Least Popular Sports & Fall Biathlon 19

It’s the end of October and I still haven’t done any extreme ironing this year.  I had wanted to iron outside somewhere in April but other things got in the way.  I had a backup plan for the early fall but that didn’t materialize either.  I suppose I could extreme iron by myself but then it would be difficult to convince people that I did do it without proof of some kind.  It’s why I hired support teams for my previous outings to take pictures and videos.  There’s still time left in 2019 to pull something off.  If not, there’s always 2020.

            

So far, I’ve extreme ironed five times; all of which occurred in Arctic Bay.  You can revisit these epic moments of Canadian history here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.  Two days ago, I was reminiscing about my past extreme ironing adventures and googling images on the internet.  Several of my past images appear on Google Images but they’re not grouped together.  You have scroll down and look around to spot each individual picture.

            

I saw one of my old pictures from 2015.  I clicked on it to see if the source URL was my blog.  Strangely, it wasn’t.  Instead the link said Sports Show.  I decided to investigate and clicked the icon.  I was taken to an article titled, “Top 10 Least Popular Sports in the World.”  It was written and published by the Sports Show blog on October 21, 2019.  [Update: the publishing date has been changed for some reason].  The article was written in reverse chronological order, starting with Number 10 and counting down to Number 1.  The text loaded quickly but the images were taking a bit longer.  As I was slowly going down the list, I began to wonder: is my photo from 2015 featured in this article?

            

Sports Show placed Extreme Ironing at Number 3.  (I was hoping for Number 1).  I quickly read the two short paragraphs and waited for the feature image to load.  Sure enough, after much anticipation, my picture from 2015 appeared.  I didn’t know about the article nor my picture being chosen.  I wasn’t mad.  In fact, I was surprised and grateful.  I’m just a little more famous, I thought.  Better enjoy it for the next 15 minutes.  I’m glad to be one of the many ambassadors of Extreme Ironing.  Only Sheep Counting and Ferret Legging are less popular.  Thank You Sports Show for featuring me in your article!

            

Saturday, October 26 was the day 3045 Army Cadet Corps held its annual Fall Biathlon Competition.  Cadets don’t have to be on the Biathlon team to participate.  This event is a friendly competition between cadets at the corps level.  Participation is voluntary.  The only change we make to the competition is that competitors run instead of ski.

            

Preparations for the competition began the week before.  I walked the 1km running course with the cadets so that everyone would be “on the same page”.  The first-year cadets especially needed to know because this was their first time competing.  The course begins & ends at the gym and is square-shaped.  Air rifles needed to be checked, scorecards had to be created, and food rations needed to be brought to the gym.  This competition would be an all-day affair and regulations dictate that the corps needs to provide meals to cadets.  Frank recruited several cadets to bring the Coleman stoves & MREs from his shop to the gym.  Thanks Frank!

            

The final preparations began on the morning of October 26.  Everyone involved came to the gym at 9:30am to set up.  The three metal plinker targets were positioned at the far end of the gym with sandbags on top to keep them from moving.  Wooden backboards were placed behind them to prevent any .177 caliber lead pellets from creating holes in the walls.  Shooting mats, tables, and chairs were lcoated at other end of the gym.  Air rifles, pellets, stop watches, spotting scopes, clipboards, scorecards, and pencils were placed on the various tables.  The competition rules and a map of the running course were taped to walls for reference.  Everything was ready to go at 10:30am.

            

The cadets were formed up and I explained how the competition was to proceed.  There was no particular order for the cadets to complete their relays but I hinted that I was going to get some of the senior cadets through first because after they could help as scoring judges.  Only three cadets would go at a time.  In the past, we’ve had more than three cadets doing their relays but then there were moments when they had to wait for a shooting lane to be available.  This caused the timekeepers to “stop and start the clock” for those cadets.  We’ve also had cadets not start their relays on 00:00.  The challenge with this is that you would have to do extra math to calculate their total time.  To make the time & scoring processes less time consuming, I wanted all cadets to start their relays at 00:00.  The cadets would compete in three separate groups: First-Years; Second-Years; and then the Third-to-Fifth Years.  The briefing ended with three cadets volunteering to go first.

            

The first three cadet competitors were given time to choose their air-rifles and “zero-them-in”.  Then they spent some time doing stretches.  When they were ready, their relays began.  The other cadets could watch but couldn’t get in the way.  All competitors had to shoot three times.  The First-Years only had to run twice and everyone else had to run three times. 

