A move is underway that would, if successful, see every young player in Arviat who wants to play hockey be able to get on the ice.
Arviat minor hockey organizer Gleason Uppahuak said financing for hockey equipment for 200 minor hockey players in the community as well as sponsorship for a skills-development hockey camp are still in the final stages of approval from the Hamlet if Arviat and the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA).
He said the KIA has to wait for its next board meeting because the amount being asked for is more than $20,000.
“I'm looking for roughly $33,000 to cover the costs of the hockey camp run by Ted Nolan and his two sons, Jordan and Brandon, who all played in the NHL,” said Uppahuak.
“On the gear side, we're looking at a complete set, head to toe, for each player, which includes the hockey stick and skates. That includes one goalie for each age category (four to 15 years of age) of novice, atoms, peewees and bantams.
“I requested $200,000 from the Jordan's Principle program to, hopefully, cover the costs of the kids' hockey gear.”
Uppahuak said there are more than 1,100 kids in Arviat aged four to 17 according to Statistics Canada.
Should everything work out the way he hopes and all the funding requests be granted, he said everyone in the local hockey community will be quite happy over the idea of more kids becoming more physically active and having something positive to really look forward to each day.
“I don't know the exact number of local kids who want to play hockey, but don't have the gear to do so. But I do know we average about 80 or 90 kids per season being registered from novice through to the midget categories and I want to triple that number.
“We have so many kids who want to play hockey in Arviat, but the economy is not the greatest here compared to Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and Iqaluit. The unemployment rate is scary here.
“Baker has Agnico Eagle Mines there and Rankin Inlet is the central hub for the region plus the Meliadine mine, but we have absolutely nothing like that here and we have the highest birth rate in all of North America.
“So, that makes it even more important that we're able to secure the funding for equipment so that every kid in Arviat who wants to play hockey can play. We should know, pretty much, any day now if the requests have been approved or not.”
