Belts, not blows, were dealt out during an annual judo camp in Hay River, and the attendance during the three-day event demonstrated just how much the martial art is exploding in the territory and beyond.

Thirty-nine judoka from as far as Iqaluit and Colville Lake joined martial artists from Fort Smith, Yellowknife, and Hay River to practise, compete and raise their personal ranks. This is the third annual camp run by Mario Desforges, president of the NWT Judo Association.  

The annual training camp took place Feb. 3 to 5 at Ecole Boreale and featured special guest, Akinori Hongo.

Hongo has won two world cup medals for Japan and placed second in the All Japan Championship for his weight category in 2011. He is currently training in Montreal.

NWT communities adopting judo are sprouting up slowly but steadily thanks to Desforges’ grassroots program aimed at targeting school-aged youth.

Desforges lives in Yellowknife but  travels to Hay River at least once every two weeks in order to train a growing number of students in the town.

He recently travelled to Colville Lake, a community that now has 20 students, some of whom he teaches via Skype.

“It’s a great individual sport, and it’s a sport that’s structured around school,” said Desforges. “If you can walk, you can do judo.”

The NWT Judo Association has approximately 1,000 active members who practise the sport across the territory. Desforges said it’s his job to grow these numbers, and his efforts are being supported by the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the Western Arctic, which aims to increase physical activities in the communities.

Over the next three years, Deforges plans to visit 18 communities with practices and camps. The goal is to have 22 communities active in judo over the next four years.

On Saturday afternoon, the 39 camp participants were put through boot camp-type drills, and Desforges was the unforgiving sergeant. He instructed each student to complete their circuit, jumping, crawling and resistance training.

“You do the best you can,” yelled Desforges.

There were struggles and strains and a whole lot of groaning but the students were able to complete the vigorous training.

After almost 20 hours of practice, students returned home to their communities until the camp returns next year – potentially bigger – and maybe with eve more of a competitive edge.

“This camp gets kids ready for the national level,” said Desforges.

The NWT Judo Association has been established for more than 45 years, and the NWT ranks fifth for the sport in Canada, boasting most judoka per capita in practice.

The association received a grant from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to run the camp.

Many players will be getting their hands ready for this weekend’s annual Command Cribbage tournament at the Hay River Legion.

Seventeen teams from around Alberta and the North will be attending the annual event from Feb. 10 to 12. It will be the first major event since the new Hay River executive was elected last November. 

“It usually gets rotated between the districts and this year it’s our turn,” said legion president Chris Jesche. 

During the tournament, two teams from each district will potentially earn the chance to advance to the command level tournament, and then the National Dominion level tournament. Jesche said legions across Canada used to schedule more events but have cut back over the past decade.

“It’s just an event where people can get together and participate in sportsmanship,” said Jesche. “Legions are big into the sports they promote and they used to do a lot more, but we still try.”

The top two teams from each district will advance to the command level tournament, which will be held in either the North or Northern Alberta.

Along with the tournament, there will be cash prizes, a meat draw, karaoke, and breakfast and lunch sold daily. The legion will also be hosting the Lee Mandeville Band, to play both Friday and Saturday nights at 10 p.m.

For more information contact the Hay River Legion.

Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington says the new session of the House of Commons, which began Jan. 30, may have a big impact on the North, most notably through possible changes to the regulatory board structure in the NWT.

“There have been a number of indications that the government is going to move forward with legislation that will directly impact the Northwest Territories in terms of environmental regulatory process,” said Bevington, adding those indications include comments by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The New Democrat MP said the federal government apparently intends to move towards uniting regional land and water boards into a single board.

“But we haven’t seen the legislation yet, so we don’t really know exactly what they’re proposing,” he said.

Any change to the board structure would have to be done by amending the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, so it would have to go before Parliament.

Bevington believes it is possible the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board might be affected, adding it is the only environmental assessment board in the NWT.

“If they bring that piece of legislation forward for amendment, they could be doing a number of things with it,” he said.

Bevington said there has not been open support in the NWT for combining regional boards into one board.

“Most talk about other things that can be done,” he said. “Over the next month or so, I’m going to be working to build a consensus among all the elements of the Northwest Territories as to what actual things we can do to improve the regulatory system that we can agree on.”

