Director - Alaska, Joint Interim - Technical Director
John Estle
Contact: technical@arcticwintergames.org John grew up and lived in New England for 30 years before moving to Fairbanks in 1982 to assume the position of Head Coach for Cross Country Skiing and Cross Country Running at UA Fairbanks. He held that position from 1982 through 1990 before taking the position of Head Coach of the US Cross Country Ski Team, which he held from 1990-1993. He served as Program Director for the US Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Michigan in 1993-94. Returning to Fairbanks in 1994, he has built a business providing sport and business services, including organizing events, timing running races, coaching and bookkeeping. He is an International Ski Federation-certified Technical Delegate and Homologation Inspector for cross country skiing. He has attended the 1984, 1992 and 2002 Olympic Games as a coach or official but considers the Arctic Winter Games to be a more meaningful event because of the effect the AWG can have on the people and communities of the north – without all the hype involved in the Olympics. John’s association with the Games extends more than 30 years: he was a sport coordinator for Team Alaska for the 1988 Games, was Team Alaska Chef de Mission in 1996 and from 2000-2010, and served on the Host Society Board of Directors for the 2014 Games in Fairbanks. John and his wife Norma live 500m from the Birch Hill cross country ski trails and spend as much time as possible at their cabin in the Alaska Range