A routine quickly established itself after the first three competitors.  Cadets would either start running or start shooting.  When they shot, they only had five pellets to hit five targets.  Every missed target resulted in additional time being added.  The pellet bowls were refilled after each relay, the scoring judges marked how many targets were hit, and the plinkers were reset.  I worked as a timekeeper and judge.

           

Lunch was held between 12 – 1pm.  The senior cadets distributed MREs and cooked the meals outside on Coleman stoves.  I made sure the cadets labelled their meal bags before handing them to the senior cadets.  We cleaned the eating areas after lunch and continued the competition.

            

The afternoon followed the same routine.  The cadets completed their relays, three at a time, and I made sure all the scorecards were properly completed & filed.  The remaining cadets were done by 3pm.  In total, 21 cadets had participated in the competition.  We spent the next 30 minutes cleaning the gym and putting everything away. The cadets were then formed up for a quick debriefing.

            

I congratulated the cadets for participating in this year’s Biathlon Competition and telling them the results would be posted in a week.  I also thanked them for tidying the gym.  The cadets were given 15 minutes to play sports in the gym.  After that, they were free to enjoy the remainder of the day.        

Snow, Parents Night, & OBF 19

Winter began in Arctic Bay on Sunday, October 6.  A lot of snow had fallen overnight and it was here to stay.  The temperature was cold enough to prevent the snow from melting.  I didn’t realize how much snow had fallen until I opened my front door.  The front porch was buried underneath a foot of snow.  I put on my Canada Goose Jacket & winter boots, and grabbed my camera.  I carefully stepped outside and began photographing my neighbourhood. 

Snow covered my skidoo but I was glad it was protected by a tarp.  Blocks of snow sat on top of the wooden garbage bins.  The tops of cars appeared to have been covered with white blankets.  I spent a good portion of the day shoveling & brushing off snow from my porch, skidoo, and garbage bin.  The water in the bay was still visible.  It wouldn’t begin freezing until mid-October.

New fire hall under construction.

I was right to expect the sounds of roaring skidoo engines by the end of the day.  Skidoo owners can’t wait to get their machines out of hibernation.  As for wheelbased vehicle owners, they were expecting the roads to be plowed as soon as possible.  A few vehicles always get stuck in the snow when winter begins.

October 9 was a big day for the cadets of 3045.  It was the first Parents Night Parade of the 2019-2020 Training Year.  The cadets, especially the new recruits, trained hard to get the drill movements right.  I reassured them to not freak out if they made mistakes at the actual parade.  Mistakes happen.

The evening began very well with 28 cadets showing up early to get the gym ready for the parade.  That’s 87.5% of the corps in attendance!  We spent an hour setting up chairs, tables, and flags.  I arranged the badges & promotions on the Awards Table.  In the past, these were kept in envelopes but I decided to put them out in the open to for the cadets to see.  They all talked amongst themselves, trying to figure out who would get what.     

Several cadet parents arrived early, bringing snacks for the after-parade reception.  Doors opened at 6:15pm and by 6:30pm we had a large audience.  I gave the signal to the cadet platoon commander to assemble the cadets on parade.  He sized, dressed, and centered them.  I stood outside the gym, wearing my dress uniform, talking with the Guest Reviewing Officer (GRO).  Nunavut MLA David Akeeagok happened to be visiting the community and the corps managed to convince him to attend as our GRO.  When I noticed the cadets were ready, I walked up to the gym entrance.  The platoon commander called the cadets to attention and I marched in with the GRO.  The parade began at 6:35pm.

MLA David Akeeagok inspecting the cadets. 

The GRO inspected the cadets on parade while I kept the audience entertained with a short welcome speech.  The new recruits were allowed to wear their civilian clothing because their uniforms were still on order.  It roughly takes two weeks for clothing to arrive in the mail.  A March Past followed the inspection.  Everyone watched the cadets march in step and give the GRO an Eyes Right.  I stood to the GRO’s right, returning the salute of the cadet platoon commander.

David Akeeagok speaking to the
cadets.

The parade continued with the GRO, David Akeeagok, speaking to the cadets and the audience.  He praised the cadets for their dress, drill, & deportment, and commended the people in attendance for supporting their local cadet corps.

It was now time to hand out badges & promotions.  I would call out the names, and the GRO would give the badges and pose with the cadets for photographs.

I started with marksmanship, calling out 15 cadets to receive their badges.  There are four levels.  Five cadets achieved Level 1; two cadets achieved Level 2; two cadets achieved Level 3; and six cadets achieved Level 4.  The corps has a very active marksmanship program and produces many skilled shooters.

Marksmanship recipients.

PT Excellence cadets.

