Getting ready for the Games
More than 6,000 people will flock to Fort McMurray, in northeast Alberta, Canada, starting this week for the 2004 Arctic Winter Games. Among them will be nearly 40 young athletes and cultural representatives from the Kenai Peninsula, as well as another 40 community members preparing to host the 2006 Games.
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In their 18th year, the Games draw youth from northern climates Alaska, Canada, Russia and Greenland, to name a few for a week of traditional and modern sports competitions and an exchange of local customs.
"(I'm looking forward to) just playing basketball with other people from around different countries. That's a pretty big thing," said Cook Inlet Academy eighth-grader Nate Byrd. "And flying down to Canada that's pretty cool."
Nate, one of two CIA students who will play on Team Alaska's boys' basketball team, first learned about the Games when a referee at a game in Ninilchik recommended he try out. He sent in a videotape of himself playing ball and learned just a couple weeks ago he would be part of Team Alaska.
As excited as he is, though, Nate admits it hasn't been easy to prepare. In addition to playing lots of basketball, he's also had to raise the funds to travel to Canada.
"We told him, 'If you want to go on such short notice, it would be nice if you got some sponsorships,'" explained Nate's dad, Richard. "He jumped on the phone, and people were very supportive. It really helped out."
Nate also said he's appreciative of all the community support.
Borough Mayor Dale Bagley and information technology chairman Bob Jones talk about the job assignments the local delegation will have during a meeting at the Kenai Peninsula 2006 Arctic Winter Games Host Society headquarters last week.
Photo by M. Scott Moon
Now, Nate's getting ready for the next challenge: playing on a team of strangers.
Though one of his teammates at the Games is a friend from school, the other eight basketball players are from all over Alaska.
"Practice is going to be pretty crazy," he said. "We only get to practice once or twice before our first game."
Still, Nate said, it's a challenge he's ready for and looking forward to.
"I think, as a parent, it's been a good reward for all his efforts," added Nate's mom, Zetta.
Nate and his fellow athletes aren't the only ones reaping rewards, either.
Also gearing up for the Games are six youth and four adults with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe's Jabila'ina Dance Group and Chudakuya Drum Group.
The teens have been preparing for months, raising money for the trip and practicing performances they will give throughout the week of Games.
"Of all the different performing groups and cultural groups in Alaska, we were the ones picked. We're Team Alaska's cultural delegation. It's a huge honor," said the group's leader, Amber Gardner. "Everybody's excited. It's definitely the chance of a lifetime."
The group will be the first performance at the Games' opening ceremonies Saturday night and the final performance at the closing ceremonies March 6. In between, they will put on three performances a day for visitors.
"I've never been to Canada before," said 16-year-old Ben Elachik. "It'll be pretty fun to see all the people."
While the Games focus on youth, young athletes and cultural representatives aren't the only ones busy preparing for the week in Canada.
Almost 40 adults from the peninsula will be at the Games, shadowing organizers and studying the preparations that go into creating a successful international event.
"This is our chance to learn to put on the 2006 Arctic Winter Games," said Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Dale Bagley.
"I can tell everybody what it's like, but until they go and shadow their counterparts, you don't really know," said 2006 manager Loren Smith.
"It's like a picture; the experience is worth a thousand words."
Smith said planning already is under way for the 2006 Games on the peninsula.
"We're actually a little ahead of schedule from previous Games," he said. "And as far as I remember, this probably is the largest contingent going for fact finding."
"Fact finding," Smith explained, will include not only job shadowing, but also examining both the strengths and weaknesses of the 2004 Games for future planning.
"We're going with an extremely positive attitude," he said. "And we want to correct any areas that the 2004 (committee) thought they could have done better.
"We want to find out how to match and improve on 2004."
At the Arctic Winter Games
Nearly 400 students will participate in the 2004 Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Alberta, next week as part of Team Alaska. About 40 of those young people will be Kenai Peninsula residents. The following is a list of area youth participating in the Games and their sports:
Basketball
Junior female
Rachel Bornheimer Homer
Jennifer Erickson Ninilchik
Allison Horazdovsky Anchor Point
Molly Mahan Homer
Reba Temple Homer
Coach Debra Lowney Homer
Junior male
Nate Byrd Soldotna
Biathlon
Junior female
Alina Rykaczewski Homer
Cross-country skiing
Juvenile female
Erika Klaar Homer
Juvenile male
Christopher Hall Kenai
Figure skating
Ladies 1
Jessica Turner Soldotna
Ice hockey
Midget male
Gabriel Fellman Sterling
Bantam male
Bradley Fusaro Soldotna
Kegan Kiel Kenai
Micah Perletti Kasilof
Elijah Waldrip Soldotna
PeeWee male
Ryan Fusaro Soldotna
Connor Hamman Kenai
John-Michael VinZant Soldotna
Snowboarding
Junior male
Ben Martin Homer
Joshua Strutz Homer
Coach William Strutz Homer
Snowshoe biathlon
Junior female
Thorey Munro Homer
Rodd Reidun Homer
Junior male
Gus Beck Homer
Coach Todd Edward Homer
Coach Janice Todd Homer
Wrestling
Junior male
Lance Penhale Nikiski
Cultural delegation
Patrick Bender Kenai
Benjamin Elachik Kenai
Steven Holley Soldotna
Juliana John Kenai
Ashley Krall Kenai
Martina VanVelzor Soldotna
Gilbert Burkman (adult) Soldotna
Amber Gardner (adult) Soldotna
Laura Kroto (adult) Soldotna
Chaperon Hildur Feakes Kenai