It’s no secret the peoples of the Beaufort Delta are tough. But how tough?
How about Aussie rules football tough?
Tunisha Ouvluviac Kikoak, a first-generation descendant of Inuvik, was eligible for the Australian Football Leagues Women’s division (AFLW) draft, having spent the better part of her teens developing her skills on the field. The Tasmanian resident is aiming to take her sport to the next level.
“I nominated myself to go into the draft,” she said. “On Monday, the 18th of December, the draft was held. I went through that process but didn’t get drafted, but there’s still a lot of other opportunities to be drafted.
“This is just the beginning. I’m going to stick to the league that I play in and keep developing.”
Kikoak said she now has her eyes on making an impact during the upcoming AFLW 2024 under 18 championships, where she will join the “Eastern Allies.” Players on that team come from a number of Australian states, including Tasmania. There, she will be able to showcase her skills to the top recruiters from across the country and beyond.
Having run the draft gauntlet, Kikoak said she’s learned a lot about patience and mental discipline to apply to her sport.
“It was a long process,” she said. “I started getting anxious and really couldn’t wait. I learned how I react to hard news, but I think resilience and strength carried me through.
“It’s not like any sport. You’ve got to think, you’ve got to use so many skills,” she added. “The game can be unpredictable with the weather and the physicality of the game.”
Keeping up to competitive standards takes a lot of training and dedication. Kikoak said she runs seven to 10 kilometres an evening during her preseason conditioning sessions. That’s on top of drills and strength training. With the season fast approaching, she’s shifted her focus to game-specific training scenarios, training for two-and-a-half hours thrice per week and hitting the gym four times.
Tunisha is daughter of Josh Kikoak, who married her mom Kelly in Inuvik. Tunisha has been a force for her team, the North Melbourne VFLW.
She’s been aiming for the top league draft since the fall and while she wasn’t picked in the first round, she’s confident her abilities will land her on a team.
“I’m just focusing on being in my best physical shape,” she said. “I’ll just play the best I can, and in March I may have the opportunity to get picked up or I’ll re-enter the draft for 2024.”
A Tasmanian-based women’s football program is also in the works, with the Australian government announcing funding for developing both a Victorian Football League (VFLW) and AFLW team as of Dec. 19 of last year.
Kicking butt runs in the family. Kikoak’s sister, Lelanni Siqinnaaq Kikoak, is also an avid footballer. She too is hoping to make the jump to the big leagues in a few years. She’s joined the newly-minted Tasmanian Devils U18 women’s team, which will make its debut in March.
With winter lows bottoming out at 3 C, Tasmania, also referred to as Apple Island, is vastly different from Inuvik. But Kelly Kikoak noted there are some similarities.
On the southern portion of the island, Tunisha noted her team had to travel long distances to compete with other teams, often flying into Melbourne to play for her current team.
Notably, the islands’ isolation from mainland Australia means the cost of living is higher than normal, similar to the isolated North.
“We do have kangaroos in our back yard,” said Kelly. “Everything gets flown in because it’s an island. So you see price increases as well.
“Where on the Gold Coast in Queensland we pay $1 for a whole watermelon, so it’s hard to come down here and a quarter (of a watermelon) is $7. It’s frustrating.”
Josh joked that it helps him keep from getting homesick.
“It reminds me of Inuvik during freeze up and break up,” said Josh. “Everything gets flown in and certain stuff gets bumped off the shelves.”