms of five different schools. The beds were a mix of self inflating air beds and 2 level bunk beds. 4 of the schools were coed with the genders segregated by wings or floors. Larger contingents were placed in multiple schools to allow mission staff the opportunity to place teams as best suited to the transportation to their events. We also thought that having a good mix of contingents in each dorm would enhance the Games experience.
The “participants’ villages” were secured areas. The villages were maintained daily by the school systems janitorial services. There were volunteers available to provide services, such as emergency contacts, transportation information, general Games information, and lost and found.
To achieve the ratio for shower facilities in the schools we added 6 ATCO shower trailers. These were attached to one of the schools by a constructed tunnel. It was necessary to bring power, water, sewer and propane externally to the showers all of which were provided by Gift in Kind sponsorships.
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Structure of the committee.
The Accommodations Committee had subcommittees. These included:
• Participants Dance
• Signage Committee
Highlight the growing pains of your committee.
• Initial high turnover of committee members, as some members moved out of town, and other members were unable to follow through with their commitments
• There were volunteer recruitment organizational problems for assigning specific volunteer tasks. Although everyone was working hard the process at times was disjointed.
• The decision to house the participants in schools was not made until late in the process which delayed a lot of the planning of the village.
Overview of the committee’s work.
Year I –
• Purchase bedding required for the participants. • Booking the hotel space for non-village accommodations was done by other committees • Inspect village facilities for any required repairs and upgrades. • Determine needs for vending machines, banking machines, lockers and secure item storage. • Submit preliminary accommodation plans to the AWGIC.
Year 2 –
• Complete site visits for each school, which will be used as an participants’ village. • Determine room and shower requirements for participants. • Finalize janitorial services. • Finalize participants’ village layouts and shower arrangements. • Complete any facility repairs and upgrades. • Consult with and receive approvals by the Health Inspectors and the Fire Marshall. • Submit final accommodation plans to the AWGIC. • Coordinate with the Volunteer, Signage, Transportation, IT and Security Committees. • Volunteer selection and work schedules.
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• Establish village set-up plans and work parties. • Establish village take down plans and work parties.
What were the five best decisions made by the committee?
• Gathering tear down volunteers at one school and assigning groups to specific schools. We found that this strategy worked best because people would be more inclined to stick around until their school was complete. One school didn’t seem as onerous as tearing down 5 schools.
• The combining of the accommodations and the security volunteers were assigned at the various participants villages. These two groups were being drawn from the same pool of volunteers. In addition, on site, these two groups were in reality working together and supporting each other in their various tasks.
• Hosting the participants dance at a local night club. There was very little set up and tear down involved which reduced the amount of volunteers required.
• The responsibility for the luggage being transported from the schools to the airport was assigned to accommodations the day before departure of the participants and by a lot of collaborative planning with other committees we were able to deal with it efficiently.
• Accommodations was very responsive to issues and problems and were able to meet promptly with requests by mission staff
What were the five decisions made by your committee that you would do differently today and why?
• Having only one mayor per village created overload.
• We did not have enough dedicated volunteers running more subcommittees so in the end there is less work required of each individual. This would help prevent ‘burn out’.
• We would work closer with the Volunteer Division in recruiting volunteers.
• A misunderstanding on our part was assuming that rooms would be assigned by sport with mixed contingents wasted a substantial amount of planning time. The rooms were allocated by contingent and gender strictly with no mixing of contingents.
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Which other Divisions/Committees were you involved with and what were the tasks / projects?
Other Divisions/Committees that the Accommodations Committee was involved with were:
• Transportation Committee – arranging luggage drop-off and pick-up locations at the participants’ villages
• Security Committee – arranging locations of security check points and volunteer coordination
• Volunteer Division – arranging for volunteers for the Accommodations Committee
• IT Division – identifying communications requirements for the Accommodations Committee
Recommendations
• For set up and tear down of the beds - if the participants village is not in one centralized area – designate team leaders for each school and assign volunteers to one school being clear with them that their help could be required further if their school gets done set up quickly. We found that starting with all volunteers at one school a lot of them went home after the first hour feeling like they’d finished their commitment. Our numbers continued to dwindle significantly as we move from one school to the next.
• Co-ordinate with Fit In/Fit Out Committee on exact inventory, delivery, etc. required for each village.
• Consider the use of inflatable mattresses or some kind of covered foam mattresses as an alternative to bunk beds as they are too labor intensive.
• Make clear to the mission staff the urgency for timely response to requests for room allocations and athlete accreditation. A lot of last minute adjustments are very difficult to deal with.
• Cross reference with all committees to confirm that you haven’t double booked any spaces.
• Have two or more village mayors for each venue in order to provide backup and would have been a better choice and recruit the mayors early allowing them to be involved in the planning process.
• Have laundry services available particularly for cultural participants, including irons.
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Other comments
• Keep in mind that it is traditional for the cultural participants to stay together in the dorms and not to be separated by contingent like the participants are.
• Mixing of genders within one facility generates a whole series of additional complications such as the requirement for more volunteers.
• Despite the fact that participants were requested to bring their own locks we carried an inventory of our own to sell to them.
• Computer labs were provided at each village for use by the participants.
• Be aware that contingents arrive all through the night and accommodations require volunteers to meet them.
2. Catering/Food Services
Food services committee was established in Feb. 2008. It was imperative that 4 food service managers (volunteer) would be required to oversee the day to day operations during the Games. An office manager/volunteer coordinator (volunteer) was also signed on as part of the food services committee in December 2009. These 5 individuals would be trained by the chair on all aspects of the food service requirements and the eventual contract for food services. (Contract attached)
Considering two food service venues were to be established it was imperative qualified individuals were sourced as volunteers for these positions. They would also act as direct communication between the contractors and the Host Society Care and Comfort committee during the Games.
A menu was developed using past menus from AWG 2008, Canada Summer Games and a variety of other sporting events. This menu was checked and approved by a nutritionist for the AWGIC. The Food Service contractor adhered to our menu with a few changes for cultural specialties.
Contractor was chosen for overall quality, price, and GIK offered. Food services were expedited with few challenges due to excellent planning.
Some areas of concern (with recommendations) were:
• Box lunch organization – Initially it was determined that approx. 300 box lunches would be required per day. However, a number of crucial details were unknown at the time. Major and minor officials who could not physically return to food service venues for meals and timing for certain sporting events. For a number of sports it was initially determined that considering competition had ended at 12:30 pm, that sufficient time would be available to return to the food service venue before 2:00 pm.
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Numbers rose to 700 – 800 box lunches per day. The contractor was very accommodating with the considerable challenges presented regarding box lunches.
• Security – Unfortunately, with the numbers of youth congregating for meals there will always be issues between participants and there will always be a small percentage that will misbehave. The first few days during the Games there was substantial harassment of female food service workers in both food service venues by certain contingents. It was reported to and addressed immediately by an excellent security chair. It would be recommended to have uniform security present as well as a coach or adult representative of the teams when large numbers are together, specifically meal times and late night meals.
• Special meal requests – Reported medical conditions regarding food were quite high, approx. 500 individuals. Due to the huge number we pared down severe allergies and addressed each case individually. Site Chefs were requested to meet with the individuals to ensure no one went without a meal. Ingredients reported by all participants, which were used for food production, were identified on printed meal cards. For the less severe allergies, the individual was responsible for making the right meal choice.
• Food Use – As anticipated, the first two days of the Games, Saturday and Sunday, the food service contractor was very concerned with the amount of consumption taking place. This is quite common as the participants are not competing and many of them have never seen such amounts and choices of food. It did become manageable when competitions commenced and overindulgence did not occur as drastically.
Recommendations:
• It would be recommended to have uniform security present as well as a coach or adult representative of the teams when large numbers are together, specifically meal times and late night meals.
• Recommend that a Box Lunch Schedule be developed. - The schedule will include “training days”. - All Officials requirements will be included. - Arctic Sports and Dene Games schedules noted. - Inclusion of “late meals”.
• The delivery of the participants lunches to remain the responsibility of the Mission Staff.
• The delivery of the Officials lunches to be the responsibility of the Host Society.
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• Venue specific food service providers to be considered for the provision of Officials lunches. Cost is a consideration as the Food Services contract can easily incorporate this. Consideration is also given to existing food services contracts that would prohibit outside providers bringing in food.
• Recommend that a meeting be held to review the Box Lunch Schedule. - This meeting to take place at the time of the M2 meeting. - All affected parties must be in attendance: Chefs de Mission, Games General Manager, Food Service Chair, Food Service contractor, Sport Chairs where applicable, Officials representative.
• The 2010 Games used a schedule for Box Lunches that included all contingents and officials (Schedule Attached). This eliminated the need for Chefs to submit daily requirements. Submissions for special dietary was submitted and used for the week.
• To prevent food waste, the following are recommended: - Adults accompany the participants to educate them on the amounts of food they should take. - Food consumption becomes a part of the educational materials provided to participants by Mission Staff. - Trays are used but monitored at the front end to ensure food use is appropriate.
• Attachments • Contract • Quantity and type of food purchased or donated. • Consumption figures • Copy of menu(s)
3. Medical
• Polyclinic comprised of nurses, physicians, physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists.
• Located at the Grande Prairie Regional College Nursing Labs.
• Hours of operation 0700-2200.
• Provided basic medical assessment and treatment services as well as rehabilitation services.
• Had an ALS kit on hand for life threatening conditions (did have an anaphylactic reaction).
• Utilized a triage room during busy periods to try to prioritize participants.
• Also provided first aid services during the sport competitions.
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• First aid supplies consisted of a basic first aid kit (sports therapists kit) rented from the Sport Medicine Council of Alberta.
• Supplied ice to all of the sport competitions. This was much needed.
Recommendations
• We had difficulty in recruiting medical professionals to volunteer – consider reducing service hours.
• Ice is an absolute must at the sport competitions.
• Rehabilitation services were on a walk-in basis. Consider booking set appointment times to better utilize professional volunteer’s time.
• A list of medical supply quantities can be provided on request. . 4. Security
Overall goals and objectives of the Security Committee were for the overall safety and security for participants, sport officials, spectators, volunteers, and guests. The objectives of the committee included developing a system for restricted access to venues and athlete villages, recruiting volunteer security personnel to patrol some eighteen locations, work closely with the RCMP, and other regulatory agencies to ensure that all venues were safe and all codes were met.
Criminal Record Checks The City of Grande Prairie and local detachment of the Grande Prairie RCMP donated the hours required to conduct Criminal Record Checks on all staff, contract employees at venues and volunteers. Games organizers projected they would need 2000 volunteers to ensure the Games were a success.
The Grande Prairie RCMP has 1 Municipal Employee position to accommodate processing Criminal Records. In preparation for the Games, the detachment trained 3 casual employees and 1 full time employee whose duties were redeployed to assist with Criminal Record Checks from November, 2009 to the Games. A regular Criminal Record Check for the general public has a ‘turnaround’ time of 3 business days. Effective February 25, 2010, the detachment regular Criminal Record Checks for the general public were put on hold until after March 15, 2010 in order to meet the ‘last minute’ applications from the Host Society.
Each check for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games took approximately 30 minutes to complete. The Detachment received the Games Criminal Record Check applications in batches of approximately 100. They were originally processing the batches inside of 2 weeks. As the Games approached a demand for them to complete within a week was met. As the Games approached, the completion was narrowed to just a few days.
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The RCMP worked very closely with the Host Society regarding the Criminal Record Checks. The Grande Prairie RCMP Detachment processed 2250 Criminal Record Checks with 22 of those applicants being rejected. The process involved two full time employees staff hours and the assistance of 3 casual employees who have put in 500 hours on processing Games Criminal Record Checks at a cost of $36,147.78 in wages. Criminal Record Checks normally cost $35.00 to complete. The City of Grande Prairie and RCMP waived the costs which would have been $78,750.00 fees.
Training Several training sessions were held prior to and during the Games. Six weeks prior to the Games, on every weekend, a 4 hour session was completed for the security volunteers. The training session covered off all points required to be a security volunteer. Attendance ranged from 20 people to 70 near the start of the Games.
During the Games, some security volunteers were noted not wanting to be “enforcers” of the rules.
Recommendation Ensure “strong & designated security captains” are assigned to each site. This is particularly important early in the Games to ensure security personnel are checking accreditation properly and/or located in correct positions.
The volunteer schedules were difficult to fill and maintain and required constant attention. We utilized a number of paid security guards for overnight requirements at outside sites (tents / trailers) and villages. Perhaps, we should have requested volunteers take a minimum 2 shifts at an accommodation site (village) prior to any other shift at a sporting venue. With the 5 different accommodation sites that were required to be staff with volunteers around the clock made for a high number of shift requirements.
Our committee purchased security pins and the committee recognized the security volunteers with the security pin while they were working. This was very well received.
Sites/ Venues The Security committee conducted over 45 Risk Assessments and Site Evaluations on sites prior to the Games. These Risk Assessments were used to dedicate the level of security required at each location. Sites changed prior to the Games and communication between other Games committees needed to be maintained to ensure the assessment were reflective of the most recent information. The assessments were usually conducted by two RCMP officers and took approximately 4 hours to complete. This took approximately 360 hours prior to the start of the Games.
Recommendations Have the fire department on the organizing committee and involved with the assessments from day. This would make it easier making decisions as to what they require. There needs to be more accountability by the coaches and chaperones to watch their teams.
