Photo: There are worse places to be in January…

Young Nunavut volleyball players enjoy an early morning practice on the beach in St. Maarten, a Caribbean island which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Male and female high performance teams arrived in St. Maarten on Jan. 1 and will remain on the island for 10 days of training. Athletes range in age from 15 to 19 and hail from communities in Nunavut’s three regions. The training involves practices and matches on the beach, on outdoor courts and in gymnasiums and in between, athletes are soaking up the sun and the warm Caribbean waters. Volleyball Nunavut created the high performance teams so athletes can learn from elite coaches and compete against some of the best teams in Canada. The organization’s ultimate goal is for the teams to compete in the 2021 Canada Games but in the meantime, they’ll be looking for medals at the upcoming 2016 Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk in March. (PHOTO COURTESY VOLLEYBALL NUNAVUT)