Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

RANKIN INLET
To say the 2012 Arctic Winter Games (AWG) were special to the Dias family of Rankin Inlet would be a bit of an understatement.

Shanti Dias, front, was the youngest Nunavut athlete when she led fellow Rankin gymnasts Jayda Pilakapsi, Annette Paniyuk and Desiree Autut, from left, to the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, this past month. - photo courtesy of Lisa Kresky

The Games saw the entire family take part competitively in Whitehorse, Yukon, with kids Shanti, 9, in gymnastics and Tyrese, 12, and Tristen, 16, in dog mushing, while parents Tony and Shawna coached their boys in mushing.

Tony said it was awesome to have the whole family involved at the same Games together.

He said it's really something to watch your kids compete in such a competitive Northern athletic event.

"This could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us to be involved in together, so it was pretty neat," said Tony.

"Dog mushing took most of our time, but Shawna was able to see two of Shanti's performances and I got to one."

Misfortune struck Tyrese, who broke his collarbone while lifting a dog.

Tony said he hurt the arm earlier during a hockey game in Rankin, but X-rays taken at the local health centre didn't show any damage.

He said Tyrese felt OK after running dogs in Rankin before the AWG.

"He couldn't put much pressure on it, but he could move his arm.

"We did practice runs after we got to the AWG and we were putting dogs away that night.

"Tyrese's collarbone snapped when he went to lift one of the bigger dogs up onto the truck, so it must have been broke before we left.

"Being told he was OK is pretty sad because it must have been damaged if just lifting a 40-pound dog broke it like that."

Tony said he's been coaching Tristen for about six years and Shawna got into it about three years ago.

He said she always helped with the dogs, and started coaching Tyrese when he got involved in the sport.

"It works for us as a family because we're all, more or less, involved with the dogs.

"We have 17 dogs and, when the kids are away for sports, Shawna and I have to feed, care for and run them.

"Then there are times we're away and the kids have to do most of it.

"It's a family activity, and it's all at our cost to supply dog food and straw, keep them healthy and get their shots,and buy equipment for the kids to run their dogs.

"Everybody just kind of helps everybody out."

While the Games were a bit of a disappointment to Tyrese after hurting his collarbone, he said he still had a good time in Whitehorse.

He said it was cool to have his whole family there, and he really enjoyed seeing his sister perform in the gymnastics competition.

"I only practised once and then got hurt before the competition started, so that was a real bummer," said Tyrese.

"But I really enjoy dog mushing and I'm going to stick with it.

"I hope to get back to the next AWG, but I might try to make it in hockey instead of mushing."

Tristen said it was a lot of fun to have his entire family at the Games.

He said he knew at the time it was something special.

"We didn't get to do too much as a family because my sister always had to be with her coach and teammates," said Tristen.

"It was easier for the four of us because we were all in the same sport.

"Most of the mushers are a lot better at the AWG because they get so much more training time than us.

"But, we're fairly competitive in our divisions."

Shawna said she was proud of her kids at the AWG.

She said she was happy to see them have the same experience she enjoyed as a soccer player 20 years ago.

"I grew up around mushing a lot, so I'm not too worried when the boys are out there," said Shawna.

"Tristen was trained on how to work with dogs by my dad, so I'm pretty confident in his abilities.

"I never experienced even watching dog mushing at the Games before, so it was a new experience for me.

"I was kept really busy running back and forth between my daughter's and my boys' events, and they were pretty far apart."

Shawna said knowing Shanti was the youngest Nunavut athlete at the Games made her very proud.

She said she was glad her daughter had the chance to experience what it's like to compete at a major venue.

"It's so different than Rankin because it's much more competitive and they have so much better equipment.

"Our girls performed very well and we were proud of them all doing their personal bests at the Games."

Shanti said she really enjoyed the Games and didn't think about being the youngest there one way or another.

She said she was just trying to do her best.

"It was cool having my family there and I saw Mom and Dad when they came to watch me," said Shanti.

"They had some really nice stuff (equipment) there, and I wish we had things like that in Rankin.

"I like gymnastics because it's fun, especially the floor routines.

"I'm going to stay in it to see how good I can get."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.