Team Yukon is rowdy and ready ahead of the 2024 Arctic Winter Games if a recent pep rally is any indication.
The team, which is sending dozens of athletes in a variety of sports to the games in Mat-Su, Alaska, gathered in the frosty sunshine at Shipyards Park on March 1. The games run from March 10 to 16.
Yukoners will be taking on competitors from other northerly parts of Canada, as well as Alaska, Greenland and the northern reaches of Norway, Finland and Sweden.
“In a week and a half’s time if you line up at the start line or you walk onto the court or step onto the ice, be present at that moment with all the nerves and anticipation. You really deserve to be there,” Yukon MP Brendan Hanley said in a speech given at the pep rally.
“There’s gonna be some tough competition. I know you’re going to make our territory proud. Mat-Su Valley will not know what hit them when Team Yukon shows up.”
“I can tell you that, I know that while you’re in Alaska, every single Yukoner will be rooting for you,” said Yukon Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.
“This team is going to be an amazing ambassador for the territory. And I know you’re gonna have an absolutely spectacular time there.”
The news that Leah McLean would be the flag bearer leading Team Yukon in the opening ceremonies was greeted with cheers as her athletic accolades as a wrestler, judoka and beach volleyball player were read. McLean wasn’t at the ceremony, as she was at a sporting event outside of the territory. The rest of the wrestling team took the flag for her.
McLean says it is honour enough to be named to a team going to the games but even more so to be the flag bearer. This will be her second Arctic Winter Games, having competed last year in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Asked about the level of competition she and the other Yukon wrestlers were expecting to face in Mat-Su, McLean said the games offer a good supportive competition for competitors of a variety of skill levels.
“It’s a really good community to be a part of with people who have either just started wrestling, or maybe there’s some people that have been doing these sports for their whole lives. So I think it’s a really good mix. And it’s a good opportunity for everyone to thrive,” she said.
She said northern Alberta fielded a good wrestling team last year, leading to tough competition, and she expects the same this time out. The Yukon wrestlers have been working hard to prepare. McLean said the team, a mix of relatively new and more experienced competitors, has been training hard twice a week.
Off the wrestling matt, McLean looks forward to connecting with people within her own sport and in others. She also hopes to trade for a good collection of commemorative pins from as many of the teams as possible.
Team Yukon athletes will compete in sports including hockey, basketball, volleyball, Dene games and various skate, ski and snowboard disciplines.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com