GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALTA - The first of three charter flights carrying Team NWT to the 2010 Arctic Winter Games arrived at the Grande Prairie, Alta., airport at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

But one athlete managed to beat everyone in the door. Snowboarder Joel Dragon-Smith of Yellowknife arrived on a commercial flight shortly after 11 p.m. on March 5, but found the airline had misplaced his most important piece of luggage - his snowboard.

Team NWT chef de mission Doug Rentmeister and assistant chef Bill Othmer began the task of getting his equipment located. Still, Dragon-Smith was confident about his chances.

"I just have to snowboard and see what I can do," he said.

The 2010 Arctic Winter Games run from March 6 to 13 in the city in northwestern Alberta. Teams are expected to attend from Yukon, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, Scandinavia, Nunavut, Nunavik and the NWT and Alberta.

Team NWT finished second in the medal standings two years ago when the games were in Yellowknife with a total of 111 ulus, well off the pace of Alaska, which won the ulu tally with 202. The prospects are good for another fine medal haul for the territory.

Jeanne Yurris, a triple gold ulu winner from 2008, is back to try her luck again, as is Charlene Deneyoua of Fort Simpson, a gold ulu winner in snowshoe biathlon. The boys basketball team will be out for some payback after finishing in fourth place in 2008, while Diane Marin will look to improve on her bronze ulu performance in girls wrestling.

The Grande Prairie host committee was putting the finishing touches on its preparations at press time. Debbie Gray, president of the host committee, said only small things remained to be done.

"Our volunteers are working hard and I'm confident everything will be ready," she said. "The only thing I'm suffering from is a lack of sleep, but there are no major issues. The venues are going through some last-minute preparation and everything is running fairly smoothly."

Temperatures in the region have been warmer than normal in the past few weeks, but Reid said there are plans in place to ensure events don't fall victim to the elements, or lack thereof.

"The temperatures should be in the five to six degree range all week long," she said. "The snow in some spots, such as the ski area, have a two-foot packed base already, but we do have the ability to have snow hauled in to venues should the need arise. Our technical people are confident the snow will be there and hopefully, the warmer weather will bring more people out to watch the events as they unfold."

The opening ceremonies were scheduled to take place at the Crystal Centre venue Sunday, and the event was sold-out. Reid said if the opening ceremonies are any indication, ticket sales will be just fine.

"I would tell people if they don't want to be disappointed for the closing ceremonies, they should buy now," she said. "The event tickets are going well, also. The Superpass has been the popular choice. People buy one of those and they can get into any event at any time."