Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This weekend NWT youth, their coaches and chaperones will have packed their bags. They will gather their sports equipment and board planes to travel to Fairbanks, Alaska, for the 2014 Arctic Winter Games. This event, held every two years in the circumpolar region, is the Olympics of the North and it’s a big deal for NWT people.
The focus of the Arctic Winter Games is still the same today as it was in 1970 and I want to quote from the Sport North website, it is, “to involve as many athletes as possible either in the Games themselves or in the team trials, and to provide a forum of competition for those other than elite athletes with competitive opportunities in the south.”
For the last several years, thousands of NWT young people have been learning new skills, training hard to get and stay in shape, and practicing their sport in preparation for next week’s competitions. Involvement in sport or other recreation activities can have a profound effect on young people and it’s well known that they benefit mentally, psychologically, physically and economically from being active. Youth who are physically active are far healthier than those who are not. They generally live a healthier lifestyle, are less likely to abuse alcohol or drugs and often do better in school. Life lessons are learned through competitive physical activity, lessons which have a positive impact on the developing character of a young person.
I have a love of and for sport. It’s given me many opportunities I would not otherwise have had. It’s enriched my life through relationships and unique experiences. The young people who have participated in the Arctic Winter Games experience to date, through local trials and team selections, regional competitions and territorial competitions, have already benefitted from this year’s Arctic Winter Games. For those who were not successful in making Team NWT this year I say, stay in shape, keep training and try again for 2016; it’s only two years away.
The members of our 2014 Arctic Winter Games Team NWT are varied: athletes, coaches, cultural performers, mission staff, chaperones, parents and other supporters like parent organizers of charters. Frame Lake has great representation on the 2014 Arctic Winter Games Team and I would like to name them. I might go a little over, Mr. Speaker, if you’ll give me that indulgence. Walker Adjun, Anika Allain, Simon Arlootook-Zoe, Victoria Brenton, Philip Careen, Rachel Cluderay, Earle Dakota, Michael Doyle, Justin Doyle, Torin Dowe, Gavin Dwyer, Nichole Enge, William Ewen, Mackenzie Hotte-Joyce, Madison James, Carson James, Braden Johnson, Cassandra Kaminski, Megan Lafferty, Emily Paddock, Sam Porter-Kameemalik, Annmarie Senhouse, Zachery Whalen and, last but not least, Drew Williams.
To all of you going to the Games, do your best, that’s all we can ask of you. Win or lose, you will have gained tremendously and we will be proud of you. Again, Go NWT Team, Go!
---Applause
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
