Ice surface finally ready

The ice at the arena in Fort Simpson is all ready for the new season. Recreation co-ordinator Nate McPherson said it took a long time, but it's good to go.

"It took three weeks from start to finish," he said. "The weather was the big thing, but it got cold enough for the ice to freeze, so it's good for now." The first skaters or the season hit the ice on Dec. 1, he said.

"The weather is still playing some games with the ice, causing some fears about the programs," McPherson added. "We almost had to cancel programs on Thursday (Dec. 3), but we decided to go ahead."

McPherson said he had a lot of help from his staff, including Trevor Kjeldsli, Shawn Gillis and Mike Byland.

A first for badminton

Somba K'e/Yellowknife

For the first time in the tournament's history, teams from outside Yellowknife competed in the Yellowknife Middle School Badminton Championships.

Held on Dec. 4 and 5 at St. Pat's High School in the capital, the tournament hosted Chief Jimmy Bruneau School from Behchoko and Mezi Community School from Whati for the first time, alongside local schools. The two teams helped make the tournament "the biggest in recent memory," according to tournament co-ordinator Eugene Roche. See the next edition of NWT News/North for a recap on how both teams fared.

Olympian dreams

NWT

The Aboriginal Sports Circle of the Western Arctic is looking for some ideas from communities on how to get into the Olympic spirit.

A new program called "Right to Dream" has been established to allow kids and community leaders a chance to work together and organize a sporting event. Some of the sports being encouraged by the sports circle are pond hockey, Dene games and archery. Anyone with an idea or looking for more information can contact Andrea Mackie, the programs manager at the Aboriginal Sports Circle.

The ice is in

Tikirarjuaq/Whale Cove

With the weather getting cold enough, the arena in Whale Cove is officially open for business. Recreation co-ordinator Chris Jones said the arena had its official open on Nov. 26.

"The ice was ready, so we opened the doors," he said. Once the arena was declared open, the local minor hockey program began, Jones added.

"The kids are now playing hockey," he said.

Waiting on an arena

Qausuittuq/Resolute

Resolute seems to be one step closer to getting an arena, but it's still a case of waiting for the official announcement. The community has been promised an arena for years, but recreation co-ordinator Joe Amagoalik said the GN keeps changing things.

"We were told it would be in the 20-year plan, then the 10-year plan, then the five-year plan, then back to the 10-year plan," he said. "It's feels like we're being told to hurry up and wait."

Amagoalik said there has been some movement as the engineering stage of the project has been completed and the money has been allocated for the project.

"We've been told they will build one and it should be completed by March of 2011," he said, adding that the community experimented with an outdoor arena, but there were too many malfunctions.

"We would put the water down and let it freeze, but there were big cracks in it," he said.

Not cold enough yet

Sanikiluaq

The weather in Sanikiluaq still hasn't gotten cold enough for ice to freeze, which means the arena in the community is still out of commission for the time being. Recreation co-ordinator Eli Kavik said it's all a matter of playing the waiting game.

"We're just waiting for the weather to get colder," he said.

Once the temperature begins to drop, Kavik said it should take about three to four weeks for everything to be in place for the arena to open.