INUVIK
Sometimes, resurrection can be good for a tournament.

The East Three Clippers took the adult championship at the Beaufort-Delta Education Council Soccer Tournament over the weekend of March 21 to 22. The roster was comprised of Ron Binder Jr, front, Jordan Rogers, left, Brendan Cathers, Mikkel Binder, Richard "Phil" Alexie, Brandon Larocque, Natasha Kulikowski and Bessie Rogers. - photo courtesy of Britney Selina

That was the case last weekend when the Beaufort-Delta Education Council Soccer Tournament reappeared after an absence.

The East 3 Clippers took the adult title, a Tuktoyaktuk school team won the senior division and the East Three Junior 1 team took top spot in the junior division.

The tournament's return was largely due to the efforts of East Three school staff members Britney Selina, Jill Nugent and Colin Pybus.

"We kind of thought we'd bring back the soccer tournament," Selina said.

"It hadn't been done for a couple of years. So this is kind of a kick-off tournament for the kids before they head off to Yellowknife for Super Soccer."

The concept is modelled after the education council's basketball tournaments in January and early February, where players sign up for three-on-three and four-on-four challenges, Selina said.

Like the soccer tournament, the basketball events are tune-ups for the territorial Cager championships. They're also geared to opening up the competition to the communities in the delta and beyond, to keep players interested and provide fresh competition.

"We always send out invitations to the communities outside of Inuvik and we do what we can to get everyone out here," Selina said.

As with other Inuvik sports, one of the problems is finding that fresh competition, especially for the youngsters in town.

"We try to get someone for the kids to play against other than each other, so it seems to work out."

Fourteen teams turned out for the tournament, meaning around 120 players were present. Most were from Inuvik, but a school team from Tuktoyaktuk made the journey down the ice road, while adult players rolled in from Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk.

Three divisions, composed of a junior, senior and adult, fought for bragging rights.

That demonstrates the popularity of the sport in the region, as does the thriving indoor soccer recreational league that operates two nights a week in Inuvik.

The indoor version of soccer, as played in the tournament, is a very different beast from the conventional style played outdoors on a soccer pitch.

The indoor game has elements combining soccer with squash, with the walls coming into play, and almost nothing being out of bounds. It's an impressively fast-paced, high-scoring and explosive version of the "beautiful game."

"For me it's super-challenging," Selina said. "You can use the boards and walls as an asset. It's pretty cool. It's off-the-wall and off-the-boards, and you've always got to keep moving. It's like a shoot-out or a shooting gallery out there."

Most of the teams range from eight to 10 players, so regular substitutions allowed teams to keep pushing the pace.

Both Selina and Nugent were players as well as organizers, and their day ended by mid-afternoon March 22 when their team was eliminated by the eventual adult champions, the Clippers.

Nugent played goal, and was still reeling a little afterwards from the barrage of shots she faced.

"It's a lot quicker, and there's a lot more scoring," she said. "It's definitely a high-scoring game and very fast-paced.

"I need a lot of rest and relaxation at the end of the day," she said.