International Paralympic Committee Logo |
The
2014 Paralympic Winter Games were held in Sochi, Russia, from March 7 to 16,
two weeks after the 2014 Winter Olympics.
This was the first time Russia hosted the Paralympics, featuring 72 medal events in five sports (alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice
sledge hockey, wheelchair curling) and the first appearance of snowboarding as
an event. Russia, the host nation, took
home the most gold medals (30) and most medals overall (80). Canada came in third place with seven gold,
two silver, and 7 bronze medals.
Ukraine
came in fourth place, winning 5 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze, for a total of
25 medals. In the Olympics, countries
are ranked according to the number of gold medals won. If there is an equal amount of gold medals,
then the order is based on the number of silver, then bronze. This system is known as the gold first
ranking system. If we were just counting
the total number of medals, then Ukraine would be second behind Russia. An interesting and surprising fact
considering the current crisis between the two countries.
Even
though the Paralympic Winter Games have been held since 1976, I still get the
feeling that media coverage and hype are less compared to the
"regular" Olympics. I hold the
same view towards the Paralympic Summer Games and they have been around since
1960. Maybe it's just me. In the case of Sochi, the games were
overshadowed by Russia's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. Despite this aggression,
Ukraine still participated in the Games, and won a substantial amount of
medals. Come 2016 & 2018, I'll pay
more attention to the Paralympic Games.
On
Friday, March 14, two days before the conclusion of the Paralympic Winter
Games, a different kind of game was taking place at Inuujaq School in Arctic
Bay. The Junior Boys Basketball team
engaged in an intense and epic afterschool game against the Teachers. It was a competitive spectacle that I
witnessed firsthand.
Several weeks prior to the game, Pond Inlet extended the idea of holding a five-game junior boys basketball tournament at Inuujaq in late March. The Pond Inlet team would travel to Arctic Bay by skidoo, overnighting on the land. What many southerners do not know is the existence of skidoo trails between northern communities. They are in frequent use by the Inuit because the cost of travelling is a lot cheaper than flying. You just need to be prepared for the weather, have a qamutiq loaded with supplies & gas, a skidoo to pull everything, and knowledge of the trails. It's the Arctic version of a road trip!
Inuujaq
School had the facilities to hold a basketball game, but no junior team. Nevertheless, the idea was approved and a
date was set. Sean, a grade 6 teacher
and coach of the senior boys basketball team, immediately went to work on
putting together a junior boys team.
They spent many practices learning passing, dribbling, shooting, and how
to work as a team. Before the game
against Pond Inlet, Sean organized a match against the teachers so that the
boys could gain experience playing another team. Think The Longest Yard but set in a school and the sport is basketball.
It
wasn't difficult for Sean to find several teachers "willing" to play
basketball. He even got the school's
principal to join the team. Including
myself, there were ten of us, enough to have two rotating teams of five. Marlene, the Grade 1 teacher, was our Team
Captain. This game would be the first
time I've played competitively in a very long time. Sean had to give me a quick crash course in "Basketball
101" the day before the match.
When
the dismissal bell rang at 3:30pm, I changed out of my formal attire and went
down to the gym wearing black pants, sports shoes, and a blue t-shirt with the
Inuujaq School logo on it. The junior
boys team was already shooting hoops and doing last minute drills before the
start of the match. I picked up a stray
basketball and shot a few hoops until the game started. A crowd of students, full of cheer and carrying
posters, assembled on the sidelines and on the mezzanine floor above the gym. A small portable scoreboard, borrowed from
the community hockey arena, would keep score and count down every precious
second.
The
game was an energetic and intense affair, with much running, passing, throwing,
and scoring. I got quite a workout from
all the running; I should have worn shorts.
There were a lot of close calls, prompting loud groans & cheers from
the audience. We were all surprised when
the game entered its third overtime. In
the end, the teachers came out on top, winning the game by two points. I took plenty of shots but didn't score any
points. Both teams shook hands before
posing for a group photo. Then it was
off to Sean's classroom for a pizza & video game party. The store-bought pizzas were prepared by
Amber, the student support teacher. She
also took plenty of action shots of the game with her digital camera.
Unfortunately,
this would be the last game the junior boys team would play for the year because
Pond Inlet had to cancel their trip due to a lack of snow on the main skidoo
trail. There are alternate routes but it
would have taken them too long to reach Arctic Bay. Nevertheless, the junior boys were glad to
have played against the teachers and vowed to avenge their loss in the future. On the flip side, the teachers vowed to defend their victory and enjoy the bragging rights that came with it. As for Sean, he was glad that the whole affair went off without a hitch.
At
the 2014 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska, athletes from the nine circumpolar
contingents participated in twenty sporting events. Over two hundred medals, in the shape of
ulus, were awarded to many deserving athletes.
One of those athletes was Donovan Qaunaq of Arctic Bay, who won a bronze
in the Dene Games. The Games concluded
on March 22, but the male athletes from Arctic Bay did not return until the
26th. That evening, they were driven to
the Community Hall to receive a warm welcome from the community. A large "Welcome Back!" banner had
been prepared for their arrival and was prominently displayed in the hall.
When
the boys stepped into the hall with their chaperones, the crowd-in-waiting
erupted into applause. The team posed
for pictures in front of the large banner before shaking hands and answering
questions from curious onlookers. I
personally shook the hands of each athlete and asked them how they enjoyed
their trip. They said they really
enjoyed competing in Alaska, meeting competitors from all over the Arctic, and
making new friends. Names, numbers, and
even team jackets were traded. Their
stories ended the same way; they couldn't wait for the next Arctic Winter Games
in 2016.
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