Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (July 15/05) - As Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Michael McLeod finished addressing nearly 300 participants from around the North at the opening of the first NWT Summer Games, a couple of athletes were snoozing with ball caps pulled over their eyes, on the lawn in front of the stage.

The nappers' chaperon quickly moved in and prodded the boys out of their slumber. McLeod was the fourth speaker from the list of dignitaries on hand to open the games. His words were a predictable formality, filled with feel-good sentiment; the games, of course, being about "participation" and "leading a healthy lifestyle."

And insofar as one can corral preteens and teenagers set loose in 'big town' Inuvik, the games did a good job of providing three well-rounded squares a day for the young competitors.

However, the allure of fast food sizzling just a few blocks from the games' mess hall - a converted curling rink - was too much to ignore for athletes, who crowded the Quickstop, Inuvik's KFC and Pizza Hut outlet, during lunch and dinner hours.

In speaking with four Paulatuk athletes seated around a table at the Quickstop, between bites from a variety of fast-food fare from the Inuvik KFC and Pizza Hut, all agreed that the fast food tasted better than the meals provided by the summer games.

"That's why we came here today," offered one.

It was lunchtime Saturday - the second day of competition - and already for these fellows it was their second time eating from the colonel's menu.

However, these weren't mindless teens gorging themselves closer to a life of obesity and Type II diabetes. All appeared fit and anxious to get back to the competition after finishing their snack.

Coming from a small community, it was obvious the boys were taking advantage of being within striking distance of golden french fries, chicken nuggets and fountain pop.

When asked what would be healthier to eat, they said vegetables and country foods were better choices.

"Caribou meat, geese and lots of other things," offered a spokesperson for the group. "But we eat tons of that at home."

So there is a silver lining to this tale of fast-food mayhem after all. The kids the Drum spoke with seemed to know that fast-food is junk food; something for snacking on rather than making regular meals out of. However, the unnerving part is that fast-food is like a bug lamp to mosquitoes for kids everywhere.

Back at the athletes village - SAMS returned to its old-school days of girls bunked on one side and boys on the other - Sport North (GNWT) workers staffing mission control, kept tabs on the kids and made sure things were running on schedule.

"We put together well balanced meals and promoted a holistic message of healthy living," said Gary Shauerte, MACA's manager of Sport and Recreation Programs. "But kids are individuals, able to make their own decisions."

Outside the office, a table of juices and fruit slices in need of replenishing provided some evidence that athletes were making positive food choices, at least some of the time.