Sports

The Amaruit Atom’s paired with the Little Flames from Kangiqsujuaq got off to a slow start losing their first two games in the round robin on day one to Quatuq and Kuujjuaq Black but the next day the boys and girls known as Kan-Kan would not be denied pounding Kuujjuarapik 5-1 and decisively beating Kuujjuaq Yellow 5-4 to make it into the semi finals against Tasiujaq.  Although we got out to a quick 2 nothing lead in the first period Tasiujaq with the tournament MVP and leading scorer Putulik Saunders battled back eking out a win in an otherwise close game.  Kan-Kan finished proudly in fourth place losing to Kangirsuk for the bronze on the final day.  Bill Balfe and Carl Dionne coached the team and were very proud of each player and their efforts both on and off the ice.

Ulluriaq School has a lot to be proud of!  They sent twelve students between the ages of eleven and sixteen to Kuujjuaraapik to compete in five different athletic events against 15 other villages.  All communities in Nunavik participated as well as the Cree nation of Whapmaghoostui and the Nunavut island of Sanikiluaq. 

            This was Ulluriaq’s first year competing in the Nunavik School Games and they did their community very proud for many reasons.  The girls of the team even obtained medals in the cross country event.  Betty Angel Abraham obtained a silver, Uttuqi Hubloo a bronze and Andrea Brazeau brought home a gold and a silver in their first day’s events. 

A Hockey Canada Skills Training Camp was held in Kangiqsualujjuaq this past weekend. It was an absolutely wonderful experience for the players and the entire community!

Even before the two coaches/trainers (Jean-Francois Charette and Eric Couture) arrived, things were very well organized on all fronts. Upon their arrival, JF and Eric met with our team to fine tune the events for the weekend. Right from the start, a good bond was formed between the trainers and local volunteers—lots of humour and good times. The program for the weekend was very well designed. There was a good mix of on-ice and off-ice activities.

On Thursday, March 18th, Clara Hughes dropped the puck to start an exciting weekend of hockey in Kangiqsualujjuaq. Bantam teams from all around Nunavik came to town to participate in first ever Nunavik Youth Hockey Development Program tournament. As part of the NYHDP, players had to prove themselves as hard working students, committed players and positive citizens in their communities in order to take part in the weekend.

Games took place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning with playoffs that same afternoon pitting Kuujjuaq A versus Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kangirsuk versus Kuujjuaq B. The medal game was between Kuujjuaq A and the Kuujjuaq B with Kuujjuaq A prevailing to take home the gold medals.

Pascal held the 4th Annual Mini Tennis Tournament in March. Altogether, there were 32 students who participated in the in three different categories.  Everyone battled hard, but there could only be one winner in each category.  Uttuqi defeated Anita in the Girls category. In the Jr. Boys category, Danny won over Mark. Wayne defeated Elijah in the Sr. Boys category.

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The Teachers versus PeeWees Hockey Game is the longest standing sports competition between the staff and students at Ulluriaq School—for 11 years the teams have battled! 2009 would be the year that the PeeWees triumph--again. The Teachers fought hard and kept the game very close, but an overtime goal by the students sealed their victory. A big thanks to all the teachers and especially the Spirit Committee for making this event so successful.

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Are you the next Robin Hood? Students learned archery as part of the Secondary physical education curriculum. As a wrap-up to the archery unit, Pascal organized the annual, "Are You the Next Robin Hood?" tournament. The competition was very close, but it was Donald who won for the boys and Anita who won for the girls.

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Since three years, students at Ulluriaq have the chance to participate in the NYHDP program (Nunavik Youth Hockey Development Program). The main goal of this program is to promote attendance, good behavior and effort at the school. Students who participate are evaluated each week by their teachers.  They must meet these criteria if they want  to attend the program. If some players are having a poor behavior or are not putting enough effort during class they get temporary suspended.

The Tundra Trot running race is held once a year in Nunavik (Kativik School Board) and invites 6 runners, 3 boys and 3 girls, from each Inuit community to participate in 3 different running races in mid May. The students in each community train sometimes all year long to get ready for the big race!

In the past, Ulluriaq School runners have achieved very good results bringing home 1st, 2nd and third places banners in the individual and team events. We are very proud of our runners in Ulluriaq School.

This winter Ulluriaq school will be introducing a brand new extracurricular activity for primary and secondary students. Bill and Phil with combined 30 years of cross-country skiing expertise are heading up this new endeavour. Kangiqsualujjuaq being nestled in a beautiful valley with hilly terrain is the perfect place for this sport.