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Photo by John Hagen

Photo by John Hagen

Photo by Sam Harrel

FAIRBANKS — The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics return home to Fairbanks this week.

After a one-year stint at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, the 48th rendition of WEIO is scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday at the Carlson Center.

“It’s good to be back home and we’re looking forward to hosting this year’s Games,” chairman of the WEIO board of directors Perry Ahsogeak said Monday afternoon.

“Everything is going very smoothly, almost too smoothly” Ahsogeak said of preparations for the four-day celebration of Native athletic competition, dancing and cultural events.

“The dance groups are coming in, sponsors are coming through, and all the plans are coming into place.”

Ahsogeak said that there are at least six dance groups that will be performing during the games. Officials won’t know how many athletes will be on hand until opening day.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook with people asking questions about everything,” he said. “I believe we’ll have a very good turnout.”

Sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on each of the four days.

There is no charge for daytime events and the box office opens at 5 p.m. for the evening sessions, which often last until midnight or later. Admission to the evening sessions is $8 per session for students age 5-15 (with parental supervision) and senior citizens and $10 for adults. Season passes for all four sessions are available for $27 for youth and seniors and $35 for adults. Children 5 and younger are free. Tickets are available only at the door.

Athletes and dancers from the Eskimo, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Aleut and Athabascan cultures will converge on Fairbanks to participate in the four-day extravaganza of Native games and to share in the cultural events.

The festivities for this year’s World Eskimo-Indian Olympics begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday with the athletes’ registration, followed by the toe kick finals at 11 a.m., the kneel jump finals at noon, the one-hand reach preliminaries at 2 p.m.

The traditional Race of the Torch, where the male and female winners of the 5-kilometer run earn the right to carry the torch in the opening ceremonies Wednesday evening, is scheduled for 4 p.m. behind the Carlson Center.

Ahsogeak said that the WEIO was a success in Anchorage last year, but there are no plans to hold the Games there in the near future.

“It’s up to the general membership, but there is not any discussion on the table at this time,” he said.

“The experience we had last year was great and we learned a lot of things,” Ahsogeak said. “We had to deal with different people, agencies and companies, I feel it was a success.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for athletes who may not be able to make the trip to Fairbanks the chance to compete and we wanted to hold it at a venue where many people who don’t normally get to see the Games got that opportunity,” he added. “I think we accomplished both of those goals.”

Throughout the Olympics, particularly in the evening sessions, traditional Native dances are performed between events.

In addition, contestants in the Miss WEIO pageant spend the weekend proving themselves good representatives of the Alaska Native community.

Competitors often go on to the national level in events such as the Miss National Congress of American Indians.

Native artisans will have tables on the main floor of the arena selling traditional hand-crafted art and jewelry.

The Olympics feature athletes and cultural events ranging from the dramatic and spine-tingling ear weight and ear pull competitions to the Native baby contest and the Miss WEIO beauty pageant.

Most of the 25 athletic competitions are derived from skills necessary or useful in traditional Native lifestyles.