Joyous send-off for Nunavik team headed to Arctic Winter Games

Team Nunavik got a celebratory send-off to the 2026 Arctic Winter Games on Friday afternoon in Kuujjuaq.

A police escort brought the team to the two-hour ceremony at the municipal auditorium. There, an audience of about 100 people was treated to a performance by Team Nunavik’s cultural performers and the athletes and other team members were introduced.

Christopher May, the flag-bearer for Team Nunavik’s Arcitic Winter Games contingent waves the Quebec flag during a Friday afternoon pep rally for athletes and other participants heading to the Games that begin Sunday in Whitehorse. (Photo by Dominique Gené)

Fifty-eight athletes and six cultural performers will represent Nunavik, competing in Arctic sports, badminton, Dene games, snowshoeing and table tennis events. The Games open Sunday and run until March 15 in Whitehorse.

Christopher May, a 17-year-old competitor in Arctic Sports from Kuujjuaq, was chosen to carry the Nunavik flag at the Games’ opening ceremony Sunday evening. It will be his second trip to the Games, and he will compete in Arctic sports.

The honour was “very unexpected,” May said in an interview.

“I didn’t really think I was going to be chosen. But I’m excited to represent Nunavik, Arctic sports and excited to compete against fellow athletes.”

The Arctic Winter Games, held every two years, bring together young athletes from Nunavik, Nunavut, Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, northern Alberta, Greenland and the Sápmi region of Scandinavia.

The cultural performers of Team Nunavik in a special performance at the send-off celebrations in Kuujjuaq Friday afternoon. (Photo by Dominique Gené)

This year marks Nunavik’s first participation as a permanent member of the Arctic Winter Games International Committee.

With the membership comes the opportunity to be part of the decision-making process for events, including how many athletes Nunavik can send to competitions.

Fourteen coaches, two cultural managers and 10 mission staff will accompany the team in Whitehorse.

Representatives of Kativik Regional Government including chairperson Maggie Emudluk, director general Ron Bowles and Makivvik’s Jean Dupuis will also attend to support the team.