The MP suggested one improvement would be to take away multiple-agency scrutiny in Ottawa.

“Because many of the departments that have had their say at the board level, then go back to the minister and have a say (there) as well.”

Timely appointments of board members would also help, he said. “We’ve had an awful time with that over the last five years. It’s terrible. We’ve been waiting years to get people appointed to these boards to do the work.”

Plus, he said more training could be required.

The MP said the Inuvialuit region is covered by a separate act and would not be affected by the possible changes.

Bevington thinks the federal government may also be eyeing regional renewable resources boards.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen with those,” he said. “A lot of this is conjecture, but we have heard that they’re interested in combining those.”

Bevington also noted that, before Christmas, senior bureaucrats brought up the possibility of legislation to create a surface rights board.

However, he added, “What bureaucrats say and what happens in Parliament can be different, so I guess ‘may’ is still probably the operational word.”

A surface rights board would mediate between landowners and those with sub-surface rights for things such as mining or drilling.

Bevington is also “very concerned” about the possible impact of the coming federal budget, expected in early March.

“We’ve heard that we could see large number of layoffs throughout the civil service that would impact on the North,” he said. “The North will be part of that, you can be sure.”

Bevington said New Democrats will argue that it might be better to raise some taxes on big corporations making record profits on resources, rather than cutting back on government services.

risk of being pulled off the streets

if the organization that runs the

service doesn’t secure additional

funding.

The Hay River Committee for

Persons with Disabilities funds and

operates the community’s handi-van

service, which allows people with

disabilities to attend appointments

and run errands independently.

The handi-van was allotted

$5,000 in this year’s town budget,

on par with similar not-for-profits

such as the Hay River Beautification

Committee and the Hay River

Museum Society.

“It’s going to help, but if we

don’t secure core funding, the van

is not going to run next year,” said

committee president Lillian Crook.

“This year we were lucky. We’ve

had a lot of businesses and individuals

come forward with donations.”

Resembling a giant, mobile

bumper sticker collection, the once

white van is plastered with logos

recognizing the sponsors that have

contributed to the service.

Last year the handy service

received $10,915 in donations, but

approximately $74,000 is required

to run the service every year,

according to Crook. Funds come

from membership fees and client

fares. Rides within the town of

Hay River cost $5, and $20 when it

travels as far as Enterprise. The bus

averages more than 100 pickups per

month with 30 regular and multiple

sporadic clients.

When Crook made a presentation

to Hay River town council

last year, she suggested it look

into using the federal gas tax to

provide financial support for the

service. The tax can be used for

transportation related services in

municipalities.

That’s where the van falls into a

grey area. Technically, the service

is not public transportation because

it is not available to everyone, but

Crook argues it is essential.

“People can get more and more

recluse,” said Crook. “They don’t

want to depend on family members

too much, so they lose their

independence.”

When the handi-van started four

years ago, it was a volunteer run

service. Now, the van is on the

road every day for an entire work

day and at times on call during the

weekend. On Friday afternoon, the

van’s full-time drive, Elise Marie,

was transporting two of her regulars

– Wayne Elleze and Edwyn

Morin. They’ve developed a rapport,

and they banter like siblings.

Throughout the week, the committee’s

office manager, Provina

Bartlett, is all things to all people.

She meets with clients and helps

co-ordinating funding for other

programs such as the Employment

Assistance program. When she’s

not working with people, she’s

scouring the net for funding opportunities

and grants.

The $5,000 from the town will

come this month, but Crook said

those funds will only allow the van

to operate month-by-month.

Crook said the committee’s

trouble securing funds is because

it offers the only handi-bus in

the territory, which makes it difficult

for governments to compare

operating costs with similar

services.

“The problem is that there’s no

other place the service runs in the

NWT,” said Crook. “So if proposals

come out (concerning) people with

disabilities, it doesn’t have anything

to do with transportation.”

A Hay River athlete made history over

the weekend when he became the first speed

skater from the community to earn a spot on

Team NWT for the Arctic Winter Games.

Kaed Blake, 13, battled

through nerves and 33 of the

top skaters in the territory

to place third in the juvenile

boys division during the Arctic

Winter Games Speed Skating

trials in Yellowknife.

