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INUVIK
East 3 Secondary School's Art Travel Club is heading for jolly old England in March for a little art appreciation and cultural exposure one just can't get in the Arctic.

Judy McLeod of Team Mitchell was one of the Inuvik/Aklavik participants at the NWT Senior Men's and Women's Curling Championships in Inuvik over the weekend. - T. Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Six teams participated in the playdowns. Four teams from Yellowknife – two men's and two women's – took on two teams from Inuvik for the chance to travel to the national championships in Prince Edward Island in March.

Both Inuvik teams were blanked at the tournament. The McKellar-Gillis rink from Yellowknife won the ladies side with a 4-1 record while Team Hudy from Yellowknife took the men's with an identical record.

Melba Mitchell's Inuvik/Aklavik team was proving to be a tough draw at the event on Feb. 8, despite a losing record.

The team had never played together as a group before, Mitchell said, although individual members had played with each other. There had been virtually no practice time for them prior to the tournament, and members were learning to gel on the fly.

All of the members of the team were originally from Aklavik, she said, and had learned their craft in the small town's ferocious curling leagues.

"Aklavik was one of the biggest places to curl," Mitchell said, with nods of agreement from team member Judy McLeod.

"In Aklavik, everyone curled," McLeod said.

She hadn't curled much for about 15 years, she added, after having a very successful run with a variety of teams.

"After you win so much you take up something else," McLeod said. "We won lots, so I went into dog-sledding."

She did well at that sport too, and has played in only the occasional bonspiel since.

She was fairly pleased with the team's potential on Feb. 8.

"We were in the first game, but practice makes perfect," she said.

"We're doing well considering we've never played together. I think we just have to play at our own pace and we'll be fine," Mitchell added.

The team was the only entry from Inuvik in the tournament, and therefore passed directly into play, again contributing to a lack of practice time.

The members were excited at the prospect of winning their way into a trip to the nationals and P.E.I.

"Oh my gosh yes," Mitchell blurted.

Standing in their way were teams such as the McKellar-Gillis rink. They were the odds-on favourites to win the women's side, having reached the nationals three consecutive years.

"The best we've done there is four wins," said Anne McKellar-Gillis. "The quality of play is tremendous, and there's lot of pressure.

"There's pressure here too at the NWT playdowns, but that's what curling is all about."

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