INUVIK
A total of 21 teams signed up for the Paulou Ittungna Memorial Volleyball Tournament held last weekend at East Three School, nearly double the typical turnout.

James Day serves the ball in the men's final where Inuvik's Serve and Protect took on the Tukkers Oct. 16. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo

"The number of teams speaks for itself," said Eric Church, co-organizer of the tournament. "We have more younger kids out playing, which means we have a great foundation for the tournament in the future."

While in previous years there have been several school-aged divisions and one co-ed adult division, Church explained that this year they had mens and womens categories, along with school-aged ones. The Barney Babes from Inuvik won over the U19 mixed team from Tuktoyaktuk for the womens title, while the Tukkers clinched top spot for the men against Inuvik's Serve and Protect. The U15 boys from East Three beat the U15 Tuk mixed team for the school-aged division.

"We had 10 school-aged teams," said Church. "What I really loved was that everyone played with intensity but with a lot of sportsmanship."

He also said that having adults and children playing in the same tournament -although not against each other - gave the younger players an opportunity to see adults doing something healthy and getting out and being active. Church himself played on the mens team which lost in the finals.

"That's something near and dear to my heart," he said.

While the tournament is a highlight of the season for students at East Three, it is also a major event for teams from out of town. There were two school-aged teams from Tuktoyaktuk and both made it to the finals in their divisions.

"The junior team finished second in their division," said Tuktoyaktuk coach Krista Cudmore. "That's great, especially as some of them had never even played volleyball until a few weeks ago."

Cudmore said her players were competitive and growing more so with each year.

"It's a great opportunity for them," she said. "It's hard to get them to gain experience in Tuk, because they can only ever play each other. (The teams) have always been very competitive and they enjoy coming."

More than that, Cudmore said the level of play at the tournament has been rising every year, especially as more and more teams join up.

"Even amongst my team, I've seen a difference in how they play over the last few years. Now they play more as a team."

As close as the competition may be, Church said he is proud to be involved in an event that promotes values like sportsmanship as well.

"We're honouring the spirit and memory of this young man who died three years ago," he said. "He played for that love of the game and I believe people took that on. Everyone has played with intensity, heart and sportsmanship."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.