Alberta Basketball Association

Team Alberta North sweeps hoops gold at Arctic Winter Games

Friday, March 13, 2026

Team Alberta North has swept gold in basketball competition at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon.

In finals played Friday (March 13) night, Alberta North’s female basketball team defeated the Northwest Territories by a score of 80-70 and Alberta North’s male basketball team beat the Northwest Territories by a score of 89-70.

This is the second time Team Alberta North has won gold in both men’s and women’s basketball at the same Arctic Winter Games, having also accomplished the feat in 2010 when the games were hosted by Grande Prairie.

Basketball competition at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games began on March 8. Alberta North's men's team finished with a 3-1 record in round-robin and defeated Alaska 109-58 in the semi-finals. Alberta North's women's team had a 4-0 record in round-robin and beat Nunavut 87-21 in the seimi-finals. 

“This has been five years in the making — building the program, preparing the athletes, and creating opportunities for Northern basketball players to compete on this stage," says Team Alberta North basketball coach Wayne Dunnington. "The team showed tremendous resilience and unity all week. Watching them represent Northern Alberta with pride and bring home gold is something I’ll always be proud of."

The Arctic Winter Games represents one of the largest multisport cultural events in the circumpolar North, with approximately 2,000 participants. Team Alberta North’s basketball rosters comprised athletes born between 2007 and 2013 and living north of the 55th parallel.  

Arctic Winter Games rosters, statistics and results:


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