Donated Jays Care ball diamond ends up on tundra outside Arctic Bay
Some say it’s too far from hamlet; others ask where else would it go?
Some people in Arctic Bay say a new baseball diamond that was installed in 2023 isn’t being used as much as it could be, because it is too far from the community. The diamond is seen here during Canada Day celebrations this year. (Photo courtesy of Piuri Iqalukjuak)
Arctic Bay is home to a new baseball diamond thanks to a donation from the Jays Care Foundation — but some are wondering how it ended up plopped on the tundra, five kilometres outside the hamlet.
The Jays Care Foundation is the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays. The foundation announced it was providing $46,000 for the field in 2022. The project was complete in July 2023.
The area originally planned for the ball diamond — a plot near the cemetery and bed and breakfast — was “too swampy,” said Lorna Oqallak, the hamlet’s director of recreation.
No matter how much workers dug up the area, she said, the “water kept coming back.”
So, council made the decision to instead build the diamond outside the hamlet at Victor Bay, its current location.
The ball diamond isn’t being used as much as it might otherwise be, she said, acknowledging its distance from Arctic Bay, but some teenagers do use it. There are baseballs, bats and gloves all on site.
Tony Robertson, who spent time in Arctic Bay but lives in Hamilton, Ont., connected with the community over Facebook earlier this summer in a post enquiring whether there was any need for baseball equipment donations to go along with the new field.
“[The diamond] is hardly ever used,” he said he learned from community members after making the post.
“There’s no bus service or, you know, kids don’t drive cars. So it’s kind of wasted.”
Indeed, included in the 54 comments responding to Robertson’s post are pleas to move the diamond to a location easier to access and less vulnerable to polar bear encroachments.
Scott Smockum, the owner and general manager of Synthetic Turf International, the company hired to install the diamond, said in a phone interview that moving the ball diamond would be a relatively easy process.
The diamond took about a week to install, he said.
Smockum estimated moving to a new spot would cost $25,000 to $30,000 and take three to four days, if the hamlet decided to go that route.
Oqallak said she would like to see the diamond moved, but “there’s absolutely no space at this moment until [hamlet leaders] do some planning.”
We have a baseball feild just luke it in kugluktuk right in town and it isnt beibg used by anyone not even kids it is fenced in and locked up
It took like 5 years to complete the new rec fields and it’s not even available to use. What a dysfunctional town.
You need volunteers that will run this programs and be there to organize and not just those getting payed. Paul Murphy raved about all he did in Iqaluit at the Ball Diamond maybe he will volunteer his time in Kugluktuk!
VOLUNTEER , what s that ?
Perhaps a baseball committee, run some bingos, raise the dough for a bus and some team uniforms, eh?
NTI has a load of money and they’re dedicated to the fulfillment of all beneficiaries. Do they know about the facilities laying to rot?
I am not from Arctic Bay, but I take it that the way the community is built up the slanting hillsides up towards the beautiful mountains, and curved within an ocean cove (Arctic Bay’s Inuktitut name is Ikpiarjuk, meaning pocket cove) makes it quite challenging to install a large baseball field. The water run-off from the mountains means the area is subject to swampy tundra areas, and I would understand why the Recreation Department wouldn’t want the diamond become useless from being sogged all the time. It is understandable why its a bit far off from the community. I’m not sure if it would be worth considering sanding or pebbling a foundation within the community as it might become quite expensive for a large area. The Hamlet wouldn’t likely be able to afford gravelling a foundation, given their limited core funding. All the best to the community of Ikpiarjuk: they live in a beautiful place, but encounter difficult challenges that outsiders would not be able to understand. Outsiders would definitely not understand that the youth have the best playground in the world, the sea ice, the ocean and hunting areas of Tununirusirmiut, and likely benefit more through activities in their natural surroundings.
the field and turf inside the fence was locked all summer in Kugluktuk. starting to get frosty in th morning and now they finally opened it up two weeks ago?
not one single fishing derby held. the artificial turf at the complex is open for one hour a day, twice a week! no wonder kids are running rampant after hours getting into trouble. the recreation coordinator cares more about his dogs than his job.
where is the hamlet administration? you can count the number of programs the hamlet has run this summer on your thumbs, no need for fingers. embarassing.