NNSL (Mar 18/98) - The medical team watching over the Arctic Winter Games and caring for injured athletes is co-ordinated, prepared and so far, glitch free. "I've received some phone calls this morning about possible glitches but I directed them to the committee," said medical chair Blake Lyons, whose daughter once participated in the AWG.

About half the 168 medical volunteers will help first-aid attendants, with the rest split among helping nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and sports-massage therapists.

"Might as well milk the system for all it's worth," said Shaun Roblin, a smiling 18-year-old Yellowknife basketball player, as he sat in a Weledeh school chair, waiting for a free 20-minute sport massage.

The NWT team had just won its first game of the day and was preparing to play Alaska later in the day.

Darlene Robertson, the AWG sports-massage co-ordinator, said therapists working the makeshift clinic's three tables can give 108 sports massages a day.

"Sports massage is different from regular massage," she said. "Our purpose is to prevent injuries and enhance performance."

The therapists may focus on basketball players' shoulders and knees and volleyballers' backs.

Other volunteers help in a variety of ways.

Designated-driver volunteers form a supply line to get ice to the first-aid stations and tensor bandages from the hospital. "These people are marvellous, they're very good at improvising," Lyons said. "They're worker bees, they get things done."

But no resources will go toward steroid testing, largely because of cost and scarce time.

"We're not doing any of that. We haven't even been asked to do it for the dogs," Lyons said. "I had a vision of someone dressed as a tree surrounded by cups but no one has been asked to do that yet."

Seriously though, Lyons said there will be strains and problems due to overindulgence when athletes from the communities let loose in area restaurants.

There are about 10 or 12 physiotherapists with two people co-ordinating, two doctors, a nurse representative and a first-aid co-ordinator.

The first-aid workers will be at the events to see athletes first.

If serious, athletes would be referred to the hospital's physiotherapy unit, as a few were on Monday.

But all names and even injuries types are confidential, according to AWG physiotherapy co-ordinator Gail Leclerc.

"We're mostly anticipating strains and sprains. We're hoping not to see too many fractures," Leclerc said.