麻豆社区

The first Yukon Arctic Sports Inter-school Championship was a resounding success, says organizer Gael Marchand.

Forty students, ranging from Grades 1 to 12, attended the event at the Kwanlin D眉n Cultural Centre last Friday.

Each school was able to send a team of up to 25 students.

Official results were not available at press time, but Marchand said Whitehorse Elementary School was a clear winner, with 12 athletes racking up 48 medals on the day. More than 100 medals were handed out following the events.

Selkirk Elementary School won the fair play award.

Athletes competed in a variety of Arctic sports such as the seal hop, scissor broad jump, Inuit stick pull, two-foot high kick and Alaskan high kick.

Marchand said the event is geared to guide young athletes towards sports offered every two years at the Arctic Winter Games.

"These are Arctic disciplines,鈥� Marchand said. "In Alaska, they have been running inter-school championships for the last 15 or 20 years. It's huge. They usually have over 1,000 athletes competing. As we are in close connection with Alaska, we just wanted to start using the same format to have more kids involved.

"It's both to expose them to Arctic sports and aboriginal culture, and also it's very physical, so it's a very good

exercise,鈥� he added. "We just want to get more people involved and better ability.鈥�

Marchand said the Yukon has also been invited to send a team to an Alaskan tournament this summer.

The inaugural inter-school championship allowed the Yukon Arctic Sport Circle to test the new format, which Marchand said went off perfectly.

"It was definitely a success for us,鈥� he said. "I'm sure next year, we'll be at over 100 students, because it was really well-received.鈥�

Something he wants to push for next year is to have schools from the communities attend. None were able to make the trip this year.

An Aboriginal Peoples Television Network crew was also on hand collecting footage for a new series 鈥� Warrior Games 鈥� focusing on youth and aboriginal sports.

The show will be a 13-part series of half-hour episodes regarding the many indigenous sports of the North and Central America that continue to survive and thrive today.

Filmmaker Steve Sxwithul'txw began shooting last year near Vancouver, and continued to Mississippi and Ontario before coming to Whitehorse last week.

Each episode will feature host and producer Sxwithul'txw of the Penelakut Tribe of the Coast Salish Nation training and practising a traditional sport in a new community. Viewers will also be introduced to youth who are practising for regional and international competitions while they gain insight, knowledge and wisdom from their elders.

Others with a hand in the new series include director April Butler, series producer Barry Gray, and executive producer Patti Poskitt. Others include cameraman Layne Bauer and sound/boom operator Dwayne Thornhill.

The series will be aired this fall.

"It's a chance for us to showcase indigenous games to First Nations across Canada and the U.S., learn from the past about what was really important to our tribes, and educate the youth in a fun and meaningful way,鈥� Sxwithul'txw explained.