SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Some of the biggest names in Canadian sports graced the RBC Champions for Children Fundraising Dinner on Saturday, where guests were treated to a hot meal and a "hot stove" celebrity session.

Celebrity athletes Donovan Bailey, Ben Rutledge, Adam Kreek and Fiona Smith-Bell, signed autographs, took photos, chatted with fans, and even found time to have a meal.

A highlight of the evening was the "hot stove" question session, where all four athletes took questions from MC Mark Scholz and members of the audience.

It was a chance for the athletes to relive their most gratifying experiences, and give onlookers an insight into how they reached the heights of success.

Sprinting world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Donovan Bailey said he will never reach the highs he did at the peak of his career, so it's all about keeping busy and giving back.

"What do I do now? Everything," he said. "For me I stay grounded, I have two kids, I volunteer. I just fill my days."

"I try to do two or three or four things at a time that really balance me."

Smith-Bell, a member of the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey team that won an Olympic silver medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter games, reminisced about her favourite sporting moment.

"I would have to say my biggest moment was marching in at the opening ceremony with all the athletes," said Smith-Bell. "It was a pretty proud moment to be Canadian."

"It's one thing to cross the finish line, but it's another thing to cross the finish line with eight of your closest friends in the world and to be able to celebrate that together," said Olympic rowing champion Adam Kreek.

Kreek's former teammate, Ben Rutledge, was given the difficult task of coming up with a best sporting moment different to Kreek, who of course chose the Olympic Gold medal.

Rutledge settled for winning the 2007 World Championships, but also cited his demolition of an entire McDonald's restaurant menu as a highlight.

The athletes shared anecdotes about their sporting lives that were applicable to life in or out of sport.

According to a representative from Sport North, just over 200 tickets were sold for the event.

Gail Nesbitt, marketing co-ordinator for Sport North, said the total amount raised will not be known for some weeks, but attendance at the event was down a small bit compared to last year's.

However, she said repeat support from businesses was a big boost.

"The support from the business community was amazing and a lot of the sponsors from last year continued their support," she said.

Last year $70,000 was raised for kids' sports, and that figure included a $25,000 donation from RBG, which it repeated this year.

All the money raised will go toward kids' sports in the NWT, with Nesbitt adding that a new initiative, yet to be announced, will benefit from the influx of funds.

Since 2001, the fundraising event has delivered $218,000 to 13,000 kids across the NWT.