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total Vol. hours total Venue worked hours difference Coke Centre 564 667 103 Composite 813 1536 723 Cultural Feast 9 13.5 4.5 Derek Taylor 544 1332 788 Evergreen 69.5 185 115.5 Curling 125.5 259.5 134 GPRC Gym 275 468 193 Gprc Cardinal Theatre 24 24 0 Gymnics 20 221 201 Harry Balfour 575 832 257 Maude Clifford 63 495 432 Montrose 25.5 127 101.5 Mother Theresa 86.5 464.5 378 Museum 0 0 0 Muskoseepi Park 233.5 604 370.5 Nitehawk 195 1008 813 Peace Wapiti 575.5 848 272.5 Rock City 20 24 4 Roving 132 1008 876 Security 565.5 1440 874.5 Soccer 222.5 582 359.5 St. Joseph 795.5 1680 884.5 Wapiti Nordic 264 1024 760 Total 6197.5 14842.5 8645
A total of 14,842.5 hours were identified as required during the Games. Under the Security component there were 6,197.5 hours worked. To properly cover off what was asked we needed to cover off an additional 8,645 hours.
There was a short fall of volunteer hours in this area. If the average volunteer gave 8 hours a day for 5 days (total of 40 hours) we would have needed at least 375 volunteers to cover off the requested coverage.
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The chart below reflects the areas that were requested.
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The security committee had 317 volunteers. Only 46 volunteers provided more than 30 hours during the games. Please see the chart below that reflects the number of volunteered hours and number of volunteers
Volunteer hour breakdown 0 - 4 hrs 33 4 -8 hrs 53 8 - 15 hrs 64 15 - 20 hrs 62 20 - 30 hrs 59 30 - 40 hrs 22 40 - 50 hrs 9 50 - 60 hrs 3 60 - 70 hrs 5 70 - 80 hrs 3 80 + 4 317
Given the requirement of 14,842.5 hours security coverage required, and the number of volunteers acquired during these Games, the 317 volunteers would have had to volunteer on average 46.6 hours in the week.
It appears that the average security volunteered approximately 20 hours in the week. With this average, the Security Committee would have required 743 volunteers to staff the requested hours. A risking out of venues and duties was done to facilitate the shortage of volunteers.
Security Center The security volunteers were at every venue and reported to the Games Security Center. The volunteers were directed to call the police if they feel there is a situation they are not capable of handling. The Security Committee had a Security Control Center which was staffed a day prior to the start of the Games and ran to the last participant left. The Center was staffed by at least two volunteers 24 hours a day. It was co-located in the Mission office which was Grande Prairie Regional College.
The Games Security Center was responsible: to find replacements where security volunteers had cancelled or failed to show up for slotted shifts; to contact police when required; to manage the base station radio and communication from venues and accommodations; to manage the hand held radios/ vests and flashlights; to handle incident reports from venues and accommodation schools; to report incidents from the venues and dorms to the appropriate Missions office; to handle lost and found items/reports received from the venues and dorms;
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Recommendation This Center should be located by itself, not co-located in the same space as another committee. This area was very busy and loud. The security staff became involved in assisting Mission Staff answering information questions and phones. Perhaps the Security Center could be in a village and therefore assist in maintaining security at that site.
The Center’s office should consist of two or more computers with printers, a fax machine. The Security Center requires at least two telephones and one cell phone. One hard line would be for incoming calls and can be posted. The second hard line does not need to be published and can be used by staff at the Security Center to make numerous calls and not interfere with incoming calls. Call volumes were very high at this Center. It was hard to reach anyone by phone, as the line rang busy continuously.
Critical Incident Response Plan The Security Committee was responsible for the preparation and completion of the Host Society's Coordination Plan for Critical Incident. This ensured that individual emergency services groups listed in the document were aware and prepared for the Games in case of a large scale emergency or disaster. The Games Emergency Operations Group met daily at 0800 hrs thorough out the duration of the Games to monitor Games and community issues.
RCMP Officers There were 12 RCMP officers dedicated to the Games for patrol and assistance. They worked from 0800 to 2200. Some of the officers were utilized by the Games Committee for attendance at functions in the Red Serge. This was well received by the international guests. The RCMP contributed to the Games Trading Post with a booth that was staffed from March 8 - 12th, 2010. There was an estimated 1000 visits to their booth. Time spent by an officer at this location was approximately 50 hours.
Other Recommendations: A strong comprehension of how GEMS functions would eliminate extra work.
There seemed to be a clash between the role of the village mayor and security volunteers. The village mayor was utilizing the security volunteers in different tasks and jobs. There should be at least one accommodation person per village 24/7. Determination should be made with Accommodations Committee the exact roles and responsibilities of both groups (security and accommodations volunteers) and clearly communicated to all volunteers.
Having an assigned call centre for the Games office staffed 24 hrs a day for information. Many calls were taken by the Security Center which were not Security related.
Ensure that all radio communication is tested prior to the Games at all venues.
Given the large task of the security committee and the need for the security committee to be aware of all matters, events and plans, the Security Chair should be invited to attend all Management Committee Meetings.
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Overall, it was a pleasure to be a part of the Games experience. I thank you for allowing me to have this opportunity to Dream Achieve Inspire.
ARCTIC WINTER GAMES INCIDENT REPORTED STATS
THESE NUMBERS ARE TAKEN FROM THE INCIDENT REPORTS RECEIVED AT THE ARCTIC WINTER GAMES SECURITY CENTER FROM THE ACCOMMODATION SCHOOLS BETWEEN 2010/03/07 AND 2010/03/14. THE LOST AND FOUND ITEMS REPORTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT.
SMALL INJURY/SICK 8 INCIDENTS INVOLVING BIATHLON FIREARMS 2 SUSPICIOUS PERSON 4 LOST ACCREDITATION 7 MISCHIEF 5 BREACH OF CURFEW NOT INCLUDING OUT ALL NIGHT 6 BREACH OF CURFEW/ NOT RETURNING ALL NIGHT 6 DRINKING / INTOXICATED 7 THEFT 1 ASSAULTS 2 BREACH OF DORM BARRIERS 3 GAS/WATER LEAKS 3 UNKNOWN DEVICE LOCATED/RCMP ADVISED 1 KEY MISSING / RETURNED BY VOLUNTEER 1 UNFOUNDED REPORT OF MISSING PERSON 1 ------57
5. Transportation
• School buses were used to transport participants from the Airport to their accommodations as well as the routes designed for transportation of the participants throughout the Games.
• Routes ran continuous in approximately 15 minute intervals starting 1 ½ hours to 2 hours before events started and ran until all events were finished for the day and participants were all returned to their accommodations.
• Enough buses were used for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies that all participants were transported in one trip.
• Venues in central locations would make it easier to accommodate transportation as opposed to Venues spread through the area. This would save participants from long ride times and also save on transportation costs.
• Culture Teams were supplied with their own vehicles for transportation. Each Team was assigned 2 drivers that worked directly with the Culture team for the whole week.
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• Mission Staff were assigned 2 vehicles for their use for the week.
• The International Committee was assigned vehicles to use for the week.
• VIP and Officials transportation was combined with 6 vehicles being used that were on call and dispatched from the Transportation Office. These vehicles ran from 6am until 11pm or until all events were finished for the evening.
• For Opening and Closing Ceremonies VIP’s were transported from their receptions to the Ceremonies using school buses. The VVIP’s (stage guests) were transported using 2 mini coach buses.
• In total, transportation required approximately 70 vehicles to cover all of its VIP, Officials, Mission Staff and International Committee requests.
Recommendations:
• Make sure that vehicles are acquired about 1 week before the Games, or at least a complete list including vehicle descriptions so that the Transportation Committee can see what types of vehicles they are receiving. The Transportation Committee needs time to number and set up assignments before the participants and guests start arriving for a more efficient signing out of vehicles.
• Provide route maps, with directional arrows, to the Chefs by M2.
• Conduct actual drive throughs of the routes for Mission staff at M2.
Arrival/Departure – Luggage
Luggage pickup was handled by one company, Reilly’s Transfer, who provided all the trucks and drivers. The HS provided volunteers to assist. Luggage tags were assigned to each village school and distributed to each unit. The tags were color coded. Where possible the luggage was loaded directly from the plane to the trucks on the tarmac. The luggage was then delivered directly to the schools.
Separate tags were used for sport equipment i.e. skis. These were delivered directly to the sport venues and placed in the unit’s trailers.
Departure plans were based on flight transcripts. Units, in each school, were provided with space to place their luggage by flights. Sport equipment was picked up from the venues and delivered to the schools to be placed in the luggage for the specific flights. The luggage was loaded on to trucks specific to the flights by the participants. This process was monitored by the Department of Transport. Where possible the luggage was loaded directly onto the planes on the tarmac.
Note: The Chefs were instrumental in developing the Departure plans. The Host Society thanks them for their leadership in this area.
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The Grande Prairie Airport Authority (GPA) led the process for unloading and loading planes. Regular meetings were held that included all members of the committees involved. The GPA coordinated the Customs program ensuring all Department of Transport regulations were adhered to. The RCMP was included in this process as they handled the storage of the firearms and the transportation of firearms to and from the airport to the venue.
Recommendations
• Coordinate all arrivals and departures with the airport authority.
• Have the airport authority deal directly with the Customs authority. There may be some funding assistance available through the Ottawa offices.
• Use sturdy luggage tags.
• Have the luggage tags in the Chefs hands by the fall (October) preceding the Games. This is dependent on the Accommodations being complete at this time. Although changes may be made to the Accommodations plans, the tags can be made in sufficient numbers to accommodate this.
• Use tags, coded differently, for sport equipment and have the equipment delivered directly to the venues.
• Have a similar program in place for Cultural equipment.
• Departure tags, if used, should be distributed during Games week to alleviate loss, misplacement, etc. issues.
• Assign “Arrivals/Departures” to one committee to act as the lead. Include all relevant committees in the planning for both arrivals and departures. Include the RCMP or appropriate law enforcement agency on this planning.
• The Host Society to meet with the Chefs at M1 to review potential plans for this area and then meet with the Chefs at M2 to review actual, finalized plans.
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E. Culture and Ceremonies
1. Opening and Closing Ceremonies
A) The Story - A Hero’s Journey,
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Arctic Winter Games were two of the most entertaining and memorable experiences of these Games. Titled, “A Hero’s Journey”, these Ceremonies linked the oral teachings and traditions of the original peoples of the circumpolar world with the modern multicultural realities of today’s north.
Focusing on the participants and cultural teams and their journey as heroes from their families and communities, the Ceremonies took them through an emotional experience led by four characters created from the common teachings of the elders from many different Arctic traditional communities. Incorporating the proven modern Virtues Project philosophies with teachings including its relationship to the cycle of life and the four seasons, this journey of the Games participants and the audience was unique, uplifting and did embody the true spirit of the Arctic Winter Games.
Through these Ceremonies, peoples from all cultures come together in a celebration of human similarity and diversity.
Youth focused music, dancing, entertainers, original character costumes, traditional aboriginal outfits, original music based on traditional rhythms, eye catching sets, multi- media, and unique staging came together to create what the producers believed was the most memorable Ceremonies ever staged for the Arctic Winter Games
B) Why A Hero’s Journey? The Hero’s Journey of the 2010 Arctic Winter Games provided touchstones to guide our participants and cultural teams to personal successes on their journey through life.
A Hero’s Journey is a call to adventure: to leave the old normal: to go on a quest into the realms of Adventure: to encounter unknown forces and powers. We took the participants and cultural teams on an amazing journey to discover the virtues of heroes. We challenged them to travel to the dream world of opportunities beyond imagination.
A Hero’s Journey is a great time of living and learning. During the 7 days of the Games, the participants discovered what is “COOL” in many cultures. Will there be lessons for the future? We hope so. They will experience the feeling of words when needs are being met and the feeling of words when they are not met.
We believed their Games experience will help empower the youth by learning what is alive within them and what would make life more wonderful. They will learn to celebrate culture in life by actively seeking the truth in a vision. They will follow and live the true hero’s story. They will give up where they are, travel into the realm of adventure, come to realize life’s truths and return to families and friends to share their new found gifts of knowledge, understanding and character.
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From the beginning of our oral traditions, the story tellers repeat the same truths. Often, the hero's idea of reality is changed. The hero may find an ability to do new things or to see a larger point of view allowing the hero to sacrifice herself or himself for the greater good and for her or his personal improvement.
The audience and spectators of the 2010 Arctic Winter Games were invited to travel with them on their Hero’s Journey.
C) The Hero’s Journey Characters
Maje (Caribou Woman )
Maje is a Hunter on the Land, A lover of people and life- She carries a special spiritual spear that transforms into a healing Cree love song with the flute. Her virtues are passion, moderation, beauty, love gratitude, appreciation and commitment.
Saamaa (Morningstar Woman)
Saamaa gives spiritual messages in the morning light. Her virtues are Excellence, Hope, Reliability, Empathy and finding win-win outcomes.
Annook (Rock Man)
Annook is a hunter and survivalist. He is a man who has learned the knowledge and skills of his ancestors. He is like the Character in the TV program, “Man against the Wild.” Annook believes his success will come through the virtues of self discipline, endurance, courage and independence
Dagee(Loon Man) Dagee is a spiritual Drum Singer. He uses his virtues of creativity, understanding, optimism and sincerity to achieve his goals. Dagee is aware of the natural rhythms of our Earth and understands the plants and animals that live in his region.
