It was Tia Kilabuk’s first time out of the country, as well as at the Arctic Winter Games (AWGs), which took place from March 10-16 in Mat-Su Valley, Alaska.
Kilabuk, 14, was one of two figure skaters to help form the 300-strong Team Nunavut. She has been skating since age six and practices three times a week for an hour and a half, training hard with the limited resources in Iqaluit.
She described the facilities for the AWGs as “really different” compared to what she is used to.
“They’re fancier there,” she said of the schools and the arena. She also describes Alaska itself as “a really beautiful place.”
“I loved the mountains, and everywhere you go there are trees and mountains to look at.”
It was not easy getting her passport in time, as Kilabuk’s mother lives in Toronto and had to sign off on the document in addition to getting it renewed with the short amount of time for turn-around, but it was worth it for the experience, she acknowledged.
Kilabuk described the experience as “really fun… I landed [an axel] jump that I haven’t before so that made me really happy.”
Competing against 12 other people in an already highly-competitive sport, the ninth-grader performed twice in the Level 1 long and short programs, but missed the team event after sustaining a leg injury from overuse. “Short” programs last the length of a song, while “long” events are a more in-depth performances requiring more elements such as jumps, spins and choreography.
For Kilabuk, competing in Alaska was an eye-opening experience.
“I feel like after this, it kind of humbled me. I thought I would be one of the top [competitors], but seeing these [other] girls train everyday, it made me want to get better.”
She also said there’s a lot of pressure in those events.
“It’s the way the sport is. It’s independent. You can only blame yourself. You’re either a good figure skater or you’re not.”
However, she emphasized that the experience was a positive one overall.
“I really enjoyed it, and would go again for figure skating, even though it is really competitive. But I enjoyed it overall.”