Stories we loved to tell: Chills and thrills at the Arctic Winter Games

In this year-end series, Nunatsiaq News staff look back on their most memorable stories from 2023.

As the snowshoers raced around the track on their final lap, I readied myself with my camera to snap the moment the winner crossed the finish line.

My finger pressed down on the shutter to capture some practice shots and then … nothing.

The temperature was so cold that February day in Fort McMurray, Alta., (-40 C with the wind chill), that my camera had frozen and the battery had drained to zero.

Pivoting quickly, I whipped out my phone from my pocket and snapped a quick photo just as Team Nunavik crossed the spray-painted finish line.

Photographing the early morning snowshoe races was one of several challenging but fun experiences I had covering the Arctic Winter Games this year.

The weeklong sports competition was five years in the making.

The COVID-19 pandemic had forced cancellation of the 2021 Games, so there was great anticipation in the air for the event to go off without a hitch this time.

Youths from across Arctic regions came together to compete in events ranging from indoor volleyball to archery to biathlon.

Most were young Indigenous athletes, many of whom were attending their first major international sports competition.

As someone who loves to travel and take pictures, I jumped at the chance to fly across the country to cover a major sports event.

The Games were jam-packed with competitions. My focus was on capturing as much of Team Nunavut and Team Nunavik in action as I could, which meant prioritizing some events over others, juggling fast-paced deadlines and writing stories and uploading photos late into the night.

I spoke with dozens of athletes, coaches and staff members who were giving the Games their all and each had a unique story of what brought them to Alberta.

I learned that Nunavik’s table tennis team was formed thanks to a dusty, donated ping pong table, and that the first game that Nunavut’s female futsal team had ever played together was their opening match at the Games.

Outside the volleyball court, I met face-to-face with athletes and coaches I had previously interviewed when they competed at the Canada Summer Games in 2022.

On the third day of competition, I hitched a ride with a staff member of Team Nunavik to the snowshoe event and we spotted a sun dog in the early morning sky. Just before lunch, a fox ran across the snowshoe track.

On a personal note, it was my first visit to Alberta and an unexpected highlight was the many friendly taxi drivers who chauffeured me to the various venues. They each had a story to share about the region’s history and recommendations for what to do and see the next time I visit.

It was a fun challenge to capture the excitement of competition in photographs, especially sports we don’t usually see in mainstream media such as Arctic sports, where athletes wowed the crowds in events like the two-foot high-kick and the knuckle hop.

Team Nunavut finished with 52 medals, including multiple golds for speedskater Akutaq Williamson Bathory and a historic gold medal win for the under-18 boys’ hockey team. Team Nunavik finished with 36 medals, with podium-topping performances in the Dene Games and snowshoeing in particular.

The 2024 games are right around the corner, set to take place in Alaska in March. I’m looking forward to seeing what the athletes from Nunavut and Nunavik will accomplish next.