If you thought you鈥檇 miss out on the 2023 Arctic Winter Games because you鈥檇 be too old, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

The Games鈥� International Committee announced on Aug. 31 that it has approved a motion keeping the age categories where they would have been for the original 2022 edition in Fort McMurray, Alta. That means youth athletes who would have aged out when the Games happen in January 2023 will still be able to play.

In a statement announcing the decision, John Flynn, the committee鈥檚 president, stated that the move was made after talking with the chefs de mission from all nine participating jurisdictions.

鈥淲e considered both the chefs and their sport organizations鈥� critical feedback and we analysed the potential effects that changing the sport age categories could have,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e came to the conclusion to maintain the draft 2022 technical packages鈥� years of birth was the fairest situation for the youth participants.鈥�

The 2022 Games were originally supposed to happen this coming March but were pushed back due to concerns over where the pandemic would be at that point.

Sport North president Colin Pybus said the federation took its lead from the territorial sport organizations (TSO) which participate in the Games and they were given two options to consider.

鈥淥ne was to roll on as normal with the age categories staying put and the other was extend the age groups by one year,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey gave us their feedback on how we should proceed and we gave the international committee our decision based on that.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 a unanimous decision, he added, with TSOs on both sides of the fence.

鈥淭here was some divided opinion among the membership but the majority wanted to move ahead with the one-year extension,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gives the athletes a chance to not miss out on 2023.鈥�

Something else the sports groups need to keep in mind is the timing of the 2023 Games as the Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown are scheduled to start just two weeks following the completion of the AWG.

Pybus said there hasn鈥檛 been any talk about with the TSOs about how to fill out rosters with the closeness in mind.

鈥淭he TSOs will make their decisions based on what they want,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here may be some similarities between rosters but I think there鈥檚 a wait-and-see approach on what the Canada Winter Games age categories will look like before there鈥檚 any movement on that front.鈥�

And just to pile on, there will be the amount of potential time missed in the classroom, which is a worry for Pybus, an educator himself who鈥檚 the vice-principal at East Three Secondary in Inuvik.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a reality families will have to face,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ttending these events is a wonderful opportunity but we鈥檝e gone through various forms of school disruption for the better part of the past 18 months. It may be a tough choice for families on whether they let their child take part.鈥�

Add to that the costs involved, he added.

鈥淔undraising comes into play because it isn鈥檛 cheap to travel to support the athletes,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of money in a short amount of time and families are probably going to have to make some tough decisions about what to do.鈥�

But even with all of that, Pybus said he鈥檚 confident everything will work out for everyone.

鈥淚 have full confidence in the TSOs that they will do whatever they can to make things work,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a great group and are more than capable. They鈥檝e always pulled up their socks when the time has called for it and we鈥檒l do what we can within Sport North to help the athletes succeed.鈥�

-30-