D) STAGING CONCEPTS
Following a successful staging concept that was first developed for the 1995 Canada Winter Games and refined for the 2000 Alberta Summer Games, each Ceremony had three parts. The Intertribal World Dance Party for the Participants and Cultural Participants. Act I the community show for the Ticketed Audience. Act II the traditional Ceremony following the Staging Manual.
Over 450 people from our region participated in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies on stage and behind the scenes.
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Participants’ Intertribal World Dance Party
Interviews with former Arctic Winter Games participants revealed that the time spent marshalling before the Ceremonies was one of their worst memories of their Games. They found this time boring, tiring, and too long.
To provide a quality experience for the Participants and Cultural Participants during the time they traditionally spend waiting for the official ceremony to begin, we provided an hour of youth oriented entertainment. We had an experienced Master of Ceremony to keep the party going. Two DJ’s played a variety of hit songs. The Four Legends introduced themselves to the youth and lead a question and answer session with two youth from each contingent on what is “cool” where they live.
Four community groups were scheduled to entertain the youth. Due to the extreme party atmosphere only three of these groups actually performed. The youth became too excited and were in too much of a party celebration mood to pay attention to the fourth community group.
The Party was a great success!!
To reduce the time spent in the marshalling area, we were able to use 45 school buses to transport the youth to the Ceremonies location. This reduced the time spent in the marshalling area to approximately one hour and fifteen minutes before the start of the participants’ parade. This time was taken up with the Participants Party.
Due to unexpectedly warm temperatures the week of the Games, the temperatures in the marshalling area became very hot. This hot temperature did detract from the party atmosphere. Unfortunately, not many of the participants took off their winter coats. Removing their coats until the start of the participants’ parade could have improved their experience.
In previous Games, we had been told that the youth complained they were hungry and thirsty during the marshalling and the actual ceremony. To prevent these complaints, we provided all participants with full access to two cafeterias before the marshalling began. Through the mission staff, we offered all participants a full “take away” access to the grazing menu items at the two cafeterias. All participants were advised to bring their water bottles and they could refill the water bottles from potable water foundations available in the marshalling facility. We provided all youth with pizza in their Participants Villages after the ceremony. It was our goal that no one would go hungry or thirsty before, during or after each ceremony.
Despite our advance notice of the available food and water, many of the youth were not aware of what we were providing and recommending. Some youth were hungry and thirsty during the Marshalling time and the Ceremony.
Act I for the Ticketed Audience
At the same time as the Participants Intertribal World Dance Party, we entertained the ticketed audience with a show featuring five community groups and special features. We honoured four elders from the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities. We explained
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the Hero’s Journey and the Four Legend Characters. We introduced each member of the International Committee to the audience to show the truly international composition of the Committee.
To save time during the official Opening Ceremony, we had the march of the Officials during Act I.
Adding Act I to the Ceremony allowed us to increase our community involvement in the Ceremony. Our community supports local performers. Ticket sales increase when more community performers are included in an event like these Ceremonies.
Act I added value to the Ceremony. This added value permitted us to increase the ticket price for the Ceremony. The extra revenue was needed for us to make our goal of a break even budget.
Act II – The Official Ceremony
We followed the Staging Manual for the Official Ceremony with some special elements. We moved the Officials Parade to Act I. We added a beginning entertainment number to add value to the Ceremony. We moved the Participants Parade to before the introduction of the Podium Guests because we wanted the youth to acknowledge these special guests. Following the two speeches by the Dene Chiefs in the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Yellowknife Games, we included a welcome by the Grande Chief of the Western Cree Tribal Council. This followed our local protocol in acknowledging the Cree Tribal lands of our region.
We were proud of several unique elements we added to this Ceremony. A local choir sung all five national anthems in the proper languages. A special video accompanied each national anthem with the flag and photos from the countingents.
For the Opening, we created a special video of photos and film for each of the nine contingents that played during their team’s entry in the Participants Parade. The music for each contingent was from artists who live, did live, or sang about each region. We wanted to honour each country and each contingent with music and video about their homelands.
For the Closing, we created a special video featuring video and photos taken of each contingent during each day of the Games. The youth were very pleased to see them and their team mates on the big screen.
The Hero’s Journey entertainment was very well received. As far as we know, this was the first time in any sporting ceremony where a story line involving newly created characters was performed.
As a special feature, we had the four Legend Characters appear at different venues each day of the Games to talk to and connect with the youth. It was our goal to have the Legend Characters relate their experiences to the youth in the Participants party planned for the Closing. Unfortunately, due to an airline scheduling conflict with the Closing Ceremony, this Party was cancelled. The Legend Character could not talk to the youth to bring closure to their journey as a result. This was disappointing to all concerned.
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This airline scheduling conflict required the 120 minute two act Closing Ceremony to be reduced to a 75 minute one act ceremony. We were able to restructure the Closing Ceremony to meet this unexpected challenge without losing any community or individual performances.
Recommendations
Each Host Society should have the flexibility to create an Opening and Closing Ceremony based on the entertainment performers and resources available to them. The one hour Opening and 45 minute Closing Ceremony set out in the Staging Manual does not do justice to the creativity and vibrant cultural mosaic that now exists across the circumpolar north. If the Ceremony is designed to entertain the youth, a longer running time will enhance the entertainment value and the memories of all concerned.
The Staging Manual needs to be changed to reflect the actual time it takes for the Participants Parade. If the Participants enter 2 at a time, the Participants Parade will take at least 30 minutes. If the Officials enter as part of the Participants Parade add another 7 minutes. These times were the same in Yellowknife in 2008 and Grande Prairie in 2010.
The Participants and Officials Parade can be shortened without reducing the desired impact. Suggestions for reducing the time include:
- Replace the Officials Parade with an Introduction of Officials. The Officials can take their places before the start of the Ceremony. Introduce them to the audience. This saves time while still giving the Officials the public acknowledgement and thanks they deserve. This saves the Officials having to marshal for a long time before the Ceremony starts. They can go to their assigned place as soon as they get to the venue.
- The Participants could enter from more than one entrance. This may be more acceptable for the Closing Ceremony. In Grande Prairie, we used four entrances for the Closing Ceremony and completed the Participants Parade in under 13 minutes. This saved 22 minutes from the Opening Parade.
- The Participants can enter more than 2 at a time. It was our goal to have them enter 4 at a time. Unfortunately, the Grande Prairie Venue was not able to accommodate our plans. Other venues may be able to allow the participants to enter 4 or 6 at a time.
The Staging Manual should be changed to allow and encourage cultural participation of any prominent cultures in the Host Community. Specifically, recognition of the local cultural leaders in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
While the Participants are in the marshalling area, they should be entertained, have water available to them, and be encouraged to take off their coats if they are hot.
Review the plans for marshalling participants with the Chefs at M2. This should be done at the venue with diagrams noting the areas for each unit.
Participants should be seated for the official portion of both Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
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2. Sport specific Opening and Closing Ceremonies/Medal Presentations
• We created a team leader for each sport on site for the opening/closing and medal presentations. We were able to cover this mostly with volunteers and we did have to have some sport chairs assist. We ensured each venue had their own set of contingent flags, a CD with the Rise Up theme song and the national anthems. As well each team leader was provided with a checklist and the opening/closing protocol. The sport opening began with the contingents parading with their flags to the theme song Rise Up. An athlete carried in the flag and the team contingent sign. The contingents lined up before the flags, where the dignitaries welcomed all the teams, officially opened or closed the sport.
Medal Presentations The medal podiums were placed at each venue to assist with not having to move equipment around.
Some of the medal presentations were done daily and some were done at the end of the week. We did the parade of contingents and the MC officially announced the winners. The sites that had the Venue Team Leaders helping out and involved were the sites that worked out the best.
Recommendation:
• Ensure the opening sport ceremony takes place before the sport begins, as some of the hype of the sport opening was lost due to the teams already playing.
• Ensure that the results are given to the MC/team leader on site. Coordinate this with the Venue Team Leader, Results contact and Sport Chair.
• Have guest services coordinate the VIPs/dignitaries to be assigned.
• Ensure all sports do an opening/closing ceremony.
• Work closely with the Venue Team Leader for communication of the protocol and activities on site.
• Ensure the Sport Chairs are in coordination with the Chair of sport/closing and medals so they are aware of the protocol.
3. Cultural Program
Performing Arts • There was one Chair person for all of the performing arts. I think that it is very important for planning purposes that the same person oversees the day stages, cafeteria performances and the Gala program. Consideration should be given to
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increasing the Performing Arts Committee to assist with the organization of evening sessions. Day Stages • There were three concurrent day stages through which the contingents rotated for the first three days. These performances were approximately 12-14 minutes in length.
• Each stage had 3 contingents and 2 local performers. Each stage had a Master of Ceremonies, a stage manager, a stage hand and a sound technician.
• One stage was at the local mall and had a lot of traffic, another stage was at the “Arctic Winter Games Trading Post” and had a lot of traffic and the third location was at our independent theatre (227 seats). We had to work a little harder to attract people to this location. We had the Downtown Association help promote it and faxed all of the surrounding seniors’ lodges to help bring in more traffic. The theatre association also promoted it to their membership.
• These performances were free and all had food for purchase as they were promoted as “lunchtime performances”. The community was very supportive and all really enjoyed the shows. Audience numbers rose steadily, and most shows were full each day.
Recommendation: Efforts should be made to ensure the performers have water and snacks at each session as they are not always able to supply these themselves in the time it takes to move between their various commitments.
Visual Arts Program • It was our intent that the Montrose Cultural Centre could be a cultural hub where individuals could meet, converse and engage with the images. We aimed that the mural would be an interactive piece that allowed for the public to respond to art in their own way. We hoped that this space could allow for a discussion to be started about the Arctic and the way of life for many of the northern hemisphere. The activity and visual displays at the Montrose Cultural Centre were free of charge, supported by interpretive directives and informed volunteers, and with an open schedule that allowed visitors to be flexible with their time.
Contingent Photo Show: • Each of the contingents submitted cultural photos that were a reflection of their way of life and represented where they were from. We had three large screen televisions in the hall rotating the DVD at different intervals.
• These were displayed as a digital photo display that played concurrently so that one could see images from different contingents at the same time. Similarities and differences can be seen between the different locations. We originally wanted one DVD per contingent but several only sent a couple of photos and so it made more sense to put them all together into one DVD. Each photo had the location, flag and photographer name on the bottom of it throughout the DVD presentation.
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Promotional DVD: • We also had a promotional DVD made of all of the visual arts programs as well as the history and artifact displays. We played this video at different sporting venues such as Nitehawk Ski Hill and Evergreen Park, the Dog Mushing venue to help promote our activities.
British Council Display: • The Montrose Cultural Centre was also home to a British Council in Canada Youth and Climate Change display. A slide show of photos displayed on a large flat screen monitor documenting an Arctic Voyage taken by 28 high school students from Canada, India, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom for an Arctic expedition to observe evidence of climate change. These expedition members saw a picture of a changing world.
Window Photos: • We had a local photographer print some large photos representative of the north and put them in the windows of the hall. The photos were 3’ x 5’ and 10 were produced in total.
Window Projections • We had two large window projectors rotating some of the contingent photos at night. These window projections could be seen from the road in the evenings and helped attract additional attention to the display.
Traditional Clothing Display • The local Friendship Centre lent us some traditional clothing to display on some mannequins in the Montrose Cultural Centre. Both traditional and modern clothing items were represented.
Cultural Representation in other facilities • We had a Canadian flag mosaic displayed in both the Games Trading Post and at ATCO Place, the Dene Games Venue near the Games flame. The mosaic, done by local photographer Tim Vanhorn, was made up of portraits of people from all over Canada.
Interactive Community Mural • We commissioned a community artist to create a beautiful mural that represented the Arctic Winter Games and the theme of Dream, Achieve, Inspire.
• To add the “community” portion to the mural, we supplied small tiles for everyone to paint; these would later be added as a border to the mural. Volunteers painted the tiles the same colors as the mural and then community members and visitors were invited to paint images on the tiles.
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• The tables had sample photos of Inuit Art, Polar Animals, Contingent Flags etc. on them to help inspire the amateur artists. These stations were very busy throughout the week and many tiles were created.
• We had 2 volunteers at the mural each day to help hand out supplies and clean the stations. The supplies were all taken care of by the Prairie Art Gallery.
A more in depth description: • The mural that was commissioned as a legacy for the Games invited the community to respond to the question “How do you envision the Arctic?” by painting a bordering tile. This relates to the idea of the community encircling or surrounding the Arctic. As members of the northern hemisphere we are responsible for the North. The Inuit cultures believe that plants and animals have a spirit. They are to be respected as our survival is dependent upon their survival. This is also true of our climate. Envision is a powerful word that means to imagine or visualize something that is invisible or abstract or to imagine possibilities. This is important for the Arctic. In the mural Tim Heimdal has painted the polar bear, a powerful symbol of the North, and one that is threatened. The polar bears are having a more and more difficult time as the sea-ice on which they depend for their hunting forms later and later each fall. The Inuit people also believe that animals can talk. Perhaps the polar bear is speaking in this image? If so what would it be saying? The polar bear juggles ulus. The Ulus, medals of the Arctic Winter Games, were once an important aspect of the way of life for the traditional people of the Arctic. What kind of future do we envision for the traditional cultures of the Arctic and similarly for ourselves?
