Darren Campbell
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 06/02) - When referee Bill Stirling loudly blew his whistle twice to signal the end of the boys 16-and-under indoor soccer final, he set off a wild surge of emotion from the victorious KFC Colonels.

The eight young men on the team, and their coaching staff, surged onto the gym floor. They hooted, they hollered, they hugged, they stamped their feet and jumped up and down.

That emotion came in part because the Colonels had just won a tense 2-1 contest over an underdog Fort Smith squad. But the joy was the result of something deeper than that. It was the result of achieving a goal they had worked two years for - playing in the 2002 Arctic Winter Games.

"We've got a year round program and they are just a great bunch of kids that are dedicated and don't mind coming out and working hard three or four times a week," said a relieved Colonels coach Bernie Hogan after Saturday's final. "All the hard work has paid off."

There was plenty of hooting and hollering in Yellowknife and the rest of the NWT last weekend as 19 Arctic Winter Games territorial trials were held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.

Yellowknife held seven of the trials.

Over 200 athletes from the NWT's capital took part in the trials. Their mission was to make Team NWT in their respective sports and compete at the Games. The Games run from March 17 to 23 and take place in Iqaluit and Nuuk, Greenland.

Not all the Yellowknife athletes made the team but the ones who did sound anxious to put on their NWT uniforms and give it their all.

Athletes like 12-year-old speed skater Pierre Corriveau, who will be going to the Games for the first time.

"It's a nice feeling," said Corriveau. "It makes all the practices worthwhile."

Wrestler Derrick Cleaver, 16, who also made Team NWT over the weekend, echoed Corriveau's comments.

"If you win, it makes you feel like all those practices weren't for nothing."

There will be more practices and hard work to come in the next six weeks for these athletes. And when they compete in Nuuk or Iqaluit there will be more excitement and even disappointment for some.

Last weekend's territorial trials gives those Yellowknife athletes a taste of what is to come.

Territorial trials

The Arctic Winter Games will be co-hosted in Iqaluit and Nuuk, Greenland, March 17-23.

- Team NWT is sending approximately 140 athletes to Iqaluit and 100 to Nuuk. Mission staff, coaches and chaperons will increase Team NWT's number to over 300.

Sports in Iqaluit: Basketball, Arctic sports, Dene games, curling, dog sledding, gymnastics, hockey, speed skating and wrestling.

Sports in Nuuk: Alpine skiing, Arctic sports, Dene games, badminton, cross-country skiing, indoor soccer, snowboarding, snowshoeing, table tennis and volleyball.

- Approximately 215 Yellowknife athletes competed in Arctic Winter Games territorial trials across the NWT last weekend.

- Yellowknife held trials in basketball, hockey, wrestling, snowboarding, speed skating, indoor soccer. Gymnastics trials take place this weekend.