The five-year veteran of the

sport will travel to Whitehorse

with his teammates from Fort

Simpson and Yellowknife for

the games, set to begin March

3.

“Kaed is a very dedicated skater,” said

Hay River Speed Skating Club president

Jackie Karp. “He has progressed a lot in the

past year and the whole club is really happy

for him.”

Blake admits he was nervous, adding the

aspects of the sport he loves are the same

ones that freak him out.

“The part where you’re going fast and

you’re almost not in control anymore – it’s

just one foot after the other – that’s what I

like,” said Blake. “It’s almost like a scary

movie.”

This will be the first Arctic

Winter Games for the

Diamond Jenness Secondary

student who said he was

never interested in playing

hockey.

“It’ll be a good opportunity

for me,” he said, “and it’s

different. So I stuck with it.”

Blake returned home

from the trials on Jan. 29 and

will spend the next month

training.

To prepare for the games, the coach in

Yellowknife told him to bring his cardiovascular

training up to 90 minutes each day,

but that’s all part of the plan.

Hay River’s fire chief estimates that

$100,000 worth of damage was done to a local

recreational machine dealership after a fire

started in the shop.

The Hay River Fire Department received a

call to Diggerz Powersports on Jan. 26 at 2:18

p.m. and found the shop portion of the building

in flames.

All employees had been evacuated and no

one was injured.

Fire Chief Ross Potter estimated it took

firefighters 10 minutes to fully extinguish the

blaze.

Following his investigation, Potter said he

believes that the cause of the fire was a fuel

leak that ignited.

He said one of the employees had been cutting

a bearing off a snow machine jack shaft

approximately 15 minutes after it had been

brought in from outside. It had a full tank of

fuel, he added.

“The fuel expanded in the fuel tank, leaked

out on the floor and started to vaporize and

that is what I believe created the flash and the

subsequent fire,” Potter said.

Shop owner Tim Hinz said because of the

fire department’s quick response, the damage

was limited to the shop area.

“The store itself contains no damage,” he

said.The shop portion of the building requires

extensive repairs, but Hinz is counting his

blessings.

“Things could have been a lot worse,” he

said.And in addition to the help from the fire

department, Hinz said the response from the

community has been incredible.

“I have had people calling all day offering

manpower, offering space in their shops so

my mechanic can keep working,” he said. “I

owe everybody a whole lot of gratitude and

thanks.

“It is just amazing how much this town has

pulled behind me.”

The shop was expected to be closed Jan.

27 and 28 while employees cleaned up the

shop but store hours were not expected to be

affected.

In the past decade, the concept of literacy has evolved to a philosophy that’s more widely accessible, and technology has followed suit.

That could be why this year’s Family Literacy Day has corresponding themes. 

Family Literacy Day is this Friday, Jan. 27 and the theme—learning in everyday life. 

“There are always ways we can integrate literacy in our lives,” said Community and Family Literacy Coordinator Kathryn Barry Paddock. “If it gets people talking together doing activities together, going for a walk and looking for the beautiful things in nature, matching up socks, or cooking meals, all these things are literacy-based.”

But sometimes, in between everyday tasks, like heading the bank machine or doing laundry, can be routinely interrupted by incoming texts or chat alarms.

This was the idea behind what the Hay River branch of NWT Centennial Library has planned for the day.

They’re challenging patrons to turn off their screens including all phones, TVs and computers for a day.

The Hay River Literacy Society is also taking part, assembling family literacy bags with games, books and puzzles for Aurora College students with young families.

This is aside from literacy challenges promoted in community groups and at school level throughout the year.

The NWT Literacy Society supports events and initiatives like this throughout the territory with a different theme every year.

And as the idea of literacy evolved over the years, so have the themes.

“The concepts or definition of literacy has changed,” said Paddock. “Before, people thought of literacy associated with books and school, but literacy is so much more.”

The last survey to gauge literacy levels in the North took place in 2003; compiled results were released in 2005.

More than 23,000 Canadians took part in the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 818 out of 1286 in the NWT responded to the survey at a 50/50 split between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.