Photo Mentorship Program • This program is a must!! We had four local photographers act as mentors to four local youth. The photos that they took are absolutely amazing.
• We advertised in the schools for four local youth who were interested in photography. We wanted students that had at least a small bit of experience in photography. Students submitted a short essay about themselves and a mini portfolio.
• We paid four photographers $1500 each for the entire week. They had access to all of the events and activities and each day, they chose the best 5 shots from each youth to display in the Montrose Cultural Centre.
• The students were each assigned a complete camera system for the week. It was their responsibility to make sure that batteries were charged and cameras were ready to go each day. We wanted to have the students work and learn in the same environment that the average professional would experience when shooting an event such as the 2010 Arctic Winter Games.
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• The students and photographers paired up and traveled to all the venues and events throughout the week. We rotated the students and mentors so they could get experience from all four photographers. We wanted this to be an enjoyable experience with no pressure so we did not create a schedule for them. They just decided each morning where they would go and had fun doing it.
• At the end of each day we sat down with the students to download and critique images. We helped them choose their top five images from each day and schooled them on editing, cropping, and composition of images. We printed out 5 images from each student and framed them so that we could hang them in the public art gallery at the end of each day for all to view. We happened to be fortunate enough to work with the wonderful people at the Prairie Art Gallery in Grande Prairie Alberta. A huge thank you to Robert, Rhonda and the staff as we took over their gallery for the week.
• The students were thrilled and so were the spectators as it was very evident to see how much they learned from day to day. We had a total of 120 framed images on display at the end of the week. We then chose a best image from each student and had a 16x20 inch canvas made up to show the best of the best.
• It was a great week and we all enjoyed ourselves. We asked them to ensure they had at least one great snapshot of each of the cultural contingents and we prepared a framed photo memento for each team member and coach.
• Preparation: • Two computers were ordered and they downloaded some trial copies of photo editing software. Some good quality printers were also ordered and all photos were printed by the youth. Photo frames were ordered and put together ahead of time. All of the frames were hung with the Arctic Winter Games logo in it and they were filled each day with the best photos. • One of the photographers was the chair for the photography program and this worked very well as he was the expert on all of the needed equipment. The AWG committee purchased 4 sets of camera gear that included: • 4 Nikon D300 DSLR Cameras • 2 70-200 f2.8 lenses. • 2 24-70 mm f2.8 lenses • 2 24-120 mm f 5.6 lenses. • 4 Nikon SB 900 flash units • 2 Tripods • 2 Monopods • 4 Camera Bags • 8 Compact Flash Cards • 4 extra camera batteries • Two computers were supplied along with Adobe lightroom software for editing and cataloging the images. Two Epson 1400 wide format printers were purchased along with paper and ink.
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Recommendations:
• Youth and their guardians should sign a liability waiver. A copy is included in the Appendix.
• Ensure the photographers and mentored youth get proper accreditation early to have access to all areas.
History and Pin Display
Contingent Representation • We asked each contingent to send us items representative of their region to put in our History and Pin display at the local museum.
• Shipping was their responsibility on the way to Grande Prairie and became our responsibility on return of each of them. Some of the Chefs de Mission brought their items at some preliminary meetings and that was much appreciated.
• We had a display case for each contingent and more than one for the few who sent more items. We asked for the items to be shipped in early January and began the exhibit in early February. Some of the contingent items did not arrive until early March, but we displayed the rest early.
• We advertised the display until the Sunday of the Games close, but then realized that several contingents wanted to take their items home with them. This was great as we did not have to deal with customs or shipping.
Recommendation: I would not advertise the final Sunday as a day to view the display and let all contingents know that the items are available to take home with them.
• State Museum lent us the Arctic Winter Games History and Pin display. They had a curator come and install the exhibition. We paid for the cost of his flight and accommodations. Return packaging and shipping was our responsibility.
• The contact at the Alaska State Museum was: Robert Banghart Phone: (907) 465-4819 [email protected]
Drum Display • We had a glass drum display that represented each contingent. Mike Labine from Fort Smith, NWT was kind enough to lend us his collection of original drums and stained glass drums to display. He brought us the drums and installed the exhibit for us. His contact is [email protected] or (867) 872-3009.
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Pins: • Since we had the History Pin Display, we thought it fitting to sell some of our Arctic Winter Games pins in the museum as well. These were very popular and we’re glad we had them available there.
Recommendation: • We kept to regular operating hours of 8:30 – 4:30. We definitely recommend extending the hours into the evening as we had a lot of people showing up after close. Many locals are busy all day and therefore have more time to visit in the evenings.
Art of the Spectator • The local Centre for Creative Arts managed the Art of the Spectator on behalf of the Arctic Winter Games. They prepared three bins with art supplies and a step-by-step instruction leaflet on drawing action pictures to hand out to spectators.
• We booked 3 volunteers for the morning shift and then gave them time to return before the afternoon shift arrived for the bins. We made sure these volunteers had an “all access” pass and let them go to whichever sporting event they wanted.
• The Centre for Creative Arts displayed all of the artwork on their walls for all visitors to see. In total, we received 207 submissions.
Local Art Competition • The Centre for Creative Arts also managed a local art competition and exhibition for the Arctic Winter Games. A request for submissions was sent out mid- January and the deadline was March 1st. There were several categories and each had a cash prize. The breakdown is as follows: Adult 1st $400 Adult 2nd $300 Adult 3rd $300 Teen 1st $150 Teen 2nd $100 Teen 3rd $50 Children 1st $100 Children 2nd $50 Children 3rd $25
• In total, 48 submissions were received and the program was a big success. Adult- 22 Teen – 5 Children-21 Food Mentorship Program • We partnered with a local restaurant for the Food Mentorship Program. We asked each contingent to send us some recipes from their area. We chose some of the better ones that sounded appealing and the restaurant put a “Northern Menu” together for the general public.
• We sent information and application forms to all the local schools and we received several applications.
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• We chose four youth and they each received approximately 20 hours of mentorship from a Red Seal Chef. They each had a chance to help with preparation, cooking and cleanup during their 3 days at the restaurant.
• The dishes they prepared ranged from local menu items to recipes that had been submitted by the different contingents.
• The youth will also have an opportunity to help cater the Arctic Winter Games Volunteer Appreciation function. The restaurant enjoyed this experience a lot and has kept some of the applications on file for use in future mentorship programs.
Recommendations • Culture is a cross-over area into all other divisions. Ensure that your Director and all of your chairs stay in the loop of the planning.
• There are areas that you need to ensure you have a lot of direct contact with very early on. Speak with each individual director or chair person if possible to ensure they are aware of your needs. These are:
Transportation: • We had a van for each cultural team to ensure they could keep to their schedules. Ensure you work closely with Transportation to coordinate the movement of your Cultural Teams.
Website • It is important to include cultural information on the site at an early date. Meet with the Marketing Division early on.
Setup • Work with the facilities team to plan for the setup in each dorm for the evening sessions as well as Venue Team Leaders for coordination of Medal presentations and Sport Specific Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
4. Entertainment Program
Gala • There were two Gala performances on the Thursday and Friday evenings. These shows were very close to sold out with approximately 450 tickets sold to each. Tickets were sold for $50 each.
• Contingents were asked to prepare a seven minute (maximum) performance for the Galas. These performances were shorter than the day stages to ensure the entire show was no longer than one and a half hours.
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Crew • Director, 5 stage hands, 2 sound technicians, visual technician, Chair of Performing Arts, theatre manager.
Equipment • Sound Equipment had to be rented to accommodate such a large show. One of the biggest problems we had was receiving both the performance information and technical needs from each contingent. We did not have a full list until 10 days prior to the Games. This makes it difficult to be organized and to know what technical equipment to rent but I think that each Host Society should expect this information to be difficult to attain. Another challenge was the format of some of the music/images brought by the contingents. Every effort should be made to get contingents to send technical content prior to arrival and to have it in the format of the host region. This was especially noticeable for European formatting.
Recommendations. Schedule • Each contingent was scheduled for a private technical rehearsal during the first few days on location. The group also had one full technical rehearsal as well as a dress rehearsal with a full audience and media attendance. The dress rehearsal was an important opportunity for the media and it was also one way for the host committee to thank some its volunteers by making tickets to the dress rehearsal available for free. It is critical for the performers to have an audience in the house during the dress rehearsal, as this is a normal part of any professional show in which they may partake in future.
• Efforts should be made to ensure the performers have water and snacks at each session.
• Gala venue managers need to be aware that the change rooms and green room need to accommodate approximately 72 very busy and sometimes very bored teenagers plus their coaches and managers. Every effort should be made to provide suitable space as well as some distractions in these locations. The Gala venue in Grande Prairie was a very large and professional theatre space, used to hosting world class productions and it could barely accommodate the volume of performers as well as the variety of demands.
Cafeteria Performances • This was the performance that the youth performers liked the most. It was held in each of the two cafeterias in front of their peers. Often, the cultural participants are asked what they are doing at the Games. This was their way of showing everyone and the audience truly enjoyed it. It is the one distinct way in which the Games mandate of cultural exchange – athlete to performer – is met during the Games.
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• These productions were the exact same as the Gala performances to keep in the same timeframe (1.5 hours) and so the contingents did not have to learn yet another production. The only difference was that the technical was scaled down a little and there was no light show.
Recommendations: • If it’s possible, one of these performances should be done earlier in the week so that the interaction between the cultural participants and sports participants can begin earlier in the week rather than the last few days. One show should remain as the finale of the week as the performers really enjoy being able to showcase their talent for their peers.
• It is important to understand that this is one of the only places where the performers get to see each other’s performances because at the Gala they are made to stay backstage. Performers want to be able to celebrate each other.
Evening Sessions • There was either a Visual Arts or Performing Arts workshop/demonstration in each of the five dorms each night.
Recommendations:. • I strongly advise that they be scaled back. It takes a lot of work and effort to plan these and on several occasions, nobody attended. I would suggest a DJ and/or Karaoke a few nights during the week in each dorm. As long as the Care and Comfort division also plans movies and board Games etc… they will have plenty to do. Teenagers just like to “hang out”.
• For each session we also had a volunteer “recruiter” who was in charge of going throughout the dorm and recruiting the youth to participate. This person is necessary and needs to be an outgoing person who can get on the intercom system and call everyone to the workshop.
• For each session/workshop, we told the facilitator that they had to bring all of the equipment they needed. We did not supply any supplies or technical equipment.
• In order for these sessions to be successful information regarding the sessions should be sent to each contingent prior to arrival. Strong communication and clear signage are required in the dorms to notify potential participants. Maintain strong communication with security, the mayors of the villages and the workshop organizers to facilitate their organization and participation.
• In terms of cultural exchange from performer to athlete, some contingents seemed eager to participate and showcase their talent, but in fact, few followed through on their commitment. By the evening both the participants and performers are exhausted and don’t want to have yet another duty added to their day. Informal opportunities to share cultures would be far more effective. A comfortable place to hang out, away from the gyms, with a TV, movies, a microphone and small PA (or karaoke machine), cd player, etc, would be far
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more welcome than a formerly structured workshop. Without exception lots of cultural exchange also developed in the gyms, with impromptu basketball Games, dance parties, throat singing lessons, etc.
• Ensure that volunteer facilitators understand the need for the RCMP Security Clearance as early as possible.
5. Welcome and Send Off
• Welcome of the participants happened at the airport. Upon the arrival of their aircraft, bus or vehicle, participants and coaches along with any dignitaries and officials accompanying them on the flight we “cheered” as they walked through the door. All of the participants were brought to the airport for this greeting regardless of their means of transportation, in order that all participants could be welcomed to the community. The airport was decorated with the help of local classrooms with banners and balloons.
• Send off ran much the same way, but there was no send off for any of the contingents departing from the Forestry hangar, as we could not go into the secured area. At the main terminal we were there to say thank you and farewell. This was a much more subdued affair, as they had all just been through the Closing Ceremonies and were anxious to get home.
• The biggest recommendation would be more cross committee communications. The Welcome and Send-off Volunteers need as much information as possible in regard to accreditation and transportation as they are the first people the contingents encounter upon arrival.
• Upon departure, send off was difficult as many of the buses were put directly on the tarmac, and we were not given any type of security clearance to give them a proper send off.
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F. Communications and IT
1. GEMS
• This is the games management system recommended by the International Committee to track Volunteers, Participants, Guests, Results, Medical Incidents, Accreditation, Security, and more. This required a great deal of time and attention from the Communications Division.
• Everyone involved with the Games must use GEMS in one way or another. Many people would be required to be familiar with whole components of the system.
Recommendations: • Commit to the GEMS system early, start learning the system, utilize the GEMS Test site. Start providing training of the GEMS systems to the other Directors early.
• Stress the importance of the system and how it will tie into many aspects of everyone’s positions. E.g.: Sport Technical Director would have to explain how each sport would be entered into GEMS and the Results would be collected there. NOT OPTIONAL, Each Sport Chair should learn the sport areas of GEMS.
• Work closely with Kimik-IT to plan stages of implementing GEMS.
• Care and Comfort should learn the Volunteer, Participant, and Guest Administration, as well as the Medical and Security areas of GEMS.
2. Systems
• Collecting, setting up, dispatching and tracking of all computer systems and peripherals.
• We ended up using about 90 laptops and 20 computers/monitors. As well, we used 5 laminators, 6 Color printers, 17 B/W MFCs, and 5 webcams.