I moved on to physical training (PT), calling out 12 cadets to receive their badges.  The corps holds monthly PT tests, giving cadets the opportunity to earn one of four possible levels.  They’re organized as Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Excellence.  Only two PT tests were conducted until now, so everyone was impressed by the high number of cadets achieving badges.  Six cadets earned Silver, two cadets earned Gold, and four cadets achieved Excellence.

The corps' newest Lance Corporals.

Two cadets were promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.  They were all smiles when their names were called, marching up to the front to receive their rank & slip-ons, having their pictures taken, and marching back to their spot while everyone applauded.  (The marksmanship & PT cadets felt the same way when they were called up).

            

Three cadets were called up to receive their 2019 National Biathlon Pins.  The pins finally arrived in the mail and tonight was the best time to award them.  The pin recognizes a cadet’s participation in the event.

            

Biathlon Team 2020.

The final “award” of the parade was the announcement of the 2020 Biathlon Team.  The corps’ selection criteria for the team are: attendance, attitude, ability.  The list of names was written on a separate piece of paper and I kept it hidden in my pocket so that no one could see it.  The corps was selecting 8 cadets to represent the corps at the upcoming territorial competition in Whitehorse in February 2020.  I read out the 8 names and asked the chosen cadets to come to the front to be recognized.  I think the five junior cadets were surprised the most.  Four of the them had just joined in August and were already selected for an out-of-town trip.  The GRO & I shook their hands and congratulated them for being selected.  I added that plenty of weekend shooting & skiing practices were on the horizon.

            

The whole corps posed for a group photograph after the parade.  It’s a standard practice after Parents Night because I use the pictures as updated cover photos for the corps’ Facebook page.  The reception lasted 30 minutes.  I thanked David Akeeagok for being the GRO.  The cadets helped me clean up the gym after the reception.

            

The corps held its annual Operation Bonfire outing on the evening of Saturday, October 12.  We returned to the shoreline behind the airport, now covered in snow, to burn wood from the woodpile the corps created in 2013.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t use my skidoo because the headlights stopped working.  When it gets dark out on the land, it gets really dark.  Thankfully, we had access to two atvs to ferry cadets from the airport parking lot down to the woodpile.  Several parents assisted in transporting cadets between Arctic Bay & the airport.

            

The festivities began at 7:00pm, with the cadets building a bonfire, and then lighting it with matches & Firestarter sticks.  We also had to add an extra ingredient – naphtha – to speed up the burning process, otherwise, we would have had to wait a while.  When the bonfire reached an acceptable height & intensity, I gave permission for the snacks to be opened: hot dogs, marshmallows, juice boxes, and granola bars.  There were just enough roasting sticks for all.

            

The bonfire lasted until 8:30pm.  We used shovels to dump snow on the smoldering embers to extinguish the remnants of the fire.  The leftover food & roasting sticks were packed into Rubbermaid containers and the garbage bags were tied.  I did one final sweep of the area before walking back to the airport.  I made sure no cadet was left behind.  The cadets were driven home by various parents.  The corps supplies were returned to Frank’s Shop and the garbage bags were dumped at the local landfill.

Nipivut Conference – Part 2

Polar bear fur on display at Nasivvik High School.

My students went to visit friends & relatives for the remainder of the day.  I told them to return to the high school before the evening curfew.  They could also return early and watch the talent show in the gym.  I decided to explore & photograph Pond Inlet on foot.  I never had the opportunity to walk around the community until now.  My previous visits to Pond Inlet were restricted to the airport and the Northern Store.

            

I exited Nasivvik High School, picked a direction, and started walking.  I passed a Quickstop convenience store that appears to be built inside a long sea can or a prefabricated module.  I didn’t go inside.  I’ve heard people in Arctic Bay wanting a Quickstop.  I turned left at an intersection and continued walking southeast.  I stopped at a peculiar looking house that’s noticeable from the airport.  The house is tubular, covered in stainless steel plating, and is Y-shaped.  I finally had the chance to see this unique house up close.  It’s the only one of its kind in this community.

            

My employer is Qikiqtani School Operations (QSO).  They are headquartered in Pond Inlet and oversee all the schools in the Qikiqtani Region.  Their offices are located inside the Aqsaniit Building, a large structure that sits on top of a hill.  It’s one of the first buildings you see when you exit the airport terminal.  I wanted to go inside but it was already late afternoon and I wanted to take as many pictures as I could before dark.

