CamBay considers renaming arena after young hockey player

Nathan Ookpik Taylor, 15, of Cambridge Bay died Sept. 13 when his dirt bike collided with a pick-up truck near the community airport. A petition is seeking to rename the hamlet’s arena “Ookpik’s Youth Memorial Arena Complex” in his memory. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAYLOR FAMILY)

When Cambridge Bay’s municipal council meets Oct. 24, councillors are expected to support a petition that asks the hamlet to rename its arena after a teenaged boy who died this past September.

A dirt bike driven by Nathan Oopik Taylor collided with a pick-up truck on a gravel road near the airport on Sept. 13.

An ambulance took Taylor to the Kitikmeot health centre, where he was pronounced dead.

Now his family and friends want to remember Taylor, a keen hockey player and minor hockey league volunteer, by renaming the hamlet arena as the “Ookpik’s Youth Memorial Arena Complex.”

They’ve circulated a petition asking for support from the hamlet council and the recreation department in renaming the arena.

A petition with signatures from students and staff at Kiilinik High School and Kullik Ilihakvik, elders, the local district education authority, the RCMP and other residents is to be submitted to the municipal council at its Oct. 24 meeting.