Survey results showed that although close to the Canadian average, more four out of 10 people in the NWT between the ages of 16-65 face literacy challenges.

The study also cited past cuts to adult literacy programs to the tune of $17.7 million in 2006.

Paddock said the territory is due to complete another survey in the near future.

“We know there are literacy challenges in the North,” said Paddock.

“I feel confident that it is changing but it is something that needs to be ongoing. The great thing about family literacy is that it focuses on children but allows adults to practice their skills by practicing with their children.”

She said it’s this newer philosophy that opens doors for people in which singing, talking, playing music, games, and getting active outside all draw from a foundation of literacy skills.

“I think the way we think about literacy now is a lot more freeing for people,” said Paddock. “If you don’t feel 100 per cent confident with print you can still practice literacy with your family by playing a game or cooking together. It opens up doors for people to share knowledge.”

There is still time to pick up entry forms for Hay River’s “screens off” challenge on Jan. 27.

People can call the NWTLC to seek out events at 1-866-599-6758.

Colourful costumes, flashy, light-up skate-guards, hair, make-up and tights were the garb at the annual fun-skate tournament this year that parents, organizers and volunteers worked hard to ensure was smoothly run. 

This year’s event brought in judges from Edmonton, Fort Simpson and Yellowknife to mark skaters development over all levels in the past year. 

Skaters travelled in for the competition from Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife.

But for some local skaters it was an exercise in competing against others and challenging themselves. That’s according to four of the tournament’s medal winners who were taking a giddy breather after a full two days of scraping the rink.

For 11-year-old Meg Kruger skating in front of a crowd is dependent on surpassing her own fear.

“I try not to be nervous, so I just look past everyone and think (to myself) that I’m doing this just for fun,” said Kruger.

The territorial’s preceded the test skate day on Jan. 22, when skaters who reach a certain level are evaluated on their skill.

“Once they hit a certain level they can’t be evaluated by their coaches anymore,” said Hay River Skating Club President Claire-Anne Bouchard.

Although 11-year-old Fiona Huang is taking part in relaxed banter with her friends, she’s also aware that the challenge isn’t over.

“I take five deep breathes before I go on the ice,” said Huang. “I’m a very nervous person and I can shake a lot. I try to think it’s just for fun but I’m very competitive.  I just hope I do well in the tests tomorrow.”

Alicia Hayne and Georgia Dawson talk about the hours of practicing they have to put into any given week.

Both 12-year-olds joke about competing with each other but also with skaters from other clubs.

They concurred that skating and conditioning takes up a lot of their lives.

“If you practice a lot, by the time you are out there on the ice by yourself, you have nothing to lose,” said Dawson.

All judges, parents and helpers volunteered their time over the weekend—of which some spent more than 12 hours days at the recreation centre on Friday and Saturday only to return on Sunday for test day.

The HRFSC won’t be hanging up their blades yet.

They’ll be heading to conditioning tournaments throughout the duration of the season—their next destination planned is Whitecourt, Alta, in February.

Conditioning is important say the organizers, especially since there is a lack of available certified coaches to call on.

“If you look on Skate Canada, every little town in western Canada is looking for certified coaches,” said Angelia King, tech representative of the event.

Last year’s territorial event was hosted in Fort Smith, and given all the hard work that went into the local event, organizers are happy to bid farewell the hosting role for another four years.

Next year’s event will be hosted in Yellowknife with a tentative date of Feb. 8-9.

Hay River’s roads were occupied by some less common vehicles on the weekend, as a Canadian military convoy rolled through town as part of a trek to the Arctic.

The exercise, titled Arctic Ram, has hundreds of military vehicles and personnel making the three day journey from CFB Edmonton to Yellowknife in three separate groups.

According to a release from the Canadian military, those three groups were further separated into smaller packets of approximately 10 vehicles “for reasons of safety and to help alleviate highway congestion.”

Exercise Arctic Ram is the first training exercise of it’s kind for the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and is designed to familiarize soldiers with the harsh winter environment in the Northwest Territories and develop an understanding of the requirements for Arctic operations as well as testing all equipment in harsh conditions.

According to Army Public Affairs Officer Fraser Logan, this exercise is the first of it’s kind on this large a scale within the generation.