• The city and local businesses donated and/or lent most of the required equipment. We had to purchase the webcams and supplies (like paper) for use.
• The Mission Office for the Games was located at Grande Prairie Regional College and they took care of all computer related technology within their walls. They provided the equipment, set it up, and supported it. These numbers are not included above.
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3. Telecommunications
• Collecting, setting up, dispatching and tracking of all communication devices and associated peripherals. We used roughly 260 two-way radios, 10 cellular Air- cards; Internet access was required at all venues (sport and other). And 186 cell phones.
• Many venues had high speed internet which we accessed through a wired or wireless connection. Where this was unavailable, we used Air-Cards.
• Two-way radios had 5 channels: 2 for security, 1 food services / media, 2 for sports. The second channel for security wasn’t used much since it was setup for local venue range and the first channel was setup for wide area range that reached from the ski hill into Grande Prairie. Media only used the radios during Opening and Closing Ceremonies so we combined them with food services on the same channel with wide area range. The 2 channels for sports were enough except for the ski hill which needed 3 channels and we had them reprogrammed adding a 3rd channel. We allocated 50% of the spare battery’s to the number of radios and had no issues with radio’s being down. Security had 100 out of the 260 two way radio’s and their own base station.
• Media had 3 phone lines allocated but Telus could only provide 1 phone line in the end. Results had 3 phone lines and seemed to support the volume of incoming and outgoing call volumes. Could likely get away with 2 phone lines for each group.
• Cellular phones had long distance, voice mail and texting plans. It would be a good idea to pick a phone that you can copy all the contacts into saving time typing in contact information into each phone individually. • 1 cell phone was allocated to each of the 6 schools acting as athlete villages for security. School phones had limitations.
4. Registration and Accreditation
• This area was shared between the divisions of Communications & IT and Volunteer & Protocol.
• Every Volunteer, Director, Chair, Athlete, Coach, Mission Staff, Guest, Employee, etc. is registered in GEMS and this system is used for Accreditation and for security credentials and badge printing.
• It is a division that started using GEMS first and required a few dedicated people using GEMS to track, monitor and update Registrations, up to and during the Games.
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RECOMMENDATIONS: • The Head of Registration and Accreditation should learn GEMS early, utilize the GEMS test system, and pay close attention to these components of GEMS: Volunteer Registration, Volunteer Administration, Volunteer Assignment, Participant Registration, Participant Administration, Guest Registration and Guest Administration.
5. Results
• This division used GEMS to setup each sport based on the technical package, each event based on each sport schedule, then took the information from the officials Score Sheets and entered it into GEMS on site.
• The Score Sheets then went to the Results Centre to be verified.
• A results person or two was trained for each sport on how to setup the sport schedules and to enter results as they happened on-site.
• The Official Signed Score sheets of every event were delivered to the Host Society Games Office.
RECOMMENDATIONS: • Coordinate a Test of the results portion of GEMS with each Sport Chair. This should be done at least 1 year out from the Games to allow time to work the systems. For the Results system to be effective it needs the sport specific details input.
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G. Marketing and Public Relations
1. Decorations and Pageantry • Limited decorations were purchased and included: o Logo chocolates in limited quantities o Plastic table covering in logo colours o Balloons o Plastic logo wrap o Table top flags of International AWG logo o Host Society flags o Retractable banners Two logo banners One set of three with slogan Dream. Achieve. Inspire Culture banners for each venue with vertical slogan
• Leading up to and during the Games, pageantry included street banners 3 x 6 feet with images of unique sport and cultural performers.
• The City agreed to leave the large snow flake decorations lit that run throughout the down town area during the Holiday season.
• TELUS agreed to leave the snow flake decorations on the side of their building downtown lit during the Games.
• Local stores were encouraged to adopt a contingent and/or paint their store fronts with northern images.
• Welcome signs were installed at the North and South entrances of the City.
• Flag stands were constructed for special events for each of the contingent and official flags to be displayed.
• Life-sized images of the Mascot and sport and cultural participants were created for use on parade floats
2. Media • Travel Alberta supported the 2010 Arctic Winter Games by assisting us with distributing our news releases to national and international audiences. This resulted in a tremendous amount of international coverage starting three years prior to the Games, as well as during the Games, from all corners of the globe, including Romania, Japan, Australia and the UK.
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• We also implemented social media – Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogger. The public and media were able to access photos on our Flickr site at any resolution, which resulted in HUGE time savings for us. We fielded MANY media requests before the Games for photos and were able to simply direct the media to the Flickr site, with credits to the Arctic Winter Games
• Regular news releases were distributed accordingly and placed on our website.
• Media Relations considered the media a tool and an audience. We made every effort to accommodate the inquiries of the media, which resulted in positive comments and coverage and good relationships with all media.
• A spokesperson policy was put into place immediately, which is essential to ensuring a consistent message.
• During the Games, media had access to a centrally located Media Centre. While many of the media had internet access in their own rooms, this centre proved to be very popular and was extremely important for some of the smaller media outlets as well as some of the international media.
Media recommendations: • Ensure the people working in the Media Centre are professional, competent, and able to work independently and understand the importance of discretion. This must not be underestimated.
• It is a challenge to know when to send out the media invites. Media tend not to respond until about one month prior to the Games. However, it is essential they are aware of the Games. We recommend sending out an information letter by email about 8 months prior to the Games. An email of invitation can be sent in early December with a deadline for registration. A reminder email after Christmas is essential.
• There are two main elements of media – media relations before and during the Games and media placement at venues. We recommend separating the role and having a second individual look after media placement at the venues as this only starts about 6 months before the Games, but can be quite time-consuming. Familiarity with photography/video needs is important.
• 2010 Host Society did not have a host broadcaster. We strongly recommend the International Committee play a greater role in the selection and negotiations of a host broadcaster. There is a lack of continuity and sharing information about negotiations from Games to Games, and this puts the host societies at a great disadvantage.
• Sport Information Officers were available at each sport to address media inquiries and assist in any way. This was not a time-consuming role, and was easily handled by the sport chairs and/or co-chairs. It is essential that the SIOs be familiar with the sport and the technical elements as well as the dos and don’ts.
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• Media volunteers required for: media centre; opening and closing seating of media; “runners” throughout the week.
• Media Centre was open 7 AM to 11 PM (10:30 may have been fine).
• Media Centre located in media hotel.
• Cultural and language barriers did exist, so it is important to ensure your international media understand your media handbook.
• 150 Media Handbooks were printed and included with media kits.
• 500 media pins was an adequate number.
3. Publications • Opening Ceremony – 32 pages including self cover 100 lb bright glossy stock; full colour, 2 sided (4/4 CMYK) with bleed; folded, collated, saddle stitched, trimmed; finished size 8.5 x 11; quantity 2000. • Closing Ceremony – same details as Opening Ceremony. • Sports Schedule - Black and white with self cover; double sided; folded, stapled; trimmed to finished size 8.5 x 5.5; quantity 2000. • Cultural Gala - 12 pages including self cover; 100 lb bright glossy stock; full colour 2 sided with bleed; folded, collated, saddle stitched, trimmed; finished size 8.5 x 5.5; quantity 1000. • General Information - 52 pages including self cover; 200 lb bright glossy stock; full colour 2 sided; (4/4 CMYK) with bleed; folded, collated, saddle stitched, trimmed; finished size 8.5 x 11; quantity 5000 • Participant handbook – 44 pages including self cover; 100 lb bright glossy stock; full colour, 2 sided (4/4 CMYK) with bleed; folded, collated, saddle stitched; trimmed; finished size: folded 8.5 x 5.5; quantity 3000. • Volunteer handbook – 44 pages including self cover; 100 lb bright glossy stock; full colour 2 sided; (4/4 CMYK) with bleed; folded, collated, saddle stitched; trimmed; finished size 8.5 x 5; quantity 3000. • Sport Specific brochures – black/white; double sided 8.5 x 11 stapled in corner; quantity varied from 150-200 each sport. • Telephone Directory; black/white with self cover; folded, collated, stapled, trimmed; finished size 2.5 x 3.5; quantity 1000. • Maps – one for the public and one for the bus routes – 100 lb bright glossy stock; full colour; quantity 2500 each.
Recommendations: • Consider outsourcing the publications.
• Start the process early! A missed deadline resulted in us being unable to distribute our volunteer handbooks during scheduled accreditation badge pick up dates and the Opening Ceremony programs were delivered the day before the event.
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• Ensure the publications project is resourced appropriately.
4. Souvenir DVD • A local videographer was secured to produce the souvenir DVD. Video footage was captured at the one year out celebration and at various community events, as well as throughout the Games, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as the Cultural Gala and noon hour performances. • The souvenir DVD will be distributed to all stakeholders as set out in the Staging Manual.
5. Tickets • Recruited a Ticket Chairperson to coordinate ticket takers in each of the indoor venues. The Chair also produced a Ticket Taker training manual for each venue. See attached Ticket Taker Manual. • In April 2009, extensive information was gathered and analyzed on ticket prices for local, regional, provincial, national and international events including Games (Canada Games, Western Canada Games, 2008 Arctic Winter Games) and 20 sporting events; cultural events; music, arts and children’s festivals; live theatre, and concerts. See attached Ticket Plan in the Policy Manual. • The City of Grande Prairie’s Crystal Centre Box Office was selected as the exclusive box office supplier. • Selected an accreditation style laminated ticket for the Sport SuperPass. • Ticket sales were launched November 2009.
Tickets Sales: (prices noted are less fees paid to the Box Office) Event Sold Price Dollar Value Opening Ceremonies 1204 $ 37.28 $ 44,885.12 Closing Ceremonies 901 $ 37.28 $ 33,589.28 Cultural Gala #1 (March 11) 431 $ 48.30 $ 20,817.30 Cultural Gala #2 (March 12) 318 $ 48.30 $ 15,359.40
Super Pass Adult 1135 $ 43.31 $ 49,156.85 Senior 179 $ 38.33 $ 6,861.07 Youth 356 $ 38.33 $ 13,645.48
Day Pass Adult 1839 $ 14.18 $ 26,077.02 Senior 280 $ 11.29 $ 3,161.20 Youth 1161 $ 11.29 $ 13,107.69
Medal Rounds Adult 3318 $ 9.98 $ 33,113.64 Senior 242 $ 6.83 $ 1,652.86 Youth 1239 $ 6.83 $ 8,462.37 TOTAL TICKET SALES 12603 $ 269,889.28
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Recommendations: • The ticket plan should allow for consideration for purchase of certain tickets at venues, ie medal rounds.
• Include a lanyard if using an accreditation- style ticket for the Sports SuperPass
6. Ulu News • The ULU News was produced as a tabloid-style publication on newsprint and produced through a GIK agreement with the Daily Herald-Tribune (DHT), the daily newspaper in Grande Prairie. The first four issues were inserted into the DHT and the Peace Country Sun (a weekly regional publication) and the issues that started March 5 were distributed daily by two Games volunteers to 35 locations in and around Grande Prairie.
Ulu News Publication Schedule: • Jan. 22 – 11,000 inserted in DHT • Feb. 5 – 11,000 inserted in DHT • Feb. 19 – 11,000 inserted in DHT • Mar. 5 – 11,000 inserted in DHT & 5,800 additional copies printed • Mar. 7 – 6,000 copies • Mar. 8 – 6,000 copies • Mar. 9 – 6,000 copies • Mar. 10 – 4,000 copies • Mar. 11 – 4,000 copies • Mar. 12 – 4,000 copies • Mar. 13 – 4,000 copies • Copies of all issues of ULU news have been saved in .pdf format for the AWGIC archives as requested.
7. Trading Post
• The Trading Post was created out of the need to have a central place for the general public to congregate to trade pins and to get general Games information; it was also used to promote the Games funding partners and sponsors.
• A Trading Post chairperson was recruited who: o Contacted potential exhibitors o Coordinated the load in/load out of exhibitors o Greeted volunteers for pin trading/merchandise sales/information booth.
• The idea to use the Trading Post as one of the venues for the Cultural Performances added value and interest from the general public. Local media partners were invited to set up booths so that they could do remote broadcasting from the venue to their audiences. CBC Radio also set up an area where they did two noon-hour shows of ‘Wildrose Country.’
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• There was a lot of discussion and debate early on as to what the overall purpose of the Trading Post would be. This discussion was necessary in an effort to determine who would be eligible to be an exhibitor and who would not. For instance, we had requests from Colleges and Universities outside of the region to set up displays at the Trading Post for recruitment purposes; we also had a number of commercial enterprises request booth space to sell goods and services to the general public.
• It was determined that the Trading Post be used solely for the purpose of promoting the Arctic Winter Games, its funders and partners. It was set up like a small trade fair.
• There were conditions put on the exhibitors that the only sales permitted within the Trading Post would be Games Merchandise, 2010 Games Pins and Photographs.
• The Trading Post exhibitors included: o Radio stations (five local) and television (one local and CBC) o Partners: RCMP; Service Canada; TELUS; GPRC; Tourism o Cultural Performances – a stage and 75 chairs were set up for three noon hour cultural performances. The Cultural Fashion Show took place one evening and an additional 425 seats were set up for that purpose. o Pin Trading tables o Games Merchandise and Pin sales o Official Photographer Booth for photograph orders
• Recommendations: o Be clear on the purpose of the Trading Post for consistency in responding to enquiries from potential exhibitors o Ensure the Trading Post is in a central location and easy for the public to access. o Load-in/out was difficult as the venue was also used as the main marshalling area for the participants for the Opening and Closing ceremonies. The hours of the Trading Post were reduced as a result.
