Ticking down to the atoms
Eight teams slated to compete at annual Rankin tourney
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
RANKIN INLET
Eight teams will be lined up to battle for supremacy in the annual Arctic Atoms hockey championship this coming weekend, March 18 to 20, in Rankin Inlet.
In addition to the host community's Atom A, Atom B and mixed girls peewee/atoms teams, squads from Naujaat, Arviat, Coral Harbour, Baker Lake and Whale Cove will be competing at the event.
Coral Harbour is the defending champ at this year's tournament.
Tournament organizer David Clark said the Arctic Atoms was first started by Justin Merritt more than a decade ago.
He said the tournament is highly anticipated by atoms-aged players across the Kivalliq.
"I'm not sure the exact year Justin (Merritt) started it, but I remember coaching in it with Mike Nukapiak, Wendel Kaludjak and James Merritt on the team, so that's awhile ago," said Clark with a laugh.
"Coral has a strong team again this year and they're not going to be easy to get past.
"The older I get, the more I realize these tournaments mean more to hockey than our big senior tournaments.
"The Arctic Atoms is the first big tournament many of these kids play in and it's really interesting to see which ones step up and play better and which ones take a few steps back."
Clark said he's really excited over the teams in this year's tournament.
He said a lot of hard work went into the event and he's really looking forward to it getting underway.
"The hockey parents, for the most part, cheer for the kids properly in our tournaments.
"You're always going to have a few incidents here and there, but we're really fortunate with how our parents behave compared to stories you hear from some parts of the country.
"At the end of the day, the kids are coming here, having a really good time, getting engaged with hockey and having their turn to shine.
"It's their time to start gearing up for tournament life in the Kivalliq region, which is pretty much non-stop throughout the winter."
Clark said everyone wants to win but, with the atoms, the kids are at the age where the most important thing is having fun.
He said the game gets competitive soon enough, so it's important for the atoms to just enjoy playing the game with no pressure on them.
"Things get more complicated as you get older, with wanting to win more and all that stuff.
"But, at the atoms age, the number-one goal is having fun.
"Holding the Arctic Atoms is very similar to the bigger tournaments in that we're booking flights and getting players in, but we do a bit more for the atoms like making sure they start their day with a good breakfast and things of that nature.
"It's the Stanley Cup for these kids and don't try to tell them otherwise."
