Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (Aug 13/01) - The 31st annual Northern Games wound down in Tuktoyaktuk Aug. 6, as weary participants boarded charters to return home.

Despite less-than-cooperative weather, and schedules jam-packed with events, the four-day long games went off with only a few hitches.

The celebration of Northern athletic events and traditional Inuvialuit culture saw close to 100 participants descend upon the hamlet from all six Inuvialuit communities and from Alaska.

"It's a lot of planning," said games organizing committee chair Steve Cockney. "Every detail is looked into, especially getting people in from their home communities," he added.

"It makes me really proud," to see the games still going on, Edward Lennie told the crowd during the opening ceremonies. Lennie has been involved in the games since they began back in 1969.

"Every year, my shoulders get wider and wider," said Lennie.

During the opening ceremonies, Lennie and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation chair Nellie Courneya paid special tribute to Robert and Jean Gruben for their support of the games over the years.

Reflecting on the assistance the Grubens have provided to the games, Courneya said, "They did it, not as (corporate sponsors), but because they believed in what we were doing."

Cockney said residents of the Hamlet outdid themselves to make sure the games were a success, providing billets for visitors and making sure there was plenty of food to go around.

Local people provided freshly-caught whales, geese, fresh trout and whitefish, and dry fish for the games, said Cockney.

Roosevelt Paneak, head of a delegation of 22 Alaskan Inupiat from Anaktuvuk Pass and Barrow, said he and his fellow Inupiat were "humbled" by the welcome they had received in Tuk.

Cockney said organizers will meet soon to determine where the next Northern Games will be held.