As hockey rosters finalized for AWG, few from outside the southern N.W.T. make the cut

As N.W.T. rosters are finalized for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games, there was little cause for celebration for many hockey players in the Beaufort Delta.

The under-18 male team saw no players from the area, or any other regions outside the southern territory, make the cut. The team includes two players from Hay River, one from Fort Smith, and the rest from Yellowknife.

Beverly Amos and Qurannaq's grandson Lennox Amos, who plays hockey in Inuvik, tried out for the team but didn't make it. Neither did Jacob Pokiak's son, who will be too old to compete after this year.

The issue of competitive teams largely including Yellowknife players has been ongoing and has led to accusations of favouritism. But sports organizations say a major barrier is just a lack of infrastructure in many communities that prevents athletes from getting the reps they need to compete.

Spectators watch a hockey game at the 2023 Arctic Winter Games. Caregivers in the Beaufort Delta say they are disappointed by the final roster which saw few youth from their region make the final cut. (Natalie Pressman/CBC)

Qurannaq said the responsibility is on sports organizations such as Hockey N.W.T. and Sport North, which rely on government funding, to help athletes from communities outside Yellowknife.

"Over the decades that Sport North federation, Hockey N.W.T., they talk equity and inclusion. But we don't see it — they haven't followed their statement," he said.

Lennox was listed as an affiliate or alternate, meaning if players on the team can't make it, he may be called up.

Infrastructure gaps

Christopher Gruben, the president of Inuvik Minor Hockey and the Beaufort Delta representative for Hockey North, said the issue of representation goes back to when he would compete in sports.

"The concerns are valid," he said.

"This is not the first time I heard about something like this, especially in my time here at Inuvik minor hockey, it also goes back to when I used to play sports and probably will continue to go on in the future. It goes to show that we got work to do to get these situations figured out."

Gruben also highlighted the disadvantage communities outside the south face when it comes to access to volunteers and ice time.

Christopher Gruben, the president of Inuvik Minor Hockey and the Beaufort Delta representative for Hockey North, said the issue of representation goes back to when he would compete in sports. (Luke Carroll/CBC)

Some communities rely on natural ice, meaning it to be needs cold enough for the ice to freeze.

"You've got some of the smaller communities that don't have ice time until a week or two before tryouts," he said.

"It's tough to see our youth who are extremely talented not to have the year-round ability to prepare being on the ice. Inuvik may have the opportunity to have ice six months a year, but we're the only ones."

This is something Rita Mercredi, a sport consultant with Sport North and the chef de mission for Team N.W.T. at the 2024 Arctic Winter Games, also acknowledged as a challenge.

Mercredi said Sport North offers grants to address some inequalities in sport, one of these being a newly launched Community Facility Enhancement Program which offers $10,000 to acquire, build, purchase, repair, renovate, upgrade or expand sport and recreation facilities.

But the amount needed for these facilities is often significantly higher — for example, the cost of upgrading the rink in Délı̨nę was $2.9 million.

Rita Mercredi is a sports consultant with Sport North and the chef de mission for Team N.W.T. at the 2024 Arctic Winter Games. (Sport North website)

There are a few players from the Beaufort Delta who did make the other age categories. The under-19 female team includes a player from Inuvik and Fort McPherson.

There's also the under-15 team that has one player from Inuvik.

Gruben said the fact these players made the team is a testament to the athletic abilities of players in the region.

"We've got a number of very talented youth that have performed and peaked and were able to actually be a part of this team, and kudos to them," he said.

"Having youth from Fort McPherson and Inuvik making teams is something to be extremely proud of."

But the rosters have no players listed from the Dehcho, Sahtu or Tłı̨chǫ.

Tryout format questioned

Jacob Pokiak, whose son didn't make the team, told CBC in a Facebook message that one way to make the tryouts more fair would be to go back to an old format where teams from each region would compete in a tournament and the winning team would represent the N.W.T. at the Arctic Winter Games.

Gruben, the president of Inuvik Minor Hockey, said he's also heard that suggestion, but said there are pros and cons to that system.

Mercredi said the best team format could actually have the opposite effect.

"That, I almost feel, would isolate more communities if they couldn't field a team," she said.

But Mercredi said another old format that could help get more athletes at least competing and playing sports would be regional trials, where a preliminary sporting competition is hosted in each region, giving local athletes a chance to compete against one another.

The Arctic Winter Games flag at the 2023 competition. The 2024 competition will be in the Mat-Su region of Alaska from March 10 to 16. (Natalie Pressman/CBC)

"I don't know if it would bring more competitors to trials but it would definitely bring an event to that region, where just those athletes would have the opportunity to participate in that event," Mercredi said.

How tryouts worked this year

The current format is territory-wide tryouts that take place in a host community.

Hockey N.W.T. said it's taken steps to ensure impartiality for the tryouts, including bringing in outside observers to help select the teams.

Thorsten Gohl, a volunteer director for the Hockey N.W.T. board, said this includes bringing in five evaluators from B.C. and Alberta who work in hockey operations with a focus on player development.

He said these evaluators rated the athletes and provided comments during training sessions and games.

They then provided a list of the top 25 athletes to the coaching team. The coaches met with the evaluators to discuss the team and received the top 13 to 15 athletes. The coaching team added the final two to four players based on their strategic considerations for the games.

Gohl said if a decision was made to add a player who was not in the top 25, the coaches would need to provide "a valid explanation."

As for the concerns brought up by the parents, Gohl said it is important to speak up.

Gohl said in an email that Hockey N.W.T. has received a lot of positive feedback but also some negative, including profane comments on social media.

But he also encouraged those who do have issues to meet with Hockey N.W.T. to discuss possible changes to ensure equity.

"Let's come together and try to create change and what would it look like? Because we don't have all the answers, we're all volunteers on the board of directors," Gohl said.

A competitive event

The final roster also brings to question what the objective of the Arctic Winter Games is — whether it's about getting more athletes involved in the sport, or winning medals, or both.

Mercredi said winning medals is a bonus at the games and there are other ways of defining success, including personal bests. But ultimately, she said, the games are competitive.

"It is a competitive event. The teams, the TSOs [territorial sports organizations] want to send their strongest athletes at the competitive events so they can feel like it's healthy competition," she said.

"We don't want teams attending and it not being meaningful competition for them, we want them to be able to participate at the best of their abilities."

Mercredi said the lack of representation from communities outside of the southern N.W.T. isn't intentional.

"I think it's important that we understand and that we know there is inequities and that we know there are barriers in the communities. It is never our intention, nor do I believe is it any TSO's intention to not select athletes from the communities," she said.

She said they review the selection process regularly and, after this year's games, there will be another review.

For Beverly Amos, whose grandson Lennox didn't make the team, she hopes something can change, because she's seen how beneficial the sport of hockey can be for youth from her community.

"It's loved by so many people of all races, and it doesn't seem like it's fairly administered," she said.

The Mat-Su 2024 Arctic Winter Games will take place from March 10 to 16 in the Mat-Su Valley region of Alaska.