New court for B-ball players
Players test surface in Nunavut Day tournament
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
RANKIN INLET
Basketball players in Rankin Inlet have a brand new outdoor court, ready right on time for players vying for the top prize of $1,000 on Nunavut Day.
Natuk Ford takes a shot at the basket on the new outdoor basketball court in Rankin Inlet in preparation for the men's basketball league's Nunavut Day Tournament. He and his three teammates won the $1,000 top prize. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo |
The Rankin Inlet's Men's Basketball League first checked out a similar court in Baker Lake when they played there last year.
"We saw the one in Baker and we thought we should have one," said league president Kris Ussak.
Both he and vice president Chad Graham agree: "It's much nicer and not as slippery."
The court surface has all the professional markings and the nets are regulation height.
Valued at about $50,000, the entire court is state of the art, with a concrete pad, courtesy of NDL Nunavut, and a colourful Flex Court surface. Flex Court is advertised as a "high performance outdoor basketball surface, designed to offer the necessary built-in flexion for ultimate stress reduction on players' bodies and prevent against sports injuries."
Ussak and Graham say that when they returned from Baker Lake they approached recreation co-ordinator David Clark.
"It's a very popular product in the south," said Clark. "It's a product that's been proven so that's what we went with."
The existing court was concrete, damaged and hard to play on.
"There was a big chunk missing in the old one," said Ussak.
Sport Nunavut partially funded the project, along with a community beer dance and a $10,000 donation from the Rankin Men's Basketball League.
Overall, the court wasn't cheap, with shipping alone costing about $10,000, but Clarke says it's worth it.
"I like to go above and beyond for our rec facilities in Rankin. We have a lot of community sports, especially with all the community groups involved so if we have the money and we have the people and if we have the willingness to put this money into it ... why not go all out."
Rankin also has a baseball turf and a soccer turf.
Clark notes that NDL saved the project a lot of money and he's grateful for that, adding the basketball court is another example of a true community project. He also acknowledges the hamlet's public works department.
On Nunavut Day, the league held its 5th annual Nunavut Day Tournament, with six teams expected to compete for top prizes of $1,000, $600 and $400 for the winning teams.
Graham says, with the new court in play, they hope to host a similar tournament on Canada Day, as well.
He and Ussak hope youth in Rankin will respect the new court and not damage it.
"It should last for a long time," said Graham.
The team of Kris Okpatauyak, Natuk Ford, Nuvak Noolook and Andrew Simms walked away from the court with the $1,000 prize.
Nunavut Day Basketball Tournament winners
$1,000: Monsters - Natuk Ford, Andrew Simms, Kris Okpatauyak and Nuvak Noolook
$600: Bungalos - Roger Tagoona, James Merritt, Chad Graham, Carlo Issaluk and Chris Ussak
$400: Innays - Joseph Hamilton, Benton Lowe, Sateana Pilakapsi and Ronald Anawak
Source: Rankin Inlet Men's Basketball League
