NUNAVUT - Grise Fiord might lie far north of the Arctic Circle and not see the sun for three months a year, but it is now home to Canada's, if not the world's, most northerly skateboard club.

Etuangat Akeeagok, a Grade 8 student at Umimmak School in Grise Fiord, was named captain of the school's newly-formed skateboard club and received a skateboard and a metal case containing the board's wheels from DEA chair Liza Ningiuk. - photo courtesy of Umimmak School

Umimmak School, the community's grades K to 12 school with 43 students, inaugurated its skateboard club and named its captain during the return of the sun celebrations on Feb. 12.

"We see skateboarding in the south; why not in the North," said the school's principal Lee Wood. "There are not many opportunities for students in the school, particularly through the winter months, other than using the gym. The idea of setting up little ramps and using ramps is something that would give them interest."

The process started when Michael Giberson sent a proposal for a skateboard club to the school attached to a skateboard deck without the wheels.

Giberson, who spent a few years in the Arctic, said Grise Fiord holds a special place in his heart.

"Although I have never visited Grise Fiord, I have always admired the people who live there," he stated via e-mail.

He said he envisioned a skateboard team using the gym to practise their sport with maybe eventually a small outdoor park for summer use.

As there was interest, Wood said seven students wrote essays outlining why they should captain the club. He said three people from outside the community chose the captain, Grade 8 student Etuangat Akeeagok. The club will initially start with those seven students, with the captain determining what types of ramps, equipment will be needed, he added.

When he heard the school had chosen a captain for the club, Giberson sent along the skateboard's wheels. Thus the Umimmak Skateboard Team was born.

This project represents Giberson's first endeavour outside of Calgary, where he started a number of skateboarding projects.

"I find it ironic that Grise Fiord now has an indoor skateboard park (in the school gym), something that Calgary is currently lacking," he stated.

An advocate for skateboarding, he added the sport's physical benefits and confidence-building aspects made it a right fit. "Skateboarding builds character. It promotes the development of motor skills and reflexes. Skateboarding is ideal for youth who are reluctant to participate in conventional team sports," he said. "It also develops persistence ... never to give up on something till it is mastered."

The Source, an independent snowboard and skateboard store in Alberta, became involved in the project after Giberson asked if they could help. They will donate $500 worth of whatever equipment the school might need for its skateboard club, said The Source's Dave Beddome. Brett Wilson from the CBC's Dragons' Den also donated $500.