Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a few participants from my constituency who were chosen for the 2023 Arctic Winter Games. The games were recently held in Fort McMurray, Alberta, January 29th through February 4th.
It's not often that we see any participants at the Arctic Winter Games from the smaller centres. We should join in cheers when they do happen. Although we did not get any participants from K’atl’odeeche First Nations, Kakisa, nor Enterprise, we did have four participants from Fort Providence.
Kristina Bonnetrouge participated as one of the badminton coaches for Team Northwest Territories. She will also attend the Canada Games in the next few weeks. Kristina, who plays badminton, attended Arctic Winter Games in 2014 and 2016, North American Indigenous Games 2014, Western Summer Games 2015, and the Canada Winter Games in 2015. Kristina has won the Aboriginal Sport Circle Award in 2014 and the Scott McAdam Youth Leadership Award in 2018. She is very keen to continue coaching, and we wish nothing but success for our own Kristina.
Thorston Gold, who was stationed and lives in Fort Providence, is the table tennis coach for Team Northwest Territories. Thorston is also the sport's chair for the table tennis event for the Arctic Winter Games held in Fort McMurray. In this position, Thorston assisted with the purchase of equipment and training officials to run the event. Thorston was also able to run the media and communication outlets for Hockey NWT and Table Tennis North. This allowed for the promotion of athletes sharing stories and ensuring the amazing experiences of our athletes were shared. We thank Thorston for his contributions to readying the athletes for participation at the Arctic Winter Games.
Two of our younger table tennis athletes were a brother and sister team made up of Karissa and Carter Sadowich. Karissa, 9 years old, and Carter, 11 years old, are part of the group of the younger athletes at these games. Their parents, grandparents, and our community are so proud they made Team Northwest Territories. I am certain this will not be the last games for Karissa and Carter. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
