The GNWT hosted its annual Outstanding Volunteer Awards on Feb. 29 at the legislative assembly in Yellowknife, and the board members of Fort Smith’s Slide Zone Shredderz snowboarding club were the recipients in the group category.
For board member Terry Freund, receiving the award was proof of what hard-working volunteers can accomplish.
“The award’s important because it recognizes the smaller groups out there that try to start youth sports in the North,” he said. “Snowboarding, being kind of a solo sport, it’s really hard to find the funding and find the people to back it, because you’re not supporting a team of 25 kids or 12 kids.
“Now there’s the acknowledgement that it can be done.”
Slide Zone Shredderz has been operating its snowboarding club in Fort Smith since the Arctic Winter Games (AWG) came to town in 2018. The group hosts its sessions every Sunday, and Freund estimates anywhere from 30 to 80 people show up each week, depending on the weather.
A significant number of those who strap on their boards are young people, several of whom are now set to compete in the upcoming AWG, slated for Mar. 10-16 in Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley.
“There’s a group of kids out there that have done very well,” he said. “The Arctic Winter Games team from the Northwest Territories has been selected, and I think 100 per cent of the female division is out of Fort Smith.”
None of that would be possible were it not for the efforts of Freund and his fellow volunteers, who have spent countless hours organizing and fundraising for the club, and pulling snowboarders up the hill with their snowmobiles – because the community doesn’t have a ski lift.
“The whole team works very well together,” he said. “Our volunteer base is actually pretty phenomenal in Fort Smith. People come out and help, whether it’s just organizing children on the top of the hill, or taking them down to Banff for training camps, or even just offering their time on a Sunday to Ski-Doo kids from the bottom of the hill back to the top, because we don’t have a lift. Everyone comes out and helps.”
This season has not been easy for Slide Zone Shredderz, as there has been less snow than usual, in addition to stark swings in temperature to contend with.
However, Freund said “everyone’s pretty excited for next year,” particularly after the organization was acknowledged with an Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Nonetheless, the organization’s primary motivation is helping kids get outside and build their confidence on the hill.
“When we started this, a lot of the coaches were involved due to their children being involved,” he said. “One child in particular was, I think, four years old, and he jumped on the hill and he was keeping up with the nine and the 10 year olds easily. It was very, very cool to see that, and he’s still snowboarding today.
“A lot of kids have gone from never using a snowboard before to doing the Arctic Winter Games and the Canada Winter Games, and it’s pretty cool to see. It’s nice to watch that transition of someone that doesn’t have too much self-confidence in a sport, or they’re not really sure what they’re supposed to be doing, to having the confidence to travel nationally for competition.”
The Outstanding Volunteer Awards also included categories for Elders, individuals and youth. The 2022 winners were also announced at the event in Yellowknife, but that year didn’t include a youth recipient.
2023 Outstanding Volunteer Award Winners
-Elder category: Louie Beaulieu, Fort Smith
-Individual category: Tania Hercun, Yellowknife
-Youth category: Katelinne Ruben, Paulatuk
-Group category: Slide Zone Shredderz board of directors, Fort Smith
2022 Outstanding Volunteer Award Winners
-Elder category: Diane Haché, Yellowknife
-Individual category: Nicole Spencer, Yellowknife
-Group category: Yellowknife Ultimate Club board of directors, Yellowknife