I know I told you last week I was on vacation and I am. But you and I both know I'm never really on vacation, though the trips back and forth between my bed and my couch are a welcome change from remote-starting the car at -30 or worse every day. Damn climate change.
Anyway, for those of you who perused the Dec. 9 edition of News/North (and I know a lot of you did because I saw copies being bought at my local grocer's customer service counter), you would have noticed that the kick is on to save Team North. There is a pulse as Les Skinner of Inuvik, who's been the boys team's head coach the last two years, is trying his damnedest to save the program.
photo courtesy of Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT
If you're reading this in Nunavut, you may be hearing about this for the first time. And you may want to pay attention.
As it stands, Team North is entered into the 2020 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in Regina this coming May after the entry fees of $1,500 for the boys and girls teams were paid late last month. Some community generosity helped to make it happen and while that's good news, it's not a cause for celebration yet. All that $3,000 did was guarantee spots. Now the real work begins.
The Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT announced this past July that it will not foot the bill for the program going forward and, in all honesty, I don't blame them and neither did Skinner. When you're shelling out close to $200,000 and getting absolutely no help from your partners – Yukon and Nunavut – in the endeavour, there comes a time to pull the plug.
Remember, this is Team North and all three territories are a part of this. If you looked at the books, you would be forgiven if you thought it was a NWT-only venture because, well, it was in terms of the bankroll. But the good thing was the Sports Circle left the door open to provide some support if it was needed and that was confirmed when I spoke with Aaron Wells, the Sports Circle's executive director.
The first thing he did was mention the uniforms. All of the Team North uniforms are at the Sports Circle's offices along with the helmets, gloves, socks, bags ... you name it. The team can be outfitted and right there, Skinner will save a buttload of cash. Check that box as positive.
After that, it's a bit lean. There's no cash on hand right now. It has to be raised because you can send the boys and girls to Regina looking sharp and all but no hotel room and no food and no rest make hockey players something something.
The Sports Circle did indicate a possible cash donation but it won't be the main financial backer nor should it be. It's done enough over the years and it's time for others to do some heavy lifting. Nunavut and Yukon should be leaned on big time and it's time those two territories provided some assistance if the program is to continue. What has to happen is to make it clear that without help from the other two territories this time and several times down the road, this program is well and truly dead.
Sure, corporate sponsorship is the obvious avenue and that's how the registration fees were paid, or at least two-thirds of it. There are companies around that would love to jump on board but there's such a thing as donor fatigue. It isn't that they don't want to help, it's that they can't always be depended upon. You can lean on the mines and NorthwesTel and other medium-sized businesses all you want but they'll only be able to provide so much.
In short, this doesn't happen without the other two territories being equal partners. Their players are a part of it and so they need to be more involved than just handing over a list of potential skaters and wishing them Godspeed. If Yukon and Nunavut truly believe in this program, they'll get in touch with Skinner. After all, this is the only national hockey championship for youth in the North. Nunavut gets to play in the Maritime-Hockey North Junior C Championship each year but that's a regional event It would be a shame if Team North rolled over.
This is one of the best chances for young Indigenous players to get a real good and honest look-see from scouts in junior and post-secondary programs and those scouts do show up. The program has produced plenty of players who have gone on to bigger and better things, most recently Annie King, who played with Team North for two years and is now preparing to head over to Slovakia to play with Team Canada at the World U18 Women's Hockey Championship, which begins on Dec. 26. Sounds corny to say but if King can do it, so can anyone else.
So if you think this program is worth saving, why not jump on board and help Skinner out? He could use the people-power and the extra set of hands.