            

Pond Inlet Airport

I walked towards the airport, circled around the perimeter fence, and passed the Northern Store.  My destination was the coastline.  From the air, Pond Inlet doesn’t look like a big town, but the community has a population of 1,600 and the buildings are spread out.  The terrain isn’t flat so you get plenty of exercise walking up and down hills.  I stopped at a T-intersection at the bottom of a hill and photographed the long street that stretches parallel to the coast.  There are plenty of houses along this road.

            

Another reason I walked down this way was to get a clearer picture of a large iceberg.  It looked pretty big and I assumed it would stay the entire winter.  The people of Pond Inlet would have a nice landmark to visit on the frozen ice.   

           

Pond Inlet Public Library.

Pond Inlet Public Library.

I headed northeast, ending up at the public library.  The building is white on top and light blue on the bottom.  The library is built over the slope of a hill.  I was surprised to see that most of the building is held up in the air by long metal pipes.  The space underneath is fenced off to prevent vandalism.  I’m not an engineer, but I feel like another floor could be added in that open space because it’s all going to waste.

            

Main entrance to the Health Centre.

Sauniq Hotel.

The last places I walked by were the Health Centre and the Sauniq Hotel.  I didn’t go inside these places because I wasn’t sick and I already had a place to sleep.  Sauniq is the main hotel in the community.

            

I caught glimpses of the evening talent show.  There performances I briefly saw consisted of Inuit youth singing popular songs and rapping in Inuktitut. 

            

My students returned to school before the evening curfew.  If they hadn’t, they would have been locked out until the following morning.  That’s what I told them, but really, I would have stayed awake and let them inside after they knocked on the front door.

            

October 3, the second & final day of the conference, began like the first day.  We woke up early, got ready for the day, and helped the school staff setup the breakfast tables.  Breakfast started at 8:30am and was finished by 9am.  Everyone assembled in the gym for the continuation of the conference. 

The opening group session began with several speeches and ended with a rock, paper, scissors competition.  The rules were slightly altered to reinforce the ideas of teamwork and supporting someone.  The competition began with everyone challenging each other.  Only winners could advance.  The losers turned into cheerleaders and would follow the person they lost to.  After a period of time, only two competitors remained.  What stood out in the final round was that both finalists had and army of cheerleaders behind them.  This certainly made the competition more entertaining to watch.  The student who won the final round must have felt great because he had the entire student body congratulating him.

Arctic Bay students enjoying lunch at
the Co-op.

My students attended the Safe Talk workshop for the entire day.  They learned how “to recognize persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them with suicide helping resources.”  They were also taught TALK – Tell, Ask, Listen, KeepSafe.  While my students attended the workshop, I talked to several Nasivvik High School teachers about teaching in Pond Inlet and the resources they use.

A short closing ceremony was held in the afternoon to mark the end of the conference.  The Red Cross organizers encouraged the students to not forget what they learned and to use the knowledge and skills when necessary.  Overall, I thought the Nipivut Conference was well done.  I asked my students if they enjoyed the workshops and they said they did.  The food catering was also good.  I was glad I got to see how another school outside Iqaluit looks & operates.  Nasivvik High School is larger than Inuujaq School because it boasts two floors, a full gym, exercise room, large kitchen, shop class, and many classrooms.  There are plans to build a separate high school in Arctic Bay but the construction timeline keeps getting postponed.

The Arctic Bay & Grise Fiord representatives left in the early morning of October 4.  We woke up at 6am, packed all our belongings, ate a small breakfast, and were ready to go by 8:30am.  We left written Thank You messages on the white board in the classroom where the female students slept.  That classroom had been reserved for us so that we could securely store all our personal belongings.  We also thanked the Red Cross & Department of Education for organizing the conference.

Arctic Bay & Grise Fiord students. Also present, one of the speakers at the conference.

Charter plane.

Snow had fallen overnight.  We arrived at the airport at 8:45am.  The pilots called us at 9:15am.  We said our goodbyes to our chauffeurs and stepped onto the tarmac.  The pilots loaded our bags into the back of the plane and let us climb inside.  Once again, I sat at the back of the plane near the exit door.  I took one final group photo before we took off.

The flight to Arctic Bay took 40 minutes.  The landing was a bit rough.  There was mild turbulence and the plane dropped several feet at once instead of gradually descending.  In the end, the plane safely landed on the gravel runway and taxied to the terminal.  My students & I got out and had our luggage handed to us.  We said goodbye to the Grise Fiord students & their teacher, and walked to the terminal.  Frank was there to greet me and give me a ride home.  Friends & relatives of the students were also there to pick them up.

I enjoyed the remainder of the morning at home.  I resumed teaching at Inuujaq School after lunch.

End Nipivut Conference Mini-Series.