Soccer showdown in Iqaluit

Nunavut soccer fans can get their fill this weekend in Iqaluit, as youth from around the territory compete to play in the Arctic Winter Games.

Young athletes will converge in the Inuksuk High School gym for the territorial soccer playoffs beginning Jan. 9 in hopes of making Nunavut’s all-star soccer team. More than 150 students from the territory’s three regions will compete to play in the Arctic Winter Games Feb. 28 to March 6 in Fort McMurray, Alta.

Tournament organizers hope the new selection process, as well as newly added training camps, will boost Nunavut’s soccer prospects in this year’s games. Previously, the territorial tournament’s top team would go on to the pan-Arctic games, but as of last year, the coach of the winning team picks who makes the cut. Only four players can come from the coach’s region.

Romeyn Stevenson, president of the Nunavut Soccer Association, described Nunavut’s handful of winning matches in last year’s games as a success, considering competition from teams like Alaska and Greenland.

“But we’re hoping to have a better showing this year,” Stevenson said. “The Arctic Winter Games are here [in Canada] this year, so everyone’s excited about that.”

The territorial finals are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Jan. 11.