Perhaps no other major multi-sport event went through the stops and starts that the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) has been through.
It was a victim of the pandemic in 2020, followed by a possible return in 2021 before it was postponed because of Covid-19 outbreaks, followed by the Omicron wave in 2022 forcing yet another postponement.
But here we are and it’s finally happening.
The first such event since 2017 in Toronto kicked off in Halifax on Sunday evening with the opening ceremony. Team NT marched in with teams from around Turtle Island and leading the way was swimmer Jacob Mitchener, who was selected as the team’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony. He was informed of the decision during a team meeting earlier in the day with his father, Darryl Mitchener, delivering the news. The elder Mitchener is also the swim team’s manager.
“It’s an honour and I’m very excited to lead us out,” Jacob said on Sunday afternoon.
This is his second time at NAIG — his first was in Toronto when he was just 11.
The sports got going on Monday with basketball among those hitting the court on day one. The U19 girls went up against Manitoba in their opening contest and the NWT squad was on the wrong end of a 61-9 decision. The U19 boys, meanwhile, took on Saskatchewan in their first game on Monday and lost by a score of 73-41.
Head coach Nick Diem said there was a bit of stage fright from the opening tip.
“The boys tried to do a bit too much in the first half and Saskatchewan forced us right away,” he said on Monday. “They blitzed us defensively and that was a bit of a shock.”
It didn’t help that the team was missing three starters, meaning a short bench and some playing positions they weren’t familiar with.
But things seemed to improve in the second half, said Diem.
“We won the second half and that might not seem like anything, but that’s something we could build on,” he said. “I just reiterated to the guys what they did well, run the offence the way they knew how and that helped settle them down.”
Diem said he had a good feeling about things going into Tuesday’s contest against New Brunswick and that seemed to ring true as the boys put forth a complete effort on their way to a dominant 61-24 victory.
It’s been a long time since the NWT has beaten a province, said Diem, and that got the NWT athletes excited.
“The boys are pretty pumped up now,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s a big showdown with Alberta now on Thursday.”
That contest against Alberta will determine the final playoff seeding. Only the top team from each of the four divisions will move into the medal round. If the NWT can pull it off, they will be guaranteed nothing less than a chance to win bronze.
Track and field medallist
The first medal for Team NT came in track and field on Tuesday as Kohl McDonald of Inuvik captured bronze in the U16 boys 800-metre event.
The soccer teams also kicked off on Monday with the U19 boys having some exciting moments in their opening contest versus Ontario. Ian Cayen of Hay River scored the opening goal for the NWT to give the Northerners a 1-0 lead, but Ontario would come back with five unanswered to put the game to bed, 5-1. Game two on Tuesday against Ontario also ended in defeat by a score of 3-0.
The U19 girls were in action for the first time on Tuesday against Alberta and dropped a 14-0 decision. They were in action this morning versus Manitoba in their second game.
The U19 girls volleyball team got off to the best start possible by winning their opening two games of the tournament. A 2-1 win over Nunavut was followed up by a 2-1 win over Eastern Door and the North (Quebec) on Tuesday. The girls won tiebreaker sets in both matches.
The U19 boys had the reverse result, losing their first two contests in straight sets to Saskatchewan on Monday and Newfoundland and Labrador on Tuesday.
See the next edition of Yellowknifer for further updates.