Nunavut speedskaters haul in 6 medals at Maritime competition

Nunavut speedskaters blazed their way to personal bests while collecting some prized hardware at the Harold Joyce Short Track Championship in Fredericton, N.B., on the weekend.

“They did fantastically well,” said Nunavut speedskating head coach Martine Dupont of the event held Nov. 25 and 26.

The Harold Joyce meet featured 130 skaters from Nunavut and the Maritime provinces. Athletes aged 12 through 18 competed in nine divisions that were divided based on skaters’ times.

Because the races are mixed gender, the top five finishers in each division received medals instead of the usual top three, Dupont said.

Team Nunavut brought 14 speedskaters to the competition and took home six medals: three gold, two silver and one bronze. Team members recorded personal best times in 41 of the 47 races in which they participated.

For Nunavut, gold medal winners were Miles Brewster in Division 2, Inuki Wilman in Division 6 and Gregor Paterson in Division 4.

Arthur Pothier in Division 5 and Arielle Allain in Division 6 won silver, and Victor Pothier earned bronze in Division 2.

“It felt really good,” Wilman said of winning, and Brewster agreed.

They spoke to Nunatsiaq News at the Iqaluit airport Tuesday after they arrived home.

Wilman and Brewster competed in seven races, in the 200-, 400-, 600-, 800- and 1,000-metre events, which Wilman said was both fun and tiring. He said the 400-metre event is his favourite; both Wilman and Brewster said they prefer shorter races.

“The long ones are gruelling,” Brewster said.

“Too long,” Wilman added.

While both are gold medalists, their speedskating careers have been vastly different.

Brewster has been participating in the sport for more than 10 years. Wilman, meanwhile, started just six weeks ago, though he added he has been ice skating since he was two years old.

Nunavut speedskaters Miles Brewster, left, and Inuki Wilman show off their their medals Tuesday after returning from the Harold Joyce Short Track Championship held over the weekend in Fredericton, N.B. (Photo by David Lochead)

Brewster said he has stuck with speedskating for so long because of the friendships he has made.

“And it’s just enjoyable overall,” he said.

Dupont said the skaters who went to the meet in Fredericton will make up Nunavut’s speedskating team at the 2024 Arctic Winter Games, scheduled for March 10 to 16 in Mat-Su Borough, Alaska.

The team needed to go to the meet in Fredericton to get its sanctioned times for the Arctic Winter Games. The times will be used to slot the team members in their races at the Games.

Dupont said the comments she hears from other people at the competitions is that Nunavut skaters are polite and cheer the loudest.

“Everyone knows who the Nunavut skaters are,” she said.