With the Western Canada Summer Games over for another quadrennial, the focus for Team NT now turns to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games.
It got a good head start last Friday thanks to Seabridge Gold.
James McCarthy/NNSL photo
Jane Howe, the NWT environmental manager for Seabridge Gold, and Brent Murphy, the company's vice-president of environmental affairs, presented a cheque for $10,000 to Jack Duffy, Sport North's marketing and communications officer, at the Sport North offices that day. The money represents the first corporate donation to the operations leading up to the 2020 AWG for Team NT.
Murphy said the donation was a fit with the company's philosophy of giving back in the communities where they work.
“The Arctic Winter Games is an event which covers the entire NWT and we think that's a good way to give back,” he said. “Doug Rentmeister (Sport North's executive director) has been poking at me for the last year or so and we're pleased to be able to do this. We're getting active again in the NWT and we felt this was a great event to support.”
While most of the costs for Team NT will go toward getting the team outfitted and over to Whitehorse for the Games next March, there are the territorial trials which have to happen to figure out who will be making the trip.
Duffy said this donation will go toward helping out with the territorial trials and any other miscellaneous expenses.
“It's meant for the general preparations for the Games itself,” he said. “There's the trials and getting people on flights to get them to trials, which can be really widespread sometimes and we know how difficult it can be to get flights in and out of communities at times. This will go toward things now and right to the end of the process.”
“It's for whatever they need it for,” added Murphy. “It's what we wanted to do and it's up to Sport North to decide on whatever they spend it on, we'll be pleased with whatever comes from it.”
It may not be the last time Seabridge decides to help out the Team NT program as Murphy said donations are being done on an event-by-event basis.
“We're certainly willing to entertain any donation requests but we will be monitoring and evaluating each request we receive on it merits,” he said.