8. Pin Production
• An RFP for a Pin Designer and Pin Producer were sent out September 2009.
• Janet Pacey Design was selected as our Pin Designer and Mr. Pin Man of Spruce Grove was selected as the Pin Producer. Both have vast knowledge and expertise in the pin trading area and both were trustworthy and excellent resources.
• A Pin Trading Chair, who himself was a pin trader, was recruited to assist with determining the production amounts and the pin release schedule.
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• The Pins were sold exclusively at the Trading Post with new pins released each day. The pins to be released each day were separated into containers marked for each day and taken to the Trading Post for sale each morning by opening time.
• Pins retailed for $3.00/each. 80% of pins sold for a gross revenue of $47,868.
• The following pins were produced by the Host Society: o President’s Pin o Mascot Pin (one with each contingent flag) o Volunteer Pin o General Souvenir Games Pin o Sponsor Pin o Sport Specific Pins o Officials Pin o Volunteers Pin o Security o Media Pin o Culture Pin o Opening/Closing Ceremonies Pin
Additional Marketing and Public Relations Activities: Marketing Plan: A comprehensive Marketing Plan was developed and submitted to the management team in September 2008 and was presented to the International Committee in October, 2008.
Theme Song: The Marketing and Public Relations Division and the Culture Division worked together on selecting a theme song. A contest ran from November 17, 2008 to February 1, 2009. Alberta residents who were living or who have lived in Alberta north of the 55th parallel were eligible to enter.
• The song was to take its inspiration from the 2010 Arctic Winter Games theme “Dream Achieve Inspire” and was meant to inspire both participants and spectators. The winner – Kerry Hesse, with the composition ‘Rise Up’ was selected by a panel of judges that included a music instructor from the Fine Arts Department at Grande Prairie Regional College; a local performer and song writer; and representatives from both the Culture and Marketing Divisions.
• The announcement of the theme song contest winner was on June 29 and the song was played for the first time publically by Kerry Hesse and her family band on July 1, 2009 at the Canada Day Celebration at Muskoseepi Park.
• The theme song was arranged, produced and recorded by a group of GPRC Fine Arts students, as a class project; this version of the song appeared on the Games website and was used as background music for some radio and television advertisements produced by the Games. The song was interpreted and arranged and performed as a Rock Anthem version at the Opening Ceremonies.
• The GPRC recording and sheet music was available on the website for downloading.
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Logo and slogan development:
• In June, 2007 a focus group gathered to review possible slogan and logo concepts. A number of logo concepts were developed by a local graphic artist and tested through a survey; a final recommendation was taken to the management team in January, 2008. Together the logo and slogan were unveiled at a media conference February 19, 2008.
• Recommendations: The development of a unique logo and slogan for the Host Society requires an enormous amount of human and financial resources. It is recommended that the International Arctic Winter Games logo be used from one set of Games to another so that collateral material (roll banner, flags, letterhead, retractable banners, media interview backdrops, etc) can be passed along.
Mascot - conception to production: • A survey was conducted in May 2008 throughout elementary schools in the region to seek input as to what kind of character would be appealing to school-aged children and young adults.
• In July 2008 Street Characters, a Mascot company from Calgary was selected to produce the 2010 Arctic Winter Games Mascot.
• Concept drawings of potential mascot characters were developed by a local artist, based on the input from the surveys and brought to the Host Society for input and feedback.
• At the same time as the mascot selection process was taking place there was interest internationally in a recent discovery of a major dinosaur bone-bed along the Wapiti River near Pipestone Creek in the County of Grande Prairie.
• It was recommended that an adolescent pachyrhinosaurus be selected as the 2010 Arctic Winter Games Mascot, capitalizing on both the international attention of the bone-bed discovery and the ever popular intrigue that dinosaurs have with young people.
• Most importantly, the newly discovered dinosaur species had only been found in parts of Alaska and Northern Canada, making the species relevant to the Circumpolar North.
• The name ‘Aluk’ came from a play on the name of the man who discovered the bone bed – local retired teacher Al Lakusta.
School and Community Relations • Schools: Communication was sent to every school in the region inviting them to participate in the Games in one of several ways such as adopting a contingent; requesting a demonstration on Arctic Sports; learning the theme song for their school choir; requesting a visit from our mascot; booking their buses to attend an event as a field trip.
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• A volunteer school liaison coordinator was recruited to follow up with the schools.
• An activity book was developed that featured (attached) o Sports Ambassador Ryan Blais o Aluk the mascot participating in each of the 21 sports o Flags of the nine participating contingents o Word searches and other children’s activities
• School packages were prepared and sent out to each of the schools that included a history of the Arctic Games, a sample activity book, full colour 8.5 x 11 contingent flags, Arctic Games technical packages and various other pertinent information for schools
• Community: Various promotions were held to increase awareness of the event in our community and region, including: One year out celebration Regular Mall displays highlighting featured sports Parades Games participation in local and regional events such as: Aboriginal Day Heritage Day Municipal Day Community events (Peace River, Wembley, Sexsmith)
Advertising, Website and Social Media • Website launched at Host Society Reception in Yellowknife in March 2008.
• Extensive GIK was secured from local and regional radio and television stations.
• An inventory of donated radio and newspaper advertising time was managed by the Games Marketing Assistant.
• The Marketing Assistant booked, wrote, and voiced advertisements for radio and television.
• Advertising Plan was developed and implemented.
• Social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter were used extensively and successfully.
• The young volunteer who managed our Facebook and Twitter sites was in contact with our Marketing Assistant who kept him posted on activities and events we were attending. The volunteer was an amateur photographer who took thousands of pictures and downloaded them to our Facebook page.
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Signage Some venue signs were installed as early as March 2009 with the balance installed by October 2009 • A comprehensive listing of all required signage was collected. Each venue team leader was responsible for identifying all required signage for his/her venue and communicated their needs to the staff member responsible for coordinating the signage. The complete list was collected and compared to the signage inventory that was taken following the purchase of the 2008 Arctic Winter Games signage. • The City of Grande Prairie sign shop produced some of the signs that were not part of the inventory purchased from the 2008 Arctic Winter Games. Additional signage was produced through local sign companies.
Sport and Cultural Ambassador • The 2010 Host Society incorporated a unique element to the Games by selecting two young adults to act as Sports and Cultural Ambassadors. Both individuals are emerging local leaders who have appeal among young people. The Ambassadors attended events, did media interviews, met with participants and cultural participants during the Games and talked positively about the Games experience from the perspective of an athlete and a performer.
• Recommendations: Staffing: Hire the marketing manager as soon as possible and add a marketing assistant and a communications assistant later on in the staffing plan for a total of three marketing staff members.
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H. Sport Facilities and Equipment
1. Alpine Skiing, Free Style Skiing, Snowboard • All events held at Nitehawk Recreation Area. • Event required construction of Half Pipe Run. (Legacy Item). • Nitehawk Recreation area is a 15 minute commute from Grande Prairie. • Placed 9 ATCO office trailers to house contingents and Race offices. • Nitehawk Recreation Area increased Parking area in preparation for Games. • Nitehawk Recreation Area incorporates Snowmaking technology so snow retention was not a concern. • Incorporated Park and Ride buses from Grande Prairie for spectators and volunteers.
2. Arctic Sports • All Arctic Sport Events were held at the Grande Prairie Regional College Gymnasium. • Gymnasium size allowed multiple categories of each event to happen at the same time. • Gymnasium had large and comfortable seating for spectators. • Grande Prairie Regional College had large parking areas and was located on the City transit route to give spectators good access.
3. Badminton • All events were held at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School. • St. Joseph’s Catholic High School was equipped for 8 Badminton Courts. • Badminton was co-located within St. Joseph’s High School which was also a Care and Comfort Accommodation. • Gymnasium was equipped with large and comfortable seating Bleachers. • St. Joseph’s Catholic High School was located on the City transit route. • Used St. Joseph’s parking area for Park and Ride staging area. • Badminton venue located close to Hockey Speed Skating and Gymnastics venues.
4. Basketball • All Basketball Games were held at Maude Clifford Public School except the Medal Round Games. • Maude Clifford Public School was a new school with two large Gymnasiums. • Basketball Games were held in the Public School Board Gymnasium. • Public School Board Gymnasium was equipped with Bleachers. • Basketball venue was co-located with Volleyball venue.
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• Maude Clifford Public School was located on City Transit route. • Maude Clifford Public School had limited Public Parking for Spectators. • Medal Round Games were held in the Grande Prairie Regional College Gymnasium.
5. Cross Country Skiing, Ski Biathlon, Snowshoe Biathlon • All events were held at The Wapiti Nordic Ski Centre. • Located 10 minutes commute from Grande Prairie. • Equipped Wapiti Nordic Ski Centre with 8 ATCO Office trailers to house contingents and security for Biathlon weapons. • Provided Park and Ride system for spectators and volunteers. • Wapiti Nordic Ski Centre uses natural snow.
6. Dene Sports • Most Dene Games events held in Muskoseepi Park. • Constructed 110’ x 72’ Cover All Building to house indoor events. • Placed Rig Mat floor sheathed with 5/8” OSB covering. • Heated with Certek Hot Water Heating. • Lighted and Powered with ATCO Electric Commercial Power. • Snow Snake Competition moved to St. Joseph’s Catholic High School due to lack of suitable snow conditions in Muskoseepi Park.
7. Dog Mushing, Snowshoeing • All events held at Evergreen Park. • Intention was to use same trails for both events. • Extensive trail system developed to incorporate Games. • Weather conditions negated use of trail system built. Trail system had to be shortened to 4 km loop from 13 km loop. • Incorporated rodeo grounds and Chuckwagon race track for portions of races • Large spectator seating and parking facilities. • Dog Handler Accommodations were provided at Wapiti Shooters Club. • Texas Camp Facility and ATCO office trailers were provided for sleeping accommodations. • Wapiti Shooters Club is located 2 miles from Dog Mushing Venue. • Electrical power for trailers, was provided by ATCO Electric Ltd.
8. Figure Skating • All events were held at the Crystal Centre Facility in the Canada Games Arena. • The Crystal Centre Facility also held the Games Trading Post. • Crystal Centre located on City Transit route.
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9. Gymnastics • All Gymnastics events were held at the Grande Prairie Gymnastics Centre. • Grande Prairie Gymnastics Centre located close to St. Joseph’s Catholic High School Accommodation and Cafeteria. • Gymnastics venue located close to Hockey, Speed Skating and Badminton venues. • Grande Prairie Gymnastics Centre located close to City transit route.
10. Hockey, Speed Skating • All Hockey and Speed Skating Events were held at the Coca Cola Centre • Coca Cola Centre is equipped with large seating area for Hockey and smaller seating facilities for the Speed Skating Events. • All Hockey Equipment was stored and dried on the premises. • Two ice surfaces allowed both sports to utilize the facility to its fullest extent. Both ice surfaces were North American Regulation Size, 200’ x 85’ • Coca Cola Centre has a large spectator parking area with overflow parking located in the St. Joseph’s Catholic High School Parking Lots. • Hockey and Speed Skating venues were located beside Badminton and Gymnastics venues.
11. Indoor Soccer • Indoor Soccer events were held in two venues. The Leisure Centre and the Grande Prairie Soccer Centre. • Both Venues are located beside each other and within close proximity to the Composite High School and Peace Wapiti Academy Accommodations and Cafeteria. • Both venues are artificial turfed soccer pitches with the Grande Prairie Soccer pitch measuring 180’ x 65’ and the Leisure Centre pitch measuring 200’ by 85’
12. Table Tennis • All Table Tennis Events were held at the Mother Teresa Catholic School • Mother Teresa Catholic School was a brand new school in 2009 • It holds two large Gymnasiums • The Table tennis events were held in the City of Grande Prairie Community Gymnasium.
13. Volleyball • Volleyball Events were held at two locations, Maude Clifford Public School and Grande Prairie Regional College. • Maude Clifford Public School and Grande Prairie Regional College were located on the City Transit Routes. • Volleyball was held in the City of Grande Prairie Community Gymnasium.
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• Maude Clifford Public School Gymnasiums had a ceiling height of 10 meters. • Maude Clifford School was a new school opened in 2009. • Grande Prairie Community Gymnasium required temporary bleachers to seat spectators.
14. Wrestling • All Wrestling events were held at Montrose Junior High School. • Montrose Junior High School was located within 5 minute drive of St. Joseph’s High School Accommodations site. • Montrose Junior High School was located on the City transit routes.
15. Mission Centre, Poly-Clinic • Grande Prairie Regional College, as a major contributor and backer of the Games, offered the use of their facility in any and all ways that they could offer. • Grande Prairie Regional College offers a Nursing Degree program and their classrooms and facilities, lent themselves perfectly to the Poly-Clinic requirements. • The Mission Centre was arranged and handled by the College Staff and Students and numerous rooms were allocated for the Mission Centre requirements.
Recommendations • Incorporation of GPS co-ordinates for each venue in maps and communications was tried to see if mission staff and spectators could use navigation devices (Garmin Nuvi, Tom Tom etc.)
• Dog Mushing Venue was created in a Green Area of the County of Grande Prairie. Ensure servicing of trails can be easily done, for example, hauling of snow if required.
• Use of Venue Teams Concept ensures cross divisional communication are maintained.
