Compiled by Sara Wilson
Monday, January 2, 2012

NUNAVUT

Nunavummiut were busy this year breaking records and elevating their territory to new sporting levels.

William Nakoolak of Coral Harbour celebrates after defeating Adrian Mckeage of Cochrane, Alta., to win bronze in 54 kg wrestling at the Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, BC, Aug. 9. - photo courtesy of the Western Canada Summer Games

With the addition of a new skatepark and visits to territorial and national championships, Nunavut definitely is a force to be reckoned with.

Let's recap the past year with a small sample of all the achievements made by Canada's newest territory.

Impressive speedskaters

Iqaluit hosted the Nunavut Speed Skating Championships Jan. 15, and while the turnout wasn't as high as expected, there were some impressive results.

Alexia Galloway-Alainga won a silver medal in the juvenile division overall and managed to match her personal best in the 500-metre event.

"Mary Dunphy did quite well, as did Alexia Galloway-Alainga," said John Maurice, president and head coach of Nunavut Speedskating. "Kara Ashley showed some great improvement and there are a good crop of young skaters who are coming up and they also showed some great improvement."

Five-year-old Maple Faulks made quite the impact on Maurice, showing off her skills as a future competitor.

"She's an impressive little skater and everyone loved watching her," Maurice said.

Mary Dunphy also took home the hardware when the 12-year-old speed skater from Iqaluit won gold at the 5th Eastern Regional Ability Meet in Brockville, Ont. The win was the second consecutive win for the young skater.

Hockey Day in Iqaluit

The Iqaluit Amateur Hockey Association, in partnership with the Iqaluit Oopiks, Hockey Nunavut, Hockey North and Canadian North, co-ordinated free on-ice activities at the Arnaitok arena for female hockey players Oct. 2.

The day of hockey was meant to compliment the International Ice Hockey Federation's mission to develop hockey throughout the world, and to celebrate the first World's Girls Hockey Day in Iqaluit.

The Iqaluit Sharks won the Nunavut Bantam Hockey Championships March 20 in Iqaluit with a 10-9 thriller over Pangnirtung/Arctic joint Baffin Island team. The Sharks were unbeaten throughout the tournament.

The Kivalliq Canucks Junior C squad came back from a three-goal deficit to take the win and beat Team Baffin 9-3 at the Challenge Cup Junior C Championship in Rankin Inlet last February. The win earned the team a spot in the Maritime-Hockey North Junior C Championships in Clare, N.S.

Team Nunavut won the D division title at the 31st annual First Air Rec Hockey Tournament in Yellowknife near the end of April. The Cambridge Bay's senior men's hockey team won with a 4-2 victory over Whati, NWT.

Nashville Predators right-winger Jordin Tootoo came home to Rankin Inlet for part of his summer vacation in June and took time out to get reacquainted with Nunavummiut fans.

Tootoo spoke with Nunavut News/North about his time in the NHL.

"It's really a battle now, night in and night out," he said. "My first year in the league, we were almost always guaranteed a win in games against teams in our division. That's no longer the case for any team, which provides a lot more excitement for the league."

Tootoo was also on hand to help launch the opening of the new outdoor hockey facility in Rankin Inlet in August.

Iqaluit team takes silver

Iqaluit's Frobisher Bay Elks Lodge #570 finished in second place overall behind B.C. at the 2011 Elks and Royal Purple National Darts Championships May 25-28 in Yellowknife.

The Frobisher Bay Elks finished with 31 points, while the B.C. team took top spot with 50 points.

The Iqaluit team had plenty of results in the top three, including wins for the men's doubles team of Michael Doyle and Harold Rogers and the men's foursomes team of Rogers, Doyle, Justin Fawcett and Alden Williams. Williams said it's taken him a long time to finally register a win.

"I've been playing for 13 years now and that's a first for me," he said. "I finally got it and I'm thrilled."

Skatepark opens

Iqaluit's first skatepark opened and local skateboarders were excited for the new development.

The park offers pipes for dragging tricks along with a handrail, one ledge for jumps, one spine ramp, an elongated ramp and a flat bank ramp.