“We’ve moved away from a combat role in Afghanistan so defensive Canada is very important to us,” he said, adding that the military needs to keep current regarding the issues pertinent to the country.

Logan said that the term “winter warfare” is being used to describe the exercise, as all personnel will be staying in Arctic tents heated by stoves for the duration of the exercise.

“No one is being put up in a hotel,” he said.

Approximately 90 soldiers and 50 vehicles travelled through the area between Jan. 20 and 22.

The next group is scheduled to start rolling through between today and Jan. 27, with nearly 230 soldiers and 80 vehicles stopping in Hay River to overnight on their second day of travel.

The last group, of 60 soldiers and 25 vehicles is expected to move through between Feb. 9 and 11.

Fuel trucks are moving with the convoy and vehicles will not be refuelling at local pumps.

Logan said that the light armoured vehicles moving through town are the same ones that were used overseas, and the purpose of the exercise is to see how well they work in Arctic conditions.

“We are putting them in the Arctic to see how they do,” he said.

Other exercises include a live firing range to be set up outside of Yellowknife and weather permitting, a parachute jump which Logan said has not been conducted in a long time.

The exercise will be based in Yellowknife from Feb. 14 to 26, but specific activities will take place in the communities of Gameti, Behchoko and Whati.

The return of winter heralded a sudden chill and the slap of unforgiving winds that snapped us back into winter. 

But on Saturday afternoon, Kim Rapati was making the best out of Hay River’s most dominant season by purposefully trudging down one of the many trails the town has—the Scout’s Trail. 

As of this Friday, Jan. 20, thanks to the efforts of many an avid hiker and nature enthusiast, this trail will accompany a battery of paths and walkways on dedicated map. The Hay River Trail Guide is here, and according Rapati, the project’s coordinator, it couldn’t have been released during a better season.

“A lot of people dismiss hiking in the winter but that’s the best time to go,” said Rapati. “In the summer a lot of the trails are swampy and they get muddied up. In the winter there are no bugs. You just have to dress warm, and that’s not hard to do.”

Rapati took the smaller version of the map out of her pocket to point to other trails in relation to the Scout Trail, planting her warm boots firmly in a snowdrift as her dog Floyd plodded along.

The approximately 3.5 kilometre trail starts by the bridge to Vale Island and continues nearly the entire way to the Lagoon Beach trail, detailed on an aerial map. It gives even the directionally-challenged a sense of place.

Last winter, the Hay River hikers sported their hiking boots and winter gear every Sunday to map trails for the project, a concept devised by hiking enthusiast, Nancy Makepeace. They traversed nearly every path they could find as well as interviewed several long-time residents about the history, past usage and names of trails. The Scout Trail, she said, was named because Scouts used to hike along the river before setting up camp.

“There’s a lot of history around the trail system,” said Rapati. “The great thing about the Scout Trail is you can access it on any point along the road. That’s what I love about this trail. There are points on it where you can feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere but you’re still so close to town.”

The project was funded by NWT Parks Association through their trail building fund. All the mapping, photographing, ground truthing and work involved was completed by local community volunteers. Degree of difficulty was determined by length, terrain and proximity to road access.

Rapati said there is still much that could be done to develop the trails. The project’s team knew that there are also plans in the works to extend the TransCanada portion of the trail and to further develop trails that become impassible during swampy summers. This is why the map is relatively basic as far as information and history pertaining to the area.

A more detailed booklet is an idea for the future depicting the unique flora, fauna and history of each area. All involved in the project wanted to release the current map so that interested hikers could begin to use many of the highlighted trails that remain unmarked. The guide warns to keep ears out for skidoos and off-leash dogs, though.

“Once you get out there, it’s beautiful,” said Rapati. “A whole new world opens up in the winter of trails in the backwoods and it’s a whole new way of seeing Hay River. In winter there are so many tracks around. You can see stories in the snow.”

Maps will be distributed on Friday and will be available at the recreation centre, the library, KFN office and other locations. The map cautions to use trails at your own risk.

“I hope it’s an inspiration for people to get out and use the trails here,” said Rapati. “A lot of people might know where the trails are, but don’t use them regularly.”