Nunavut athletes expand palates with Whitehorse’s fast-food offerings
Subway and Booster Juice at Canada Games Centre had a busy few days
Noah Smith, left, David Hoyt, Ciarán Robinson and Nicholas Smith gather around a tiny table at the Canada Games Centre to chat and have a meal from Subway. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
The Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse are a time of opportunity for athletes across the North. It’s a time to try on snowshoes for the first time, make some international friends or get excited about sports pins.
Subway at the Canada Games Centre has been busy with athletes and visitors at the Arctic Winter Games. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
But for many Nunavut athletes, it’s also a time to treat themselves with something they cannot get at home – a Subway footlong Great Canadian Club sandwich with mayonnaise. A lot of mayonnaise.
“I really like mayo,” said Ciarán Robinson, a 14-year-old curler from Iqaluit.
“It’s the best condiment. I will die on that hill. Ketchup is disgusting.”
He was sitting near the Subway restaurant at the Canada Games Centre on Wednesday with three of his teammates, as 15-year-old David Hoyt from Sanikiluaq was chewing an $18 footlong turkey breast sandwich with cucumber, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, hot sauce, mayo and bacon.
“We rarely have a chance to eat out,” Hoyt said of Sanikiluaq, which only has one café at the local hotel. “This is definitely a great opportunity to have some fast food, and it’s great to have some variety in our food.”
The athletes also fuel up with some smoothies from Booster Juice – another chain available at the Canada Games Centre.
“I told my brother that Booster Juice helps with concussions,” said 14-year-old Nicholas Smith, who was recovering after a fall Wednesday on the curling rink.
Does Booster Juice really help with concussions?
“Hell no. I just wanted him to buy me a Funky Monkey,” Smith said, as his 16-year-old brother Noah Smith sat next to him.
Along with chains available at that Canada Games Centre, the Nunavut curlers ate out at McDonald’s, KFC and A&W.
“Other people might look at it and be like, ‘Oh, they’re eating super unhealthy,'” Robinson said. “We are here for just one week, and for us, it’s just a treat because we’re not getting that food for a while.”
Iqaluit has the largest number of cafés and restaurants in Nunavut, including a takeout KFC-Pizza Hut location at the Nipisa Street Quickstop. There was once even a Subway sandwich shop in Iqaluit, but it has long since closed.
Robinson says the fact that there are so few fast-food chains in Iqaluit is a sign that corporations are “sleeping on” Nunavut’s capital.
“I just want someone to give our city a chance,” he said. “It would just be better for the city, and it would give more job opportunities for young people.”
In the meantime, the four athletes plan to enjoy the rest of their time in Whitehorse until Sunday, when they are scheduled to leave.
Team Nunavut’s male curling team was eliminated Tuesday after losing 8-2 to Alaska.
“It was still a great opportunity to represent play and represent Nunavut on such an important stage,” Noah Smith said of the experience.
The Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse opened Sunday and run until Saturday evening.
I heard one kid say, he hasn’t had a BigMac in 10 years!!
Nice story. Good quotes. Articulate and interesting athletes
Good story indeed. Nice colour to it. Real world stuff to which many people will relate. The brother’s bit about the concussions and it being a means to a smoothie. That’s good colour. To an extent, readers feel how Team Nunavut athletes experienced Whitehorse and realized their experience of Nunavut they hadn’t known.
It’s simple down here at Iqaluit’s beach, and that coverage took me to Whitehorse. A shared experience.
A followup piece might be why those experiences haven’t gotten traction in Iqaluit. Other communities, too, but Iqaluit is the most populous and south-accessible.