Fast action at Paulou Ittungna Memorial
Volleyball teams compete in two-day tournament
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, October 20, 2016
INUVIK
It was hard-fought play and long rallies for the 17 teams that came out for a weekend of volleyball in the Paulou Ittungna Memorial Tournament.
Wesley Wolki, left, leaps in the air for team Tuk, en route to victory over the Seals, right, at the Paulou Ittungna Memorial volleyball tournament Saturday, Oct. 15. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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Nine women's teams, four men's and four juniors took part in the games, with several players coming down from Tuktoyaktuk.
In the men's final on Oct. 15, team Tuk won out over the Seals.
"It's our second year in a row winning this tournament," said Barry Jacobson, captain of team Tuk, which consists of both Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik players.
"We've got a great group of guys."
Smart team play was what contributed to the win, he said.
"Everybody was playing their positions," said Jacobson. "I'd like to thank the organizers for putting this up. It's a great tournament to be
part of."
On the women's side, the Servaces beat out RRR in the final, which went all the way to five sets.
"It was a hard-fought battle," said Servaces member Natasha Kulikowski.
Alex Timmons and Louis Cormier coached two junior teams brought down from Tuktoyaktuk. Thirteen players between the two teams were the final cut out of the 37 who tried out for a spot.
"It was hard (to make the cuts)," said Timmons. "Ultimately it has to come down to attendance. There's lots of skill there and we would love to take everyone but we couldn't. We chose a great group of players."
She and Cormier thought their teams could have done better in the end, but she was still very proud of them and said the players worked hard.
"There was great competition," said Timmons. "We're disappointed but we ended up where we needed to be."
She said it was an important opportunity for the students to get outside of the community and be exposed to as many different people as possible, along with playing the sport they love and competing in a friendly manner with healthy competition.
"We're just looking forward to bringing our other teams out here," Timmons said. "If there's ever another volleyball tournament we'd be happy to come."
