Nunavut as a territory celebrated its 20th birthday on July 9.
A wonderful anniversary, to be sure, but there’s another part of the territory that’s also celebrating two decades of existence.
Team Nunavut is also 20 years of age and the Sport and Recreation Division (SRD), formerly Sport Nunavut, is looking for people to help celebrate the milestone. The SRD will be putting together as many items and stories as it can get for a special anniversary campaign which is ongoing.
Mariele Depeuter, the SRD’s acting manager, said the GN is celebrating 20 years and wanted to include the division as part of it all.
“Team Nunavut is one of the most visible parts of the territory on the national stage, for sure,” she said. “We’re trying to get people to share some of their thoughts and memories through social media and help us celebrate how far we’ve come in 20 years.”
The first big event for Team Nunavut upon its creation was the 2000 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse and it’s probably fitting in a way that the 20th anniversary of Team Nunavut’s participation in the Games will happen where it all began.
“We’re planning on incorporating parts of our uniform from 2000 into our uniform for 2020,” said Depeuter.
She wouldn’t divulge any details nor give any hints as to what people will see.
In terms of a party or celebration, Depeuter said nothing big is being planned but rather a focus on highlighting some of the big moments provided by the athletes over the past two decades.
“We want to hear from people who have contributed to our past, where they’ve ended up in their lives, what path they’ve taken since participating with Team Nunavut,” she said. “We’re encouraging people to get in touch with us and reach out and maybe even reconnect with some old friends they may have either lost contact with or haven’t spoken to in a while.”
FACT FILE – Team Nunavut highlights
1999 – Creation of Team Nunavut
2000 – First appearance at Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, 35 ulus won
2001 – First appearance at Canada Summer Games (London, Ont.)
2002 – First appearance at North American Indigenous Games (Winnipeg)
2002 – First medal won at North American Indigenous Games (Joseph Nakoolak of Coral Harbour, gold, wrestling)
2003 – First appearance at Canada Winter Games (Bathurst-Campbellton, N.B.) and Western Canada Summer Games (Manitoba)
2003 – First medal won at Western Canada Summer Games (Johnny Eetuk of Cape Dorset, silver, wrestling)
2007 – First medal won at Canada Winter Games (Eugene Dederick of Iqaluit, bronze, judo)
