Grande Prairie welcomes thousands as 2024 Alberta Winter Games get underway

Candace Boechler is energized to watch her son compete against the best winter-sport athletes Alberta has to offer.

The 2024 Alberta Winter Games are underway this weekend in Grande Prairie, inviting thousands of people to the city roughly 390 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Among them is Boechler's son, a speed skater.

"It is nerve-wracking in these speed skates — they're sharp blades and it is a fast, fast sport. But it is thrilling and so exciting to watch," said Boechler, a Grande Prairie resident volunteering at the Games as an announcer.

"It's great to have all of the athletes competing again. There's just the spirit of the North that we bring together — and we're having so much fun."

More than 4,000 athletes ages 11 to 16, their coaches and families, and officials are in Grande Prairie for the competition. It opened Friday and closes Monday.

There are 18 sports played at these Games, featuring traditional winter sports like skiing, skating and hockey. But other sports like volleyball, wrestling and artistic swimming are also included.

Historically, Alberta's Summer and Winter Games occurred every two years, but these are the first Winter Games since the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

"This is one of those core memories — something that a child is never going to forget," Jodie Johnson, the chief of volunteers for alpine skiing at the Alberta Winter Games. "They're always going to remember their time that they spent at the Alberta Winter Games and the community that they were in."

Many Grande Prairie residents, like Boechler and Johnson, have volunteered to help the event run smoothly. Many of the volunteers are parents whose kids once competed years ago, Johnson said.

Nadine Glenn, who is also volunteering for alpine skiing competitions, loves the energy and sense of community the Games creates.

"The point of something like Alberta Winter Games is to bring together everybody, to represent their area as ambassadors of their community, ambassadors of the province and of sport itself," Glenn said.

"A lot of time has gone by. It's time for communities to get together and connect again outside in the fresh air."

Grande Prairie has hosted similar events in the past, including the 2018 Alberta Summer Games and the 1995 Canada Winter Games.

City officials want to continue promoting sport in the region, said Mayor Jackie Clayton, but hosting is also about introducing outsiders to the community and attracting economic opportunities.