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Reviews
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Sports Check
with Natalie Dunleavy
Sports year in review It was another eventful year for sports in Yellowknife. City athletes competed in the regular line-up of staple tournaments and competitions, while adding a few new opportunities to the list. Throughout the year the records fell, titles were lost and championships defended. For those, such as the Canada Winter Games female hockey team, the chance to compete for the first time at an elite national level was worth more than gold. The following is a look of a few of 2007's sporting highlights. January Although there were many highs throughout the year, the boxing club had a rough bout of luck in January. It lost its Kam Lake location due to a lack of funds. Several of its fighters continued to self-train, however. The effort paid off for boxer Alex Moran, who was particularly successful earning himself a gold medal at the Alberta Silver Gloves, and Alberta Gold Gloves in. February If there is an event you can count on for participation, the Junior and Senior Cagers basketball tournaments are definitely up there. Range Lake North and William McDonald schools asserted their dominance in the sport in the Grade 6 and Grade 8 divisions respectively, taking two banners each to adorn their gym walls. St. Joseph school's Grade 7 girls also took a banner in their division. Sir John high school dominated the Senior Cager's Under 19 divisions, while St. Patrick's Under-15 girls won a banner of their own. March Attending the Canada Winter Games in February and March in Whitehorse, Yukon was a personal highlight for Yellowknifer's sports editor this year. The only medal for the territory came from Hay River's Brendan Green in the cross country skiing 15-kilometre freestyle event. More impressive was that prior to the Games, Green had competed in biathlon, his primary sport, and raced almost two weeks straight. It was heartwarming to see the territory submit its first girls hockey team ever to the Canada Winter Games. They didn't win any games, but showed Canada they could at least skate with the rest. A Wyoming woman made headlines as well as dog mushing history when she became the first female to win the Diavik 150 Canadian Championship Dog Derby. Sam Perrino, of Yellowknife, came in second place. The mushing community was even more excited that three women raced in the event, and all finished in the top 10. April Hockey fans got a glimpse of the city's hockey history in April at the Balsillie Cup old timer's hockey tournament in April. When they weren't watching the Ol' Packers slice through the A division for a championship win, fans examined memorabilia and trophies that lined the Multiplex lobby. May Sir John's Under-19 boys had a tough final match against a team from Rankin Inlet for their banner at the 2007 Super Soccer tournament in May. But it made for probably the most exciting game at the event. The school asserted dominance in the Under-15 girls and boys divisions as well. In the junior divisions, St. Joseph school earned a total of three banners in the boys and girls Under-12 A and girls Under-14 divisions, while Range Lake North took two of their own in the boys and girls 12 B divisions. June More than 280 track and field athletes could not have asked for better weather at the Midnight Sun Track and Field Meet at William McDonald school in June. There seemed to be a medal for everyone that weekend. When athletes weren't baking in the sun between events, they enjoyed ideal training grounds for the NWT Track and Field Championships later that month in Hay River. Also in June, the NWT men's darts team showed they were not pushovers when they took a bronze medal at national championships in Saskatoon, Sask. in June. The team took a joint bronze with Manitoba in the Nodor Cup, and proved even remote regions can enjoy big rewards. July A Zimbabwe midfielder who played with the Yk Gunners in the men's outdoor soccer league this summer got a shot at the pros. Dillon Torindo was asked to train with the Vancouver's Whitecaps Football Club in the new year after a successful tryout in July. As well as seeing personal success, Torindo also helped the Gunners take the league championship for the first time. A beach volleyball league wrapped up with territorials in July, and showed the league can only grow in popularity after a successful first season. Yellowknife junior players dominated their beach volleyball divisions at territorials, and the senior women took a silver medal against a Rankin Inlet team. August Although the Northwest Territories didn't win any medals at August's Western Canada Summer Games in Strathcona County, Alta., the Polar Bear Swim Club athletes achieved tons of personal success. The swimmers weren't too upset, as many club records were set at the games. Some even achieved times that would qualify them for the A division Alberta age group championship next year. September If you weren't at the Edmonton Oilers rookie camp in September, you missed out on the most professional hockey the Multiplex as ever seen. Hockey fans packed the Multiplex stands for three days in September to get a glimpse of the boys in action, October Speed skater Michael Gilday is setting himself up pretty nicely towards the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. This season alone, Gilday competed in the World Cup 2 in Kobe, Japan, and set a word record time in the 1,000-metre race. Gilday came into the season ranked ninth, and is vying for a top eight position to make the national team next season. It's nice to see the underdogs win every once in a while, and that position was filled by Ecole Alain St. Cyr in October. The school's junior teams pulled off impressive gold medal wins for a school that doesn't have a gym at the Junior Spike It volleyball tournament in October. Early morning practices at William McDonald school gym paid off for the school's Grade 6 boys and girls. They surely found a prominent location other than a gym to place their hard earned banners. November This year's Wade Hamer Challenge Cup hockey games kept the high school hockey rivalries going strong. Fans packed the stands cheering their school pride as the Sir John Falcon girls' and St Patrick Irish boys' hockey teams successfully defended their titles. December The Great Slave 200 may have been cut short about 80-kilometres, but the experience was no less valuable to mushers. Warren Palfrey won the event, and is training for the 2008 Iditarod in March.
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