Yellowknife (Feb 09/05) - The NWT communities vying for the 2008 Arctic Winter Games have a month to pump up their bids before a panel of judges arrives.

The decision may just come down to enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the bid, according to Gerry Thick, president of the Arctic Winter Games International Committee (AWGIC).

"You certainly are not secure just because you have facilities," says Thick, adding that each bid must meet a set of minimum standards.

Each community will have the chance to wow members of the committee when they visit for one or two days in late February or early March. They'll make their decision by April at the latest, he says.

The Yellowknife bid has taken an approach of producing a bid package that focuses on facilities, infrastructure, experience and planning, says Mayor Gordon Van Tighem.

"In organizing any event, if you peak too early you are in trouble," he says.

With the bid package in the hands of the AWGIC and about a month to go before the all-important venue visit, the Yellowknife bid is moving to the next stage.

"What we're looking at, at this point, is how to ensure that the community is aware and involved as we move toward the bid and then as we build toward the Games," he says.

The first initiative for a spirit committee for the Yellowknife bid was the launch of a series of contests aimed at school-age children starting Feb. 4, says Cathie Bolstad, chairperson of the sub-committee.

They include colouring and writing contests centered on the bid committee mascot, who Bolstad revealed is a raven named Rocky.

Bolstad defended the timing of the launch, saying the spirit committee is planning it to coincide with the AWGIC visit.

"Let's mobilize our people and put the biggest resources at a time when they'll be the most useful," she says.

The joint Hay River/Fort Smith bid emerged as the underdog against the facilities-strong City of Yellowknife in the fall -- especially after the AWGIC said it would not consider joint bids. The committee no longer wanted athletes housed in separate communities after the 2004 Games in Fort McMurray, Alta.

But since the December deadline, the South Slave committee has produced a solid bid and generated excitement in the communities involved. It's the personal touch that they hope will win the judges over.

"The focus has been on the people we have involved," says Todd Shafer of the bid committee and 70 volunteers so far. "It's the people that are going to make it happen more than the buildings."

"We knew going in that that's not the competition we want to be in," he says about facilities.

The South Slave committee is proposing to hold events in Hay River and Fort Smith, but also in outlying communities. The athletes will be flown between Hay River and Fort Smith in order to follow rules set by the AWGIC.

Contests to name and draw a bid mascot produced the image of Maximus Moose in November. A watercolour painting of the mascot by a 12-year-old Hay River girl graces the front of the bid package.

Other details include performances by singer Mackenzie Pope and the JBT dancers as possibilities for the cultural pavilion at Fisherman's Wharf in Hay River.

During their visit, the AWGIC members will judge each community on everything from expertise and volunteer numbers, to their uniqueness and spirit, and even how badly they want to host the 2008 Games, according to an evaluation form on their Web site.

That desire and enthusiasm to host was what won the bid for the 2006 Games in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.

The region on Alaska's south coast has a population of 50,000.

The Kenai Peninsula beat out the larger centres of Fairbanks and Anchorage in their bid, which society publicist Merrill Sikorski credited to "sheer enthusiasm."

The Alaska Games will be held March 5-11, with a budget of $7.1 million.