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Olympians get outfitted

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The NWT's contribution to the 2018 Winter Olympics consists of the Yellowknife-born duo of Jesse Cockney and Kevin Koe along with Hay River's Brendan Green but there's more to it than just the athletes.

All three received some gifts from the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs Program with Cockney and Green each receiving a pair of moosehide slippers and Koe getting a pair of moosehide gloves.

Drew Williams, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment's manager of communications, said Cockney's slippers were made by Emily Squirrel of Fort Providence while Camilla Chocolate of Gameti made Green's pair and Helen Menacho of Deline made Koe's gloves.

He also said the trio are all certified under the NWT Arts program as well.

Brier spot up for grabs

Jamie Koe will begin defence of his NWT Men's Curling Championship this evening as the 2018 event kicks off in Inuvik but he'll be up against a big field.

A total of eight rinks – four from the host community and four from Yellowknife – will do battle to see who represents the NWT at the Tim Hortons Brier in Regina next month. The Yellowknife contingent consists of Koe along with rinks skipped by Steve Moss, Greg Skauge and Glen Hudy.

Because there are eight teams, the stepladder format is being used for play, which is commonly seen during Grand Slam events. All eight teams will start in the A division with the losing teams from the first four games dropping to the B division. If a team loses in the B division, they drop to the C division, with a loss in the C division meaning elimination from the bonspiel.

When all is said and done, there will be one qualifier from the A and B division along with two qualifiers from the C division that will make the playoffs, which is happening under the Page format. The A and B division winners will face off first with the winner going straight to the final while the loser will play in the semifinal against the winner of the two C division qualifiers. Whoever wins that game advances to the final to play the winner of the first contest.

Last day to get in

If you've been stalling on your entry for the 2018 Traditional Games Championships, which are happening at William McDonald School from March 8 to 10, today is the day to stop stalling.

Aaron Wells, executive director for the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT, which runs the championships, said the deadline for entries is today at 5 p.m.

The championships are open to every single school in the NWT and all participants must be between the ages of 10 and 12 as of Dec. 31, 2017. If a school can't send a team, a community can enter a team in their place.