ARVIAT
Leo Kaludjak of Rankin Inlet added a second checkered flag to his trophy case when he captured the Senior Division of the Sam Napayok Memorial Challenge snowmobile race in Arviat earlier this month.
Panniuq Karetak took second at the event, while Brian Tanuyak claimed third.
Kaludjak also won the Pakallak Tyme race at Rankin Inlet.
Tristan Dias took the junior flag in Arviat, with Jeremy Maley second and Quinton Karlik third.
Arviat Racing Club president and race co-ordinator Ryan St. John said the number of racers continued to drop at this year's event.
He said 17 racers ran in the senior division and three in the junior division.
"We didn't have enough money for a masters division this year, so we went with senior and junior men's," said St. John.
"We had to cancel the race in 2012 due to weather, so we decided to run ATV and drag races in their place, thinking we would get another bingo, or two, to replenish the money we spent on those events.
"Hamlet council then told us we wouldn't be getting any bingos this year because we didn't run the actual snowmobile race this past year.
"I told council we ran the other races in its place, but council said it couldn't help us because the money wasn't used on the race we fundraised for."
St. John said lower prizes may have contributed to the low number of racers.
He said the club will submit a request for bingo slots to the hamlet shortly, and he hopes things will return to normal for this coming year.
"Our track was about 1.1 miles this year, which was similar to previous years of one to 1.3 miles.
"The seniors ran eight laps per heat, while the juniors did six.
"The finals in both divisions were 15 laps.
"We had more winners in the senior division this year because we moved some money from the juniors and didn't have a masters."
St. John said even with the number of racers down, the event was still well-received by the community.
He said there were good crowds for every heat during the two-day event.
"There's still a healthy interest in watching the races in our community.
"The number of racers has been declining over the years, for whatever reasons.
"The younger guys aren't coming up to replace older guys who are retiring and not racing anymore.
"I don't know if it's because of the cost of equipment, or the change in lifestyle
with so much technology being used now, but it's declining, that's for sure."
St. John said the two champions finished quite a bit ahead of the pack, but the competition among the rest of the racers was pretty tight.
He said there was a lot of close racing in the middle of the pack, and that made for some exciting moments for the crowd.
"The race is very competitive every year with guys going back and forth between positions, trying to move up in prize money.
"We had three junior racers from Rankin this year, which was good to see.
"We also had about a dozen, or more, senior racers from Rankin, so we had more out-of-town racers take part this year than local guys.
"The drop in racers was from our local guys and not having anyone from Whale Cove or Chesterfield Inlet."
St. John said he's committed to the race for at least one more year.
He said, hopefully, the number of racers will increase, but, if not, there's no sense in trying to revive an event that has run its course.
"You really can't do much about it if people lose their interest in something.
"The only solution would be, possibly, to start promoting races at younger ages to try and get them involved with the sport.
"We've been at this for 13 years and it's nearing the end, at least for me.
"Someone will have to pick up the torch to keep it going, but I will be involved, at least, for year 14."
St. John said it's too early to say whether the 14th annual Sam Napayok Memorial Challenge will be his last.
He said after organizing the race for the past 13 years, it's no longer a hard thing to do.
"The fundraising is simple and straight forward.
"After you've been doing it for so many years, it's not difficult to organize and co-ordinate the races.
"So the Arviat Racing Club will probably keep doing it until the hamlet decides to stop giving it bingos."
St. John said it will be a sad day for the Kivalliq if races aren't run due to a lack of interest.
He said the people of host communities look forward to the races every year.
"After a long winter, people really look forward to these activities in the spring.
"It would be a real blow to the region if the races were no longer being held.
"The more activities you have the more excitement there is.
"You're getting out of a long, cold winter and there's nothing like well-organized events to help you shake the winter blues."
