Nunavut volleyball tournament celebrates players, past and present

Veronica Tattiunee, front right, poses with fellow members of the V Team, named in her honour for her battle with cancer. Team members, from left to right are Kandace Kusugak, Krista Zawadaski, Toota Tatty, Holly Mercer, Veronica, Gloria Uluqsi, Reanna Sateana and Adriana Kusugak.
The Vs won the women’s division of the Laura Gauthier Memorial Volleyball Tournament in Rankin Inlet, their home town, on March 24.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF V. TATTUINEE)

The memory of two talented volleyball players was celebrated in Rankin Inlet’s territory-wide Laura Gauthier Memorial Tournament this past weekend, thanks to the efforts of Veronica Tattuinee and fellow organizers of the event.

Repulse Bay’s A team took the top prize in the men’s division on March 24, in a game devoted to the memory of Kelly Tuktudjuk, a team member who died last year in a boating accident.

Volleyball committee members called for a minute of silence in remembrance of the young player just before the opening of the men’s final, in which players from Repulse Bay faced the Rankin Inlet Eliminators.

“It was very touching,” said Tattuinee, “you could tell that they really wanted to win this for him.”

And win they did, with Repulse Bay taking the final in four out of five sets. David Tuktudjuk, Kelly Tuktudjuk’s grandfather, was on hand with his wife to host the moment of silence. They and other family members, including brother Ray Curtis on the winning team, had an emotional celebration after the win.

The V Team of Rankin Inlet won the women’s division again this year, continuing a string of tournament victories since 2007, when they adopted their team name, “V,” in honour of Veronica Tattuinee, who had just started a battle with breast cancer at the time.

“They were thinking of me and they decided to call the team the V team, and that name stuck,” said Tattuinee. And since then, “they’ve been winning all their matches.”

Tattuinee had consistently played for the team since the tournament’s start in 2001, but scaled back on playing full-time to overcome cancer, which has since gone into remission.

When not taking part in tournaments, she and the V Team fundraise for cancer research throughout the year.

The tournament itself, which took place March 22 to 24 this year, is a celebration of the memory of a woman who successfully sparked interest in the sport of volleyball in Rankin Inlet during the 1990s.

Laura Gauthier, originally of Pangnirtung, died suddenly of a stroke at a young age in Iqaluit in 2000, said Tattuinee. This inspired volleyball enthusiasts to establish the territory-wide tournament.

“She was very dedicated to the sport,” Tattuinee recalled. “Everybody liked her and she was a nice person, easy to get along with. So when she passed away we wanted to do something in remembrance of her, to keep the sport going.”

This year’s 13th edition of the tournament saw fewer teams take part than usual, largely due to a heavy sports tournament schedule throughout Nunavut.

Teams from Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Gjoa Haven and Coral Harbour did not take part as they usually do because of scheduling conflicts, said Tattuinee, and a series of Northern Challenge hockey games in the hamlet that weekend also competed for fan interest.

All the same, the tournament finals drew their usual big crowds. The semi-finals and finals were “close matches all the way,” said Tattuinee, with Repulse Bay fans there in great numbers.

Tournament timing this year seemed ideal, said the longtime organizer, as all facilities in Rankin are open and ready, but next year’s edition will likely take place on a different weekend to keep all communities interested.

Timing in the fall looks best, said Tattuinee, but “we’ll ask around to see what people will want.”

Stay tuned to the tournament’s Facebook page for updates, she suggested.

Winners of the men’s division of the Laura Gauthier Memorial Volleyball Tournament, Team Repulse Bay A, pose with their prizes after their big win in Rankin Inlet on March 24. The team dedicated their victory to the memory of Kelly Tuktudjuk, their former teammate who perished in a boating accident last year. (PHOTO COURTESY OF V. TATTUINEE)