Darren Campbell
Northern News Services

Whitehorse (Mar 20/00) - The number most members of Team Nunavut will remember from the 2000 Arctic Winter Games is 34.

That's because 34 was the total number of ulus the new territory won at its first Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse. Before the NWT divided and Nunavut was created on April 1, 1999, Nunavut athletes played for the NWT at the Games.

Not in Whitehorse though, and the 34 ulus Nunavut collected was good for sixth place among the nine contingents who took part in the Games.

It was a games of firsts for Nunavut and the territory's first Chef de Mission, Patrick Tagoona, said he was thrilled with the results.

"As a new team we weren't sure how we'd do," said Tagoona. "But overall we're very pleased with the results."

A lot of those ulus came courtesy of the territory's arctic sports team, who cleaned up in that competition. Of the 34 ulus won by Nunavut, 15 of them came in arctic sports and athletes like Kugluktuk's June Pangon, Pelly Bay's Tommy Iqquiyuituq, Pond Inlet's Jimmy Merkosak and Cambridge Bay's Cory Klengenberg led the way.

Ernie Bernhardt, arctic sports coach for Nunavut, said as well as they did in 2000, he plans to do ever better in 2002.

"We're going to improve on it (the results). It's a good foundation," said Bernhardt. "I think we'll do okay in Nuuk. I plan to double our medal output."

As much as Nunavut athletes excel in arctic sports, everyone knows that hockey is the king of sports in the new territory. Despite having a small population to draw from, the hockey squads did just fine.

In the pee wee and junior female divisions, Nunavut just missed out on bronze ulus, coming in fourth. Their lone medal was in the bantam division where a 4-1 win over the Yukon gave them a bronze ulu.

There were even a few surprises along the way when it came to who and what ulus Nunavut did win. Take speed skater Lucassie Peter, who won the lone Nunavut ulu in speed skating with a bronze medal performance in the juvenile male 500-metre event.

With the 2000 Arctic Winter Games now over, athletes, coaches and people like Tagoona, who heads up Sport Nunavut, now turn their attention to 2002.

That is when Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, will co-host the Games with Nuuk, Greenland.

Tagoona said the capital doesn't have all the facilities it needs to host the Games now but it will be ready by 2002.