Day 2 at Arctic Winter Games: Pins, fiddles and snowshoes

Athletes from Nunavut and Nunavik got down to business Monday on the first full day of competition at Day 2 of the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse.

The Nunavut under-19 women’s hockey team evened its record at one win and one loss by defeating Alaska 6-2 at the Takhini Arena, the venue for hockey competition. Kylie Ipeelie-Dunphy and Jordyn Machmer each scored twice for Nunavut, while Rihanna Qamaniq and Raina Armstrong added singles.

On Sunday, the Nunavut squad fell 8-5 to Alberta.

Nunavut’s under-18 male team was slated to face Yukon Monday at 7 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET), after losing 8-1 against the Northwest Territories on Sunday. And Nunavut’s under-15 male team was scheduled to play its first game of the tournament at 6 p.m. MT (9 p.m. ET) against the N.W.T.

Nunavik athletes, meanwhile, tried their hands — actually, their feet — in the snowshoeing events. Being fresh to the sport, they had little success but were glad to gain the new experience, coach Daniel Samisack said.

With more than 2,000 athletes from eight circumpolar regions and their families in Yukon’s capital for the week, many booths are popping up at the Canada Games Centre, the main site of the competition.

“Do you have a pin? Here are all of my treasures,” said Krassi Stamenov, a Games volunteer from Vancouver.

He’s a lifelong pin collector who set up a table at the centre where everybody could approach him and offer pins for trade.

Athletes and officials were given commemorative team pins, which are popular items to trade and collect at the Arctic Winter Games.

Meanwhile, the day carried on under the tunes of Whitehorse youth music group Fiddleheads, who performed in the atrium of the Canada Games Centre.

The Arctic Winter Games opened Sunday and will run until Saturday.