Every year the Yukon Arctic Sports Inter-school Championship becomes a bigger deal, with what seems like higher kicks and bigger jumps.
The fourth annual event once again saw a record turnout, with an estimated 180 students from 15 schools, Grade 1 to 12, competing last Wednesday to Friday at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre.
“We are doing a lot of work in the schools and now we are teaching the teachers how to do it in their schools on their own,” said Gael Marchand, executive director of the hosting Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle.
“And we expanded the format. Now we are three days of competition instead of two. Now there is more time and they know they can bring kids ... And there are more communities: Pelly (Crossing), Carmacks, Teslin, Carcross, Ross River. Usually we have two or three, this year it’s more like four or five.”
The final day of competition was the high schoolers’ time to shine. F.H. Collins Secondary placed first in the team event with 103 points, well ahead of Porter Creek Secondary with 37 and Vanier Catholic Secondary in third with 13.
Vanier’s Fayne O’Donovan made it three in a row on Friday. After winning the junior girls overall title the last two years, she placed first overall in the senior girls division this year.
“I actually mostly got silvers. I got silvers in everything, except the one-arm (reach) I got first and on seal hop I got third,” she said.
O’Donovan managed to post a score of 136 centimetres for gold in the one-arm reach.
“That’s one I tend to do well at.”
O’Donovan has also competed internationally in Arctic sports. The multi-time Yukon gymnastics champion represented Yukon at the 2014 Arctic Winter Games, winning two silver and two bronze.
“This is probably my last year competing in it so it was nice to end on that high note,” said O’Donovan. “My family and I are moving to Vancouver and they don’t really have Arctic sports down there.”
Other high school division winners include F.H. Collins’ Kuduat Shorty in senior boys, F.H. Collins’ Reena Coyne in junior girls and Porter Creek’s Riel Scarff in junior boys.
Shorty and Coyne also picked up fairplay awards on Friday.
Elementary school results were not available by press time.
High school results:
Junior female
1st Reena Coyne (FH)
2nd Jayden Remchuk (FH)
3rd Anisa Albisser (FH)
Junior male
1st Riel Scarff (PC)
2nd Keona McLaughlin (FH)
3rd Austin Hayduck (FH)
Senior female
1st Fayne O’Donovan (VAN)
2nd Megan Banks (PC)
3rd Robyn Poulter (FH)
Senior male
1st Kuduat Shorty (FH)
2nd Pelly Vincent-Brawn (FH)
3rd Colton Wheeler-Blackjack (FH)
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com