Iqaluit (Mar 03/03) - It was Christmas in February for 24 boys and girls, all members of the Start Right/Stay Right program, who are trying on brand-new hockey equipment in Arnaituq Arena.

It's probably the most expensive set of "clothing" they've ever seen. Because of the gear, recently donated by the National Hockey League Players Association, these kids can take part in their hockey program in style.

Start Right/Stay Right gives youngsters under 12 years from lower-income families a chance to get involved in a sport their families can't afford.

At the same time, playing hockey provides not just a thing to do after school every Thursday, but teaches them responsibility and teamwork.

"A very important part of the program is that members of the RCMP pick up the kids to take them to the rink," says SR/SR organizer Paul Fraser.

"This is a way to build a positive relationship with the RCMP," Fraser says.

The idea is to grab the imaginations of these children now while they are on the verge of teenage-hood, before they enter the period in their lives when illegal temptations might emerge. The program began in 1999 as a pilot. The next year Iqaluit minor hockey picked up the puck and now runs it as a project of their own.

The theory is that kids from low-income homes will turn their backs on petty crime if they have a sports outlet for their energies. Indeed, they may already have taken a step or two down that jail-bound path.

"These are kids who may have had a brush with the law, but we don't know that," Fraser says. "But there's no way we want to present these kids as little monsters."

The program works, says Dominique Wielgosch, the school co-ordinator who helps teachers select students who'll get the most from SR/SR.

"We've seen an increase in their attitudes toward attendance and better behaviour," Wielgosch says. "The kids are doing well in school, too."

Both sexes are in the mix too -- Nadia Salvaterra is one of the coaches.

"I like to have a female coach," says Glen Higgins, president of Iqaluit minor hockey. "It's good for the young fellas to see that girls can do this, too."

As well as the RCMP and Iqaluit minor hockey, Nunavut Power Corporation also helps with funding while Rotary provides a healthy snack for each outing. "The biggest success of this program is the way the community has got behind it," Fraser says.