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I. Volunteer and Protocol
1. Volunteer Recruitment and Recognition Estimating 2,700 volunteer at 10 hours each and valued at $10/hour is $270,000.00 for labour for the week. This number is low and difficult to police as so many volunteers went above and beyond “normal” expectations. Volunteers were recruited at 3 major rallies beginning in September, one in October and the final major rally in January. Many “mini” recruitment centers were set up at different venues throughout the City. The local Farmers Market had a booth set up for just over 3 months and in addition to recruitment of volunteers it was an excellent venue for educating the masses about the Arctic Winter Games. We tagged onto regular local activities whenever we could for further recruitment. On line sign up with the GEMS system worked well. Our website also had the RCMP security form available for completion and printing. The security requirements are cumbersome though with all potential volunteers having to come into the office with proof of ID. Radio blitzes were utilized in February identifying specific jobs and encouragement to sign up now! These worked very well and we had actual volunteers talking on the radio about why they were volunteering and what the benefits were.
Recognition of volunteers was in the beginning through the website with a volunteer of the month theme. We went to a featured volunteer system, where volunteers and staff suggested people and they were then placed on the website with a brief bio and a picture. We utilized our local Volunteer Services Bureau volunteer of the week promotion and volunteer names were entered to win the volunteer of the week which included recognition in the local newspaper and a small gift. Monthly volunteer mixers were organized and these were a popular venue to play games, win small prizes, and mix and mingle and get to know each other. All interested volunteers were also invited to the yearly (April) Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon through our local Volunteer Services Bureau. The final Volunteer Appreciation Party was very well attended, over 700 dined on beef on a bun and had a chance to win many and varied prizes and of course trade more pins!
Recommendations:
A major rally should include all Volunteer Coordinators for each sport/venue. It was a great way to meet the people and fill the open volunteer spots.
The GEMS database should be made available at least 6 months earlier for all future Games. Additions to GEMS would be a tracking system for volunteer hours, a more exact time schedule so that the schedules could be better utilized by volunteers and staff. ALL divisions need to be part of the planning sessions for what to include for job titles, time schedules and the overall messaging that GEMS is able to bring to the public.
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All divisions need a clear understanding of the relationship of the volunteer schedules to how the Accreditation Badge is presented.
A FINAL date is a strong suggestion for signing up! This can create a sense of urgency and should be at least one month before the actual Games. RCMP security checks take time and the last month brings in many volunteers needing of security checks, and if they are not completed in a timely manner this makes it very difficult to fill open volunteer opportunities and frustrates the volunteer and the people requiring the volunteers.
Volunteer rallies do not have to be fancy or include other activities; when people are interested in volunteering they want to know what types of jobs are available, what are the hours required, who they report to, what kind of training they require and when they can pick up their shirt.
Email is great, but it cannot and will not ever replace the phone call, which offers the personal touch that in such a busy impersonal world is desperately required to reach out and touch someone.
All divisions seeking volunteer help should have separate venues where interested volunteers can come and check out what is required. Special Guest Services had three meetings and they were the first to fulfill their volunteer requirements. Marketing also held a similar type of open house and were also successful in filling their volunteer mandate.
Sport people like to use their own people; beware though that these volunteers do not sign up until the 24th hour, which can place a burden on these divisions at the last minute when they realize that not everyone who promised to help out actually does.
Recruit 10% more then you require as people will register, train, pick up the t-shirt and never show up for any of their scheduled time.
Super Star Training was an excellent package, but beware of too many sessions. Put together a customer service training session with 6 different times and spots 2 weeks prior to the Games. For medical and security training sessions it worked very well to include the customer service training along with the specialized training.
Smile and have fun!
2. Special Guest Services (SGS)
Special Guest Registration and Accreditation • All special guests, once entered into GEMS receive an email with a password allowing them to complete their registration. Many do not understand the process and therefore do not register in a timely manner or simply do not complete their registration prior to their arrival.
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• In the Gems System, special guests include, Media, Observers, Special Guests and we needed to add Local Performers. The total number of special guests in attendance were: o Local Performers 368 o Observers 39 o Media 38 o Special Guests 206 (which includes invited dignitaries and their guest – either a family member or a liaison)
Recommendations • Guest services should begin the registration process of the special guests early. Only one or two persons should do all of the data entry under special guests to ensure continuity. • A separate person or persons should be assigned to the registration of media. • The original letter to the Special Guests (guests, media and observers) should be short and provide clear instructions on completing the registration process. • A clear policy on the number of guests a special guest can bring needs to be provided to the special guests in their letter of invitation. • The special guest list needs to be completed as soon as possible in order that it be provided to the Awards Committee who can then assign medal presentations and contact presenters in a timely manner. • Special Guest Services and the Awards Committee are a cross-over area and should have members sitting on both committees.
General One Special Guest Services lounge was located within the sponsor hotel. This was highly popular with the VIP’s and sponsors and approximately 55 VIP Host/Hostess were recruited. These volunteers had a special uniform separate from the normal volunteer uniform. (Black/Grey Vest with black mock neck shirt and black pants) All accreditation for VIP’s and sponsors was completed within the lounge. Transportation worked closely with SGS and the lounge offered comfortable seating, computer/internet service, daily ULU and local newspapers, light snacks, coffee, tea, juice. A special binder with local information on shopping, restaurants, entertainment was developed. The SGS volunteers were a fantastic group of volunteers who were the go to people for questions from daily sport schedules to where to buy a piece of local art. The lounge was well utilized and a comfortable and friendly spot for all VIP’s and sponsors to gather and get to know one another.
Recommendations: Have only one VIP Lounge at the main hotel, the VIP lounges at the other four high traffic locations were not well utilized and a waste of volunteer time to staff them.
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During the first few days of the Games when everyone is picking up their accreditation badges, that a team of well trained GEMS volunteers be scheduled. This saves on training too many not very well. VIP Host/Hostesses are also required for medal presentations and attendance at various receptions during the week of the Games; prepare this schedule well ahead with each division during crossover meetings which need to happen at least 1.5 years ahead of Games week.
Include the transportation number on the back of the ID badge so VIP’s can then arrange their own transportation when out and about.
3. Language Services Russian volunteers should be recruited well ahead of the Games. Contact with past Russian volunteers needs to be established as the same group has now volunteered for the 2008 and 2010 Games with excellent results. The Russian volunteers live, eat and sleep with the teams which make for an excellent experience for participants as well as volunteers. The Language Chair made contact with all Chef de Mission staff about a year before the Games to finalize their requirements. A budget amount was included as the volunteers travel to the Games and a $50 per day per diem was paid for all hours over 3 volunteering. An on call schedule was completed utilizing local volunteers. We were very fortunate that our Language Chair is Russian and this formed an excellent partnership with the Yamal Chef and Mission staff.
French translations were provided to the teams that required this. In addition, French translators were available at all venues used by the Games. This included the Games office, where staff people were bilingual, and the Games Store where volunteers provided French translations.
The French program included other activities as well. Translators were hired to do the translations for speeches, scripts, introductions, publications and the web site. Bilingual volunteers were on sites to assist with the participants, fans, visitors, Special Guests, etc.
Recommendations: Do not staff the Interpreters’ office during the week of the Games. Utilize a cell phone with the Chair who can then fan out to her volunteers when or if an emergency occurs.
4. Registration and Accreditation Printing of badges was done by a local printer for large print jobs, with laminating and sorting completed by a dedicated group of volunteers. It is a huge job, with many technical abilities required and an excellent working knowledge of GEMS. With many last minute changes to volunteer placement it makes printing large badges difficult as many reprints had to be completed.
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A dedicated, but small group of volunteers were trained for the airport welcomes which saw us at the airport for two days straight. Each contingent’s badges was printed and given to the Chefs two days prior to the arrival of the participants. This gave the Chefs and their staff a chance to sort the badges and make any necessary changes before the contingents arrived.
We had four different times scheduled for mass accreditation, with volunteer uniforms, handbooks and pins being handed out. Volunteer coordinators were also present to try and fill any empty spots in their schedules, this worked well, but again many badge reprints were necessary.
Recommendations: This should not be included with the Volunteer division as the last month leading up to the Games is a very busy time for the Volunteer division and having to accredit over 5,000 people deserves a separate division to handle this in conjunction with the IT division; it will save on volunteer burnout. Security division needs to be responsible for all security settings in order to preserve the integrity of the security detail.
Administrative Note: Registration and Accreditation was transferred to the Volunteer Division late in the planning. It was done so due to the capabilities of the Volunteer Division personnel. This function requires dedicated people working early one and in communications with all Divisions. Understanding GEMS and how it is to be used is crucial.
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J. Sport Technical
1. Badminton – Technical Package Recommendations: • A decision needs to be made on following all IBF rules, ex. Matching clothing for doubles and mixed teams. As well as clothing lengths and restrictions. • As well a clear ruling on what happens if a player is not able to continue in an event. According to IBF rules they are done for the tournament and the Games that were played in that event are no longer relevant.
2. Dene Games – Technical Package Recommendations: • It should be stressed that the Head Official needs to oversee the calculation of points. • Technical package needs to be re written to include all event results for calculation of Team Event Ulus. • In Hand Games, instead of “Diya”, a previously agreed upon, appropriate sound should be called out. • In Stick Pull, under the “Movement” section, a statement should be included to indicate that jerking of the stick should not be permitted. • Order of events should be standardized in the Dene community. • Maximum age for female category should be 23 years. • Get Officials from all Dene groups. • Females should make up half of the Officials.
3. Arctic Sports – Technical Package Recommendations: • For the kicking games, the Tech Package should state the height that the object should be at when the competition commences.
4. Dog Mushing – Technical Package Recommendations: • Clarify the rules for the team event. • Specifics for the team race. Juvenile and Junior divisions may be combined to create one team to participate • There was some confusion about the specifics of the team event. The combination of a Junior and Juvenile participant to make up one team. Which race do they participate in? Is it in fact supposed to be ONE race where all juniors and juveniles compete against one another or are there two separate divisions for competition to the team event and should the teams not be allowed to mix and match participants from the two categories? What happens in the instance that there is only one participant from a contingent in the team event? Are they disqualified from participating in the team event?
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5. Basketball – Technical Package Recommendations: • Add another age group. Either U16 or U17. • Coaches would like to have an assistant coach on the bench.
6. Gymnastics • Budget: Score stands came in a little over budget due to shipping. The Gymniks provided all administration expenses as well as hand chalk. Did not need to pay for food for hospitality room, it was provided for us. In all gymnastics came in under budget – budgeted $2000.00, actual $700.00. • Officials: One from Alaska, one from Yukon, one from NWT, three from Alberta (north of 55), brought in two southern Alberta Judges, one being our head official. We were not able to reach our goal of two officials from each contingent. • Contingents: Full teams from – Alaska, Alberta, North West Territories, Nunavut, Yukon • Scheduling: At the coaches meeting (Sunday morning) it was asked if the gymnasts could train Sunday. All teams were up for this, so the gym was opened. Regular training took place Monday and Thursday as scheduled. • Competition: The meets themselves went very well. Tuesday’s competition lasted four and one half hours, including opening ceremonies. Thursday’s competition lasted three and one half hours, including closing ceremonies. The rotation for team competition, (Tuesday) made the meet slower. • Ceremonies: Opening, closing and both award ceremonies went well. • Attendance: There were more spectators for Thursday’s competition than Tuesday’s • Volunteers: All scheduled volunteers showed up on time. There needed to be more communication between different groups as to who is providing volunteers. Security and ticket takers were short volunteers coming up to the Games; we were able to help fill spots. • Venue: Contingents took advantage of this facility, having extra practices and using the showers.
Recommendations: Ensure it is clear who is providing which volunteers. Have all volunteer schedules, with contact information, at the venue so the Venue Team Leader can follow up when gaps are noticed or people fail to show up for a scheduled time.
7. Speed Skating – Technical Package Recommendations: • It should be stated in the Tech Package that the Arctic Winter Games Speed Skating Competition cannot be sanctioned by SSC or USASS because of AWGIC modifications to ISU rules. • Do not change the format of the relay. The rules have already been modified from ISU rules and no further modifications should be allowed.
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• All Speed Skating participants should be housed in the same school and classrooms, wherever possible – Letter of Recommendation attached as an Appendix.
Administrative Note: The Host Society supports the current philosophy and practice of the AWGIC.
8. Hockey – Technical Package Recommendations: • Strongly encourage at least 4 co-chairs with 1 assistant for each co chair to handle 15 teams and 6 straight days of being at the arena for 14 hours a day. This way you can rotate in shifts. • The “trainer” was an issue from the get go to the end. I think each contingent needs to bring their own trainers. This was very problematic to cover from a volunteer recruiting perspective. As well, there was too much confusion from the teams as to what to do with them. Some wanted them some didn’t. This needs to be clearer. • Give the chairs the “fair play pins”. There was total agreement amongst coaches, officials, and players for this. • Revisions to the Technical Package with respect to equipment to ensure consistency. Specifically with regards to mouth guards and neck protection. Mouth guards are not required and throat protection is only required by Canadian Participants. • Chefs for each contingent should be at the coaches meeting. They should also meet with each Sport Chair every morning for a few minutes without coaches to go over any changes or important news the coaches should have. I had contact with only 2 Chefs, which was very frustrating when trying to communicate important information to the teams.
