by Dave Salter
Northern News Services

NNSL (DEC 06/96) - We want in!

That refrain will likely spew from countless sporting bodies now that the city has given the go-ahead for a new twin arena.

Although the ice rinks will be the main feature of the sports complex, rumors abound that a gym -- suitable for sports such as volleyball and basketball -- will also be constructed.

Travis Armour, president of the Yellowknife Basketball Association, hopes the new complex will foster growth in his sport.

"Right now we play our games at school gyms and no one is there, only the players, unless there's a tournament. If we start playing in a building where a hockey game or curling is going on at the same time, it will give us a better profile. We'll be in the public eye a little more." he said.

He envisions the centre as a meeting place for families.

"It can be a place where dad goes to play volleyball, mom plays squash and the kids are on the ice."

NWT Volleyball President Rob Meckling figures the new arena will attract major tournaments to town.

"We certainly need to enhance our facilities. The last Arctic Winter Games in Alaska set nearly impossible standards for us to match," he says.

"It's (twin arena) been a long time coming. If we (volleyball) can get in there, it will help our bids to host provincial and national tournaments. Right now are facilities aren't up to those standards."

Speed skating, like hockey and figure skating, will be one of the biggest benefactors of the added ice surfaces.

Loraine Minish-Cooper, president of the Yellowknife Speed Skating Club, was "very excited" when she got word of the new sports complex.

"I recently sent a letter to the city expressing our hopes that the arena would come into being. We also offered to provide assistance."

She says the speed skating club needs a new facility to keep up with increasing registration demands.

"Our young kids are using the Gerry Murphy Arena and it's just not suitable from a safety or training perspective."

Minish-Cooper says the arena is also needed for "community wellness."

"I think something like this is important to our youth. We're seeing an increase in problems with youth and the law and I think healthy activities promote healthy lifestyles."

Speed skating coach Dave McCann says he hopes one of the ice surfaces will be Olympic-sized. "We're pitching that idea to the city. Our skaters need a bigger surface ... international size. This will help our elite athletes."

The Yellowknife gymnastics club has been looking for a permanent home in recent years. Coach Joan Evans says her sport wants a piece of the pie.

"We are very desperate for a facility," she says.

"But I get the impression we won't be included in the early stages."

Ed Bennington, president of the NWT Gymnastics Association, agrees that his group is looking for a new home.

"We're looking into being a part of it. They (city) knows we're looking for space. We're waiting for them to contact us," he says.