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IGLULIK/HALL BEACH
Gone is the animosity and the aggressive competitive drive and in is the fun and co-operation.

Arnaqjuaq School student Justin Nangmalik, left, and Dion Akearok, right, face off as physical education teacher Shahid Haroon is about to drop the ball during a friendly sports tournament between Hall Beach and Iglulik when the teams met in Hall Beach on March 21. - photo courtesy of Shahid Haroon

A new format of putting players from Hall Beach and Iglulik on the same team during friendly sports matches between both school seems to be a success with students and fans alike.

A number of Grade 8 to 12 Hall Beach students will travel to Iglulik to play soccer on April 27 for the fifth meet of an inter-community sports tournament between the two communities.

By combining the two communities, both schools are focusing on the actual event of coming out and having fun, said Shahid Haroon, physical education teacher at Arnaqjuaq School in Hall Beach. He added the atmosphere has been a lot more positive.

"If we do a community versus community, everybody just focuses on winning. Unfortunately, the fun gets lost out of it," he said. "They (students) have realized when we combine the teams, the main focus was to have fun. We've seen a lot more teamwork, a lot more passing, just trying to be gracious hosts."

Haroon said he's noticed many of his students being gracious hosts, letting the other team take penalty shots, for instance. Iglulik returns the favour when that community is hosting, he added.

In Iglulik, Dan Guay, the physical education teacher at Ataguttaaluk High School, has traveled with students to Hall Beach for sports tournament. He said putting students from both communities on the same team has also evens out the competition. With the previous format, he said, the visiting team would end up losing most of the time as the best students, not necessarily the best players, would be less rested after having to travel to the community.

Both schools had already met four times this school year as of press time, and the fifth and final meet was scheduled for April 27. They played soccer four times, calling themselves team Brazil versus team South Africa and hockey once as the Montreal Canadiens versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"It's just a really good opportunity for students to be on a team with someone from Hall Beach, develop co-operation and respect," said Guay. "It's not just about Hall Beach versus Iglulik competition but it can also be about working together."

Dion Akearok, a Grade 11 student at Arnaqjuaq School, said he likes the new format.

"It's been really good. Making lots of new friends," said the 16-year-old. "I prefer it that way because when we play against each other, we play really rough. When we're mixed, we play nicely. We're enjoying it big time."

Steven Angutimarik, a Grade 8 student in Iglulik said the new format is going fine and he's learned some new moves.

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