9. Soccer – Technical Package Recommendations: • Playoff and tie breaker rules need to be clarified, best to use same terms as FIFA rules. • Should have an accumulation rule for yellow cards, ex: if a player receives three yellows throughout the tournament, a game suspension should be given. There were player that received a yellow in each of their Games, without consequence. • Playing in an indoor soccer center, really brought another dimension to the game and I know that the players really enjoyed it. Not sure if it is reasonable to ask that all host societies would need to have an indoor facility. It may be a lot to ask, but would also be a legacy left behind by the Games. • If there were set facility requirements, it would be easier to come up with a Technical Package that would be relevant from Games to Games. • Juvenile and Junior age groups were great. • Not sure why there is only an intermediate female category, think it should either be both female and male or get rid of the age group. • I was surprised but the numbers were good. The team with the most fitness obviously had an advantage, but players weren’t as tired as we first suspected.
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• If there is a desire to have more players involved, there is room to either include more players per team or have an extra player on the pitch. • Having all officials be class II was very positive. There were literally no officiating problems and everyone was more than qualified. • Two referee system very well accepted. • Head official must accept role of assessor, along with other duties. • Number of officials also had positive effect on tournament, many Games over several days. • We had a couple of incidence where the goalie handled the ball outside of their area. They were given a card and sent off for the remainder of that game. We found it harsh that they also had to miss the next game. • Would like to see no extra game for this classification of red card, we feel that being sent from that game is enough. • This fist tie breaker clause gave us a lot of trouble. Depending on the person, the reading of the rule would change. If it read head-to-head there would not have been any confusion.
10. Snowshoeing • One issue that came up was in one of the relay events there were only three participants for a team. One female, two males. I did not allow the team to enter the relay because the tech package specifically said must have at least two females. Might want to address that and decide whether that was correct or not. • Running the event in the afternoon worked very well. • Running the longer races on a shorter loop ( we used a 2.5 km loop) worked well in that you don’t need as many volunteers out on the trail and made for better spectator involvement as well as allowed team members to cheer on and encourage their team mates. • Many coaches came to us and said that they were very pleased with how well run the event was. Very organized.
11. Volleyball – Technical Package Recommendations: • The only clarification would be to stipulate that only ONE coach be allowed to sit on the bench. Contingents with a male coach and female chaperone often had their chaperone on the bench. During the round robin this was noticed and we made the decision to ask the chaperones to sit elsewhere as some teams were using the chaperone as another coach (taking stats, shot charts etc.) which gave that team an unfair advantage. • I think the package should stipulate the format for the competition. This year we ran a single round robin tournament with all matches being best 2 of 3 sets. In previous Games there have been double round robins or best 3 of 5 set matches or playoffs running as best of 5 matches. It would be in the best interests of the next host to have a guideline for setting up their tournament. This would allow for greater consistency from Games to Games and also enable future chairs to “need” additional courts instead of simply “wanting or requesting” them.
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12. Cross Country Skiing – Technical Package Recommendations: • Look at Sprint Race configuration. Still seems quite complicated. • Continue to allow 4 Junior Boy 4 Junior Girls 4 Juvenile Boys 4 Juvenile Girls 4 Midget Boys 4 Midget Girls.
13. Biathlon – Technical Package Recommendations: • It was suggested at the team captains meeting to change the relay by putting all the competitors in a pool and do a random sort and make up mixed teams of three with members from different contingents. We ran unofficial teams made up of members from contingents who were not on official teams. They had great fun.
14. Curling – Technical Package Recommendations: • Use Last Stone Draw (LSD) in pre-game practice to determine hammer for round robin play in accordance with WCF Rule C8.(b). • Age Criteria. Would like to see two age groups for curling. Junior male and junior female teams as they currently participate. Add a mixed class for age 14 and under teams who would play 8 end games. • Remove Technical Package 6. (i). The number of ends of play should be per the WCF rules. • Change Technical Package 2. CATEGORIES to read: o Junior Male: Born on or after January 1, xxxx o Junior Female: Born on or after January 1, xxxx • Add to Technical Package 6. Spares • Spare pool will have a minimum of 3 participants of each gender. Spares can be requested from any contingent if not available from the host location.
• Replace Technical Package 6.(f) with the following: o Each team will be allowed 10 minutes practice prior to each game. First practice shall be from 30 to 20 minutes prior to game time. The second practice shall start at the conclusion of the first practice team’s Last Stone Draw. • Current playoff format needs to be in the Technical Package. (All teams get into playoffs and the Page Playoff is used.) • Add the minimum requirements for officials in the Technical Package. • Recommend: Head Official (Level II Minimum Level III recommended) o 2 – Level II On Ice Officials o Timers (as required) • Add to Technical Package: o Prior to the start of competition all players equipment shall be inspected to ensure that it does not damage or affect the playing quality of the ice surface.
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• Contact information needs to be included in Technical Package. ie: Who do we contact if we have questions about what is in the Technical Package? • Remove any references to Canadian Curling Association rules. Any CCA rules utilized should be printed off in the Technical Package. • Delete from Technical Package 6. (l) (m) (n) (o) (p) Other Rules • This is covered by 1. RULE. • The following two items were submitted the day after this meeting by Maureen Miller (NWT) and Bill Gryder (Alaska): o The Draw – teams played multiple Games back to back on the same sheet sometimes with the same rock colour. Playoff round should flip flop sheets with the girls to remove that. o Pre-event practice – 10 minutes per sheet per maximum. This should be clearly described. If the pre-event practice is the same day as the game, the time is too long if you use 15 minutes.
15. Alpine Skiing – Technical Package Recommendations: • We followed the International Ski Competition Rules with the exception of how we ran the slalom event. We ran a 4 run sprint format as all coaches were in agreement with this format. I would recommend this format continue as it was very well received by participants and coaches. Participants have 2 runs in the morning course and their fastest time is combined with their fastest time in the afternoon course to determine overall placing. This format allows for more racing and ultimately better results. • Age: Younger participants were allowed to fill age categories and I would recommend that this practice continues in the future. • If more contingents send participants the overall team numbers would be fine. If four or less contingents send participants, it would be nice if the participants numbers could be increased from 12 to 16 participants. • Medals should be given to the coaches for the team event.
16. Officials
Objectives • To encourage and support the development of resident northern Officials. • To provide a full and meaningful Arctic Winter Games experience for Officials. • To ensure excellence in the care and comfort of Officials. • The Host Society set the ambitious goal of inviting 50% of Officials from the north, outside of Northern Alberta.
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Statistics:
.
Sport Place of Residence of Officials Outside of Northern Contingents Alberta (w/o Other (Generally Local Local) Contingents South)
ALPINE SKIING 11 0 0 1 ARCTIC SPORTS 4 1 11 0 BADMINTON 1 3 8 1 BASKETBALL 2 1 3 4 BIATHLON 13 0 6 2 CROSS COUNTRY SKIING 26 0 1 2 CURLING 14 1 2 0 DENE 0 2 9 0 DOG MUSHING 1 0 4 0 FIGURE SKATING 1 1 2 4 FREESTYLE SKIING 9 0 0 1 GYMNASTICS 2 0 3 2 HOCKEY 11 5 3 0 INDOOR SOCCER 2 0 7 2 SNOWBOARDING 4 0 3 2 SNOWSHOE 1 0 0 0 SPEED SKATING 3 0 5 2 TABLE TENNIS 0 0 4 6 VOLLEYBALL 2 1 4 0 WRESTLING 0 5 0 0 107 20 75 29
Total Number of Officials 231
• 55% of the Officials resided in Northern Alberta, 32% in the other contingents, and 13% outside regions participating in the Games. • Half of the Head Officials were resident outside of the north. • The fifty percent goal for northern participation was not attained for several reasons: o lack of or very limited numbers of qualified Officials resident in the north in several sports; o designation of minor Officials as major Officials by several sports; o difficulties in sourcing/locating qualified individuals.
Notably the Host Society was pleased to welcome, for the first time, an Official from the Sami.
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Recommendations: a. Communications: • Registration System: - Use and access to system requires proper training at a very early stage. The committee Chair and key members must be familiar with the GEMS registration and accreditation processes. - GEMS must permit transfer of information between divisions (i.e. changing the status of a volunteer to that of a participants (official), etc.). - Officials, volunteers related to Officials and tasks related to Officials must be specifically and distinctly identified within the GEMS system options, classifications and other information features. - Clarify all necessary registration requirements for Officials at least 6 months prior to the opening of the Games. Communicate this information, including easy to- follow instructions for completing the registration process and what to expect as ‘next-steps’ immediately to individuals who accept an invitation to participate in the Games.
• Contact - Prior to Games, issue ongoing bulletins to Officials related to all aspects of Games: expenses, travel, accommodations, schedules, contacts, etc. b. Officials Development: • Host Society and International Committee should continue be pro-active in the promotion of Officials development to the governing sports bodies and their affiliated officials’ associations. • Host Society should continue to include financial support for officials’ development.
c. Officials Recruitment: • Chair of Officials to source and invite all Officials. • Work with sport governing bodies, Chefs de Mission and Sport Chairs for the recruitment of officials. • Proposed Recruitment Schedule: - 18 - 24 months out: encourage sports bodies to develop training and development opportunities especially for those sports that have few or no Officials or Officials trained to required levels - 12 - 18 months out: through sports bodies and Chefs de Mission identify all qualified Officials who are resident in north - 6 months out: preferred list of invitees and alternates completed. Send out invitations - 0 - 6 months out: ongoing communication with Officials and provide information regarding all aspects of Games
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d. Reimbursable Expenses: • Determine how Officials’ travel and travel costs will be coordinated with the units • Establish a clear policy regarding expenses which will be covered by the Host Society and prepare budgets accordingly. Have available prior to and throughout Games an Expense Form that has been customized to Officials
e. Hospitality: • Accommodations: - Select a single site for Officials accommodations; a hotel or other facility with lounges, restaurants or similar areas for gathering and socialization. - Establish an Officials ‘Go-To’ Room at the Officials hotel or accommodation site. - As a single point of contact, use ‘Go-To’ room as the site for Officials registration. - ‘Go-To’ Room should be staffed and open daily throughout Games so that Officials have a place to meet, get information and generally make contact. • Transportation: - Ensure Officials have access to Games transportation system. - Ensure that an on-call transportation is available for critical situations. - Provide call numbers, transportation maps, etc. at registration.
• Host an Officials Reception as it provides an excellent opportunity for the Host Society to express their appreciation to the Officials and for both the senior management and the International Committee to bring greetings. • Provide an Officials pin. • Where possible provide Officials with a distinctive item of clothing. f. Head Officials Meeting: • Host a Head Officials meeting prior to any of the sport specific Officials meetings. Include all Head Officials, a representative of the Sport Technical Division and a member of the International Committee. • Agenda to include: - philosophy and traditions of the Arctic Winter Games. - Hodgson Trophy, including procedures for voting. - Fair Play Pins, including procedures for distribution. Encourage Head Officials to make this a special highlight of the competition. - Sport specific ceremonies and awards ceremonies procedures. - Review media access policies.
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K. Recommendations to Arctic Winter Games International Committee
• The Host Society recognized differences in philosophy, on some items, between the International Committee and the units. This caused some concern as it was not necessarily clear as to what direction to take. Both entities have much to offer in regards to the Arctic Winter Games program and they should consult on some of these issues and resolve them. As an example, the IC wants the Dog Mushers to stay in the Accommodations to experience the total Games program. Units would like to see the Dog Mushers stay with the dogs normally located at a different venue. Either party may not agree on a decision but once it is made then all must adhere to it.
• The Host Society felt that it was to be careful with input/suggestions/recommendations from the Chefs. This group did prove to be invaluable in providing us with ideas that were implemented and ensured a much better operation. It is recommended that meetings take place between the HS and the Chefs to review plans for specific areas of the Games. These would take place in conjunction with the Chefs Meetings (M1 & M2). Items for discussion include: Box Lunches, Ceremonies, Arrival/Departure, and Transportation routes.
L. Recommendations to Chefs de Mission/Mission Staff
• Continue to provide recommendations to the Host Society pertinent to operations leading up to the Games. The Host Society recognized that the Chefs have much to offer in relation to their past experiences.
• Once a policy or decision is in place, all discussions on that matter should cease on the part of the Host Society. Discussions of this nature should be addressed only with the International Committee. It can be confusing to Host Society Volunteers and staff who may not be aware of final policy decisions. The Chefs understand when a decision is final as opposed to some of the newer volunteers or committee members at venues.
M. Miscellaneous 1. Legacy(ies) to the City of Grande Prairie • Well trained Volunteers capable of hosting national/international events; • Sport and Cultural Equipment to remain in the City; • Major legacy to be determined based on final financial report.
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Appendices
A. Organizational Charts B. Staff and Job Descriptions C. Policy Manual – also contains Main Agreements D. Official Languages Plan E Chart of Accounts F. Sponsorship Package G. Gameswear for Sponsors Plan H. Food Services Request for Proposals I. Food Services Contract J Box Lunch Schedule K Copy of menus L. Opening and Closing Ceremonies Scripts M. Sport Specific Opening Ceremonies Script and Medal Presentation Script N. Sample Waiver for Photography Mentorship Participants O. Ticket Taker Manual P. Pin Design Request for Proposals Q. Pin Production Request for Proposals R. Activity Book S School Package Information T. Sport Equipment Inventory Purchased U. Venue Team Leader Concept V. Volunteer Job Description Form and Volunteer Job Descriptions W. Speed Skating Coaches Letter
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