"We were building a new module to make things a little more exciting so we took the time to make sure the park was improved for everyone," said Mark Rheault, recreation programmer for the City of Iqaluit.

Gym packed for games

Hundreds of people packed into Gjoa Haven's Qiqirtaq Ilihakvik High School gym in celebration of Inuit sport and culture at the Kitikmeot Northern Summer Games from July 29 to Aug. 1.

According to organizers, the games, cultural activities and food were enjoyed by everybody in attendance.

"I think it went really well. The athletes were performing really well and everybody really enjoyed themselves here in Gjoa Haven," said Mayor Allen Aglukkaq, adding he was impressed by the turnout.

A team of six firefighters was chosen to represent Nunavut Aug. 20 at the Aboriginal Firefighters Competition in Winnipeg where they earned the most sportsmanlike award.

The team consisted of George Aksadjuak of Rankin Inlet, Cody Evalaukjuk of Coral Harbour, Troy Innukshuk of Rankin Inlet, Jollie Enoogoo of Pond Inlet, Randy Idlout of Resolute Bay and Norman Qavvik of Kugaaruk.

"As the captain, I was pretty humbled to get that award for Team Nunavut," Qavvik said.

Team Nunavut was comprised of the winners of a firefighter competition held in Rankin Inlet. Overall, Nunavut came in eighth place out of 14 teams."

Fishing boats converged on the waters off Arviat for the community's annual fishing derby season. The hamlet held its main fishing derby during the May long weekend and its Ugly Fish Derby during the last weekend of May. Geraldine Mamgark took home the top prize of $10,500 in the main derby for her cod, while Janet Ishalook won the second-place prize of a 16-foot aluminum boat and $500.

Last May, Sanikiluaq sent a team of 13 players and three coaches to the annual Teamathon Sports Tournament in the Nunavik region of Quebec and came home with some awards as the volleyball team won the gold medal in that event.

Other results included a fourth place finish in soccer, fifth place in basketball and seventh in indoor hockey.

Individually, Mina Mannuk placed third in the three-kilometre run and Linda Kowcharlie came second in the four-kilometre run.

Sanikiluaq was the only Nunavut team to enter the event.

Teams throughout Nunavut took over Kugluktuk for the Kitikmeot Regional Soccer Tournament Oct. 28-29. Teams from Kugaaruk, Taloyoak, Cambridge Bay and Fort Simpson all took part. The tournament gave the teams the chance to show off their skill in preparation for the Arctic Winter Games.

Juggernauts win trophy

The Rankin Inlet Juggernauts took home the trophy at the 2011 Nunavut Co-Ed Slo-Pitch Championship, now called the Calm Air Cup.

The Juggernauts won 18-4 in the Aug. 21 final over M&T Enterprises, another Rankin Inlet team. In total, seven teams from the Kivalliq region took part, including entries from Baker Lake and Coral Harbour in addition to the Rankin Inlet teams.

Nunavut has put itself on the southern slo-pitch map. Rankin Inlet's men's team came home champions from the Slo-Pitch National Manitoba Provincial Championship in September after winning the title over 'Da Bears by a score of 12-11 in the final.

"We showed those Manitobans how to do it," said team member Damian MacInnis.

Bronze medal in judo

Louis Nutarariaq, 19, of Iqaluit came back home with a bronze medal from the men's U-20 plus-100 kg class at the Canadian Junior Judo Championships in Montreal in July. It's the second medal for Nutarariaq in the weight class, with a previous third-place finish in Calgary in 2009.

"He trained hard all spring and he felt ready to win," said Gord MacKay, Nutarariaq's coach. "He's faced most of these guys before and he did really well."

Nunavut received two medals at the Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops in August. William Nakoolak of Coral Harbour took home the bronze medal for wrestling, defeating Aidan McKeage of Cochrane, Alta., 5-0 in the 54-kg division.

Iglulik's David Haulli Jr. finished third after defeating Kodi Karmarznuk of Moose Jaw, Sask., 8-0.